Model United Nations Committee Software
Software to manage MUN debate has become an inseparable part of Model United Nations conferences. Traditionally, MUN software displays speakers time and transitions between the general speakers list and types of caucuses. However, MUN software has evolved to do much more. Today MUN software can provide statistics measuring a delegate’s participation, provide collaboration tools for draft resolutions and much more.
Some conferences dictate which MUN software to use while the many others leave it up to chairs discretion. The majority of MUN software is free and is mostly developed by students who love Model UN. Some help facilitate the debate better than others and some are specifically designed to manage specialized committees like MUN crisis. Knowing the differences, advantages, and disadvantages are important to prospective chairs and conference organizers.
Below is a list of the Model UN software available Committee management, along with ratings and tips to get the most out of your software and get the best experience for your delegates and conference.
wxMUN
wxMUN is a solid, friendly and very useful MUN program though it requires a bit of training. wxMUN needs to be downloaded to your computer and can be used even when offline. The strong point of this software is in managing the speakers list, moderated caucuses and unmoderated caucuses in addition to that it’s especially comfortable for yielding time and moving from voting with rights to the single speakers list facilitates the voting process smoothly and has a feature to hide the result until the end of the vote.
The one caveat is that wxMUN has not been updated since 2013.
Countries and flags can still be added but that requires editing the code which, while not so difficult, does require a drop of know-how.
How to Add a new Entity to WXMUN
Data Input
It works : )
Managing Debate
Easy
Look & Feel
Ok, but dated
Customization
If you know what you are doing
Tool Tip
While great for conventional Model UN, EU, AU, and other multinational bodies. However, due to lack of regular updates, basic coding skills are needed to add flags and country names for historical, crisis and other unique committees.
MUNcoordinated
MUNcoordinated is a free and open-source cloud-based MUN software, so no need to install software on your PC. You can change the software to meet your needs or contribute to the program to make it better for all the MUNers around the globe.
MUNcoordinated has new features such as the ability to choose between introducing a new caucus, extending one, and the introduction of a draft resolution. It also has a place to input who seconds a motion, a place for chairs to write notes and an option to upload draft resolutions. This extra level of customization is not yet perfect (e.i countries takes a bit longer to input than other platforms). MUNcoordinated is worth giving a try despite the few cumbersome elements as it provides many great features not seen elsewhere. A great alternative to ChairMUN and wxMUN. Give it a try and let the MUNcoordinated team know if you have any feedback.
Data Input
It works
Managing Debate
Easy
Look & Feel
new nice look
Customization
Open source, do as you see fit.
Tool Tip
Adding speakers to a moderated caucus requires you to choose if they are ‘for’, ‘against’ or ‘neutral’. You cannot progress without taking this step so if you are at a conference where speakers do not declare what side they are speaking for know that you need to press one of the three options to add them to the list.
MUN Command Session
MUN Command is the new kid on the bock when it comes to MUN Chairing-Software and so far seems to be doing a pretty darn good job. In addition to the MUN Chairing-Software MUN Command is also developing more MUN Software to support other MUN Conference needs to be a more one-stop-shop for everything MUN.
MUN Command Session allows for custom speakers to be created, motions to be collected and a committee set up. The team behind MUN Command Session has put a focus on the user interface, and it shows. The platform is pretty simple to use and is getting updated frequently.
I really like the fact that MUN Command Session is still working on rolling our new feature and they are just an email away from listening to MUNer’s suggestions on what may be needed in upcoming updates. They seem to be truly motivated to improve the software to best meet your MUN chairing needs.
Data Input
Works well
Managing Debate
Easy to use
Look & Feel
new fresh look
Customization
Plenty
Tool Tip
Set up a committee as you need it with observers and veto powers and click on “Start Session”.
If then you click on the top left menu you can export the committee and reload it at a later stage through the committee setup. This way you can create templates, save and share them and load them anytime.
Tikara
Tikara is a basic MUN software that manages the speakers lists and voting. Tikara is clean and easy to use. The main drawback is the process of inputting data and the speed of use. However, once done, Tikara has a clear and visible speakers list opposite a large timer. Standard and reliable, Tikara is not known to have issues but is also limited to the options of what it can do.
Data Input
Managing Debate
Look & Feel
Customization
Tool Tip
If you plan on running Tikara make sure to have Java installed, as Tikara runs on Java.
Chairmun
If you are looking for a Model UN software that is easy to setup and intuitive to use Chairmun is high on that list. Chairmun is web-based and requires only an email and password to set up an account. Chairmun is free for under 50 delegates, though the non paid version also lacks some features, customization ability and statistics.
A notable positive feature is the ease of which add countries that are not in the program. You can also add characters, especially useful for historical or crisis committees. Created by Canadian students Tyler Han and Young Lee, Chairmun not only gives you a clean interface to manage debate but also the statistics of how often each delegates speaks. There are occasional login issues, and some of the features could be smoother but with a quick start, some customization and a good level of control, Chairmun is a MUN software you should definitely check out.
Data Input
Managing Debate
Look & Feel
Customization
Tool Tip
Make sure you have reliable internet access. ChairMUN is web-based and if the internet cuts out you could lose your software.
Master of Disaster Crisis Software
A leading software built specifically for MUN joint cabinet crisis simulations, developed by Jonas Bokelmann, a student at the London School of Economics (LSE).
Master of Disaster has notable features such as real-time notifications, directive response via comment-style system, messages between delegates, delegate profiles and bio files visible online, real-time news updates and cabinet-specific announcements from the backroom. From the directors side, Master of Disaster gives solid administrative control for the directors and real-time crisis statistics. Master of Disaster is currently free and no admin interaction is needed once Jonas sends you a user.
Data Input
Managing Debate
Look & Feel
Customization
Tool Tip
Master of Disaster has a “try it” section where you can try out the various interfaces.
Especially useful for Crisis Directors who are considering the software.
Slack
Slack is a cloud-based instant messaging platform to organize workflow. Slack is not a MUN software and does not help run debate in committee but it has reached our list because it has replaced Facebook at some conferences, as a platform to share draft resolutions for delegates who do not have, and don’t want to get Facebook. Slack can support communication within blocs and between blocs. It can also facilitate communication between chairs and delegates. Slack needs to be set up from scratch for each conference but it is intuitive and easy to use. Slack works well as a platform to share and review draft resolutions, given that it was not designed for MUN.
Data Input
Managing Debate
Look & Feel
Customization
Tool Tip
Slack is a very powerful tool if you set things up correctly and train your delegates on how to use the system in the way you intend.
Online Stopwatch + Microsoft Word
It might seem surprising but some MUN chairs still use l use a combination of a stopwatch and Microsoft word to run their committees. This barebones strategy usually stems from not knowing about other types of MUN software, such as WXMUN and ChairMUN. There are many downsides such as switching between applications, writing in the name of every country from scratch and manually changing the time on the stopwatch.
Data Input
Managing Debate
Look & Feel
Customization
Tool Tip
Word: Write headlines. It helps delegates know they’re looking at a speakers list or moderated caucus.
Stopwatch: Some users open two or three stopwatches with different pre-set times. Moving between windows is faster than manually changing times.
The best tip I could give is only used such tools as last resort 🙂 Almost any MUN software will be better than using Word and a stopper to keep track of your committee
Munrun
The main advantage of Munrun is that it also deals with the resolutions. Munrun has a place to upload documents and review resolutions and amendments. Developed by Australian student Michael West, and has a Tikara feel. Along with the ability to edit documents, other innovative features are where speakers can be marked to speak for or against or the ability to zoom into text. One of the features that may take getting used to is the blank word-like page which lets you write motions and speakers. For windows, like there are many buttons and, while almost no element of Model UN is left out, moving between them can be a pain or counter-intuitive. However, if the screen gets too full there is a button that hides the names and times and leaves you with a clear screen.
Data Input
Managing Debate
Look & Feel
Customization
Tool Tip
Munrun is the true all of Model UN in one software and especially good for editing the tracking resolution changes. However, moving to this software from more basic ones takes getting used to it.
MUN Administration Program
A fairly basic Model United Nations program that can be described as a clunkier and less esthetic version of wxMUN. Is it also limited on features and only provides a Speakers list, Votes & Warnings. Along with a lack of options for caucusing or to add countries, the screen size is fixed and not open to resize.
Data Input
Managing Debate
Look & Feel
Customization
Tool Tip
If a conference requires you to use this software show them this article and choose another one.
Deus Crisis Platform – RIP
Developed by two students from York University, Deus was one of the first student-created software platforms built specifically for cross cabinet crisis simulations. Deus took a bit of work to get used to but once learned it was quite intuitive and dealt with all the major parts of crisis from submitting directives to news updates. Deus paved the way for future software improving over emails, google forms and paper. Deus was an excellent platform to use for any crisis from 10 delegates to 100.
RIP Deus Crisis Platform
Data Input
Managing Debate
Look & Feel
Customization
Tool Tip
If you are looking for a joint cabinet crisis software you may want to check out Master of Disaster.
Model United Nations Software (MUNS) – RIP
MUNS was created by Duisburg-Essen Model United Nations (DueMUN) a Model UN club based in the Ruhr Area of Germany.
While no longer operational, the main advantage of MUNS was the EU Qualified Majority Vote Calculator. All other features, such as quorum calculator, caucus timer and speakers list manager can be found in most other MUN software. In addition to that MUNS had two independent speakers lists, which is the MUNS version of a separate timer for individual speakers this feature is not used often but can still be found in MUN committee management software like ChairMUN. The software was not particularly unique overall, and lacking flags or an attractive speakers screen, MUNS simple covered the MUN basics but that is where it ends.
DuEMUN is no longer live
