Student Officer Registration

Student Officer Application

SHAMUN XXIV – The Keeling Curve

Regular Application Deadline: May 28th, 2024

| Tentative Date of Decisions with Assigned Committees: June 11th, 2024

With the annual Shanghai Model United Nations Conference approaching this October, from October 25th to 27th, 2024, we are beyond enthusiastic to extend the opportunity to chair at the SHAMUN conference to students, both seasoned and eager first-time student officers, from other decorated MUN programs in China and greater Asia.

SHAMUN is one of the most historical THIMUN-format conferences in Shanghai, being in its twenty-fourth edition, and has previously hosted close to 500 participants from 20 schools, hailing from various parts of Asia. Student officers have described past iterations of SHAMUN as some of their smoothest yet most enriching chairing experiences. See our website for more information: https://www.shamun.org/

Lastly, regardless of the decision you are to receive this coming June, we are incredibly grateful to all who apply. Our conference would not be the same year after year without your priceless contribution.

*Note: By applying as a Student Officer for SHAMUN XXIV, you have agreed to comply with the given instructions and fulfilling all of the responsibilities allocated to you by the SHAMUN XXIV secretariat and organizers, including but not limited to assignments, tasks, and crucial deadlines over the summer of 2024. You have agreed to preside over the conference committee to be assigned to you in your acceptance email, should you be selected to receive one—given constraints in terms of available chairing roles in each committee, please be flexible with your appointment. Committee topics will be shared with student officers when appointments are released. Feel free to correspond with the secretariat team, should you have any questions or concerns, at the following address: shamun@saschina.org

General Information

Name

First Name

Last Name

School

Grade Level

Please indicate your preferences for committee(s):

Please rank each committee from 1 to 10, with “1” being the most preferred committee appointment, “2” being the second most preferred, and so on.

International, ICJ (Advanced; Mock Trial*)

Crisis Committee (Advanced; NAIMUN/Special Procedure)

Historic Security Council, HSC (Advanced; Standard Security Council)

Security Council, SC (Advanced; Standard Security Council)

International Monetary Fund, IMF (Intermediate; Standard ECOSOC)

European Parliament of the EU (Intermediate; Special Procedure)

World Health Assembly, WHA (Intermediate; Standard ECOSOC)

General Assembly 3, GA3 (Beginner; Standard GA)

Human Rights Council, HRC (Beginner; Standard GA)

UN Commission on Status of Women, UNCSW (Beginner; Standard ECOSOC)

*Please note that the International Court of Justice is a mock trial committee. SHAMUN has hosted mock trial format committees in the past with notable success—our International Criminal Court committee, in session during our twenty-third conference in 2023, is proof of concept. While mock trial experience is appreciated, student officers applying to chair this committee will receive ample guidance and training from our team throughout the preparation process.

Experiences

Please list your past MUN conference experiences, including both delegate and student officer roles with corresponding accolades.

Please paste a past work sample of MUN-specific writing. Eligible samples include: 1. An excerpt from a past resolution drafted only by you, without having been merged with other draft resolutions—length of 5 operative clauses; 2. An excerpt from a past chair report drafted only by you—length of 500 words, preferably extracted from “Introduction” or “History”/“Historical Background” sections of the report.

Free Response Questions

Choose to respond to either a); or b); or both a) and b).

a) Briefly describe a past experience where you either had to chair an MUN committee or organize an MUN conference, and how it has helped you grow as a person or participant in the activity. (250 words max) b) Briefly explain how your appointment as a student officer in our coming conference will enrich delegates’ experience of the conference in novel and unique capacities. (250 words max)

Referring to the table that asked you to rank your preference(s) for each committee, why did you rank it the way you did, and what from a particular committee stands out to you? You may want to construct an argument for why you are particularly suited to chair your first-choice committee. (150 words max.)

How do you interpret our conference’s theme (The Keeling Curve)? Describe your goals for the delegates and debate in your committee, with respect to this theme. Applicants are encouraged to view this informational page to further familiarize themselves with this year’s theme: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeling_Curve (200 words max).

If you were to train delegates in preparation for a conference, what would you prioritize and why? (200 words max).

In selecting student officers to serve at our conference, we particularly prioritize chairs’ resilience and flexible thinking in the face of unexpected circumstances, especially those that may compromise the smooth-sailing progression of the conference or its basic integrity. Imagine yourself in the following situation, which has been an unfortunate reality at several conferences, and describe the actions you would take as chair: Delegates in your committee are hard at work, merging and perfecting resolutions. Of the few blocs in your committee, one is noticeably using generative AI technology to draft their resolution from scratch, and delegates in the bloc are complacent in this act of academic dishonesty. What will you do as chair to maintain the integrity of committee? (250 words max).