Who is eligible to participate in Global Model FAO?

The conference is pitched at the high-school level, so secondary-school students are the intended delegate pool.

Where exactly does the conference take place?

It is held at FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy, which is one of the more unusual venue choices on the high-school circuit and a meaningful part of the educational experience.

What kind of committees should delegates expect?

Because the simulation is hosted at FAO Headquarters and badged by the agency itself, committees will focus on the FAO's mandate - food security, agriculture, nutrition, and rural development - rather than the generalist agenda of a typical Model UN.

How should delegates prepare differently from a general Model UN?

Delegates should ground themselves in FAO publications and the agency's working vocabulary; the high-school level keeps the format accessible, but the venue and co-organizers raise expectations on substantive accuracy.

Part of the Global Model FAO series

Global Model FAO

Name: Global Model FAO
Start: 2026-11-24T00:00:00Z
End: 2026-11-27T00:00:00Z
Location: Rome

Rome, Italy · high-school

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Dates: Nov 24–2026 (day: 27)
Fee: TBD
Reg deadline: TBD
Delegates: 350
Language: English
Format: In-person

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Summary

Global Model FAO convenes in Rome for a high-school-level simulation jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Federation of United Nations Associations. The conference is hosted at FAO Headquarters itself, placing delegates inside the working environment of the agency whose mandate they will be simulating.

Why this edition matters in 2026

Hosting a Model FAO at FAO Headquarters in Rome is more than a symbolic gesture. It situates a high-school audience inside the institutional culture of agricultural diplomacy, where food security, nutrition standards, and rural livelihoods are negotiated by member states. For delegates accustomed to generalist Model UN circuits, this is a chance to specialize - to spend a sustained block of days inside the language of an FAO that ordinarily appears only as a referenced agency in broader simulations. The joint sponsorship by the FAO and WFUNA also matters. WFUNA brings the global network of United Nations Associations and a long history of educational programming, while the FAO contributes domain authority and institutional access. A conference at this level of co-sponsorship is rare for the high-school tier, and it suggests that delegates will encounter committee work shaped by people who actually staff or work alongside the agency. For the broader circuit, a Rome-based, agency-specific simulation pushes the conversation beyond Security Council and General Assembly defaults. Food systems, supply chains, climate-driven agricultural shocks, and rural development are increasingly central to the diplomatic agenda, and a venue that takes them seriously fills a real gap in how young delegates learn to think about multilateralism.

Key topics & committees

food security
The central preoccupation of the FAO and the natural anchor for any simulation hosted in its building - delegates should be ready to debate it as a measurable policy condition, not a slogan.
Glossary entry →
agricultural development
How the FAO advises member states on raising productivity, supporting smallholders, and adapting to climate stress - the day-to-day substance of the agency's mandate.
Glossary entry →
multilateral cooperation
A Model FAO co-organized by the agency and WFUNA is itself an exercise in multilateral pedagogy, and delegates should treat the format as part of the lesson.
Glossary entry →

How to prepare

Preparation for Global Model FAO should differ from preparation for a generalist conference. Because the simulation runs inside FAO Headquarters and carries the agency's own imprimatur, delegates should expect committee directors and observers who care about technical accuracy: the difference between food security and food sovereignty, the distinction between Codex Alimentarius standards and national regulations, the mechanics of how the FAO actually advises member states rather than dictates to them. A high-school-level format means the bar is calibrated for ambitious secondary students rather than graduate researchers, but the agency context raises the stakes on substance. Strong delegates will read recent FAO flagship publications - the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, the State of Food and Agriculture - and arrive understanding how the FAO frames its own work. Position papers that draw directly on FAO documentation will land better than those that import generic Model UN talking points. Delegates should also prepare for the diplomatic texture of Rome itself. The city hosts a cluster of food-related UN agencies, and the institutional neighbourhood shapes how the FAO operates. Understanding the division of labour among the Rome-based agencies, and how member states use that ecosystem, will help delegates speak with the kind of specificity that the venue invites.

Eligibility deep-dive

Level: high-school
Age: —
Team size: —
Country quota: Open

Schedule & deadlines

Conference
Nov 24, 2026 – Nov 27, 2026

Frequently asked questions

Who is eligible to participate in Global Model FAO?
The conference is pitched at the high-school level, so secondary-school students are the intended delegate pool.
Where exactly does the conference take place?
It is held at FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy, which is one of the more unusual venue choices on the high-school circuit and a meaningful part of the educational experience.
Who organizes the conference?
Global Model FAO is jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Federation of United Nations Associations, pairing agency authority with WFUNA's educational network.
What kind of committees should delegates expect?
Because the simulation is hosted at FAO Headquarters and badged by the agency itself, committees will focus on the FAO's mandate - food security, agriculture, nutrition, and rural development - rather than the generalist agenda of a typical Model UN.
How should delegates prepare differently from a general Model UN?
Delegates should ground themselves in FAO publications and the agency's working vocabulary; the high-school level keeps the format accessible, but the venue and co-organizers raise expectations on substantive accuracy.

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

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