2014_05_08_onu-harvard

The University of Navarra has sent to this edition of WorldMUN, held in Brussels, the largest delegation of its years as a participant in the lecture: 15 students from different Schools and courses attended the congress. WorldMUN is a studentlecture that allows young university students to emulate world political leaders and the debates they face at the United Nations. It is organized by Harvard University and is held in a different city each year.

The initiative began in 1992, when it was first held in Poland, and since then it has become the world's largest and most prestigious university-level United Nations lecture of model : it currently brings together more than 2,000 students each year from around 70 countries and more than 80 universities, including some of the world's best, such as Oxford, Cambridge and Yale. Every year it is supported by sponsors such as Allen&Overy, McKinsey, and the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as by attendance speakers such as Herman Van Rompuy, current president of the European committee .

Students meet to discuss current issues according to the rules of procedure of the UN. Students represent different countries - not necessarily their own - and the goal is to reach a consensus or resolution, each representing the official position of the country in question.

So far, the University of Navarra has participated in the last 3 editions of WorldMUN: in Vancouver, Canada (2012); Melbourne, Australia (2013); and Brussels, Belgium (2014). This year for the first time two students from group were awarded with the "Diplomacy Award" given to the best delegates of each committee: Almudena Azcárate and Alberto Cendoya. This is the first time in the history of WorldMUN that these awards are given to students from Spanish universities. The delegation from the University of Navarra was also formed by Victoria Bendeck, Nicole Osuna, Melchora Jeaneth Olan, Francisco Acosta, Pedro Lloret, Carolina Porto, Melanie Kubbinga, Álvaro Sobejano, María Castello, Fernando Masía, Itziar Fernández, Martín García and Joreg Olivares.

The University of Navarra has a Model United Nations Club (UNMUN Club) that organizes an annual internal model (UNMUN) and also prepares delegations to participate in international models such as the WorldMUN. It is managed entirely by students, who are in charge of the selection process to choose the delegations annually and prepare them. Club members vote for a chief delegate for each of the international delegations, who will be in charge of teaching the rules of procedure, negotiation techniques, strategy and rhetoric to group, as well as dealing with the organizing university for each model. The delegates must also be in charge of finding sponsors to pay for their travel expenses.