Ivy League Model United Nations Conference
ILMUNC · International Affairs Association at the University of Pennsylvania · Philadelphia
Ivy League Model United Nations Conference (ILMUNC) is the high-school MUN conference run by the International Affairs Association (IAA) at the University of Pennsylvania. Held each winter in Philadelphia, ILMUNC is best known for the depth of its crisis-committee program — the conference's specialized and historical-crisis committees are widely considered among the most challenging on the U.S. high-school circuit.
History
ILMUNC has been hosted by the IAA at Penn for decades and is part of a broader cluster of Penn IAA conferences that includes a separate college-level conference (ILMUNC America) and an international edition (ILMUNC China). The high-school flagship is the most established of the three.
The conference's branding and marketing have evolved several times, but the core product — a large East Coast high-school conference with a distinctive crisis emphasis — has been consistent.
Format and committees
ILMUNC runs a standard mix of GA, ECOSOC, and specialized agencies, but the conference is most strongly associated with its crisis program. Historical crises (Cold War summits, ancient empires, fictional scenarios) and specialized-agency crises (cabinets, regional bodies) form a large share of the committee slate.
Crisis committees at ILMUNC tend to move quickly, with frequent crisis updates, directives, and a heavy reliance on out-of-committee notes and joint personal directives.
Who attends
The delegation base skews heavily mid-Atlantic and Northeastern, with strong representation from competitive travel teams in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. International attendance is meaningful but smaller than at HMUN or NHSMUN.
ILMUNC is a common stop on competitive U.S. circuits and is often paired with HMUN in the same season.
What makes it distinct
If you want to develop crisis skills — fast directive writing, backroom diplomacy, character play — ILMUNC is one of the best high-school venues in the U.S. to do it. The chairs are typically Penn undergraduates with serious crisis experience themselves, and the dais expectations are correspondingly high.
For delegates more focused on substantive GA work, ILMUNC is solid but not differentiating. Conferences like NHSMUN may be a better fit.
How to prepare
- If assigned to a crisis committee, study your character's actual historical record in detail — chairs reward in-character creativity over generic policy proposals.
- Practice directive writing before the conference — first directives, joint personal directives, public communiqués all have distinct conventions.
- Move fast in moderated caucuses; ILMUNC chairs cut speakers who run long.
Dates, registration, fees, committees, and background guides for the current edition live on the conference's own site. We don't mirror them — they change.
Prep with Atlas
Research your country, draft your position paper, and prep for committee.
Ask Atlas about ILMUNC