How to Organise a School MUN Conference with a Practical Timeline, Secretariat Structure and Venue Plan

The delegate pack arrives three weeks before the conference. The study guide is thirty pages of topic summary. The secretariat has not confirmed the venue's audio system. This is the state where most first-time conference organisers start to lose control. A school MUN conference that runs smoothly is the product of a sequenced timeline, a secretariat that knows its jurisdiction, and a venue checklist that stops the attendee experience from degrading. Here is the step-by-step sequence for organising a school MUN conference from the twelve-month mark through post-conference wrap-up, with the specific roles and venue requirements that determine whether participants leave wanting to come back.

Twelve to Nine Months Out: Leadership and Date Lock

Start twelve months before the conference date. At this point, appoint the director-general and secretary-general, provisionally book the host venue, and set a preliminary date that avoids clashes with major gatherings in your region. THIMUN The Hague and HMUN Boston publish their dates two years ahead, so check those before committing to your weekend.

Nine months out, form the rest of the secretariat. The director-general leads the logistics team; the secretary-general handles content and rules. Assign a chief of staff to manage the secretariat's internal workflow. Open registration at this point, with an early-bird fee band that expires at six months. Set your fee bands: a standard rate, a late rate, and a faculty advisor rate. Specific amounts are year-dependent and must be sourced from current quotes from comparable events in your region, but the band structure is stable.

Six to Four Months Out: Committees and Study Guides

Six months out, finalise the committee roster. Assign chairs and vice-chairs. The chair-to-participant ratio must not exceed 25:1 for General Assembly committees and 15:1 for specialised agencies. Begin chair training. The number of chair training hours is a strong predictor of procedural consistency; schedule at least three full-day sessions. Publish the rules document, either THIMUN Rules of Procedure (2017 edition) or HMUN Rules of Procedure (2025 edition), and confirm which system your conference uses.

Four months out, release study guides. A study guide that is a topic summary rather than a substantive research brief forces every participant to do the same independent research, which produces more varied positions in committee. Set the position paper submission deadline at three weeks before the conference. State the position paper weight in awards clearly on the conference website. The gap between stated criteria and actual outcomes is wide across the circuit.

Two Months to One Week Out: Registration Close and Venue Walk-Through

Two months out, close registration. Assign countries based on delegation size and preference ranking. A delegation of five might receive a small permanent member of the Security Council; a delegation of twenty receives a major power. Produce the attendee pack: rules summary, committee assignments, country assignments, venue map, emergency contact numbers, and a schedule that shows plenary sessions, committee sessions, and social events.

One month out, confirm the venue. Run a walk-through with the venue manager. Check room capacities, audio systems, and safeguarding ratios for school-level participants. The UK, EU, and US have distinct regulatory frameworks for child protection at events; confirm that your venue and staffing comply with the jurisdiction your school operates under.

One week out, distribute the final attendee pack. Confirm the registration desk setup, the crisis update frequency for any crisis committees, and the awards policy. The awards policy should state whether you are giving competitive gavels (Harvard-style) or participation certificates (THIMUN-style). Print name badges, placards, and voting cards.

During and After the Conference

During the conference, the secretariat runs the registration desk from 07:30 each day, manages crisis updates at a frequency set in the study guide, and enforces the Chatham House Rule in any confidential settings. The faculty advisor is not permitted in committee rooms during session. State this rule clearly.

Post-conference, within two weeks, publish a report with attendee counts, committee outcomes, and a financial summary. Headline figures reported by events include observers, faculty advisors, and secretariat members; the number of actual debating participants is typically 15 to 25 per cent lower. State both.

Senior Leadership and the Chief of Staff

The secretariat is the backbone of the conference. Its structure is standard across school-level MUN, though titles vary. The two most senior roles are the secretary-general and the director-general. The secretary-general oversees content, rules, and chair selection. The director-general manages logistics, venue, and finance. Appoint both twelve months before the conference.

The chief of staff coordinates the secretariat's internal workflow, manages deadlines, and ensures communication between teams. Appoint this person at nine months.

Department Heads and Their Teams

The under-secretaries-general (USGs) head specific departments. USG of Committees recruits and trains chairs. USG of Delegate Affairs handles registration and country assignments. USG of Logistics manages venue, equipment, and catering. USG of Finance sets fee bands, tracks spending, and produces the post-conference financial report. Each USG needs a team of two to four assistants, depending on participant numbers.

The chair team reports to the USG of Committees. Each committee has one chair and one vice-chair. A committee with more than sixty participants degrades the experience non-linearly, so cap committee sizes and do not exceed them even when last-minute registrations arrive. Chair training hours should total at least 24 hours before the conference. A chair who has not trained on the rules will produce procedural inconsistency that frustrates attendees and skews awards.

Crisis Staff and the Safeguarding Officer

The crisis staff, if your conference runs crisis committees, reports to a separate USG of Crisis. Crisis committees require a backroom team that writes crisis updates and responds to directives in real time. State the crisis update frequency in the study guide; two updates per committee session is a standard rate. Too high a frequency without substantive content produces noise rather than engagement.

One role first-time organisers neglect is the safeguarding officer. For a school-level conference, this role is not optional. The safeguarding officer ensures compliance with child protection regulations in your jurisdiction, manages the faculty advisor check-in process, and handles any incidents during the conference. Appoint this person at six months and ensure they have completed relevant training in your jurisdiction.

Committee Rooms and the Audio Test

The venue determines the attendee experience more than any other factor. A school classroom with poor acoustics and no breakout space produces a worse committee session than a well-run gathering in a convention centre. Committee rooms must be large enough to seat the group with a chair-to-participant ratio that does not exceed 25:1. A General Assembly committee of sixty needs a room that seats seventy, with space for the dais, a speakers' podium, and a projection screen for the resolution text. The room must have a working audio system; a chair who cannot be heard from the back row loses control of the room within ten minutes. Test the audio during the venue walk-through one month before the conference.

Plenary Space and Ancillary Areas

Plenary space is needed for the opening and closing ceremonies. A school hall that seats the entire participant count plus faculty advisors and secretariat is sufficient. The plenary requires a stage, a lectern, a projection system, and seating that allows everyone to see the stage. Plenary sessions are ceremonial and have no substantive debate in most conferences, so the requirement is for visibility and sound, not committee functionality.

Ancillary areas include the registration desk, a lounge, and a faculty advisor room. Position the registration desk at the main entrance and staff it from 07:30 each day. The lounge gives participants a space for unmoderated caucuses and social interaction between sessions. The faculty advisor room keeps advisors out of committee rooms. Enforce this rule.

Venue Costs and Safeguarding Ratios

Venue hire costs are year-dependent and must be sourced from current quotes from venues in your area. The cost categories are: room hire for each committee room and plenary space, audio-visual equipment rental, cleaning and security staff, and any catering minimums. A school venue is cheaper but may lack the audio systems and breakout space that a convention centre provides. A convention centre costs more but offers professional support staff and better comfort.

Safeguarding ratios for school-level participants differ by jurisdiction. In the UK, the recommended ratio is one adult per ten participants for overnight conferences (source: NSPCC guidance for overnight school trips, updated 2024). In the US, ratios vary by state. Confirm the requirement for your jurisdiction and ensure the venue can accommodate the required number of chaperones and faculty advisors.