YMCA Model UN

For over 40 years, Y-MUN has provided young people with the opportunity to grow and develop as communicators, researchers, negotiators and leaders. The three-day conference in early January is an exceptional learning experience designed to introduce students to the operation and structure of the United Nations while providing them with an opportunity to actively learn about world cultures and debates issues of international importance. Students will actively participate in conflict resolution, public speaking, and coalition building, in addition to making new friends and being exposed to new ideas. The program promotes leadership through character development, while introducing students to a vast array of ideas. Priding itself on its uniqueness as a student-led conference, our program entails thirty committees led by elected high school student officers that train and plan months in advance for the event. The student officers work throughout the year to select topics, plan service projects and develop outreach materials with the goal to empower attendees to be better speakers, debaters, negotiators, and servant leaders who are self-assured in their skills and talents. With the guidance and support of our alumni staff (college students and working professionals), our program provides tremendous growth & development opportunities for our participants. Y-MUN places a heavy emphasis on service learning. All participants engage in a service project during the conference weekend that reinforces the issues, discussion and conference theme. Lastly, our program promotes teamwork and collaboration. Y-MUN highlights the themes of collaboration, cultural understanding, and problem solving that are at the core of the organization’s real-life goals. We help students develop their debate skills and find their voice, but in a one-of-a-kind conference that brings together servant leadership, public speaking, and global problem solving rather than solely debate.