Model UN Conferences: A Directory by Region

Roughly 400 conferences run worldwide each year, involving about 400,000 students across some 35 countries. This directory lists the established, recurring conferences for school-age delegates in each major region, so it is selective rather than exhaustive: circuits also include dozens of smaller one-day events hosted by individual schools.

University-hosted conferences like Harvard MUN or Berkeley MUN are run by college students for high school delegates, usually over three to four days at a hotel or campus, with large committees and competitive awards. School-hosted conferences are organized by a high school for nearby schools, tend to be one or two days, and are usually the best entry point for first-time delegates.

THIMUN is The Hague International Model United Nations, the largest school-level conference in the world. Conferences affiliated with THIMUN, common in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, use its consensus-focused procedure: resolutions are merged through lobbying before debate and there are typically no delegate awards. North American conferences mostly use UNA-USA-style parliamentary procedure with competitive awards instead.

Start local and small: a one-day or two-day conference within driving distance, with a beginner or novice committee if one exists. Size matters more than prestige for a first outing, since a 20-person committee gives a new delegate far more speaking time than a 300-person General Assembly at a flagship conference.

In North America the circuit runs through the school year with peaks from November to April. THIMUN-affiliated conferences cluster in January, and many international conferences in the Gulf and Asia run between November and March. Registration usually opens two to five months ahead, and popular conferences fill early.