London International Model United Nations

The London International Model United Nations (LIMUN) is an annual three-day Model United Nations conference in London, United Kingdom. Taking place every February since 2000, LIMUN has established itself as Europe's largest such conference at university-level,[1] bringing together over 1500 students – with some high school students and recent graduates – to deliberate on issues of global concern. It is organised by students from the various institutions of the University of London and other London-based universities. The 21st session of the conference took place from the 21st to the 23rd of February, 2020.

London International Model United Nations
Emblem of the Conference
AbbreviationLIMUN
Formation2000
Type3 Day Conference, February
Legal statusCharity (England and Wales, 1096197)
PurposeRecreative and Educational
Location
  • London, United Kingdom
Membership
1500 Participants
Secretary-General
Ben Santhouse-James
Honorary President
Mark Malloch Brown
Main organ
Secretariat, Board of Trustees
Websitewww.limun.org.uk

History

Inception and growth

LIMUN was known as London Model United Nations (LoMUN) until 2002.[2] It held its first conference in 2000, and was conceived by a group of University of London (UoL) students who had attended a Model UN conference in 1999 in Cambridge, Massachusetts (Harvard World Model United Nations 1999).[3] The aim was to organise an annual Model UN event in London, in conjunction with the other University of London colleges. The first conference in 2000 involved about 200 delegates over 5 committees. In 2007, this figure grew to about 500, and later to 700 over 12 committees in 2008.

In 2009, LIMUN held its first milestone conference at King's College London, celebrating its 10th anniversary with 800 delegates spread over 12 committees. New committees were also introduced, expanding to about 16 in 2011. 2012 marked a peak, as about 1,200 delegates were spread over 20 committees at Imperial College, one of the top ten universities in the world;[4] and, finally in 2013, LIMUN reached its current status as it attracted approximately 1500 delegates in 25 committees.[5] In June 2014 LIMUN also organised an MUN session in collaboration with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as part of the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, which was chaired by Foreign Secretary William Hague and Angelina Jolie, Special Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.[6]

In recent years LIMUN has also held a number of side-events, including Diplomacy Panels. These have allowed the change-makers of tomorrow to meet the leaders of today. Embassies including France, Canada and Algeria have all sent senior officials, including Ambassadors, to LIMUN. Other side-events include networking sessions with university or graduate recruitment teams and Rules of Procedure workshops.

Past conference venues

In 2020, LIMUN's committee sessions moved to King's College's Strand Campus. LIMUN has its opening ceremony and registration elsewhere, which since its 2013 edition has been at Central Hall Westminster,[4] where the first-ever session of the United Nations General Assembly was held in 1946.[7] In previous years, registration and the opening ceremony most often took place at the Institute of Education, and committee-sessions at King's College London (Waterloo Campus),[8][9][10][11] but University College London,[3] the London School of Economics,[2] Imperial College London, Central Hall Westminster and Canada House have been used occasionally before as well.[12] Closing ceremony venues have included Shaftesbury Theatre, the Royal African Society, and the Southbank Centre.

Bush House, King's College

Central Hall Westminster, where the first session of the United Nations General Assembly was held in 1946, is a conference centre in Central London, built between 1905 and 1911 as a Methodist Church but also as "a meeting place for all people, regardless of religious persuasion… for conferences on religious, educational, scientific, philanthropic and social questions".[7] As such, the Hall has housed meetings of historical significance: there, British Suffragettes campaigned for women's rights in 1914, General Charles de Gaulle founded the Free French Forces following the initial defeat of France, and Winston Churchill addressed the Conservative Party in 1945. There, also, during the first meeting of the UN General Assembly, the Security Council and International Court of Justice were founded, and Trygve Lie was elected the first Secretary-General. It continues serving as a centre for political conferences.

Bush House, part of King's College's Strand Campus, is a Grade II listed building at the southern end of Kingsway between Aldwych and the Strand in London. Conceived as a major new trade centre by American industrialist Irving T. Bush, design was approved in 1919, work began in 1925, and was completed in 1935. Erected in stages, by 1929 Bush House was already declared the "most expensive building in the world". It was formerly the BBC World Service's Headquarters, with the last broadcast from Bush House in July 2012.

Past speakers

In 2020:

  • Rory Stewart OBE, former UK Secretary of State for International Development and Deputy Governor for the Coalition Provisional Authority following the 2003 invasion of Iraq;
  • Michael Keating, Executive Director of the European Institute of Peace and a former UN Under-Secretary-General with decades of experience in the UN System.

In 2019:

  • Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, LIMUN Honorary President, former UK government minister and United Nations Deputy Secretary-General;
  • Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC, British Labour Party politician and former Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland.

In 2018:

  • Sir Stephen O'Brien, Under Secretary-General for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs;
  • Dr. Srgjan Kerim, 62nd President of the UN General Assembly.

In 2017:

  • Danilo Türk, former Slovenian President and United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs;
  • Mogens Lykketoft, former President of the United Nations General Assembly and Member of the Danish Parliament;
  • Kate Gilmore, Deputy High Commissioner of Human Rights of the United Nations.

In 2016:

  • Ahmad Alhendawi, the first Youth Envoy to the UN Secretary-General and the youngest Secretary-General of the World Organization of the Scout Movement;
  • Karen Pierce, Chief Operating Officer of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

In 2015:[13]

  • Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, former UN Deputy Secretary-General;
  • Mrs. Natalie Samarasinghe, Executive Director of the United Nations Association - UK.

In 2014:[14]

In 2013:[15]

Edward Mortimer speaking at the 2013 Opening Ceremony

In 2012:

In 2011:

In 2010:

In 2009:

In 2008:

  • David Nabarro, then Senior UN System Coordinator for Avian and Human Influenza.

In 2007:

In 2006:

21st Session of LIMUN

The 21st session of LIMUN took place from the 21st to the 23rd of February, 2020. The theme was Challenging the Dilemmas of Progress. Over 1300 participants gathered in London from over 100 different nations.

Venues

The opening ceremony venue was held in Central Hall Westminster, and sessions took place at the newly established Bush House, King's College London; the closing ceremony was held at Shaftesbury Theatre. The Friday night social was be held at Islington Metal Works, and the Saturday night social at the Grand Connaught Rooms.[17]

Committees

While standard committees remained in place, new committees were also added, including Bretton Woods 1944, Bretton Woods 2020, FIFA, the World Social Forum, and Korean Peninsula Negotiations. Other notable committees included the Bandung Conference, the UN Security Council, and Council of Marvel. Two foreign language committees were simulated: the Organisation of American States (Spanish), and UN Office on Drugs and Crime (French).[18]

Purpose

The purpose and benefits of a Model UN conference such as LIMUN can be generally classified into two strands: first, personal development (the skills gained or developed through participation, whether as delegate, chair, secretariat-member); second, the instilling of a cosmopolitan ethic in its participants.

In regards to the instilling of a cosmopolitan ethic, the most essential purpose of LIMUN and MUN is to spread cosmopolitan values across new generations, to address the problems that confront humanity. Model UN has an essential message to convey: all men, women and children, regardless of where they live or where they come from, are deserving of equal concern and respect; all human beings, anywhere and everywhere, form part of one single grand community, indivisible. Nations may be of importance for one's self-conception and identification, but are of no concern to moral deliberation – states even less so, which are considered naught but imaginary lines drawn arbitrarily. As such, each is a citizen of the world.[19]

Organisation

Trustees, secretariat and logistics staff

The London International Model United Nations annual conference is organised by the trustees, the secretariat, and the Logistics Staff.

As LIMUN is a registered charity, it must be run by a Board of Trustees which bears responsibility for the charity. These trustees are, in essence, the governors of LIMUN, who ensure that the organisation attains its goals and adheres to Charity Law.[20]

These trustees delegate the task of organising the conference to the Organising Committee, known as the Secretariat. The Secretariat is a group of students from world-leading institutions such as LSE, Imperial College London, Cambridge, Warwick and King's College, who give their time freely to organise the annual Model United Nations conference. Under the leadership of the Secretary-General, who supervises the Secretariat, they deal with tasks such as: advertising the conference and coordinating applications, managing the outreach programme, selecting Directors. The next Secretary-General is elected by the Board of Trustees and the previous Secretariat soon after the previous conference, and is then left to select the rest of the new Secretariat. Positions and roles may differ from year to year.

In addition to the trustees and the Secretariat, LIMUN recruits volunteers, called the Logistics Staff, who help with a great variety of tasks to ensure the smooth running of the conference, including: preparation of the conference venue, the social programme venue, and assisting directors with the operation of the committee sessions.[21]

LIMUN's Honorary President is Lord Mark Malloch Brown, former Deputy Secretary-General to Kofi Annan.

Committees, directors and delegates

At a MUN conference, the bulk of a participant's time is spent during committee sessions, which is when debate takes place. Committees, at LIMUN, are classified into three levels of difficulty: beginner, intermediate and advanced. Committees differ from year to year depending on the whims of the Secretariat and the number of attending delegates; yet, certain core ones are retained, such as the General Assembly committees (namely DISEC, ECOFIN, SOCHUM and SPECPOL), the Security Council, the Human Rights Council, some Crisis Committees, and the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Each of these committees is then headed by two or three chairpersons which together form the Dais. One serves as the director, and the others as assistant directors, whom are selected by the Under-Secretary-General for Chairs. The director is a highly experienced member of the Model UN community who have attended many conferences as delegate, but also has previous Dais experience; the assistant directors are also experienced as delegates, and have most likely served as chair before at other conferences.

These directors submit a number of potential topics of discussion to the Secretariat, who then reviews and selects two or three for debate during the conference. Once the topics are chosen, the Directors write a Study Guide/Research Report for each topic so that delegates may have an effective source from which to commence their research. Delegates are then asked to submit a Position Paper – a document that outlines the views of their state on each of the topics – to the committee Director.

In February, when the LIMUN conference takes place, directors and delegates of a specific committee convene to let debate take its course. The sizes of committees differ very much from, for instance, the 15 members of the Security Council to about 70 in DISEC, but the rules are broadly the same, except for special agencies like the ICJ. Delegates, who each represent a country, are the speakers of the committee and give course to debate: by collective vote they determine in what order of topics the agenda is set, what to discuss, when and for how long, and ultimately which proposed resolutions are to be accepted and which are not. Directors, for their part, regulate the debate by choosing which speakers to entertain and at times suggesting potential courses of action. They also review Working Papers (delegates’ very rough drafts of resolutions to be presented to the committee), Draft Resolutions (proposed resolutions) and Amendments (suggested modifications to draft resolutions) upon their submission. Below follows a general outline of a committee-sessions’ flow of debate:

Delegates voting in committee-session at LIMUN 2011.
  • Setting the agenda;
  • Entertaining delegates on the General Speaker's List;
  • Holding moderated and unmoderated caucuses on:
    • General ideas,
    • Working papers,
    • Draft resolutions,
    • Amendments on draft resolutions;
  • Adopting or rejecting draft resolutions.

Press

Each year, LIMUN also has a press team that roams around the committees, observing what occurs. Their work includes the production of interviews with keynote speakers, Secretariat members, delegates and chairs, the production of videos and photographs of the conference, and written pieces on the development of events both in committee sessions and the conference as a whole.[22] LIMUN has also received external press coverage, including from Vice.

Outreach

LIMUN is committed to extending knowledge of international affairs, and other benefits of practising Model United Nations, to all young people; hence the Charity includes an outreach programme, working with inner-London youth groups to extend access to those whom would not otherwise have the opportunity of experiencing MUN.[23] LIMUN works with several secondary school MUN programmes, assisting with workshops, conference management and development. During LIMUN's annual conference itself, LIMUN offers scholarships to secondary school students. In 2014, LIMUN offered two expenses-paid scholarships in collaboration with United Nations Association – UK, recipients of which won an essay competition laid on by LIMUN. These delegates not only represent intelligent, internationally minded youths, but also the cornerstone of a younger generation of LIMUN attendees. Their essays are published on the LIMUN website in record of their achievement and dedication to MUN.

In 2020, five delegates from LIMUN's High School Conference were given full scholarships to the University Conference by the Foundation. The High School Conference in 2019 also launched an initiative to subsidise tickets for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Meanwhile, LIMUN's Ambassador Scheme operates in a dozen countries worldwide, encouraging young people to get involved with cultural exchange, empathy and understanding whilst providing them with resources to help them learn more about the United Nations.

Additionally, each year, LIMUN welcomes a number of high school students from Pestalozzi International Village, a charitable organisation based in Surrey that provides education to bright youths of less economically developed countries. In addition to providing for a group of these students each year, LIMUN sends secretariat members to the school to run various MUN training workshops in preparation for their attendance at LIMUN.

Funding

The overwhelming majority of LIMUN's funds for the conference stem from the revenue acquired by delegate fees, but the charity also benefits from the generous support of sponsors. Most recently, these have included: Linklaters, Aviva, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, the French and Saudi Arabian embassies, UNA-UK, SOAS, the Hult International Business School and others.[24]

Sample schedule

The majority of a delegate's time at LIMUN is spent in committee-sessions, punctuated by pre-determined breaks, social events, and other such activities. A full schedule of the 2020 Conference can be found on the LIMUN website.[25] The three-day schedule at LIMUN generally follows the format below:[26]

  • Friday
    • Registration begins Friday morning in Central Hall Westminster, when head delegates register their delegations and are given materials for the conference.
    • The opening ceremony soon follows registration (or registration continues during and after it); the secretariat welcomes partakers, and keynote speakers address the assembly.
    • The first committee-session begins a few hours after the opening ceremony.
    • The first social event later concludes the day.
  • Saturday
    • Most of the day is spent during committee-session except for the few pre-determined breaks (and, potentially, some short extra breaks the chairs and delegates agree to) and lunch.
    • Head delegates are to meet with the secretariat after the last session of the day to provide feedback.
    • The main social event is held later. This is usually a formal affair with black-tie, and in recent years has been held at the glamorous Grand Connaught Rooms.
  • Sunday
    • Committee-sessions last for half the day, interrupted by lunch and occasional short breaks.
    • The closing ceremony takes place once sessions over – during which, inter alia, awards are issued – and the Secretary-General declares the conference over.
Delegates, chairs, secretariat-members and volunteers at a 2010 social.

List of Secretaries-General

Here follows a list of past University Conference Secretaries-General:[27]

SessionNameNationalitySchool
2000Michael RogersBritishKing's College
2001Tamara CavannaBritishUniversity College
2002Stephanie StavrinidesBritish/CypriotKing's College
2003Kathryn RogersBritishLondon School of Economics
2004Irina JanakievskaMacedonianLondon School of Economics
2005Rui HoChineseLondon School of Economics
2006Kirsten GislesenNorwegianKing's College
2007Jehan KarimCanadianImperial College
2008Jasper PandzaGermanKing's College
2009Rishi RaithathaBritishSchool of Oriental and African Studies
2010Alizeh KohariPakistaniLondon School of Economics
2011Isabella Torres-MalufBrazilianImperial College
2012Anmol AroraIndianImperial College
2013Anniete Cohn-LoisDominicanHult International Business School
2014Kacper PancewiczPolishQueen Mary
2015Wilf MountfieldBritishQueen Mary
2016Dalí ten HoveDutchKing's College
2017Afolabi AdekaiyaojaNigerianQueen Mary
2018Dijana SpasenoskaMacedonianImperial College
2019Charis Yeap Khai LeangMalaysianLondon School of Economics
2020Zeina DowidarEgyptianKing's College
2021Ben Santhouse-JamesBritishImperial College


Here follows a list of past High School Secretaries-General:[28]

SessionNameNationalitySchool
2016Tahmid ChowdhuryBangladeshiSheffield
2017George MullensBritishSchool of Oriental and African Studies
2018Alfie JenkinsBritishReading
2019Aditya RamaniIndianUniversity College
2020Nudhara YusufIndianUniversity College

LIMUN featured in the 2001 film Winning London, where an American MUN team comes to the UK to compete in the conference.

See also

References
  1. LIMUN's Linkedin page.
  2. Microsoft OneDrive login page.
  3. Lui, Rowena (17 February 2013). "Back to the Beginning…" Archived 8 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Edited by Dobriyana Tropankeva. LIMUN 14th session, 2013.
  4. "Our History" Archived 31 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine. London International Model United Nations.
  5. LIMUN 2013 Archived 31 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  6. "FCO Partnership Event" Archived 19 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine London International Model United Nations. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  7. "Background to the Building". Central Hall Westminster. Last modified 2013.
  8. LIMUN Secretariat. "LIMUN 2012 Annual Report" Archived 7 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Charity Commission for England and Wales.
  9. "LIMUN Archive 2008"
  10. "LIMUN Archive 2009".
  11. "LIMUN Archive 2010" Archived 1 March 2014 at Archive.today
  12. "LIMUN 2007 Delegate Handbook".
  13. 2015 Conference. LIMUN 16th session, 2015.
  14. 2014 Conference Archived 26 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. LIMUN 15th session, 2014.
  15. Ghalib, Fozan. Bestdelegate. "When you start in LIMUN, you fall in love with it". London International Model United Nations 2013 LIVEBLOG.
  16. "Guests & Speakers" Archived 31 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  17. "LIMUN". limun.org.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  18. "LIMUN". limun.org.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  19. Dalí ten Hove. "The purposes and benefits of Model United Nations and LIMUN".
  20. "Meet the Trustees".
  21. "Volunteering Opportunities" Archived 31 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  22. LIMUN Press 2012 Archived 11 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  23. "Outreach" Archived 31 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  24. "Support". LIMUN 2013.
  25. [limun.org.uk/logistics "LIMUN 2020 Schedule"] Check |url= value (help).
  26. LIMUN 2011 Secretariat. "Conference Schedule" Archived 24 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  27. Dalí ten Hove. "List of past Secretaries-General".
  28. Dalí ten Hove. "List of past Secretaries-General".
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