What is EARMUN?

EARMUN is a Model United Nations (MUN) assembly for students from East African countries. A MUN could be described as a role play where the participants act as members of the UN General Assembly, and take on their tasks and responsibilities as would they be in the real GA. It is an essential tool for information dissemination on the work of the United Nations, and at the same time a great way for youth to learn the skills needed to be part of such negotiations. By simulating the General Assembly for four days, and thereby taking-up roles of ambassadors and delegates, the participants get in-depth knowledge on how the UN is organized, on the topics under scrutiny, and not at least; how the member states interact and find joint solutions to global issues.

The theme of this year’s EARMUN is “Climate Change – our rights and responsibilities towards sustainable development”. The main part of the Model UN will be simulations of General Assembly discussions, and there will also be GA caucuses. There will be four caucuses, and in addition a simulation of the Security Council. The delegates apply in advance on the specific caucus they want to participate in, and prepare accordingly. The topics of this year’s caucuses are as follows:
a) Industry and Industrialization
b) Political instability
c) Marginalized voices
d) Water and food security
The Security Council will discuss security problems regarding these four topics.

The aim of the conference is to come up with a written declaration agreed upon by all participants, as a respond to the climate change challenges in the region.

The delegates
Delegates are envisaged to be young people who possess leadership skills and have some influence on their communities. The success of EARMUN relies on the participants' ability to go back to their communities and work on the outcomes of the conference. Equal representation of gender, fair representation of age and social backgrounds are some of the guiding principles in the selection of participants and in all activities related to EARMUN. The EARMUN will also ensure representation of marginalized groups.

Each delegate is given a country to represent, so that all member nations are present in the General Assembly. The forum provides an opportunity for participants to exchange ideas on the various issues affecting the international community. The EARMUN also assists delegates in their personal development through the negotiation and lobbying sessions. They are required to front their country positions with occasional concessions to develop solutions to the problems that are common to the member states of the United Nations. All the delegates are given a concept note on the theme in advance the conference. They are also expected to gain as much knowledge on the topic as possible before the conference, and to learn about the stands and positions of the country they are representing. Each delegate is eager to represent “his” country in the best way, and will therefore put much effort into these preparations. We believe we can say that the EARMUN delegates show up with great knowledge and skills on the theme to be discussed. Each delegate has to pay a USD 60 participation fee, and this will also help ensuring the motivation of the participants.

Delegates are in advance and during the conference educated in the diplomatic rules and regulations which are guiding a debate like those in the UN, and through practicing this in the MUN they will gain skills in negotiating in a diplomatic manner. The training will be done through written text, as well as teaching from previous members of a Model UN and observers from the real UN General Assemblies.

The discussions
Discussions will be designed to enable young people to gain first hand information on Climate Change, immerging trends and solutions under discussion and discuss key issues revolving the Climate Change scene around the world. The gathering will also aim to contribute to ongoing discussions, developments and in particular to the Copenhagen Climate Change expected to take place December 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Through the individual and country wise preparations, and particularly the discussions themselves, ending up in a joint declaration, the delegates will be empowered with leadership skills in communication, lobbying, negotiations and diplomacy. They will also gain awareness and build knowledge both on how to interact in a situation like the General Assembly, and on Climate Change, its impact and possible solutions. The General Assembly Codes of conduct are followed strictly, so the delegates has to know how to ask for speech time, how to address a large forum like the GA, keep time, and be precise and accurate in their presentations. Through preparing their speeches and responses they also learn very much about the topics discussed.

A vital responsibility of the delegates is to draw-up initiatives to address the impact of climate change in their respective communities (as outlined in the MUN Final Resolution) after the conference. This will further strengthen the participants’ leadership skills, as it will also spread their knowledge and awareness on the climate change challenges to a larger community. This will be so as to ensure that the delegates, using the knowledge learnt, will become agents of positive change in their communities.