MONUSACH Workshop

SUMMARY:

The Model United Nations is an extra-curricular activity open to all students attending the University of Santiago, Chile, with a focus on preparing students for different Model United Nations around the world. It provides the theoretical and practical tools necessary to be representatives of the university at different higher education centers, NGOs and international organizations. The project is part of the university students’ upcoming participation in the fourth edition of the Model United Nations for Latin America and the Caribbean (MONULAC), to be held the first week of October 2021.

 

INTRODUCTION TO THE WORKSHOP:

 

What is the Model United Nations?

It is a simulation/recreation of the conferences led by the different bodies that make up the United Nations, whereby annually students from different countries participate and represent the position of a member state within the United Nations on various international issues, seeking realistic public policy proposals that address these issues according to the foreign policy of each country.

History of Participation in National Model United Nations (NMUN)

The Model United Nations is a model of debate and negotiation fulfilled in English. It simulates the discussion among different committees of the United Nations (UN), represented by groups of students from different countries around the world and culminates at UN headquarters.

The university has been able to attend multiple installments since 2013. This includes the special invitation to NMUN-JAPAN which was held in the city of Kobe (Japan) from November 20-26th, 2016, where the University of Santiago, Chile was the only university from Latin America to participate and won the award “Outstanding Position Paper”.

Creation of the Model United Nations for Latin America and the Caribbean (MONULAC)

USACH's excellent performance in the Model United Nations has allowed it to make connections with other universities, and thus, in conjunction with Alberto Hurtado University and the University of San Carlos, Guatemala - a member of the Montevideo Group – we created the Model United Nations for Latin America and the Caribbean.

For the year 2018, we had the honor of hosting the second MONULAC at our campus between July 23 and 27, with 250 students from 18 universities in Mexico, Argentina, Guatemala, Venezuela, El Salvador, Colombia and Chile. On that occasion, we had the official support of the United Nations System in Chile, including the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). We also have the support of various academic departments such as the Faculty of Administration and Economics (FAE), the MBA program, and the Department of International and Inter-University Relations (DRII, acronym in Spanish). We also had logistical support from government institutions and civil societies, such as the National Youth Institute (INJUV, acronym in Spanish) and ASOCIA 2030.