Project Goal: Model United Nations Conferences (MUNs) are a common tradition occurring globally that have made an impact on the youth wishing to participate in discussing global matters. We believe that such events are hosts to many promising youngsters. It is our purpose to foster a community that respects human rights, peace and security, and sustainable development in Albania.  We aim to turn MUNs into a tradition and put Albania on the map of International MUNs.

Project Description: Model United Nations (MUN) conferences have marked their place as a preferred extracurricular activity by students worldwide. In the absence of such a project in Albania, UNAA introduced this experience to our country in 2017, organizing the first MiniModel UN, a smaller scale simulation attended by thirty participants. Since then, UNAA and UNYAA have organized five Model United Nations conferences. They have outgrown the first conference with the largest editions taking place in December 2019 and September 2021. MUN Albania 2021 welcomed approximately 70 participants from Albania, Hungary, Italy, Azerbaijan, Germany, Croatia, and Ukraine, and it was one of the few on-site, international conferences in the world, amidst the pandemic-related restrictions.

Although the interest, enthusiasm, and feedback have been extremely positive, at the above-mentioned conferences, at first, our team observed a lack of specific skills of the Albanian participants when compared to their international peers where these conferences occur more often. They showed a level of reluctance to take the floor and entertain speeches coupled with a fear of public speaking. Many were new to the concepts of lobbying and advocating for an idea/policy and unfamiliar with a country’s policies and setting strategic goals.  For this reason, we upgraded to the Model United Nations Albania Initiative (“MUN Initiative”). MUN Initiative is now a quartet of events including simulations, conferences, and workshops in which young people can learn more about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. The initiative promotes a culture of dialogue, multilateralism, and international cooperation, in dealing with fundamental issues and recent global developments. The activities that make up this framework are designed using a scale-up, complementary approach.

• • MUN Albania: Model United Nations Conference (MUN Albania) is an educational emulation of the United Nations’ entities, in which, participants walk into a diplomat’s shoes, discussing one of the most salient issues faced by the international community and offering different solutions by adopting a resolution. Through simulation, they are interested in the views of different countries on the topic and plan negotiation strategies based on the interests of the country they represent.
  • Simulation Game: Simulation Game has been conceived as an integral and complementary part of the MUN Initiative. It is essentially a smaller-scale MUN conference, and its thematic discussions are related to the Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development and its implementation.

• MUN Lab (short for Model UN Laboratory): MUN Lab is a workshop where youngsters learn in an interactive setting about what it takes to be a MUN participant, how to prepare for such conferences and how to improve a specific set of skills needed for satisfactory performance at a MUN Conference.
• Mock Debates: The latest addition to the MUN Albania Initiative, Mock Debates are established in the context of capacity-building within and outside the organization and its youth chapter. They are implemented internally or for a wider audience, in collaboration with other organizations and/or institutions.