The THIMUN Foundation
In 1968, Mr. Paul Sand from The American High School in The Hague organised the first Model United Nations in The Hague. Today, The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN) is a non-profit educational foundation and a non-governmental organization NGO in consultative status with ECOSOC. THIMUN is directed by a Board of Directors which includes teachers from the Deutsche Internationale Schule Den Haag, the British School in The Netherlands, the Rijnlands Lyceum, Oegstgeest, The American School of The Hague, the International School of The Hague and the Huygenslyceum in Voorburg. THIMUN has a permanently staffed office in The Hague.
The THIMUN Conference
The THIMUN conference is a five-day simulation of the United Nations for secondary school students, which takes place at the end of January each year in The Netherlands Congress Centre (Nederlands Congress entrum) in The Hague. THIMUN now attracts around 3,500 students and teachers from around 200 schools located in countries as far apart as Iceland and Australia, Finland and Argentina. The students themselves originate from about 100 different countries. Although the majority of participating schools are English-language-medium schools, a large number of participants attend schools where languages other than English are the medium of instruction. For such students, THIMUN offers an excellent opportunity to expand, develop and put into practice English language skills, on an informal as well as on a formal level. All the associated activities such as preparing resolutions, lobbying and debating are carried out in English and a high standard is demanded in the formulation of ideas, whether in the writing of resolutions or in arguing and debating with fellow students.
The Objectives
The object is to seek, through discussion, negotiation and debate, solutions to the various problems of the world: questions of human rights, protection of the environment, economic development, disarmament, the problems of youth and of refugees, as well as the more critical issues of war and peace. The young delegates, in seeking solutions to these problems, can learn to break away from narrow, national self-interest and develop true international cooperation. The research and preparation required, the adoption of views and attitudes other than their own, the involvement and interaction with so many other young people from around the world, all combine to give the young people a deep insight into the world’s problems, to make them aware of the causes of conflict between nations and to lead them to a better understanding of the interests and motivation of others. Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, who visited THIMUN in 2002, stated: “The fact that THIMUN exists to uphold the ideals of the United Nations among the young is particularly important since it is from the young that we should draw our energy and inspiration as we strive to make the United Nations effective and responsive to the needs of the people worldwide.”
The Hague
The City of The Hague is closely associated with the United Nations. It is the seat of the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons as well as being the seat of the Dutch Parliament and the Residence of the Royal Family. The Royal Family has been very supportive over the years: two of the Royal Princes were delegates at THIMUN conferences, Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands was guest of honour at the XVand the XX Anniversary Sessions and Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, a former delegate himself, formally opened the XXV Anniversary Session in 1993 and the XXXII Annual Session in 2000.