SUSMUN will be held in Atlanta, Georgia from November 1-3, 2013 at the Hilton Atlanta hotel. SUSMUN is sponsored by the International Model United Nations Association (IMUNA) and builds on the successful design of our sister conferences held annually in New York (NHSMUN) and San Francisco (RHSMUN) by focusing on providing dynamic educational training that exceeds what is typified in most global issues educational experiences. This conference strives to provide an exceptional and engaging educational experience for students of all experience levels, welcoming schools new to Model UN or established programs that have been competing for decades.

In 2009, SUSMUN's inaugural year, the conference established a new standard of global issues education excellence in the Southeast through our commitment to smaller committee sizes, a personalized delegate experience, robust conference programming, diverse and highly-trained staff, and excellent customer service. SUSMUN also builds on the strong organizational foundations of IMUNA to provide a professional and engaging conference, creating an atmosphere most conducive to learning. By utilizing engaging educational tools and resources in and out of our committee sessions, this conference has committed itself to IMUNA’s mission of “education through simulation.”

Conference Structure
The centerpiece of the Southern United States Model United Nations conference is education. It exists in three components:
• Exceptional Model UN Simulation
• High Quality Staff and Resources
• Robust Conference Programming and Service Learning Project

SUSMUN has a proven record of managing world-class Model UN simulation.

At SUSMUN, delegates will address a range of issues across 10 diverse committees, debating real international crises and exercising accurate foreign policies. Our goal is that each of our delegates will leave our conference with a stronger understanding of contemporary global issues, a more refined skillset in communication and collaboration, and a wider and more analytical perspective on the world around them and their role as student diplomats within it. Our varied selection of committees and topics are designed to challenge, engage, and educate delegates of all skill level—regardless of whether SUSMUN 2013 is their first or tenth Model UN experience. This means that all of our committees will provide delegates with the same standard of high-quality, comprehensive preparation materials; professional and personable staff; and accessible but challenging topics and levels of debate. However, we do strive to provide committee experiences that are the most beneficial to our students.

For this reason, SUSMUN 2013 will offer two committees tailored toward delegates with little to no previous MUN experience. These committees will focus in particular on helping the delegates understand how a committee works and assisting the delegates to become comfortable and active in the MUN setting. These committees will also only run one topic each—we have found that this enables our less experienced delegates truly devote their energy and focus on understanding a single, accessible topic and developing their research skills.

In addition, SUSMUN 2013 will offer two selective crisis committees, designed to challenge and excite our most experienced delegates. The fast-paced and continuously changing structure of these committees will directly simulate the critical decision-making processes that UN diplomats must engage in during times of crisis and insecurity. These simulations will force our most experienced delegates to expand their analytical skills, step out of their comfort zones, and collaborate constructively with others.

SUSMUN’s diverse staff is committed to providing a personalized delegate experience and exceptional customer service.

Our all-volunteer staff is entirely student-led, and consists of college students from across the nation. They come from a wide variety of personal backgrounds and academic interests, but share a common passion for SUSMUN’s mission and unique delegate experience. The majority of our staff has also been involved with SUSMUN since the conference’s inaugural year, first as delegates and then moving up to chair committees or hold integral leadership positions. Our committee Directors and Assistant Directors participate in multiple forms of vigorous pre-conference training to ensure that they not only have a thorough understanding of parliamentary procedure and committee structure, but they are also able to effective teach and guide and their delegates. They spend months prior to the conference researching, writing, and preparing the high-quality educational resources that all IMUNA conferences are known for—from comprehensive topic primers in our Background Guides to valuable Delegate Preparation Guides and multimedia content. Our committee teams are always available to their delegates before and during the conference for additional guidance, research help, or to answer any questions! In addition, our conference leadership is dedicated to providing exceptional customer service and communication to our faculty, community, and vendor partners.

SUSMUN’s commitment to global issues education extends far beyond the committee rooms.

Our conference is proud to offer additional educational programming to expand the delegate and faculty experience, ranging from informational college/organizational presentations to engaging guest speakers and skill-building workshops. Our location in the dynamic and increasingly international city of Atlanta provides us access to truly global organizations such as the Carter Center, the CDC, or CNN. Our guest speaker program will allow delegates to understand how the contemporary global issues discussed in their committees apply to real people and situations across the world. Our committee Directors also strive to connect delegate debate and solutions to real-world events and communities through a variety of multimedia and educational tools. Finally, SUSMUN’s long-standing partnership with Heifer International allows us to implement an annual service-learning project that builds on the belief that we must all be the change we wish to see in the world. In general terms, most students who participate in Model UN simulations have the educational background and financial tools that exceed those of their young peers around the world. In addition to learning about solving global issues, SUSMUN challenges its delegates to get about the task of resolving problems by participating in fundraising prior to and during the conference—uniting behind specific Heifer International community projects that are directly related to topics discussed in committee. These extensive programming options allow our delegates to truly engage in their role as model diplomats and global citizens.