Dear Students, Faculty, and Guests,

On behalf of the Institute of Domestic and International Affairs, Inc., I would like to cordially invite you to the seventeenth annual Rutgers Model United Nations conference to be held at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick, New Jersey on 20-23 November 2008. RUMUN 2008 promises to be an innovative and enriching four-day simulation of the United Nations, giving students the opportunity to examine pressing international issues in a cooperative and interactive learning environment. Not only will students acquire a better knowledge of the world around them, but they will also develop important communicative and leadership skills, engage in discussion with their peers, and work towards solutions to complex global problems. Our enthusiastic staff is committed to providing the most dynamic educational experience possible for students, advisors, and guests alike!

At RUMUN 2008, students will take a more extensive look at the motives prompting UN action and methodology, both historically and in present day.  Rather than just assess the success of the United Nations in today’s terms, topics and discussions will explore the founding purposes of the UN, allowing delegates to understand the evolution of the organization, while developing innovative solutions to today’s most pressing problems.  Students at RUMUN 2008 will leave with a deeper understanding of the UN's role in the greater global community, but most of all, they will discover the importance of asking the right questions instead of relying upon others offering the answers..

Together with traditional committees that will deal with topics that address long-standing problems facing the UN, RUMUN 2008 also offers a wealth of advanced committees that look more closely at historical and contemporary issues. The Organization of American States will take an important look at the situation in Cuba, as well as the ever-increasing security concerns of smaller island nations in the region. The Historic Security Council will revisit the Korean Conflict, challenging students to place themselves fifty years in the past and process events as if in real-time. Similarly, the UN Charter Convention of 2008 will ask delegates to consider the original intent behind the Charter, looking back more than six decades in order to best inform their decisions in the present-day.

Registration for RUMUN 2008 will begin on 1 May 2008 on the IDIA website. It is essential that you register your school as early as possible due to high demand and limited space. I encourage you to explore the RUMUN website to better acquaint yourself with the excellent range of committees and topics we have to offer! Additionally, I recommend that you take advantage of our Conference Outreach Program, an initiative that arranges staff visits to your school to answer questions, explain rules of procedure, and help your students prepare for the conference.

If at any time you have any questions or concerns about the registration process or the conference itself, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am extremely excited for your presence at RUMUN 2008 and wish you the best of luck until we meet again in November!

Sincerely,

Ruchi Gupta
Secretary-General
Rutgers Model United Nations 2008