Cairo International Model United Nations (CIMUN) is a collegiate level model United Nations organisation that is based in Cairo, Egypt. [1] The CIMUN program is the oldest student activity on the American University in Cairo (AUC) campus and is currently recognised as one of the largest inter-collegiate model United Nations programs outside of North America. [2] It is well known for its annual conference in March.
It was founded in 1989 by a group of AUC students under the guidance of the Provost of AUC, Professor Earl Tim Sullivan, during his time as a professor in the department of political science. [3] [4]
A fund was made in 2005 in honour of Nadia Younes, under which a conference and meeting room for the support of the model United Nations was created. [5]
Since 2007, several elite high school students have been chosen by merit to join the conference. This has led to the expansion of the model from modelling only one UN council to seven: [6] the Security Council, HRC, ICJ, ECOSOC, International Criminal Court, CTC, and UN Women.
In 2010, CIMUN won the Outstanding Delegation Award while at the National Model United Nations Conference in New York. While this is the second time the group has won the award, this time is considered more important because the group was representing their own country, Egypt. CIMUN won the outstanding delegation award in all the following years. That means they won the award for twelve consecutive years along with multiple honorable mentions. [7] [8]
Each year a different High Board is chosen to lead the organization's team. Every High Board consists of three positions: Secretary General, Graduate Advisor and Organizing Committee Head. The following is a list of the High Boards since 2002:
CIMUN holds an annual conference in March. [9] Its primary goal is to increase student interest in and awareness of the United Nations and international affairs. [10] [11] The conference events are wholly organised by students. [12] Participants from international universities—including Yale, Stanford, Columbia, Concordia, and Riverside City College—have attended the conference. [13] [14]
The following is a list of some notable keynote speakers for past March conferences, along with the year of the speech: