Where is Católica Medical School Model WHO held?

The conference is hosted in Lisbon, Portugal, at a medical school venue, which shapes the agenda toward global health policy rather than general diplomacy.

Who is eligible to participate?

The conference is pitched at the college level, meaning university students are the intended delegate pool.

What is the registration structure?

Registration uses a single flat fee that applies equally to individual delegates and to delegation entries, denominated in euros.

How large is the conference?

It is a compact gathering by Model UN standards, with a modest expected delegate cohort that favours substantive debate over scale.

Why simulate the WHO rather than the General Assembly?

A Model WHO held inside a medical school in Lisbon trains delegates in technical health diplomacy - epidemiology, regulation, financing - rather than the generalist debate typical of larger Model UN committees.

Part of the Católica Medical School Model WHO series

Católica Medical School Model WHO

Name: Católica Medical School Model WHO
Start: 2026-06-26T00:00:00Z
End: 2026-06-28T00:00:00Z
Location: Lisbon

Lisbon, Portugal · college

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Dates: Jun 26–2026 (day: 28)
Fee: €80
Reg deadline: TBD
Delegates: 100
Language: English
Format: In-person

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Summary

Católica Medical School Model WHO convenes university delegates in Lisbon for a focused simulation of the World Health Organization's deliberative bodies. Hosted by a medical school, the conference puts global health governance - rather than general diplomacy - at the centre of the agenda, asking participants to negotiate as health ministries rather than as generalist foreign-policy desks. The format is compact and college-level, with a modest delegate cohort and a single registration tier covering both individual and delegation entries. That structure favours substantive debate over scale, and signals a conference designed for students who want to engage seriously with public health policy in a European capital.

Why this edition matters in 2026

Model WHO conferences sit at an unusual intersection of Model UN and policy training. Unlike General Assembly simulations, they require delegates to translate epidemiology, supply chains, and regulatory frameworks into resolution language - skills that map directly onto how real health diplomacy operates in Geneva and in regional WHO offices. Hosting this simulation inside a medical school in Lisbon reinforces that orientation. Portugal has been an active voice in European health coordination, and the city offers a credible setting for debates that touch on pandemic preparedness, access to medicines, and the architecture of global health financing. For the broader Model UN circuit, conferences like this matter because they pull the community toward specialised tracks. Delegates who train at a Model WHO learn to read technical briefs, weigh evidence, and negotiate with scientific advisers in the room - a different muscle from the great-power posturing that dominates Security Council simulations.

How to prepare

Preparation should start with the WHO's own institutional logic. Delegates need to understand the difference between the World Health Assembly, the Executive Board, and technical committees, and to know which instruments - resolutions, frameworks, regulations like the IHR - actually bind member states and which are advisory. From there, the work is country-specific. Each delegation should map its assigned state's health system, its standing contributions to WHO, its position on contested files such as pandemic treaty negotiations or intellectual property waivers, and its alignment within regional blocs. A Lisbon-based conference is likely to reward delegates who can speak credibly to European and Lusophone health diplomacy in particular. Finally, because the host is a medical school, expect committee chairs to push back on vague public-health rhetoric. Delegates who arrive with concrete numbers on disease burden, vaccination coverage, and health workforce gaps will hold the floor more effectively than those who rely on generic talking points. A disciplined prep cycle - institutional knowledge, country file, technical depth - is what separates a competitive Model WHO delegation from one that drifts into generalist debate.

Eligibility deep-dive

Level: college
Age: —
Team size: —
Country quota: Open

Schedule & deadlines

Conference
Jun 26, 2026 – Jun 28, 2026

Frequently asked questions

Where is Católica Medical School Model WHO held?
The conference is hosted in Lisbon, Portugal, at a medical school venue, which shapes the agenda toward global health policy rather than general diplomacy.
Who is eligible to participate?
The conference is pitched at the college level, meaning university students are the intended delegate pool.
What is the registration structure?
Registration uses a single flat fee that applies equally to individual delegates and to delegation entries, denominated in euros.
How large is the conference?
It is a compact gathering by Model UN standards, with a modest expected delegate cohort that favours substantive debate over scale.
Why simulate the WHO rather than the General Assembly?
A Model WHO held inside a medical school in Lisbon trains delegates in technical health diplomacy - epidemiology, regulation, financing - rather than the generalist debate typical of larger Model UN committees.

Last verified May 27, 2026 · Source: mymun.com

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