The original MUN delegates at Oxford University in 1921 could scarcely have conceived of an OxfordMUN conference taking place virtually almost a hundred years later. So, as Model United Nations looks towards a future of increased digitisation and global outreach, now is the perfect time to look back at the rich history that shaped the MUN we know and love today.
The first recorded MUN conference took place here at the University of Oxford in 1921. However, at this point in time, students were modelling League of Nations committees, as the United Nations was not to be founded until 1945. MUN conferences were therefore referred to as 'International Assemblies'. However, the protocol of these conferences was largely similar to today.
MUN travelled across the Atlantic Ocean at the same time as Mir Mahmood, President of the first Oxford International Assembly, travelled to Harvard in 1922. In response to his visit, the Harvard Liberal Club created the first American International Assembly in 1923, launching Model UN in the USA.
After the end of the Second World War, the International Assemblies were to be replaced by Model United Nations conferences. The first known conference to model UN procedure took place at Swathmore College in 1947, which featured debates concerning nuclear weaponry, refugees and post-war reconstruction: topics that we still see featured at conferences today.
In the second half of the 20th Century, the popularity of High School MUN increased dramatically, as more and more conferences began to take shape all around the world. This increase in popularity is most commonly attributed to the founding of THIMUN in 1968. The Hague International Model United Nations is, to this day, one of the largest MUN conferences in the world.
In 1999, the founding of the UNA-USA Global Classrooms program led to an increased focus on accessibility in Model UN. The program funded over ten thousand students from low-income backgrounds to go to MUN conferences for free across five continents. This program led to the democratisation of MUN, allowing students from all walks of life to reap the benefits of participating in conferences.
Until recently, the UN has remained largely uninvolved in the organisation of MUN conferences around the world. However, in 2009, the UN launched the UN4MUN initiative, making MUN resources more accessible and allowing conferences to more closely replicate the true procedures of the United Nations.
We hope that you enjoyed this brief history of Model United Nations. Here at OxfordMUN, we can't wait to see what the next 100 years have in store!