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In Model UN students debate the biggest challenges faced by the world, that will be relevant throughout their education and their lives. However, students will succeed most when they are set up for success with topics that will appropriately engage, challenge, and educate them on topics they are ready to discuss. We’ve divided our recommended topics into three categories- Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced Level, to help you determine what level of topic is best to engage your students. However, all of these topics have been successful discussed from the Elementary to University Levels- these are just recommendations to help you get started, but you should feel free to use any of these topics based on what you think will be best for your students.
You will need a few things for each committee:
1. Background Guide (See Below)
2. Placards
3. Chairing Script
Practice Committee
General Assembly: Climate Change
Countries: 50
Delegates per country: 1 or 2
Placards
Background Guide
Delegate Assignment List
Additional Background Guides
Novice Level
At the introductory levels, a key focus in choosing committee topics should be the complexity of the topic being discussed. At their core every topic discussed in Model UN is tremendously complex, however issues that students can easily understand the basic issues at play and can relate to them easily make for a much more fluid debate with more innovate solutions. These topics can be broken down into simple teachable moments, and then more advanced students can take the topic even further.
Reducing Water Pollution and Ensuring Access to Clean Water
As outlined in SDG 6, target 3
Water Pollution and Clean Water is an approachable topic for students of all ages, and is easy to demonstrate. Try placing two glasses of water on the table- one dirty and one clean- and ask students which they would want to drink. With over 1.1 Billion people worldwide lacking access to clean water, this topic also allows students to look at the hundreds of clean water NGOs around the world to help find solutions to this topic.
Reducing Food Waste
As outlined in SDG 12, target 3
Global Food Waste can be a diverse topic which allows students to talk about agriculture, industrial packaging and shipping, and food security. However, at the most basic level, students can also easily grasp this topic. Ask students what happens to the food on their plate if they don’t finish it during a meal. Ask them what happens to food in the grocery store that goes unsold. Ask them what happens to ugly fruits and vegetables from the farm that wouldn’t look good in a grocery store. As students understand the basics of this topic, you can dive deeper into the challenges of food security that impact the 800 million people worldwide suffering from extreme hunger.
Equal Representation for Women
As outlined in SDG 5, target 5
Of the representatives at the signing of the UN Charter, only 4 of the 160 were women- that’s 2.5%. Within virtually every country there are examples of women being underrepresented in the government and the economy, and the United Nations has made this a hallmark issue of their work. Encourage students to think about why women are so underrepresented in these roles, and explain the benefits of equal representation of women- studies have shown that for every 5% increase in women in national politics, there is a 5x reduction in the rate of that country going to war.
Access to Primary and Secondary Education
As outlined in SDG 4, target 1
780 Million people worldwide- children and adults- are unable to read even basic sentences in any language. This issue impacts children around the world, and lead to lifelong struggles in finding jobs, getting basic government services, and having any mobility to move out of poverty. Students should understand how critical it is to guarantee schooling worldwide through training teachers, building schools, and providing classroom materials to help combat the lack of education globally. Students should also understand the impact this issue has on women and girls, and that 44% of children worldwide live in countries where girls receive less education that boys due to poverty, cultural norms, child marriage, and myriad other issues.
Intermediate Level
For intermediate delegates, the key to a successful committee is to choose topics with accessible and understandable research and solutions. Students new to Model UN may be uncomfortable with the policy-heavy jargon of more obscure topics, however the following topics all have plenty of accessible research for students to understand the topic and to craft their own ideas and solutions to the topic.
Small Arms Trade
As outlined in SDG 16, target 4
In countries like Sudan, an AK-47 can be bought for the same price as a chicken. In regions plagued by war, weapons are so available that in Yemen, it is an expectation that all men carry a gun nearly constantly for their own security. Students should understand how the availability of firearms makes the risk of civil war, terrorism, and organized crime a much higher risk, to say nothing of violent crime. Small Arms Trade allows students to investigate the regional impact of violent conflict, the issue of border security, and the challenges and opportunities posed by disarmament in post-conflict countries.
Enhancing International Nuclear Security
As outlined in SDG 12
Nuclear weapons, energy, and technology have redefined the international security system. In the face of new threats such as nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorist groups, meltdowns in nuclear energy facilities, and the proliferation of weapons, it has never been more important to ensure the security of the world. Challenge students to come up with practical solutions for these issues, from the right to hold nuclear weapons to keeping fissile material safe.
Eliminating Violence Against Women
As outlined in SDG 5, target 2
Eliminating Violence Against Women is another topic that students can discuss as the topic is a major issue in every Member State, though in many different forms. For delegates representing Western European countries, violence against women may take the form of domestic abuse. Delegates representing post-conflict countries may focus on violence against women in war and military conflict. Other delegates may focus on child marriage, cultural norms surrounding violence against women, laws to protect women, the role of women in the military, or many, many instances of violence against women around the world.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while one of the most controversial topics to choose in Model UN, can be a great topic for delegates to discuss because the UN has a long history of working on this topic, and there is a wealth of research for delegates to pull from to find their solutions. It’s important for delegates to receive balanced and well-researched information about this topic, because this is one of the few topics in Model UN students may have heard about from their parents at home, as it has deep cultural and religious ties. Through discussing this topic, students should learn the political, economic, cultural, religious, and social challenges in this issue for all communities involved, and gain a deep historical understanding of one of the biggest international disputes facing the world today.
Advanced Level
Advanced Model UN delegates can focus on some of the most challenging issues posed to the United Nations, and craft innovative solutions to these elusive problems. These issues will take more preparation to understand for students, however pose many unique solutions and a wide range of sub-topics for delegates to specialize in and craft creative resolutions. These topics also introduce students to underlying causes of conflict, poverty, and inequality around the world, and challenge delegates to use the United Nations and other primary sources to research for their committee.
Enhancing International Cybersecurity
With the incredible economic benefits that have come from the connection of billions of people to the internet, so too have the risks risen. Each year, millions of people are having their money, identities, and personal secrets stolen from thousands of miles away, all due to lack of proper cyber-security measures. The impact of these cyber-attacks amounts to billions of dollars each year, but also has two even deeper threats- to our privacy, and even our physical security. Students should understand the challenges posed by a world in which where everything is connected to a computer, everything is hackable, leading to a rapid deterioration of personal security if proper security measures are not created by Member States. Students should also understand why Cyber Warfare has been considered the “Fifth Domain” of warfare, as nations that have the ability to shut down electrical grids, disrupt basic government services, and disable enemy technology can massively disrupt the international order.
Combating Organized Crime
As outlined in SDG 16, target 4
With the rise of international terrorism, attention has been severely diverted from international organized criminal organizations, and these organizations have flourished in the vacuum. Organized crime groups are more organized and sophisticated than ever before: drug cartels in Mexico are moving thousands of pounds of drugs across the border using drones, Eastern European mafia organizations are launching hacking syndicates of hundreds of online criminals, and the Yakuza in Japan and the Triad in China are trafficking human beings and even contracting murders. These organizations are transnational in nature, and require an international response. Students should understand the need to foster cooperation over border security, international prosecution and extradition laws, and working collectively among nations to combat all the heinous crimes committed by these organizations.