VIHSMUN2027Registration

Prepare to Take the Floor

Start here if this is your first conference, then build a research file, position, and drafting toolkit for your committee.

Delegate Preparation · Working Edition

These general preparation notes are available now. Official VIHSMUN rules, deadlines, submission instructions, policies, and awards criteria are still forthcoming and will replace the interim guidance where applicable.

Beginner MUN Guide

Your First Conference, in Five Moves

  1. 01

    Know Your Room

    Read your committee brief, identify the problem being debated, and note what your country or portfolio can realistically support.

  2. 02

    Build a Source Trail

    Keep a running list of reliable sources beside your notes so every statistic, quotation, and policy claim can be checked later.

  3. 03

    Prepare a Position

    Write down your main priorities, two workable proposals, likely partners, and one compromise you could accept.

  4. 04

    Practise Out Loud

    Prepare a short opening statement, then practise explaining the same idea without reading from a script.

  5. 05

    Arrive Ready to Adapt

    Bring your research, listen closely, and expect your plan to change as other delegates and crisis updates reshape the room.

Regular and Crisis Procedure

Know the Shape of the Room

Preparation overview: the official VIHSMUN Rules of Procedure are forthcoming. The flows below describe common Model UN practice, not the final motion order, voting thresholds, speaking times, or crisis mechanics for VIHSMUN 2027.

Typical Regular Committee Flow

Debate → Draft → Decide

  1. Roll call establishes who is present and how each delegation will vote.
  2. Formal debate and caucuses give delegates different ways to speak, negotiate, and develop proposals.
  3. Working papers gather ideas before the room considers a more formal draft resolution.
  4. Amendments and voting help the committee decide which proposals it will adopt.

Typical Crisis Committee Flow

Assess → Act → Adapt

  1. Delegates respond to a changing scenario from the perspective of an assigned person or portfolio.
  2. Committee action is usually expressed through directives, while individual action may use private notes where the dais permits them.
  3. Updates change the facts of the room, so delegates must reassess priorities and coordinate quickly.
  4. Clear plans identify an objective, responsible actors, resources, timing, and a way to measure success.

Position-Paper Guide

Turn Research Into a Position

Official DeadlineTo Be Announced
Submission RouteForthcoming

Do not send a paper to a role email unless VIHSMUN publishes that instruction. Length, file format, citation style, and any connection to awards are also awaiting confirmation.

A Strong Draft Usually Does Four Things

  1. Defines the issue. Explain the problem with current, sourced evidence.
  2. Shows relevant action. Identify important agreements, institutions, or earlier attempts.
  3. Represents the portfolio. Connect policy to national interests, powers, and constraints.
  4. Offers workable solutions. Propose who acts, how it is funded or enforced, and what success means.

Plain-Text Practice Template

Select and copy
Committee:
Country or portfolio:
Topic:
Delegate:
School:

POSITION SUMMARY
[State the central problem and your country or portfolio's overall position.]

BACKGROUND AND RELEVANT ACTION
[Summarize the most important history, agreements, and actions already taken.]

NATIONAL OR PORTFOLIO POSITION
[Explain priorities, constraints, allies, and policies you cannot support.]

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS
[Present two or three specific, realistic actions the committee could take.]

SOURCES CONSULTED
- Author or organization, title, date, link
- Author or organization, title, date, link

Resolution and Directive Examples

Make an Idea Operable

Fictional practice material: these excerpts demonstrate useful questions to answer. They are not official VIHSMUN templates, required clause forms, or evidence of what a dais will accept.

Regular Committee

Practice Resolution Excerpt

The Committee,

Recognizing the value of preserving endangered languages,
Acknowledging that local communities should lead preservation efforts,

1. Encourages participating states to fund community-led language archives;
2. Invites schools to develop voluntary programmes with local language keepers;
3. Requests a public progress report after two years.

Crisis Committee

Practice Directive Skeleton

TITLE: Harbour Lantern
SPONSORS: [portfolios supporting the plan]

OBJECTIVE
Restore emergency communications to the affected district.

ACTIONS
1. Deploy two repair teams with local guides.
2. Establish a temporary radio relay at the civic centre.

RESOURCES & RESPONSIBILITY
[Who provides people, equipment, authority, and funding?]

TIMELINE & CONTINGENCY
[When does each action happen, and what changes if it fails?]

Background Guides

Begin With Your Committee Brief

The current programme briefs are the available starting point. Dedicated background-guide files and their publication dates are forthcoming; check this page again before finalizing your research.

GA

General Assemblies

IA

Intermediate Agencies

RC

Regional Councils

Crisis

Crisis Committees

Committee Email Contacts

Send the Question to the Right Room

Regular Committees and Programme QuestionsCommittees@vihsmun.caCrisis Committee QuestionsCrisis@vihsmun.ca

Include your full name, school, committee, and assigned country or portfolio when relevant. Do not use these addresses as a submission route until one is officially announced.

Research and Citation

Make Every Claim Traceable

Interim preparation standard: an official VIHSMUN research and citation policy is forthcoming. Use the practices below unless a later committee guide gives more specific instructions.

  1. 01

    Start with primary material where possible: government, intergovernmental, legal, statistical, and institutional sources.

  2. 02

    Record the author or organization, title, publication date, link, and access date while you research.

  3. 03

    Separate verified facts from interpretation, advocacy, and your own proposed policy.

  4. 04

    Check consequential claims against more than one credible source and watch for outdated data or changed policy.

  5. 05

    Use one clear citation style consistently unless your committee guide later requires another format.

Technology and AI

Use Tools Without Outsourcing Judgment

Official Policy Forthcoming

VIHSMUN has not yet published final rules for devices, online research during committee, generative AI, or disclosure in submitted work.

Safe Preparation in the Meantime

  • Use technology to organize research and test your understanding, not to replace it.
  • Verify every generated summary, quotation, citation, and factual claim against the original source.
  • Keep your notes and source trail so you can explain how you reached a position.
  • Write the final argument in your own voice and never present generated material as firsthand research.
  • Follow the published conference policy once it appears, even if it is stricter than this interim advice.

Awards Criteria

Prepare for the Work, Not a Guess at the Rubric

Official award categories, eligibility rules, and evaluation criteria are forthcoming.

The qualities below are broad preparation goals, not a VIHSMUN scoring sheet or promise that any one behaviour will result in recognition.

Research
Accurate knowledge of the topic, portfolio, and relevant policy.
Representation
A position that stays grounded in the assigned country or character.
Diplomacy
Listening, coalition-building, negotiation, and useful compromise.
Contribution
Speeches and writing that move the committee toward concrete work.
Collaboration
Respectful participation that creates room for other delegates to contribute.
Integrity
Original work, honest sourcing, and conduct consistent with the conference community.

Ready to choose a room?

Explore the Committee Programme