How to prepare for a Model G20 or Model UN conference
What should you prepare before walking into a Model G20 or Model UN conference? The work starts with understanding the country you represent and the issue under discussion. Next come a position paper, proposals for other delegations, and statements explaining what you want the committee to do. The United Nations' delegate guides connect these tasks: research informs a position, and negotiation turns positions into possible agreement.
Begin with the forum and its rules
Start by understanding the different institutions behind Model G20 and Model UN. South Africa's G20 presidency review describes the G20 as a forum for international economic cooperation, organised as an informal, leader-led group that makes decisions by consensus. This makes finding acceptable joint wording important, though negotiations can still fail. Student simulations may adapt real G20 procedures.
Read the rules supplied by your conference. The UN itself points out differences between actual General Assembly practice and some MUN conventions: at the UN, speakers do not yield their remaining time to another speaker, for instance. Check how your conference handles speaking and amendments, even if you have attended another. Use the institution's materials to understand its work and the conference guide for the rules you will follow.
Find evidence for the country's position
The UN's preparation guidance identifies four research categories: the topic, your assigned country's background and culture, its policies on the topics being debated, and the policies of other countries in the room. It points to permanent missions and foreign ministries as sources of government positions. Find out what the country supports and why, and keep track of your sources.
For UN issues, the Dag Hammarskjöld Library points researchers towards meeting statements, letters, diplomatic notes and sponsorship of draft resolutions. The UN Digital Library also provides voting data for adopted General Assembly and Security Council resolutions. Read each vote alongside the proposal it concerned. A country's response to related questions may differ.
There may be gaps. The library warns that governments do not state explicit positions on every topic. If you cannot find a statement, that absence does not by itself show support or opposition. Distinguish documented policy from your own proposals for the simulation. Research other delegations too: the UN recommends this to identify possible agreement, opposition and compromise before negotiations begin.
Make the position paper useful
The UN's position-paper guidance begins with a clear statement of the country's position, followed by a concise account of policy, supporting official material and recommendations for committee action. It ends by restating the position. The paper should help readers understand the policy you represent and the action you seek. National history alone will not explain these.
Dartmouth's published DartMUN XVII guide offers a similar structure. It asks for a brief explanation of the issue, gives most attention to national policy and analysis, and then asks delegates to propose solutions consistent with their delegation's views. This is one conference's format; check what your own event requires.
Read the submission instructions before finalising the paper. Dartmouth requires a bibliography and footnotes for source-specific information, and tells delegates to check committee background guides for possible changes. The UN asks for scholarly citations for statistics, quotations and other sourced information. No single paper length applies to every conference. Follow your conference's requirements and make your sources easy to identify.
Negotiate around objectives and concerns
The UN's negotiation guidance favours cooperative problem-solving: seek an agreement that addresses other delegations' objectives as far as they are compatible with your own. Understand what others need from the discussion while keeping your country's objectives in view.
The UN also identifies knowledge of the issues and other delegations, hard work, flexibility and proposals attractive to others as sources of negotiating influence. A delegation's effectiveness depends on more than its country's power. Learn about other positions so you can understand objections and consider changes that could make your proposal acceptable.
Turn the discussion into draft wording. The UN describes several ways to get an objective into the text: submit wording, encourage another delegation's proposal, seek revisions, merge proposals or offer amendments. To get an idea into the document, work on the wording as well as arguing for it.
Draft language that states the action
In a UN resolution, preambular paragraphs explain the basis for action, including relevant principles, earlier decisions and the context. Operative paragraphs state what the conference decides to do. The UN's drafting guide recommends precise, clear and brief wording. Clarity helps implementation and gives a decision greater political impact.
Use that distinction when reviewing a resolution: does the text only explain the problem, or does it also specify the proposed action? A G20 communiqué need not copy UN resolution formatting. Use the format that suits the document and conference. Keep the proposed action clear.
Expect wording to be reconsidered. The UN describes reviewing drafts line by line to identify agreement and requested changes. The text may go through several reviews. Drafting includes listening to objections and revising wording, as well as making the initial proposal.
Give each speech a purpose
Before speaking, the UN guide asks delegates to identify what the statement should achieve and what it should avoid. It recommends preparing exact wording or key phrases, building the argument step by step and framing proposals around a common goal. Your prepared statement should help the discussion as it develops.
Carthage College's conference training guidance suggests connecting an opening speech to the country's position and reasons, the issue's background, previous action, possible resolution goals and room for negotiation. Adapt this guidance to the time available and your committee's instructions, adjusting your script for each event.
Practise the delivery, as Carthage recommends. Its guidance allows for using a position paper, key points or speaking without notes. The UN recommends eye contact, deliberate pauses and a measured pace, since some listeners may be working in a language they do not speak natively. If the statement is too long, shorten it rather than rush through words the audience cannot follow.
What to prepare in practice
Bring the tasks together: establish the country's documented position, write a concise paper with supported proposals, understand other delegations' concerns and prepare to discuss specific wording. Rehearse statements that explain the purpose of those proposals. Keep checking the conference guide for its submission and committee rules as you prepare.
One Young India's Model G20 Summit is a three-day residential programme at FLAME University in Pune. Its programme page says delegates receive a research pack and track brief before the summit and prepare a position paper.