What is HAMUN?

The Houston Area Model United Nations or HAMUN is an annual conference for high school students held at the University of Houston . We have around 600 delegates from 40 schools that attend conference each year and participate in ten committees. All committees are staffed by university students with previous model UN experience from universities around the country.

History and Our Vision

The Houston Area Model United Nations was founded in 1975 when Memorial High School teacher Andrea Flynn decided to take her love of teaching others one step further and establish a program to teach young people what it is like to "walk a mile in someone else's shoes." Thirty-four years on, HAMUN still has the same purpose: to give high school students the experience of a UN diplomat and all that goes with it.

What is Model United Nations?

Model United Nations is a simulation of the UN General Assembly and other multilateral bodies. In Model UN, students step into the shoes of ambassadors from UN member states to debate current issues on the organization's agenda. While playing their roles as ambassadors, student "delegates" make speeches, prepare draft resolutions, negotiate with allies and adversaries, resolve conflicts, and navigate the Model UN conference rules of procedure - all in the interest of mobilizing "international cooperation" to resolve problems that affect countries all over the world.

Before playing out their ambassadorial roles in a Model UN simulation, students research the issue that their committee will address. Model UN participants learn how the international community acts on its concerns about topics including peace and security, human rights, the environment, food and hunger, economic development and globalization. Model UN delegates also look closely at the needs, goals and foreign policies of the countries they will represent at the event. The insights they gain from their exploration of history, geography, culture, economics and science contribute to the authenticity of the simulation when the role playing gets under way. The delegates' in-depth knowledge of their countries guarantees a lively and memorable experience.

While there is no official record of how Model UN began, we do know that Model UN is the successor of a series of student-led Model League of Nations simulations. Some people believe that the first Model UN conference was held at Harvard University, although other colleges claim they held the first conference. Regardless, simulations of international organizations began even before the birth of the United Nations!

*This information is provided with approval from the United Nations Association of the United States of America.