Information for Schools
Late in Term 1 the Year 11 Co-ordinators will receive a letter from the MUNA committee, via their sponsoring Rotary club, telling them which country their school will be representing.
The letter will also include a copy of the resolutions to be debated and the amount of time for each resolution. You are encouraged to understand your "adopted" country’s official position on a particular topic and present your arguments accordingly.
The Brian and Val Heaton Shield will be presented to the most successful school team on the day. The first and second place getters on the day will be sponsored by District 9750 to attend "National MUNA" in the Old Parliament House in Canberra around August.
Instigated in 2006 a perpetual award is presented to the student who delivered the best individual speech of the day as determined by the adjudicators. This award is known as the John Hall Memorial Award. John Hall was a charter member of the Rotary Club of Corrimal in 1959 and remained an active club member until his death in 2001.
There will be a special prize for the best-dressed delegation, and we ask that you wear the national dress of the country that you are representing or at least items of clothing that clearly represent a particular country. (See below.)
If you are having difficulty in determining a reasonable national dress you are urged to contact the relevant Consulate or Embassy for advice. Tiaras, evening wear and a nation's sporting colours, by way of rugby shirts etc., are perfectly acceptable.
Make use of the internet. Have a look at the links page on this site. There is a wealth of information on the UNs own site, and some countries have their own UN website. The BBC website also has a large amount of impartial information.
Please use your time well to prepare for Assembly Day; the adjudicators do not mark highly teams that merely stand up, read a prepared speech in a monotone and sit down again. The more that your research and understand the stance that "your" country would take on a particular topic the better you will be able to advance your country's point of view. Lively interaction is encouraged and we are hoping to allow more time for a right of reply.
Voting, when required, is carried out by one of the team members raising your country's name plate in the air.
The day is broken up as follows:
- Session 1 - All countries 3 minutes each.
- General Resolution 1 - All countries 1 minute each.
- Session 2 - Half the countries present 5 minutes each.
- General Resolution 2 - All countries 1 minute each.
- Session 3 - The other half of the countries present 5 minutes each.
- General Resolution 3 - All countries 1 minute each.
- Session 4 - All countries 3 minutes each.
- Concluding Debate. During this final session of the Assembly debate countries wishing to exercise a right of reply on any topic discussed during this Model United Nations Assembly may, at the discretion of the Secretary General, be offered the opportunity of doing so.
- Participating countries are also invited to comment on the processes adopted for the Assembly and, as appropriate, offer suggestions for consideration by the Committee.
As many countries as possible will be invited to contribute to the session. Contributions will be limited to a maximum of one minute.
The adjudicators prefer that each team member speaks rather than just the best speaker in a team. Also the adjudicators do not look favourably on countries who have an adult writing their speeches for them on the day as a result of a speech by another country or as part of a right of reply.
Should you need any further assistance, please contact your nominating Rotary Club or for further information.
Would the Year 11 Co-ordinator please send an to the MUNA committee giving the names of the students in your team, and the responsible adult who will be accompanying the students, as the committee would like to publish the team names in the programme on the day. Also each participating student will be presented with a personalised official delegate's certificate signed by the District 9750 Governor.
The sponsorship by your local Rotary club also includes the cost of morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea for the school's team and their responsible adult.
It would be hoped that your sponsoring Rotary club would arrange your transport to the Nan Tien Temple.
Over night accommodation is available at the Pilgrims' Lodge at the Nan Tien Temple at very reasonable rates if you find it difficult to arrive at Berkeley by 8:00 a.m. on the day.
Nan Tien Temple Pilgrim Lodge
PO Box 1336, Unanderra NSW 2526
Phone: +61 2 4272 0500, Fax: +61 2 4272 0690
See the Pilgrim Lodge page on the Nan Tien web site or,
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It has been suggested that a school brings along Year 10 student(s) to observe the day's proceedings in preparation for the following year's Assembly.
