Introduction: Finnish Model United Nations Society – Practicing diplomacy and international decision-making
Finnish Model United Nations Society (Finnish Model United Nations ry., FinMUN) is an organization for young people and students interested in international relations and international cooperation and the only university-level MUN organization in Finland. We bring people together to organize and participate in Model United Nations (MUN) conferences, debate issues on the UN and global agenda, and develop their understanding of global issues and politics through different activities.
We were founded in 2004, and since then, we have focused on establishing a solid basis for MUN activities in Finland by building relationships with the public and private sector, especially the various MUN actors, UN representations, and affiliates in Finland and abroad. In Finland, FinMUN belongs to Finland’s UN Youth organization (Suomen YK-nuoret) and the UN Association of Finland (Suomen YK-liitto) and is a member of the Student Union of the University of Helsinki (HYY). Although our headquarters are in Helsinki, our active members come from all over Finland and the world, and we enhance internationality in all of our actions.
Our yearly activities include, most importantly, MUN-trainings and simulations, seminars, and participation in foreign MUNs. The MUN conferences are academic simulations of the United Nations, and through them, the participants get a chance to play the roles of the delegates of different countries and practice international decision-making and problem-solving. FinMUN’s first international MUN was held in February 2006, and since 2021 we have also organized low-threshold digital MUNs and mini-MUNs, where the participants can practice their skills and familiarize themselves with the MUN concept and prepare for the bigger events.
Although our primary focus is on MUN activities, we also organize different kinds of events, such as social gatherings, trainings, career-related events, and, for example, Diplomatic Breakfast -events, where participants can talk with professional diplomats and ask questions in a relaxed environment.
Our latest activities include our November 2021 online MUN conference and live MUN-conference workshop -event in Turku, which was organized in cooperation with our umbrella organization UN Youth of Finland and the Turku UN Association (TYKy). Next year, we are continuing to establish an even more solid base for the MUN community in Finland by focusing on our visibility, developing our activities further, and attracting new members from a wider spectrum.
All of our activities have a strong focus on internationality and learning through active participation, and we want to contribute to sharing information on global issues and giving our members possibilities to learn and develop their understanding of global actors, issues, and possibilities. If you share our interest in the UN, foreign policy, international relations and/or global politics, and would like to learn and practice some essential skills while having a lot of fun and making friends, we warmly welcome you to join our activities!
You can read more about us from our website: finmun.org