My name is Jason and I am a professor of US history and an advisor to the Model United Nations faculty at my school. After attending the Model United Nations National Secondary Schools for over 6 years, I am really thinking about considering other options. NHSMUN 2018 was a completely different story compared to previous editions: the numbers were cut in half, the GA was half empty, and the logistics were terrible. My students and I had to wait over two hours to enter the UN and we were queuing from 6:30 AM! I understand that there are security regulations that must be adhered to when entering UN headquarters, but it could have been managed in a better way.

In the end, we spent more time waiting outside than inside GA Hall. Furthermore, they claim to be the “largest Model United Nations Conference in the world, with hundreds of schools and thousands of delegates from around the world,” when clearly the conference that took place at the same time on Saturday had twice as many delegates, and I had the UN committee for the whole day instead of 30 minutes, the time my students and I spent. As for internationality, the conference had basically all Americans with some Italians who couldn’t even speak English and were slowing down the work on the committees.

Now let’s talk about the fees. Although I understand that there are tremendous costs behind these types of conferences, by doing a little research you will discover that there are conferences here that charge a very small fee like $ 30 like GCMUN, or offer more than 1500 scholarships, including financial aid for housing like FWWMUN. .

Not to mention the absurd and disproportionate accommodation rates offered by IMUNA ($ 379 plus tax when the same room is available on Booking.com at $ 250 tax included) and the senseless penalty if you choose to stay at a different hotel, without allow participants to choose a cheaper option. IMUNA pretends to be a non-profit organization, but it seems clear that dear Max and Hannah Ross are becoming millionaires on our shoulders.

All in all, NHSMUN-IMUNA does not reflect the values ​​they advertise, they seek profit and there are better and more affordable options in New York City that I highly recommend you consider and explore. Keep doing MUN and see you at the next conference around the world!