Paula Demassi and Fernanda Guecaimburu

You might not know what South American Model United Nations (SAMUN) is. It is a model that simulates the activities of the United Nations in the Security Council, the General Assembly, and its committees. Participating as delegates, students play the roles of representatives of member states or of official observers. Representatives consider issues challenging the countries of the world. By participating in the Model United Nations, students gain great understanding of global issues and of the complexities of the international system.

SAMUN is a non-profit event for secondary school students. Every participating student is assigned a country. Each country is represented by four students-delegates in all committees except for the Security Council committee, a committee that requires five students. Each delegate represents the interests of their country in front of the General Assembly and in interaction with delegates from other countries. This interaction occurs over four days and involves negotiation, discussion, and debate. By way of this interaction, the delegates try to come up with solutions to various prescribed issues presented in various committees. Resolutions coming out of the committees are presented to the Approval Panel where they are either accepted or rejected. Accepted resolutions are then debated either in the Security Council or in the other four committees: Disarmament, Human Rights, Environment, and Economic and Social (ECOSOC) Committees. Some of the resolutions are even passed on to the General Assembly where the other four committees have a chance to either support them or reject them.

The International Court of Justice is an integral part of SAMUN, and cases are presented, argued, and decided upon by the ICJ judges. Security Council and ICJ decisions are presented to the General Assembly.

The conference provides an excellent opportunity for delegates to develop their English as they debate, negotiate, and/or socialize in a formal environment with other young people from around the world. They gain a better understanding of actual conflicts between nations, and they develop a spirit of international cooperation. Not only do the delegates get a chance to express their ideas for possible solutions to world crises, they also get an oppurtunity to communicate, share, deal, and interact with students from across the South American/Caribbean region and beyond.

A full range of activities is planned for the four days of the conference, activites which include an opening ceremony with local ambassadors who later participate in debate and small-group discussions in the Ambassadors' Roundtable.

SAMUN provides an excellent opportunity to expand one's Model United Nations interests and skills. Not only does it provide a training ground for future MUN leadership, SAMUN also builds confidence, expertise, and enthusiasm so necessary for students to engage successfully in The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN), a program to which our more outstanding SAMUN delegates and officers aspire.

The 18th Annual South American Model United Nations takes place this year from Saturday, November 10, 2007 to Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at the Colegio Internacional de Caracas in Venezuela and the CorpGroup Foundation Conference Center in Caracas. Approximately three hundred students and directors from twenty-thirty international schools in Latin America and the Caribbean are attending the conference. In terms of origin, the student delegates hail from nearly forty different countries representing most regions of the world. SAMUN is an officially-affiliated program of The Hague International Model U.N..