DAYMUNC offers awards to delegates that demonstrate exemplary diplomacy, negotiation and speaking skills, technical research capabilities, and facilitate committee. An award is also presented for Outstanding Position Paper, which is submitted prior to the conference.
Each committee will present 1 outstanding delegate award, 1 distinguished delegate award, and 3 honorable mentions at closing ceremony. This is determined by the individual ratings and deliberations between the committee Director, Chair, and Rapporteur.
Additionally, each position paper that is submitted prior to DAYMUNC is reviewed by an independent panel and judged for accuracy of representation, depth of research, format, and grammar. From each committee, the panel will present an Outstanding Position Paper award. The panel will then award an overall outstanding position paper award to recognize the best submitted papers for DAYMUNC. Please see the position paper guides for information on writing and submitting a position paper for your assigned country.
Each of these aspects are important on their own, but an award-winning delegate will demonstrate them all, without exception, throughout the entire conference. Not only will the following guidelines assist you in receiving an award, but it will also facilitate the conference in a manner that will promote diplomacy and professionalism, skills that our conference could not function without. These guidelines incorporate the criteria that staff members look for in an award-winning delegate:
An award-winning delegate is always professional in committee and upholds the highest of diplomatic standards. Role-playing is a crucial aspect of your position as a delegate at the conference and it is important that you act in the same manner as a true diplomat of the United Nations. DAYMUNC and all other Model UN conferences are simulations of the United Nations, thus it is imperative for delegates to remain in character at all times. Delegates who are not in character are not seen favorable by the dais and ultimately ruins the experience of the committee. It is important for all delegates to remain in character to not only represent their country, but to ensure that all delegates are having a fun experience at DAYMUNC. Diplomats treat each other with respect at all times, no matter if they agree with their fellow delegate’s country policy or not. Also, diplomats do not leave smaller countries out of informal debate. Diplomacy involves working to create a consensus in committee, which is why this is a crucial aspect of awards considerations.
An award-winning delegate is always professional in committee and upholds the highest of diplomatic standards. Role-playing is a crucial aspect of your position as a delegate at the conference and it is important that you act in the same manner as a true diplomat of the United Nations. DAYMUNC and all other Model UN conferences are simulations of the United Nations, thus it is imperative for delegates to remain in character at all times. Delegates who are not in character are not seen favorable by the dais and ultimately ruins the experience of the committee. It is important for all delegates to remain in character to not only represent their country, but to ensure that all delegates are having a fun experience at DAYMUNC. Diplomats treat each other with respect at all times, no matter if they agree with their fellow delegate’s country policy or not. Also, diplomats do not leave smaller countries out of informal debate. Diplomacy involves working to create a consensus in committee, which is why this is a crucial aspect of awards considerations.
A good speaker will utilize the speaker’s time wisely and place themselves on the speaker’s list frequently. Delegates should always have something to say on the topic at hand, be it in favor or against the issue. Delegates should always take their speeches seriously, as this is the one forum they have to be heard by the entire committee at once. Laughing, informal language (referring to delegates as ‘you guys’), and not speaking to the matter at hand are all examples of poor speaking skills. While the staff understands that public speaking is not easy (and we are all new at one time or another), you will gain the respect of your dais quicker if you make an honest effort to make a good speech, rather than waste your time and the committee’s by not taking your speaker’s time seriously. We strive for an inclusive environment and ask that all delegates respect that.
As important as it is for you to write a strong position paper, it is even more important that you apply that same policy to your work in committee. You should act out the policy you write, which requires extensive research on your part. Your pre-conference preparation will be very evident during the course of the conference and those delegates that take the time to do the proper research will be the delegates that most likely take home awards. Believe it or not, it is very easy for staff to pick out the delegates that do not prepare for the conference beforehand.
The flow of committee is very important for any conference. While making repetitive, dilatory motions (i.e. moving to change the speaker’s time over and over again) will get you attention, it is not the kind of attention you want. An award-winning delegate will garner support for suspensions, always stays in character, changing the speaker’s time, or any other committee impeding motions during informal session. Also, a good delegate will include as much of the committee as possible in negotiations. By including as much of the committee as possible, it will increase consensus building that will make voting procedures transgress much more smoothly. Finally, the delegate that works with the Dais (instead of against it) will receive much more positive attention that the delegate that treats the Dais with disrespect or contempt. Our volunteer staff works hard to prepare for the conference and follows the rules set forth by the Secretary-General and the mission of DAYMUNC. If at any time a delegate or delegation has questions or concerns, they are more than welcome to approach the Dais or the Secretary-General.