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Montana Model United Nations: Over 35 years of bringing the world to Montana

Montana Model United Nations hosts a mock simulation of the United Nations for over 500 Montana high school students each November, during the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences, MMUN engages students by emphasizing international affairs in a hands-on, intensive two-day setting, allowing Montana high school students to explore their personal interests and learn about corners of the world that were often unknown before their participation in the program. The conference has been in existence for over 35 years.

When MMUN was founded in 1964, it was a forum for high school students to debate issues of international importance in a format that reflected the current times-the Cold War. In this context, MUN was set up into western and Soviet blocs, maintaining an antiquated and unmoving system of conflicting ideologies, leaving the more numerous developing world caught between two superpowers. These MUN Cold War blocs largely remained in force until 1997, gradually diminishing in power and echoing the real world of a decade earlier.

The University of Montana Model United Nations collegiate team provided the means to continue MMUN's transformation into a modern reflection of the real United Nations. However gradual this transformation was before, the experiences of the collegiate team in competition dramatically altered the structure of the high school conference. Currently, the conference is organized into eight committees, including the General Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights, the Security Council, and the World Intellectual Property Organization. Within these committees, delegates, representing individual countries, extensively research contemporary topics and prepare themselves to debate issues based on accurate country representation, knowledge of facts, statesmanship, and the ability to relate to and interact with their peers. MMUN exposes Montana high school students to a larger scope of world events and allows them to realize social and political complexities. This mock simulation of the UN enables Montana high school students to obtain substantive oral communication skills and reinforce lessons learned in history, government, and current events classes, while exploring areas of their own personal interests. Moreover, as the end of the Cold War allowed all nations to become more vociferous in the UN, students are similarly free to discuss issues actively, despite perceptions of their nation's status-whether they represent Bahrain, the United States, or Senegal.

For more information on Montana Model United Nations, please contact the College of Arts and Sciences, (406) 243-2632.