Who is this Institute designed for?

It is pitched at the high-school level, so the assumed audience is secondary-school students rather than university delegates or working professionals.

Where does the programme take place?

The Institute is hosted in Berkeley, California, placing it inside one of the most active high-school MUN regions in North America.

Is this a competitive conference or a training programme?

The Institute format prioritises instruction and structured simulation over awards, which is why it is a useful first or second MUN experience rather than a circuit gavel hunt.

Do I need prior MUN experience to attend?

No. Institutes are explicitly designed to teach procedure and research skills, so first-time high-school delegates are part of the intended audience alongside those with some conference experience.

What should I prepare before arriving?

Read a real adopted UN resolution, practise drafting clauses, and prepare research on both a major power and a smaller state so you can adapt if your assignment shifts during the programme.

Part of the Model United Nations Institute series

Model United Nations Institute

Name: Model United Nations Institute
Start: 2026-08-02T00:00:00Z
End: 2026-08-02T00:00:00Z
Location: Berkeley, California

Berkeley, California, United States of America · high-school

📅 Add to calendar

Dates: Aug 2–2026 (day: 2)
Fee: TBD
Reg deadline: TBD
Delegates: TBD
Language: English
Format: In-person

Apply / Learn more →

Summary

The Model United Nations Institute returns to Berkeley, California as a high-school training programme rather than a competitive conference. Held on a North American university campus, it positions itself as an entry point for students who want serious instruction in committee procedure, research, and diplomatic writing before they step into the circuit's more demanding gavels. Unlike a standard MUN weekend, an Institute-format event blends structured teaching with simulation. Delegates are expected to leave with a sharper grasp of how rules of procedure, bloc-building, and resolution drafting actually function in practice, with Berkeley serving as the host city for this edition.

Why this edition matters in 2026

Most high-school delegates learn MUN by osmosis - copying older teammates, reading sample position papers, and surviving their first crisis committee by improvisation. Institutes try to short-circuit that process by teaching the craft directly. For students who do not have a strong school team or an experienced coach, that structured exposure is often the difference between bouncing off the activity and staying with it for years. Berkeley is also a meaningful host city. The Bay Area hosts one of the densest clusters of competitive high-school MUN programmes in the United States, and California's university circuit feeds many of the conferences delegates will encounter later. An Institute placed inside that ecosystem gives participants a preview of the standards they will be measured against once they begin travelling. For a high-school audience, the bigger payoff is transferable. The skills rehearsed - drafting under time pressure, negotiating across blocs, defending a national line that is not your own - map directly onto debate, mock trial, and eventually policy work at university. The Institute is less about winning an award and more about installing a workflow.

How to prepare

Treat this as a training deployment, not a tournament. The right preparation is to arrive with the gaps you already know about: weak opening speeches, shaky amendment procedure, confusion about moderated versus unmoderated caucuses. Institute instructors can only sharpen what you bring; they cannot install a baseline for you in a few days. Before travelling to Berkeley, read at least one full real UN resolution end to end - not a sample, an actual adopted text. Notice how preambular clauses do diplomatic work that operative clauses cannot, and how vague verbs like 'encourages' and 'calls upon' are chosen deliberately. Then try to rewrite a recent news story as a draft resolution. That single exercise exposes more weaknesses than a week of passive reading. Pack two position papers' worth of research even if none are formally required. Pick one large power and one small or middle power, and prepare to argue both. The Institute format often reassigns countries on short notice, and delegates who can switch between a permanent Security Council seat and a smaller delegation without losing composure are the ones instructors notice. Finally, decide in advance what you want feedback on. Generic 'how did I do' questions get generic answers. Asking an instructor specifically about your use of points of order, or whether your closing speech actually moved the room, produces coaching you can use at your next conference.

Eligibility deep-dive

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

Schedule & deadlines

Conference
Aug 2, 2026 – Aug 2, 2026

Frequently asked questions

Who is this Institute designed for?
It is pitched at the high-school level, so the assumed audience is secondary-school students rather than university delegates or working professionals.
Where does the programme take place?
The Institute is hosted in Berkeley, California, placing it inside one of the most active high-school MUN regions in North America.
Is this a competitive conference or a training programme?
The Institute format prioritises instruction and structured simulation over awards, which is why it is a useful first or second MUN experience rather than a circuit gavel hunt.
Do I need prior MUN experience to attend?
No. Institutes are explicitly designed to teach procedure and research skills, so first-time high-school delegates are part of the intended audience alongside those with some conference experience.
What should I prepare before arriving?
Read a real adopted UN resolution, practise drafting clauses, and prepare research on both a major power and a smaller state so you can adapt if your assignment shifts during the programme.

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

Trusted outbound references