An Honorable Mention is one of the standard individual delegate awards given at the close of a Model UN conference. It recognizes a delegate who performed well in committee — through substantive contributions, diplomacy, and accurate representation of their assigned country or character — but who did not place at the very top of the award hierarchy.
Most conferences use a tiered award structure that, in descending order, generally looks like:
- Best Delegate (gavel) — the top performer in the committee
- Outstanding Delegate — typically the second tier
- Honorable Mention — strong performance, often awarded to one or several delegates per committee
- Verbal Commendation or Verbal Mention — informal recognition, not always counted as a "won" award
The exact structure varies. Some conferences (notably the THIMUN procedure used at The Hague International Model United Nations) do not give individual awards at all, on the grounds that competition undermines collaborative diplomacy. North American collegiate circuits, by contrast, tend to weight Honorable Mentions in their season rankings — for example, Best Delegate's annual North American college rankings assign point values to Honorable Mentions alongside higher awards.
Selection criteria typically combine chair evaluations (speaking quality, negotiation, leadership in bloc-building), position paper quality, and draft resolution authorship or sponsorship. In crisis committees, directives written or executed by the delegate also factor in. Some conferences poll delegates via peer ballots, though chair discretion usually predominates.
For delegates building a competitive record — for university applications, travel team selection, or circuit rankings — Honorable Mentions are meaningful credentials, particularly when earned in large or highly competitive committees such as GA plenaries, Security Council, or historical crisis cabinets. They signal consistent committee presence without requiring the dominant performance expected of a gavel winner.
Example
At NAIMUN LVIII in 2021, several delegates in the DISEC committee received Honorable Mention Awards alongside the Best Delegate and Outstanding Delegate recipients.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. On most competitive circuits, including the Best Delegate North American college rankings, Honorable Mentions count as awards and contribute points to team and individual standings, though fewer than a Best or Outstanding Delegate.
Keep learning