International Academic Competitions Model United Nations Program Overview
IAC Model United Nations
Model United Nations is a popular extracurricular academic competition where students represent a country in a committee or program of the United Nations. Occasionally, students at Model UN conferences may also role play as policy makers in other organizations or government bodies (e.g. NATO, the Red Cross, a national cabinet, etc.). At Model UN conferences, students discuss important topics in international affairs and then draft, debate, and vote on resolutions in a manner similar to delegates at the UN. Model UN thus encourages students to develop skills as diverse as public speaking, empathy, writing, debating, strategy development, and collaboration with peers, all while reinforcing knowledge of global issues, geography, and history. It is also lots of fun for participating students!
As an activity, Model UN dates back to just after the founding of the UN in 1945. Generations of students have benefited from participating in Model UN, but across the USA, Model UN remains underdeveloped, particularly at the middle and elementary school levels. With tens of thousands of students participating in IAC’s National Science, History, and Geography Bees each year, IAC is well-positioned to share the benefits of Model UN with many new children in Grades 4-8. And for students in those grades who are already competing in Model UN, we look forward to offering additional Model UN conferences, including the first-ever designated National Championships!
The Falkland Islands Crisis at the 2025 Intro to Model UN
A guest appearance in committee from a hapless Falkland Islander who did not survive to tell his full story...
01. Regional Conferences
With a full-time staff of 18 and hundreds of part-time directors and staffers, IAC organizes hundreds of events in over 25 countries each year though the majority of these events are primarily for middle and elementary school students in the USA. On the strength of our experience in running quiz tournaments and our Intro to Model UN program, we feel confident in our ability to expand our offerings to include a new slate of Regional Model UN conferences. IAC looks forward to partnering with both schools with experienced Model UN teams as well as with schools with no prior experience, but who are eager to provide their students with a Model UN conference.
During the 2025-26 academic year, IAC envisions running 6-10 single-day Regional Model UN Conferences around the USA between January and April. These will take place at schools that have expressed interest in hosting – please contact our Model UN Coordinator, Audra Dankwardt at audra@iacompetitions.com if your school is interested. As a tournament organizer, IAC can take the lead in organizing the logistics of the conference; schools just need to make sure their students are prepared and provide a number of classrooms in which to hold the conference.
As of September 2025, we are currently in touch with interested host schools in Central Florida, South Florida, Southern California, Northern New Jersey, Upstate New York, and Houston. We are also actively seeking host schools in Northern California, Metro Atlanta, Metro Chicago, Metro Boston, and Metro Washington, DC. However, if your school is in a different region and would also be interested in hosting, we’re eager to work with you too! A list of scheduled dates, along with a registration portal, will be launched in October 2025.
Students who win awards at these conferences then become eligible to compete in the Model UN National Championships. In subsequent years, we look forward to significantly expanding the number and size of our Regional Model UN Conferences to help Model UN grow as an activity, and to allow more students to participate in it.
02. Introduction to Model UN at the IAC National Championships
IAC will continue to run its popular Introduction to Model UN program at our annual Middle & Elementary School National Championships, held each Memorial Day weekend in Orlando, FL.
In May 2025, over 2000 students attended the National Championships, and we expect close to 3000 to do so in 2026, as the National Championships and its feeder regional competitions grow at a rapid pace.
As the National Championships grows, ever more students who have not had the chance to compete yet in a Model UN Conference will have the chance to do so. Furthermore, beginning with the 2026 National Championships, the Intro to Model UN program will provide students with a way to qualify for the Model UN National Championships – held later during the same weekend. This will further encourage more students to participate and help Model UN to ultimately grow as an activity nationwide.
03. Model UN National Championships
IAC’s National Championships have been attended by tens of thousands of students, together with their families and their teachers since their debut in 2010. They represent the culmination of months of competition and scholarship, and are a major reason that students are eager to continue to develop their skills throughout the year. With years of successful large-scale National Championships, along with a great venue (the Hyatt Regency Orlando, one of the largest hotels in the country), we are ready to take the next step and launch the first-ever dedicated Model UN National Championships!
We look forward to working with conference organizers around the USA to let their participating students know of this opportunity.
The Model UN National Championships will be open to any student in Grade 4-8 who has won an award at a prior conference.
We look forward to welcoming hundreds of students to Orlando next May for the inaugural National Championships – and an important step forward in the development of Model UN as a prestigious competition for students across America!
04. Expanded Model UN & Simulation Offerings at the International Geography Championships & International History Olympiad
Each summer, IAC organizes a week-long world championship-level competition for history (in even-numbered years) and geography (in odd-numbered years). These competitions, the International History Olympiad and the International Geography Championships welcome hundreds of students and their families for a week of competitions, field trips, cultural activities and much more. They have also seen us simulate numerous historical events, including most recently:
- 1
Roman Politics in the Aftermath of Julius Caesar’s Assassination (2023 International History Olympiad in Rome)
- 2
Congress of Vienna (2024 International Geography Championships in Vienna)
- 3
OPEC and the Oil Markets (2024 International Geography Championships in Vienna; this simulation included a private briefing at OPEC Headquarters)
- 4
With the French Resistance (2025 International History Olympiad in Paris)
- 5
The French Revolution (2025 International History Olympiad in Paris)
- 6
Paris Peace Conference: 1919 (2025 International History Olympiad in Paris)
Simulating the Congress of Vienna
In Vienna, at the 2024 International Geography Championships
Beginning with the 2026 International Geography Championships in Khao Lak, Thailand, we look forward to having an expanded slate of simulation-style competitions, including Model UN committees, at our summer events.
Accordingly, students will thus be able to qualify for the International Geography Championships through winning awards at Model UN conferences.
Finally, note that all IAC World Championship-level events are open to students in high school as well, and they are likewise welcome to participate in the simulation competitions there!
IAC Model United Nations Program Leadership Committee
Audra Dankwardt
IAC Model UN Program Coordinator
audra@iacompetitions.com
Audra is a PhD student in educational psychology in Massachusetts, who has worked as a committee chair for the Intro to Model UN sessions for the past two years, and has coordinated historical, geographical, and environmental simulations at the International History Olympiad, International Geography Championships, and International Environmental Science Olympiad.
Shravan Balaji
IAC Model UN Program Advisor
During his time as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania, Shravan was named to the National Collegiate Model UN All-Star Team. Shravan has coordinated historical simulations (which are similar to Model UN) at three separate International History Olympiads and currently works in the field of renewable energy investments in New York City.
Jay Wickliff
IAC Senior Director of Strategic Planning
Jay Wickliff advised the Model UN team while teaching social studies at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, VA, which has been ranked as the top high school in the USA. He has also worked for the past two years on the Intro to Model UN sessions, and in simulations at IAC’s world championship level events.
David Madden
IAC Executive Director
david@iacompetitions.com
IAC’s Executive Director, David Madden, competed in Model UN and won various awards while doing so at Ridgewood High School in New Jersey, on the Model UN team at Princeton University as an undergraduate and Public Policy Studies major, and on the team at the Free University of Berlin, Germany while studying for his master’s degree in international relations.