What is MEDIMUN
Not available in Turkish yet — showing the English version. Read it in English.
Not available in Turkish yet — showing the English version. Read it in English.
MEDIMUN, the Mediterranean Model United Nations, is an international Model United Nations conference based in Cyprus.
At its core, MEDIMUN is a simulation of international diplomacy. Participants take on roles within a model of the United Nations and work together to discuss global issues, negotiate different positions, and develop solutions.
However, MEDIMUN is more than the Debate that takes place inside committee rooms. It is a complete conference experience bringing together participants from different schools, communities, and countries.
For many participants, MEDIMUN is their first experience with public speaking, diplomacy, formal Debate, negotiation, or Model United Nations. No previous MUN experience is required to understand or become involved in the conference. The MEDIMUN Library is designed to explain each part of the experience separately and guide participants from the basics to the more detailed procedures used during the event.
Model United Nations, usually shortened to MUN, is an educational simulation inspired by the work of the United Nations.
Participants are given roles and are expected to approach international issues from the perspective of those roles rather than simply expressing their own personal opinions.
This creates an environment where participants learn to understand perspectives different from their own, communicate ideas clearly, negotiate with others, and work towards solutions even when there is disagreement.
MEDIMUN follows this general concept while operating with its own conference structure, systems, terminology, traditions, and procedures.
You do not need to understand all of these before attending. They are explained throughout the Library.
During the conference, participants are placed into different groups with specific responsibilities.
The largest group consists of Delegates, who participate in committees and represent assigned countries, organizations, or other entities.
Other participants are responsible for running Debate, managing the conference, representing their Schools, supporting operations, and carrying out the many other tasks needed for an international event to function.
The conference takes place primarily in person.
Participants meet, discuss, negotiate, write, speak, make decisions, and interact directly with one another throughout the event.
Technology is used to support this experience, but it does not replace it.
MEDIMUN is designed around active participation.
You are not attending simply to watch other people speak.
Depending on your role, you may find yourself:
meeting people you have never spoken to before;
representing a position different from your own;
speaking in front of a room;
negotiating an agreement;
helping write a proposal;
questioning another participant;
making decisions with a group;
organizing part of the conference;
or helping others participate effectively.
Different roles involve different responsibilities, but everyone contributes to the conference.
You are also not expected to arrive already knowing everything.
Learning how the conference works is part of the experience.
A central part of MEDIMUN is bringing together people with different backgrounds and perspectives.
Participants may come from different Schools, countries, communities, educational systems, and levels of MUN experience.
Within the conference, these differences become part of the simulation.
Participants must communicate with people they may not already know, understand unfamiliar viewpoints, and find ways to cooperate despite disagreement.
This is one of the reasons why MUN is different from an ordinary speaking or debating activity.
Success is not simply about defeating an opponent.
Much of the conference is about finding a way forward together.
MEDIMUN is inspired by the United Nations, but it is important to understand that it is a simulation.
Participants do not act on behalf of the real United Nations, and decisions made during the conference do not become real UN decisions.
Instead, elements of international diplomacy and UN institutions are adapted into an educational conference environment.
Some parts closely resemble real international structures, while others are adapted to make the conference practical, educational, and accessible to students.
This is why MEDIMUN has its own rules and terminology rather than simply copying every procedure of the real United Nations.
MEDIMUN belongs to the wider international Model United Nations community and is connected to THIMUN, The Hague International Model United Nations.
THIMUN is one of the major international traditions within Model United Nations and has developed procedures and standards used by conferences around the world.
The THIMUN Foundation is the organization that supports this wider system, develops programmes and standards, and accredits qualifying conferences.
MEDIMUN follows the THIMUN style of Model United Nations while also having its own conference-specific structures and systems.
Where MEDIMUN procedure differs or requires additional explanation, the MEDIMUN Library provides the rules that participants should follow.
MediBook is MEDIMUN's digital platform.
It supports the in-person conference by bringing important conference functions and information together in one place.
Participants use MediBook before, during, and after the event.
Depending on their role, MediBook may be used to access conference information, receive announcements, view relevant materials, manage aspects of participation, use tools that support in-person Debate, and access conference records and services.
MediBook should not be thought of as an online version of MEDIMUN.
The conference happens between people. MediBook helps those people participate in it.
The Library you are currently reading is part of that system.
The MEDIMUN Library is the central collection of guides, explanations, rules, and reference material for participants.
This document is intentionally only an introduction.
You are not expected to learn the entire conference from this page.
Other Library documents explain individual parts of MEDIMUN in much greater detail, including:
the different participant roles;
Delegations and School Delegations;
committee types;
preparation for the conference;
Debate and Discussion;
resolutions and clauses;
amendments;
voting;
lobbying and negotiation;
conference procedure;
MediBook;
conduct and responsibilities;
and other conference systems.
If you encounter an unfamiliar word, the Library's terminology and glossary resources can also be used to find its meaning.
If this is your first conference, the amount of unfamiliar terminology can initially make MEDIMUN seem much more complicated than it actually is.
You may hear abbreviations, procedural terms, titles, and phrases that mean very little to you at first.
That is normal.
You do not need to memorize everything at once.
Start by understanding the basic idea:
MEDIMUN is a conference where participants simulate international diplomacy by taking on roles, discussing global issues, and working with others to reach decisions.
Everything else explains how that happens.
As you prepare and participate, the structure will begin to make much more sense.
Use the Library when you encounter something you do not understand, and read the documents relevant to your particular role.
MEDIMUN is an international Model United Nations conference where participants take on roles within a simulation of international diplomacy, meet people from different backgrounds, discuss global issues, and work together to develop and debate solutions.
Now that you understand what MEDIMUN is, you can move on to the Library documents relevant to your role and learn how your part of the conference works.
You do not need to read everything.
Start with the material intended for you, and use the rest of the Library whenever you need it.