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Model United Nations
The CSUSB Model United Nations (MUN) Program is an interdisciplinary program that attracts students from a variety of academic disciplines who are interested in the study of global affairs and the United Nations system. The MUN Program allows CSUSB students to gain a scholarly understanding of global affairs and gain hands-on experience with conflict resolution, negotiation, and diplomacy. Students who participate in the MUN Program also serve as delegates on the CSUSB Model United Nations team. This team represents an assigned country at the National Model United Nations conference every year in New York City.
The National Collegiate Conference Association (NCCA), a non-governmental organization associated with the United Nations, sponsors the National Model United Nations (NMUN). The NMUN Conference is the largest conference of its kind in the world with the top universities and colleges from five of the seven continents participating at the conference, including some of the premier universities and colleges in the U.S. (e.g., John Hopkins University, Yale University, and Princeton University). In previous years, the participation has topped 4,000 students in attendance from over 200 universities and colleges. The NMUN Conference was started with the formation of the real UN in 1945. Before that development, there was a Model League of Nations -- making the NMUN conference the largest and oldest of its kind in the world.
California State University, San Bernardino is one of the oldest participants in the NMUN Conference and one of the most successful. Every year the conference gives an “Outstanding Delegation Award” to the top teams (i.e., approximately 7 to 10 per year are given). This award is based on country representation, diplomatic technique, writing and speaking skills, and knowledge of international affairs. CSUSB -- under the guidance of Dr. Ralph Salmi, Professor Emeritus, and Director of the Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies at CSUSB -- brought 10 Outstanding Delegation Awards (the top award presented at the conference) from 1998 to 2007. Over these years, the MUN team has represented a variety of countries including Malaysia, Uzbekistan, India, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, and Iraq.
Visit the website www.nmun.org, and for more information concerning the NMUN Program at CSUSB, please contact Kevin Grisham at kgrisham@csusb.edu.
