What is CMUNC?

The Cornell Model United Nations Conference (CMUNC) is an annual high school model UN conference hosted by the Cornell International Affairs Society (CIAS) at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. CIAS was established to promote a greater knowledge and understanding of global socioeconomic and political issues amongst its members and the wider Cornell community. The organization aspires to achieve its purpose by training for, and attending, model United Nations conferences within the collegiate circuit, by planning and hosting CMUNC, and by hosting regular meetings to discuss current events of international importance, as well as by promoting and attending additional international relations events on campus.

CMUNC encourages awareness about international issues through high-level discussion and debate in a wide array of historically, geographically, and topically diverse committees. Attracting delegates from across the United States, Canada, South Africa, China, and elsewhere around the globe, CMUNC has grown dramatically in size since its inception. Today the conference is proud to host over six hundred fifty students annually.

Center of Attention: Delegate Focus

At CMUNC, the delegate experience takes center stage. From the largest General Assembly committee to the smallest crisis simulation, from the most experienced of delegates to first-time MUNers, all delegates are sure to be challenged and engaged in each of our interactive simulations. With an annual delegate to staff ratio of just 7:1, CMUNC prides itself on providing a supportive simulative environment in which all delegates can learn, refine, and enhance their debating skills. Our staff desires, first and foremost, to see students grow as delegates who can cooperatively tackle pressing real world problems with efficiency and tact. To that end, dais members continually monitor and constructively critique the performance of each and every delegate throughout the course of the weekend and provide personal written evaluations detailing those observations upon the close of the conference.

An On-Campus Collegiate Setting

One of the most unique facets of CMUNC is that it is hosted on the Cornell University campus – it is not, as is the case with the great majority of model UN conferences across the world, confined to a hotel off campus. This true collegiate setting provides a phenomenal opportunity for students to explore a world-class Ivy League research university in the conference-sponsored admissions sessions or campus tours offered during the weekend. Furthermore, it affords delegates the chance to interact with professors at the top of their respective disciplines, who, where appropriate, engage delegates in presentations of their committee-relevant research during the weekend’s sessions.

A Dynamic, Dedicated Staff

The 80+ members of the CMUNC staff hail from across the US and the world and pursue degrees in all seven of Cornell’s undergraduate colleges, from Arts and Sciences and Engineering to Industrial and Labor Relations and Hotel Administration. The staff works tirelessly throughout the academic year to ensure that delegates have a memorable conference experience. During the weekend of the conference, all members of the staff are readily approachable to both advisors and delegates and invite questions, concerns, and comments about all aspects of the CMUNC, model UN, or Cornell experiences.