Position Paper Submission Portal

A Position Paper Submission Portal is the digital intake mechanism a Model UN conference uses to gather position papers from delegates ahead of the conference. Rather than emailing documents directly to chairs, delegates upload PDFs or Word files to a centralized platform — typically accessed through the conference's delegate dashboard or a third-party form (Google Forms, Airtable, Typeform, or custom-built sites such as those used by HNMUN, NMUN, WorldMUN, and HMUN).

Portals usually enforce several requirements:

• A deadline (often two to four weeks before opening ceremonies), after which submissions may be locked or penalized.
• File-naming conventions such as Committee_Country_DelegateName.pdf to help dais staff sort hundreds of papers.
• Length and formatting rules — commonly one to two pages per topic, single-spaced, with standardized fonts and margins.
• One submission per delegation per committee, with double-delegate pairs submitting jointly.

The portal serves three audiences. Chairs and directors use it to read papers before committee, identify well-prepared delegates, and shortlist candidates for awards consideration. Secretariat staff use it to verify that delegations have met participation requirements, which at some conferences is a precondition for award eligibility. Other delegates may receive a compiled bloc of all submitted papers — many conferences publish an anonymized or full position paper packet so delegates can study allied and rival country stances before debate begins.

Failure to submit through the official portal — even if a paper is emailed separately to a chair — typically disqualifies a delegate from awards at conferences that explicitly tie recognition to portal submission. Conversely, late portals are sometimes opened for grace-period submissions without award eligibility. Delegates should always confirm submission format, deadline time zone, and confirmation-email procedures, since portal misfires (wrong file uploaded, expired link) are a recurring source of disqualification appeals.