How to WHO?

How to WHO A guide for WHO Simulations

IFMSA Executive Board 2016-2017 President Omar Cherkaoui - Morocco Vice-President for Activities Dominic Schmid - Switzerland Vice-President for Members Monica Lauridsen Kujabi - Denmark Vice-President for Finances Joakim Bergman - Sweden Vice-President for External Affairs Marie Hauerslev - Denmark Vice-President for Capacity Building Andrej Vujkovac - Slovenia Vice-President for PR and Communication Firas Yassine - Lebanon

The International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization representing associations of medical students worldwide. IFMSA was founded in 1951 and currently maintains 130 National Member Organizations from 122 countries across six continents, representing a network of 1.3 million medical students.

IFMSA envisions a world in which medical students unite for global health and are equipped with the knowledge, skills and values to take on health leadership roles locally and globally, so to shape a sustainable and healthy future.

IFMSA is recognized as a nongovernmental organization within the United Nations’ system and the World Health Organization; and works in collaboration with the World Medical Association.

Publisher International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA)

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Contents

Foreword What is a WHO Simulation?

IFMSA Support in Organizing WHO Simulations Structures and Objectives of WHO Simulations Themes Delegates Debate

www.ifmsa.org

Resolution Writing General Organization

Disclaimer: This guide is nothing more than just a guide. It is not meant to tell you how you must run a WHO Simulation, only how it is generally done. Feel free to change your approach.

Also, if you find any part of this guide especially useful, feel free to use it in your training materials for staff and delegates! Just mention you got it from this guide.

Photo Credit: Cover: WHO/Oliver O’Hanla Pages 5, 10, 15, 16, 19, 24, 28: NorWHO - 2016 Pages 7, 14, 18, 26: CalWHO - 2016 Page 13: Taiwan WHO Simulation

Foreword Dear global health enthusiasts worldwide, For more than 60 years, IFMSA has been engaging with the World Health Organization in order to ensure meaningful youth participation in global health governance. IFMSA has actively participated in WHO meetings, the most significant of which is the annual World Health Assembly, serving as the main arena for global health discussions among member states and civil society. IFMSA sends delegations to these meetings, representing the voice of our National Member Organizations counting for 1.3 million medical students, on many global health topics.

Activities such as WHO Simulations provide the perfect platform to get a gist of how global health diplomacy works and to build capacity of youth and provide skills in advocacy, global health leadership and policy engagement, as well as increase understanding of the internal working mechanisms of WHO. We would like to sincerely thank all the contributors to this manual, especially Dr. David Benrimoh, the former WHO Simulations Transnational Project Coordinator of IFMSA.

This document is a legacy of their dedication and hard work towards forming future global health leaders and building the capacity of our federation. As we are used to say in IFMSA, capacity building does not merely support what we do, it is what we do. This is why we are delighted to share with you this guide on how to organize WHO Simulations in your own country.

May it help global health enthusiasts in their efforts to organize more of these events in the future.

Happy WHOing!

Marie Hauerslev, Liaison Officer to WHO 2015-16 and Vice-President for External Affairs 2016-17

Amine Lotfi, Liaison Officer to WHO 2016-17

What is a WHO Simulation?

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that is concerned with international public health. It was established on April 7, 1948, and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The WHO is a member of the United Nations Development Group. Its predecessor, the Health Organization, was an agency of the League of Nations.

The topics to be discussed are global health topics — past, present, or future — and delegates have the opportunity to think of solutions to enduring global health issues.

The World Health Assembly is the legislative and supreme body of WHO. Based in Geneva, it typically meets yearly in May. It appoints the Director-General every five years, and votes on matters of policy and finance of WHO, including the proposed budget. It also reviews reports of the Executive Board and decides whether there are areas of work requiring further examination.

What’s more, WHO simulations are political simulations, which means that delegates, in pursuing their roles, will come into conflict, make allies and enemies, engage in public and back-room dealing, cajole and coerce, compromise and stand their ground, and use all the other tricks of the diplomatic trade to attain the goals inherent in their individual roles. The style of debate itself is also simulated: at the front of the room, a dais - those who chair the committee - conduct the debate according to correct UN procedure. This provides not only an extra level of immersion, but a way to keep a meeting of more than a hundred delegates running smoothly.

A WHO Simulation is just what it sounds like: a simulation of a meeting of the WHO World Health Assembly (which will be referred to as the General Assembly or GA in this guide).

This means that delegates come prepared to take on the role of a representative from a certain country, company, NGO, the press or an important individual, and, while staying true to that role, debate, discuss, and write up motions known as resolutions, that are to be voted on by the committee.

To sum it all up, a WHO Simulation is a Model United Nations (Model UN) focused on the work of the WHO; it is a global health conference meant to simulate the political, social, cultural and economic realities that define the world of global health policy and diplomacy. Finally, the simulation is targeted towards future health professionals, but should be open to students from many programs, to encourage interprofessional education and collaboration.

WHO at a glance

What is a WHO Simulation attempting to achieve?

Why is it important?

The ultimate goal of a WHO Simulation is educational.

Many future health professionals get very little exposure to the

Delegates will have the chance to learn about global health

politics that, in the end, shape the way they will practice. This

issues, and to see those issues through the lens of each

makes it difficult for health professionals to fulfill their roles as

country they deal with at the simulation. Beyond the facts,

advocates, because many do not have a firm grasp on the

which delegates will not only conduct research but will

political process and the skills needed to succeed in it. The

have a chance to really get a feel for the economic, social,

WHO Simulation fills this gap in our education, and serves as

cultural, and political context surrounding global health

a call to health professionals and students from other domains

issues. Delegates will learn to both read and write global

to stand up and become active in the domain of health policy.

health policy, develop their leadership, public speaking and organizational skills, and begin to grasp the skills needed for global health diplomacy (such as knowing the facts, knowing one’s allies and ‘enemies’, learning to read people and having good interpersonal skills, etc.). These skills are cultivated not by learning about them, but by practicing them, and as such the simulation provides an opportunity that goes far beyond any classroom teaching or literature based research project.

In addition, the simulation helps to provide perspective: delegates are asked to represent a country or organization whose views, ideas, and methods may stray far from their own. And yet, delegates must take on these roles; in so doing they will be able to learn more about other countries or cultures, about the interests and goals that drive them, and about the specific challenges they face. This will breed understanding, though not necessarily acceptance, and will

In addition, the speakers and workshops that are often offered

give delegates who have never really thought about other

by WHO Simulations are a great opportunity for delegates

countries or cultures a chance to learn about them. In this

to hear from people on the frontlines of global health policy.

way, the simulation serves as a portal to the world of health

Furthermore, this event is, in an important way, a social event

diplomacy and is an opportunity, we believe, that should be

that allows students from different walks of life, different

provided to as many IFMSA members as possible.

programs (future health professionals, political scientists, economists, etc.) and holding different convictions to come together, meet each other, and perhaps found friendships and partnerships that could one day change the world of global health. Finally, delegates are expected to produce resolutions by the end of the simulation, which aim to be real answers to real problems.

IFMSA Support in Organizing WHO Simulations As you will read in the following chapters of this manual, organizing a WHO Simulation can be quite complex and very challenging. If it is your first time organizing such an event, you will definitely need support. IFMSA is capable of providing you with such support!

Previously, WHO Simulations organized in different National Member Organizations (NMOs) were recognized as a so-called “IFMSA Transnational Project”. This “WHO Simulations Transnational Project” had a Project Coordinator who was responsible to communicate and coordinate with NMOs interested in organizing a WHO Simulation. The Project structure back in these days did have several flaws however: it was seldom checked if the main goal of projects was actually achieved and the impact of the activities was not properly quantified. For WHO Simulation, this meant that IFMSA did not really know whether the participants of the Simulation were actually able to improve their understanding of international health governance.

This was one reason why IFMSA started a reform process.

The Project Structure from before was replaced by two new Structures that are relevant to WHO Simulations: the Sub Regional Training and the Program Structure.

Although the term Sub Regional Training (SRT) has existed before, it was never officially regulated by the IFMSA Team of Officials. NMOs were free to organize SRTs and have them run as official IFMSA events. Following the adoption of the new set of Bylaws at August Meeting 2015, SRTs are now centrally registered. The member of the Executive Board responsible for SRTs is the Vice-President for Capacity Building (VPCB). He or she receives all SRT applications and forwards them to the relevant Official for consultation. After this process, the VPCB approves the SRT.

Registering your WHO Simulation as a SRT has multiple benefits: • You have the right to use the IFMSA logo in your publications (as long as your respect the IFMSA Corporate Identity).

• Your event can be promoted through the communication channels of IFMSA. • You receive a support letter from IFMSA that can be used, for example when contacting external speakers, sponsors, etc.

• You will receive assistance from the relevant Official in organizing your event. In the case of WHO simulations, the Liaison Officer to the World Health Organization (LWHO).

• All participants in your WHO Simulation receive a certificate of attendance directly from IFMSA. • Documents that your produce at your WHO Simulation can actually be forwarded to the World Health Organization through the Liaison Officer.

• Your WHO Simulation will be added to the IFMSA Annual Report.

In order to register your WHO Simulation as an SRT, please fill out the following Google Form: Once you register, you will be contacted by the VPCB about the next steps. There is no need for you to directly contact the LWHO, this will be done by the VPCB. Having your WHO Simulation recognized as a SRT is only one part, however. The VPCB and the LWHO will also involve another party in IFMSA: the Program Coordinators.

A Program is an umbrella structure for time-bound Activities that fall under a common topic. The main goal behind a Program is to measure the impact of IFMSA and NMO Activities on society in a specific area. As of term 2016/17, IFMSA has 18 active Programs. The term Activity describes every action taken by IFMSA and its NMOs to work towards IFMSA’s mission and vision. Activities include Workshops, Campaigns, Events, Training Sessions, and Projects.

In order to measure impact, Activities need to be affiliated with a Program. The first step in your process is enrolling your Activity to the relevant Program by a Google form. In this form, you will be asked for specific objectives, a timeline and indicators of success you have for your WHO Simulation. The relevant Program Coordinator will be happy to assist you with this step.

Once the WHO Simulation is conducted, the Program Coordinator will provide you with a form to report your Activity. In this form, you can check whether you achieved the goals you set yourself. By consulting the indicators of success you have defined in the enrollment step, you can actually measure your success.

WHO Simulations fall under different Programs, mainly depending on the topic of the WHO Simulations. For example, a WHO Simulation focusing on Antimicrobial Resistance will be enrolled under the Communicable Disease Program.

On the other hand, a WHO Simulation mostly concerned with the tobacco epidemic will focus be enrolled under the Healthy Lifestyles and Noncommunicable Disease Program.

WHO Simulations that are concerned with Universal Health Coverage or the impact of trade agreements on health can be enrolled under the Health Systems Program.

If you conduct a WHO Simulation, there is no need for you to contact an individual Program Coordinator. The VPCB and the LWHO will redirect to the Vice-President for Activities who oversees the work of the Programs. He or she will help you enroll your WHO Simulation.

Structure and Objective of a WHO Simulation The organizing committee can decide who they would like to participate in the WHO Simulation- that is, if they are going to restrict it to one city, to a province, or open up registration for national or even international participants. This in turn depends on the size of the simulation. A small WHO Simulation with only 60 persons might only invite delegates from one city or province; a larger one with 100+ persons and several committees may invite national or international participation. In addition, it is highly recommended to not just invite IFMSA members - all future health professionals, and students of other subjects, should ideally be invited in order to enrich the experience and provide an opportunity for interprofessional education.

The organizers would aim to have high level speakers and experts on the theme invited, to give talks but also be available to debate the topics with participants. In addition, WHO Simulations should also serve as a sort of training ground for delegates, so they can get ready to participate in real WHO Meetings, such as the World Health Assembly or Regional Committees. As such, care should be taken by

organizers to ensure that effort is put into offering training for delegates on diplomatic skills, health advocacy, and WHO debate procedure.

Ideally there will be at least one WHO Simulation for each region (Europe, EMR, Asia-Pacific, Americas, Africa).

These simulations are usually run by one National Member Organization (NMO) or an NMO in partnership with another group, and NMOs may seek support from the Liaison Officer to the WHO or international teams in order to organize a WHO simulation.

The objective of each committee within a WHO Simulation is to produce either written documents (Resolutions, Guidelines or Reports) or solutions to a Crisis, or both, depending on the type of committee.

Structure of the WHO Simulation: Committees are the heart of the WHO Simulation experience, and any simulation can have these committee types: A. The General Assembly (GA): This is the main committee, modeled after the World Health Assembly (click here for more). Absolutely every simulation must have at least a GA. The GA debates general WHO topics, usually one theme per WHO Simulation with several subtopics contained within the theme (see the section on Themes and Theme Guides). The theme of the GA is also generally (but not always) the theme of the simulation as a whole, and the speakers and any other committees should relate to this theme in some way. Again, the goal is for delegates to debate the topic in question and then write up resolutions aimed at addressing these topics.

Delegates usually first meet in regional blocks (often for 3 sessions) and then gather together in a Plenary to produce and debate resolutions. The regional blocks gather countries from the same geographical area to discuss the theme and come up with draft regional resolutions that will usually be incomplete, because most nations’ allies and trade partners include countries from other regions. During Plenary delegates will seek out their allies from other regions, flesh out their resolutions or even create new ones, and merge similar resolutions. A note on merging resolutions: the dais (the chairs of the committee) may decide that two resolutions are similar enough and ask the delegates who have written them to merge them.

There are usually 3 Plenary sessions, and in the last one the committee usually enters voting procedure, where all the resolutions are voted on. The voting procedure is explained below. In GAs, delegates represent countries, reporters from the press, NGOs, philanthropists, etc. but not individual people (i.e., not ministers or health officials).

The general flow of the general assembly is as follows: the chairs will either open a speaker’s list (a list of people wishing to make prepared speeches that will be pursued in order) or a moderated caucus (delegates wishing to speak more freely and enter direct debate are recognized by the chair and are then allowed to speak). Chairs must be careful to make sure that all delegates have a chance to speak. In the GA, a debate will begin that will highlight some of the points that

are most important to the delegates present. Some delegates may wish for a moderated caucus about specific issues, to focus debate. Eventually, there will have been enough debate that delegates will want to start working on their ideas for resolutions. At this point the committee will likely move into an unmoderated caucus, a mini-recess where delegates can stand up, talk to their allies, and start writing their resolutions.

The committee is then called to order, the speaker’s list or moderated caucus is started up again, and the cycle repeats itself until the resolutions are ready to be voted on.

It is important to note is that, if there is only one theme, delegates should be allowed to discuss any part of that theme at any time; chairs do not need to try and steer the conversation - except when the committee is making no progress on a particular point. At those times the chair may suggest that delegates move to another point. If there are multiple themes (which is rare) or if the single theme is particularly broad, it is very possible that delegates will not have time to discuss everything. This must simply be accepted - the same thing happens in the real world. Not all issues can be addressed, debated, and solved in a few days. It is up to delegates to guide their own discussions and to decide what is important to them. Indeed, some countries may, as part of their worldview, attempt to actively avoid speaking about or addressing certain issues; as such, seeing which issues get left behind is part of the “fun” of watching the dynamic of the delegates. Many international meetings are defined not by what they say, but by what they do not. Thus, chairs must maintain a careful balance: they must keep debate on track, and keep it from going off-topic, but at the same time they cannot guide the overall progression of the discussion. That is for the delegates to decide, collectively and whether they realize it or not.

It is important to note that, during the regional block sessions, delegates should be free to roam between the regional blocks in order to get a head start on Plenary negotiations.

This is especially true for reporters, industry and NGO representatives.

As a rule, country delegates are the only delegates with voting rights at the GA. NGO representatives and company representatives are observers - they have speaking rights, and are allowed to place a limited number (determined by the organizers) of seals of approval on resolutions, but they may

not vote on substantive or procedural matters. Reporters may not speak or vote; instead, they interview delegates and put together news stories that are presented to the delegates.

To keep things interesting, the GA may have crisis elements; for example, the reporters might leak a story about a secret deal between two delegates, or the organizing committee can create a scandal implicating several delegates. Press conferences on specific issues of contention involving the onthe-spot questioning by reporters of high-profile delegates are always a good idea, especially if the organizing committee is able to film the press conference and play it back to the committee.

B. Crisis Committees: These are smaller committees aimed at solving a particular crisis situation which evolves over time and which reacts to the actions of delegates. The crisis may be current, historical or imagined, and the committee does not need to be a real committee of the WHO (often, we just call made-up committees “ad-hoc” committees, and say that they have been convened for the express purpose of solving the current crisis). Delegates may be countries, individuals, NGO or company representatives, etc. The crisis may be single (one room of delegates), double-joint (two rooms of delegates, often working against each other), triple-joint (three rooms), etc.

The crisis committee is very special, as it involves humanitarian, health, political, military and social aspects. Delegates may be asked to stop the spread of a virus, to help refugees in a warzone, etc. and in dealing with these complex problems they will be given freedom to suggest to their home government to take action on the ground. For example, in stopping the spread of a virus they may quarantine a whole nation via naval blockade and a no-fly zone; to help refugees, they may create a coalition of nations that will enter the region as peacekeepers, escorting aid workers. As stated above, their actions will have consequences - the quarantine might fail, or lead to the death of innocents.

The trick, for crises, is that the crisis must be something that evolves quickly. Something like a pandemic, or a conflict producing many refugees - not something slow, like the widening gap between rich and poor. That being said, the time that passes in each committee session can be manipulated by

the organizing committee, so that a few weeks, months, and in rare cases, years, may pass during and between sessions.

The crisis itself is controlled by a small team within the organizing committee known as the Crisis team, led by the Crisis team leader. They will be responsible for planning the crisis before the WHO Simulation, deciding on the general twists and turns the crisis will take, and changing the story to respond to the actions of delegates. They decide the consequences of the delegates’ actions, and also act as “home government”, the entity that must approve all requests for action by delegates. The team may brief delegates on new developments at any time, putting out press releases, videos, or acting as experts, humanitarian or military personnel and running briefing sessions. These committees are all about creativity, and the more creative the crisis team, the better!

Crisis committees are always either in moderated or unmoderated caucus. However, crisis committees do not have to produce resolutions: they must instead write directives, simple notes to the chair delineating specific actions the committee wants to take. Delegates may also attempt to undertake unilateral action through personal directives sent to the Crisis team. Now, crisis committees may produce resolutions, but generally the crisis moves too quickly and there is no time to put properly worded resolutions together.

As long as two other delegates agree to debate the directive it will be presented before the committee for debate and to be voted on.

Notes and note passing:

Laptops and other electronic devices:

While in session delegates will usually communicate with each other by written notes. These notes are passed around by returning officers, volunteers who bravely accept the role of messenger for a day. Delegates will write their note, fold the page, and write who the note was from and who it is meant for. Delegates will then hold the note up until the returning officer comes and takes it.

Each WHO Simulation can make its own rules regarding electronic devices. This being the Information Age, delegates should be allowed and encouraged to use laptops, cell phones, tablets, etc. to write resolutions and perform research.

Delegates should only communicate via electronic devices on approved forums, such as twitter feeds, facebook pages. That way, the conversations add to the simulation. Of course, there is no way to stop delegates from emailing each other clandestinely - but then again, back-room deals are part of real life and add their own flair to the simulation. That being said, if no one is speaking because they are all hiding behind laptops checking facebook for other non-related purposes, then the Chair may ban all electronics for a period of their choosing.

Importantly, chairs may wish to see all notes if they fear that someone is being inappropriate or if they are in a crisis committee and would like to know what all the delegates are doing. The chair may simply request returning officers to show them all notes before passing them to their intended recipients.

Delegates may also pass another form of note: the note to home government. This note will be marked “to the home government of country X� and will be given by the returning officer to the chair, crisis team, theme team, or whatever other organizing committee member has been given the responsibility of acting as the home government. The purpose of these notes is explained in the section on delegates.

Themes of a WHO Simulation Each WHO Simulation must have a theme - a general global health topic such as “access to healthcare,” “human resources for health,” “global mental health.” This theme will be what the GA discusses and, as stated above, all of the other committees should have something to do with this theme, that way the theme guide for the simulation (which is a good amount of work and will be discussed below) will apply to all of the committees. It is advised not to repeat a theme for at least four years, to ensure that returning delegates will not be discussing the same theme twice.

As a rule, themes should be broad - broad enough that every country in the world has something to say or something at stake when discussing it. It must also be something that invites debate on social, cultural, economic, and political levels; that is, the theme for the GA cannot be a discussion of the scientific validity of a particular methodology used in a series of studies.

Themes must be far reaching, inviting interpretation and having sufficient degrees of freedom that multiple solutions and approaches to the problem are possible.

For example, a theme such as “global mental health” would be perfect for a WHO Simulation. It is an important, pervasive

issue that affects every single nation on earth; the definition and treatment of mental health are by no means universally agreed upon; mental health issues and suicide have huge social, cultural, and economic dimensions; and everything from differing social attitudes to mental illness, to poverty, religion and stigmatization are important in understanding the issue.

Finally, be bold. Be bold in selecting your theme, in exposing delegates to issues they may not be familiar with or which are being ignored by the world. Be creative, choosing themes that are either rarely discussed, or taking well-used themes and presenting them in a new light. Above all else, encourage thought: when presenting your theme and writing your theme guide, remember to make sure you tell delegates to do their own research and come up with their own creative solutions to the world’s problems.

Theme Guide The theme guide is the key document of the WHO Simulation.

It acts as background reading material for all delegates, serves as the main support document for the GA, provides limited and unbiased analysis of the issues, and essentially serves as a primer.

The theme guide should contain a good amount of information on the theme, give insight into the way different issues related to the theme effect it, and break the theme down into several sub-topics so that delegates can get a handle on the issues.

Most importantly, the theme guide should contain questions and jumping-off points for delegates to do their own research.

possible; the theme guide cannot be seen as trying to sway delegates towards one way of thinking. Of course, the theme guide may use language and espouse positions already formally adopted by the WHO. The theme guide, usually at least 60 pages long, represents the most important document of the simulation. It must be thoroughly researched and well-cited. The Theme Director should always employ a team that will help them create the document. If you feel your guide is good enough, try and publish it or an abridged version!

Deadlines

A delegate who only reads the theme guide is NOT a wellprepared delegate. The guide should contain a bibliography with links to online resources the delegates can use to do their own research on the issues. Remember to tell delegates that they need to research not only the theme, but the positions of their country or organization.

Theme guide must be posted online at least one month before the WHO Simulation, so that delegates will have adequate time to prepare and do their own research.

How to organize the theme guide?

• AmWHO 2015: Click Here

Case studies are an effective tool to convey information and should be used liberally in the writing of the guide. That being said, it is important that the analysis remain as neutral as

Examples of theme guides: • MonWHO 2016: Click Here

Delegates Delegates are students given a role to play. This role will be that of a diplomat, a reporter, or a representative from an NGO or corporation. They must fulfill that role, speaking as a representative of their nation or organization; they should not represent their own personal opinions. This is a good opportunity for delegates to learn about other ways of thinking, and to learn good debating skills (which require you to be able to defend any position). Delegates may sometimes act “out of character”. If this comes to the attention of the chair, the delegate should be spoken to and asked to remain in character in the future. Being out of character harms a delegate’s chance of winning an award.

Description of delegate roles: Different WHO Simulations may allow delegates to take on different roles; this is at the discretion of the organizer. But the more the merrier!

Countries: Country delegates are diplomats representing their nation. They have full voting and speaking rights. Their goal is to pursue their nation’s interests. They are expected to know their nation, its policies, its positions, its allies and enemies, and the way it would react to different proposals. As representatives they may not say “I” when they speak; they are to say “My country believes that,” or “the government of X feels that,” or “the people of Y are pleased that”. As simple representatives the have limited ability to influence their nation’s internal affairs and use of resources, and must ask home government to do so. Importantly, they are usually the only delegates in a committee with voting rights. This

means that the success or failure of resolutions depends on these delegates.

NGO Representatives: These are usually representatives of aid or humanitarian organizations, but can be representatives from NGO in official relations with the WHO. Their goal is to pursue the objectives of their organization. They have “observer” status and thus may speak, but cannot vote on procedural or substantive matters. That being said, they may place seals of approval (they usually have a limited number of these; that number is determined by the organizing committee) on resolutions. This makes resolutions seem stronger and more

likely to pass.

Industry Representatives: These are usually representatives of medical supply or pharmaceutical companies, or medical insurance companies, but any industry may be represented.

Their goal is to pursue the objectives of their corporation.

They have “observer” status and thus may speak, but cannot vote on procedural or substantive matters. That being said, the may place seals of approval on resolutions like NGO Representatives.

Journalists: Journalists present themselves as individual reporters working for various news agencies. As individual reporters they have more freedom to have opinions; that being said, they are expected to take on the bias of their parent news organization (or to remain relatively neutral if their news agency maintains neutrality). Journalists can neither speak nor vote in committee session, but they have a lot of work to do: they must interview delegates, write up news stories, uncover (or manufacture) scandals, and work closely with the media staff in order to bring this content to the other delegates. It is their role to sniff out the truth (... or subvert it.)

Delegate Preparation: Delegates must do their own research about the topic and their country’s position on it to be ready, and should always submit a position paper to the chairs of their committee before the simulation starts. Delegates should NOT come with prewritten resolutions as this lessens the importance of debate, creative thinking and compromise at the simulation and might be intimidating for newer delegates.

Position Paper: Position papers are a physical product of delegates’ independent research. This is a short essay that should introduce a delegate’s country, company, etc., which states their position on the issues and the reasons for that position, and can detail a general plan of action at the simulation. The quality of position papers is taken into account when deciding on which delegates win awards. Position papers should be well-researched, but they are not a research paper; generally they are 1-2 pages long. A biography or citations, while welcome, are not mandatory.

Below, you will find suggested readings that will be useful to you during your research for your position papers: a. The World Bank’s Health Statistics b. The WHO’s Global Health Observatory Data Repository c. CIA World Factbook d. WHO – International Health Regulations e. WHO – The World Health Report Delegate Materials: Delegates are given a PLACARD with their role (NOT THEIR NAME) printed on it, as well as an ID badge with their name and role. They should also be given a folder with note paper, a pen, a map of the venue and surrounding area, the simulation schedule (see below) and, if possible and applicable, a list of local restaurants and attractions. Try and get discounts and coupons from local businesses for delegates!

Delegate Discipline: Delegates must follow rules of debate (see below), and should be informed of these rules and given a brief training session on proper procedure by the chairs at the beginning of the simulation. Delegates must wear Business Attire, which may come from the country they represent.

In the extremely unlikely event that a delegate is disruptive or “cheats” in some way, they should be dealt with first by their chair and then by the organizing committee. Poorly behaved delegates are ineligible for awards, and, in extreme cases, may be asked to leave without refund. Abusive, oppressive, or harassing acts or language is not acceptable and should be dealt with swiftly (that is unless the abusive language is something said by a delegate acting in character during formal session).

Awards: There are several kinds of awards that are to be awarded to delegates who stay in character, show energy, creativity, and enthusiasm, who show preparation through their background guides and work at the simulation, and who, through their speeches and interaction with other delegates demonstrate a level of excellence. Of course, much of the work that can separate a good delegate from a great one

happens behind the scenes, during unmoderated caucus.

Thus it is recommended for chairs and organizing committee to circulate and “spy on” delegates during the unmoderated caucuses in order to get a better idea of which delegates are deserving of awards.

Here are the classes of award, by category and ranked within each category (all awards marked “best delegate” or “honorable mention” may be given to country, individual, NGO, and industry delegates. There is a separate award for Journalists):

• For the General Assembly: 1. Best Overall Delegate 2. Best Delegate, Regional Block • Overall: Best Media/Journalist:

Selecting Delegates for Committees: Delegates should be given the topics and a list of possible roles in advance; these should be listed on the WHO Simulation website when registration opens. Delegates should have to apply to be in committees, and should be asked on the application form which committee they would like to attend, which role they would like, and why. They should write a small passage demonstrating their general understanding of the subject matter, explaining their interest, and citing any previous relevant experience. Committee chairs and directors will then choose which delegates will sit on their committees.

Debate The COMMITTEE is composed of Delegates as well as the Dais. The Dais is composed of a Chairperson (referred to as Chair) and one or more Vice-Chairpersons (referred to as Vice-Chair).

Role of the Dais Members The Chair declares the opening and closing of each committee session. The Chair has control of committee proceedings during the simulation and will moderate the discussion, announce decisions, rule on any points or motions, and enforce the rules. The Chair can temporarily transfer his or her duties to any other member of the Dais. Procedural matters are subject to the discretion of the Chair. The Chair may take any action that is not covered in the Rules of Procedure in order to facilitate the flow of debate.

The Vice-Chair assists the Chair with procedural matters during the course of the committee sessions. The Vice Chair also helps delegates write working papers, edits them for format and approves their content; the Vice-Chair may suggest to delegates that they alter or combine their working papers in order to make them more appropriate to the topic at hand.

The Vice-Chair must approve all working papers before they can become Draft Resolutions.

The GOVERNMENTAL ACTORS are constituted by the country delegates. The country delegates seek to pursue the interests of their country. They are the only delegates who can vote in favor of or against the proposed resolution papers; they can thus use such authority to negotiate and compromise with the other countries and the non-governmental actors.

The NON-GOVERNMENTAL ACTORS include a representative a non-governmental organization or an industry representative. A non-governmental actor has the same rights as a full member except that he or she may not vote on substantive matters or be a sponsor to resolutions.

Delegates representing non-governmental organizations will have access to certain unique procedural actions, as follows: (1) Oral Statements to Committee: non-governmental actors may submit a written appeal to his or her chair explaining the topic and intention of the proposed statement (maximum 3 minutes). The chair will then, at his or her discretion, interrupt the normal flow of debate to introduce the delegate.

(2) Circulation of written pronouncements: nongovernmental actors may submit to the chair a written

pronouncement of no more than 500 words, addressing the position and work of his or her organization. This pronouncement will then, at the discretion of the chair, be distributed throughout the committee.

(3) Seals of Approval: NGOs and industry delegates get to place certain seals of approval on draft resolutions.

Every draft resolution will have a “Public-Private Feasibility Scale” (for industry) and a “Transparency and Accountability Index” (for NGOs). Seals of approval will be given out by delegates based on whether or not they think the draft resolutions meet their interests. a. Each Industry Representative is able to give 1 seal of approval per regional block, for a total of 4. b. Each NGO Representative is able to give 2 seals of approval per regional block, for a total of 8. c. The % of NGOs or Industry Representatives that approve a certain draft resolution is converted into a scale and published on the resolution. For example, if 3 NGOs give their seal of approval to Resolution 1.1, out of the 6 NGOs total, then Resolution 1.1 would receive a Transparency and Accountability Index score of 3/6 or 0.5 or 50%. d. Any draft resolution may still move on into the plenary, regardless of whether it has a score or not.

However, seals of approval by either NGOs or Industry Representatives can only be assigned in the regional blocks, and can only be moved in the plenary. For example, if MSF only approved 6 resolutions, and it is now time to debate in the plenary, MSF cannot add their remaining 2 seals of approval to any other resolutions.

They can however, easily move one of their 6 seals of approval onto a different resolution in the plenary.

Conduct of Procedings REGIONAL BLOCKS are committees with only delegates of a specific region. There are six regional blocks: Africa, Americas, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean Region, SouthEast Asia and Western Pacific. However, delegates are free to move around between regional blocks as they wish. Nongovernmental actors may speak in any regional block, but governmental actors may only speak in their regional block.

The Committee proceedings during the Regional Blocks will be conducted in Moderated Caucus format. During a moderated caucus, the Chair asks those delegates wishing to speak to raise their placards. The Chair will then recognize a delegate for remarks not exceeding the amount of time allotted. Once the delegate has completed their remarks, the Chair will ask whether Delegates have any points of motions.

The points and motions that can be made will be described below. If no points of motions are made, the next speaker will be chosen.

Delegates also have the option of entering an unmoderated caucus, as described below.

PLENARY SESSION is the committee that includes all delegates of the GA. Hence, it is a larger committee than the regional blocks. During the Plenary Session, committee proceedings will involve the use of a Speaker’s List.

SPEAKER’S LIST is the list that the Chair will open at the beginning of each committee session. Those delegates who wish to speak will be recognized and added to the list. Those who wish to be added later during the session may send a note to the Dais. During the Plenary Session, delegates may motion to enter a moderated or unmoderated caucus, as described below.

The Chair may specify the allotted speaking time to each speaker, alternatively, delegates may motion to set the speaking time or to increase/decrease the existing time. If the time allotted is exceeded the Chair will call the delegate to order.

Points Point of Personal Privilege: During the discussion of any matter, a delegate may raise a Point of Personal Privilege and the Chair shall immediately address the point. A Point of Personal Privilege must refer to a matter of personal comfort or safety and/or the well-being of the members of the committee.

For example, if a delegate is unable to hear the speaker. A Point of Personal Privilege may interrupt a speaker.

Point of Order: During the discussion of any matter, a delegate may raise a Point of Order and the Chair shall immediately consider the request. A Point of Order must relate to the rules of the committee or to the way the Chair is exercising his or her power. A delegate raising a Point of Order may not speak on the substance of the matter under discussion. A Point of Order may interrupt a speaker.

Point of Parliamentary Inquiry: If there is no discussion on the floor, a delegate may raise a Point of Inquiry to request clarification on procedure. A Point of Inquiry may never interrupt a speaker.

Right of Reply: A delegate may ask for a right of reply if that delegate feels that the delegate whose speech immediately preceded their demanding of a right of reply directly attacked them or the dignity of their nation. If the chair grants the right of reply, the delegate who feels that they or their nation have been attacked may speak for 30 seconds in response to the perceived attack.

Motions A MOTION is a proposal to change the flow of debate by changing the format of the debate, moving onto voting, or closing the debate.

1. Motion to enter a Moderated Caucus The purpose of a MODERATED CAUCUS is to allow delegates who are actively involved in the current committee proceedings to make their comments to the body without having to wait for their turn on the speaker’s list. The moderated caucus allows more delegates to speak within a shorter time frame than the speaker’s list, thus stimulating discussion and clarifying the positions of delegates involved. The motion for

a moderated caucus must include a time limit for delegate remarks and a time limit for the entire caucus (e.g. The Country of France moves for a five minute moderated caucus with a 30-second speaking time, for the purpose of specific topic). Such a moderated caucus would have enough time for ten speakers. During moderated caucuses, the chair shall recognize delegates for remarks without the use of a speakers list.

To motion for a moderated caucus is only in order during the plenary session; in the regional blocs the default is to be in a moderated caucus. In the plenary, once the time for the moderated caucus has expired, the committee session will return to either moderated caucus format or the speaker’s list.

2.Motion to enter an Unmoderated Caucus An UNMODERATED CAUCUS allows delegates to leave their seats and meet as groups in a unstructured format to discuss the progress of the committee session as well as continue editing working papers.

The recommendation for an unmoderated caucus requires a time limit to be made (e.g. The country of France moves for a 10-minute unmoderated caucus, for the purpose of specific topic). Unmoderated caucuses allow delegates to have informal discussions. Once the time for the unmoderated caucus has expired, the committee session will return to either moderated caucus format or the speaker’s list.

3. Closure of Debate A delegate may at any time during the final committee session move for the closure of debate on the item under discussion, after which the debate will end and all draft resolutions and amendments will be put to an immediate vote. Permission to speak on the closure of debate shall be accorded only to two speakers opposing the closure, after which the motion shall be immediately put to a vote. This motion requires two thirds majority decision. Upon passage of this motion, the Chair shall declare the closure of debate and immediately move into voting procedure on the substantive proposals introduced and pending before the committee. The Committee shall also close debate and move into voting procedure when the speaker’s list has been exhausted.

Order of Procedural Motions The motions below shall have precedence in the following order over all other proposals or motions before the committee and may interrupt the speaker: 1. Point of Personal Privilege 2. Point of Order All other points shall be considered in the order they are made or at the chair’s discretion.

Articles 1. Regional Blocks a. Charter: A Charter is a set of two to four adopted Resolutions that serve as sub-themes on a single theme. The Charter should seek to provide an overarching vision for how the issues in the theme can be addressed. b. Working Paper/Draft Resolutions: During the Regional Blocks, delegates will be working with other members of their Blokc to write WORKING PAPERS, which are essentially lists of ideas for solutions to the problems being discussed that are not structured in Draft Resolution format.

Working papers shall be submitted to the Vice-Chair for approval. All submissions must have the proper number of authors (called sponsors).

Industry representatives or NGOs may allocate their seals of approval onto working papers in a regional block. Industry representatives are limited to approving 1 working paper per regional block, while NGOs are limited to approving 2 working papers per regional block. Seals of approval may be allocated by informing the dais through a note, during unmoderated caucus, or by speaking during a moderated caucus.

Draft Resolutions and amendments shall be submitted to the Vice-Chair on the draft resolution forms given to delegates in committee. All submissions must have the proper number of sponsors (at least 3) and signatories (20 percent of countries present in committee).

A Sponsor is a delegate who has contributed to the writing of a draft resolution and fully agrees with all the clauses.

A signatory however, does not have to fully agree with the contents of the draft resolution. The delegate that signs a draft resolution as a SIGNATORY simply agrees that the resolution should be discussed in the committee session. After a draft resolution is introduced, additional sponsors can be added only if all existing sponsors of a resolution agree; signatories may not be removed once a resolution has been introduced.

During the course of the Plenary Session, delegates may also propose amendments to Draft Resolutions that have been presented. Once the dais approves the formatting, and the document has been distributed, the Chair will recognize a motion to introduce the Draft Resolution, described below.

Introducing Draft Resolutions Once the Vice-Chair has approved a draft resolution, a delegate may raise a motion to introduce the draft resolution.

The motion is automatically approved and does not require a vote. The content of the introduction shall be limited to summarize the operative clauses of the draft resolution.

After the draft resolution is introduced, the Chair will move into a five minute question and answer session, during which delegates may question the sponsors about the draft resolution’s content. Questions asked must specifically pertain to the substantive matters raised in the draft resolution. Time used to ask questions will not be deducted from the 5 minutes.

2. Plenary Session

Additional questions and comments regarding the resolution are encouraged to be raised through the speakers list or through moderated caucus.

Delegates may bring the working papers to the Plenary Session, where they will put them into formal DRAFT RESOLUTION format with the help of the committee ViceChairs.

Seals of approval previously allocated by industry and NGOs representatives in the regional blocks may be moved around introduced draft resolutions in the plenary until they are voted upon. Seals of approval may be moved by informing the dais

either through a note, at unmoderated caucus, or by speaking when called upon during moderated caucus.

Amendments An AMENDMENT is a clarification or a change to a draft resolution that incorporates additional interests or concerns into a formally submitted resolution.

Acceptable amendments include: addition of a word or phrase, deletion of a word or phrase, and/or a combination of addition and deletion.

Unacceptable amendments include: amendment of perambulatory clauses, and/or amendments that change the entire intent of the resolution.

Both friendly and unfriendly amendments require the approval of the Chair. An amendment is considered friendly if all sponsors of the initial draft resolution agree to its inclusion.

Such an amendment is adopted automatically. The committee votes unfriendly amendments on once debate has closed. An unfriendly amendment must have the approval of the ViceChair and the signatures of 20 percent of the committee.

Amendments to amendments are out of order.

Privilege, Parliamentary Inquiry or Order in connection with the actual conduct of the voting. Communication between delegates is strictly forbidden. d. Method of Voting: Delegations may vote in favor of or against a proposal or may abstain from voting.

The committee shall normally vote by show of placards, but any delegate may request a roll-call vote on substantive matters. During a roll-call vote, delegations may answer with an affirmative vote, a negative vote or an abstention (when appropriate). Delegations that appear to be voting out of policy, while casting an affirmative or negative vote, may reserve the right to explain their vote by Voting with Rights.

Delegations must announce that they are Voting with Rights at the time they cast their vote. The Chair may permit delegations Voting with Rights to explain their votes after voting has concluded but before the decision has been announced. A roll call vote on procedural matter is never in order. e. Order of Draft Resolutions: If two or more draft resolutions are introduced to the committee then they shall be voted on in the order in which they have been submitted.

a. Methods of Decision: All procedural decisions, except for the closure of debate, shall be made by a simple majority of the delegations present. Delegations physically present in the committee may not abstain on procedural motions. Decisions on draft resolutions and amendments shall require a simple majority in favor.

f. Voting on Unfriendly Amendments: During the voting procedure on a substantive proposal, unfriendly amendments to a resolution shall be voted on first. When two or more amendments are proposed to a resolution concurrently, the committee shall vote on the amendments in the order in which they are presented. Where, however, the adoption of the amendment necessarily implies the rejection of another amendment (as decided by the Chair), the latter amendment shall not be put to a vote. If one or more amendments are adopted, the amended proposal shall then be voted upon.

b. Voting Rights: On procedural motions, members may not abstain. Each present delegation shall have one vote.

Observing nations, industry representatives, journalists and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) cannot vote on substantive matters. Each vote may be a Yes, No or Abstain.

g. Passage of Resolutions: If a vote does not result in a simple majority in favor, the resolution shall be regarded as rejected.

A simple majority is defined as more votes in favor than opposed. Therefore, a motion fails on a tie vote. Any number of abstentions may not cause a motion to fail.

Voting

c. Conduct While in Voting Procedure: After the Chair has announced the beginning of voting on the draft resolutions, no representatives may enter or leave the room, nor shall any representative interrupt the voting except on a Point of Personal

Resolution Writing Resolutions are the basic decisions or declarations of the different organisms of the United Nations. These, and any amendments made to them, are the result of debates between countries and, if passed, essentially become part of international law. They must be presented by several sponsorsor authors. Approving certain resolutions shows the world the stance of the committee.

In general, resolutions are consequences of the politics of the countries involved and can take the form of treaties, declarations or conventions. They can be vary from general statements to legislation directed to organizations or specific countries. They can condemn the actions of a country, make a collective call to action or, in the case of the Security Council, call for military or economic sanctions. Amendments can add to, change, or subtract from the original resolution. Resolutions are prepared by groups at the simulation and should be thoroughly debated.

Presenting resolutions and amendments that take in account various views about a topic helps the delegates to develop a better approach to the topics dealt with by the committee and they make the approval of the resolution more likely. A broad consensus helps to ensure that an amendment or a resolution

will be easily approved. Resolutions should be as realistic as possible- though that does not mean they cannot be ambitious and far-reaching!

Resolutions have a very particular formatting which must be respected for a resolution to be accepted by the chairs. As it is written, the resolution must be divided in two parts: the preambulatory clauses and the operative clauses.

The preamble attempts to provide context for and justify the actions that the committee is going to take. Preambulatory clauses cannot be amended. Generally, the preamble may refer to the UN charter or to the previous resolutions. It also makes declarations about the purposes (or objectives) of the resolution. The preamble may also cite data, reaffirm global values, and provide general or specific context for the resolution.

Each sentence of the preamble should begin with passive words, such as:

The operative part is the part that outlines the intended actions or stances to be taken. Each sentence should commence with an active verb and should be an idea presented in a logical progression. Sentences may start with words such as:

Note: words like “demands” or “requires” are very strong and should not be used by the World Health Assembly (GA). Rather, they are more suited to crisis committees or specialized agencies, when these are more powerful bodies, and when they actually need to produce resolutions.

Under any case they should be declarations or thoughts that are not related. They should treat uniquely with a specific aspect of the problem. Each line should be numerated.

Format:

A Well Written resolution demonstrates:

The heading should be on the left side with capital, bold letters, in Times New Roman Font, size 14 in the superior part of the page, with the topic and resolution number (1.1, 1.2, etc… depending on when the resolution was submitted.

If there is more than one theme or topic, the second topic’s resolution will be numbered 2.1, 2.2, and so on). Below this, the name of the committee should appear.

1. Familiarity with the problem: measures previously taken and the background of the problem.

2. Clarity: The arguments must be specific and clear.

3. Good use of space: Each point and phrase must have a purpose.

4. Good Presentation: Without grammar faults and well formatted

A well-written resolution — which is in essence one long sentence — should follow the following format:

Two lines below the heading the content of the resolution will start, in Times New Roman font, size 12. The preambulatory and operative phrases (the words that start the sentence) will be underlined. A line will be put between paragraphs and/or points. Each line will be numbered, starting from the first line of the preamble.

Sample Resolution Resolution 1.1 Topic: Climate Change and Health Committee: General Assembly

Preambulatory Clauses The 2014 NorWHO World Health Assembly, Recalling resolution WHA61.19 on Climate change and health, WHA51.29 on the protection of human health from risks related to climate change and stratospheric ozone depletion, Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC, and the Copenhagen summit on climate change; Recognising the importance of sustainability for future health outcomes implemented by ensuring water security; managing air quality; conserving and managing natural resources and biodiversity; ensuring human and environmental bio safety; Acknowledging that freedom from hunger is a fundamental human right and that food insecurity is one of the gravest affronts to human dignity, and that with climate change, food security is becoming increasingly compromised;

Operative Clauses 1. With regards to the health effects of climate change: 1.1. Calls upon all WHO member states to strengthen health systems to prevent and treat communicable diseases directly linked to climate change such as vector-, water- and foodborne diseases, along with diseases, which are worsened by climate change (e.g. HIV/AIDS). This should be done through partnerships with local civil societies, government institutions and medical professionals; 2. With regards to policies on education: 2.3. Urges education through structured teaching sessions on the health hazards of climate change to be incorporated into medical and general curricula in member states; 3. Regarding the supply of water and sanitation: 3.3. Affirms the importance of desalination of seawater: 3.3.1. As a highly promising solution for droughts, given the vast volumes of salt water in proximity to some of the most droughtaffected regions representing an untapped resource for drinking and irrigation water; 3.3.2. As a solution to saline intrusion into rivers and groundwater caused by rising sea levels;

Source: Extracts from “Resolution on Climate Change and Health - NorWHO 2014�

General Organization The Organizing Committee (OC) is responsible for organizing the venue, choosing and preparing the topic, taking care of logistical issues, and advertising the WHO Simulation; in essence, their job is to make the simulation happen. They should be picked as early as possible to create a good working environment, and usually by being interviewed by the preceding year’s team. The OC is also responsible for facilitating the WHO Simulation by moderating the debate in the committee session, and interacting with the delegates.

Here is a description of positions: Chair of the OC: Chief officer of the team. Responsible for chairing meetings, scheduling meetings, managing the staff, setting and enforcing deadlines, negotiating contracts with the Logistics Coordinator. Also responsible for the long-term vision of the simulation, selecting the next Chair, ensuring the OC for the following year is selected, and delivering a speech at the opening ceremonies. To ensure continuity, the Chair of OC should write up a thorough exit report at the end of the year, detailing their thoughts on what went well and what could be improved. The Chair of the OC is also responsible for making sure the other OC members write up their own exit reports. These reports must be ready by the time the next OC is chosen.

Logistics Coordinator: Responsible for overall logistical infrastructure of the simulation, including handling all contracts dealing with the logistical aspects, organizing the Organizing Committee Room (a room at the venue where organizing committee equipment is kept and where they can work on editing resolutions), and various entertainment events and social program.

Finance Coordinator: Responsible for the financial aspects of the WHO simulation, such as compiling and managing the budget (which should be done early and revised often!), revenue projections, and cash management during the simulation.

Communications Coordinator: Responsible for handling communication with outside groups- such as the IFMSA- and for handling advertising and the content of the website (if there is one) Delegates Servicing Coordinator: Responsible for forming and maintaining contacts with the delegates attending WHO simulation. Other responsibilities include creating registration packages, and keeping the delegates up to date with approaching deadlines, simulation policies, and all fee payments. Also the contact person for delegates with questions or problems during the simulation.

Material Coordinator: Responsible for ensuring that delegates have the resources they need (internet, paper, printing services, pens, etc.) in order to excel at the simulation. Should work closely with the Delegates Servicing Coordinator.

Public Relations Coordinator: Responsible for overall promotion of the simulation and the securing of sponsorship for general revenue. Other responsibilities include organizing the committee guest speaker series, contributing to the delegate experience of the simulation’s city (suggesting restaurants and other attractions), and obtaining discounts for use by simulation participants.

Global Health Fair Coordinator: This is an optional position that is responsible for organizing a “Global Health Fair”, an event at the simulation where organizations and student groups involved in global health can come to promote themselves and spread the word about their activities. Delegates should be given the opportunity to bring a poster and present at the Global Health Fair.

Media Coordinator: Responsible for all IT equipment (speakers, projectors, etc.) and promotional videos the simulation may need. At the venue, the Media Coordinator will work with the Theme, Crisis, and Specialized committee coordinators to make video briefings and press releases for their committees. Will also work with the journalist delegates to make sure that they understand their task of reporting on other delegates in the simulation, and will help them make their news update videos. Note: this member should be proficient with IT equipment, cameras, and movie-making software.

Media team: assist the media director. Should have good IT/ software/audiovisual technology skills.

Theme Coordinator: Responsible for coming up with the main theme that will be focused on during the simulation.

Also responsible for the creation of the theme guide, often in conjunction with a Theme Team that the Theme Director is responsible for selecting. The Theme Director should be involved in choosing the keynote and guest speakers, to ensure that they fit the theme. Should work with the Crisis director to bring crisis elements to the GA. Also acts as home government for GA delegates during the committee.

Theme team: Writers and researchers who assist the theme director in producing the theme guide. They can be organized

in many ways- for example, several writer-researchers each responsible for a small section, or several researchers feeding information to a few writers (to keep the style of writing consistent). Members should have good researching and writing skills. The theme director might want to ask for a writing sample from applicants. The theme team does not have much of a role at the simulation itself and do not need to attend.

Crisis Director: Responsible for designing and organizing the crisis committee, planning the crisis, writing the background guide for the crisis committee, and running the crisis at the simulation (acting as home government, briefing delegates, etc.). Must also recruit and manage a supporting Crisis Team.

Assistant Crisis Coordinator(s): These staffers assist the crisis director in writing the crisis plan and background guide. They are also responsible for helping direct the flow of the crisis at the simulation and participating in delegate briefings. Crisis staffers should be creative, well-read individuals with good researching and writing skills. Being able to act is a bonus, as this will help during briefings.

Crisis Staff: These staffers assist the Crisis and Assistant Crisis Coordinators. In general, they have more responsibility at the simulation, being less involved in planning the crisis.

That being said, if the crisis staff would like to be involved in planning the crisis, there is no real good reason not to let them be. The position exists to allow people who do not have much time before the simulation to still participate.

Recruiting: In order to hire people for these positions, the organizing committee first has to use social media to spread the word that they are recruiting for these positions and ask interested applicants to fill an application form. If the application is strong enough, the applicants should be invited for an interview and a set of questions different from those on the application form should be asked to examine their skills, level of commitment and personality.

Keynote Speakers: It is recommended to have one keynote speaker (the “major” speaker) and often several other speakers. The more well-known the keynote speakers are, the more delegates will attend. Make sure to choose the keynote speakers who are the most familiar with the theme of the simulation. Speakers, especially those who have a lot

of experience with the theme, can be enriching parts of the simulation that can truly inspire delegates and teach them a great deal. The choice of speakers can really affect the quality of the simulation.

Simulation Facilitation: Chairs: These staff members must be trained until they master the rules of debate, because they will moderate debate in committee session. Their role is to facilitate debate, ensure every delegate gets a chance to speak, enforce the rules of debate (in a logical, preferably non-authoritarian way), and to make sure the conversation does not veer off track. They must be able to control the room and ensure a respectful environment so that debate may flourish. They are also responsible for helping delegates to make sure their resolutions conform to the proper structure. They are always paired with an vice-chair and this team of two forms the “dais”. Chairs who moderate (or “chair”) regional blocks will be given jobs assisting the chairs of the plenary, and will help delegates edit resolutions during the plenary. Of course, chairs may not make their personal feelings about the topic known. It is also important to add that a dash of humor is always welcome in a chair- no one likes the ice-queen or ice-king.

Vice-Chairs: Vice chairs receive the same training as chairs and assist the chairs in performing all of their tasks.

Running Officers: Responsible for carrying notes between delegates and between delegates and home government.

May also be asked to run messages during the simulation.

Secretaries: Staff who will type up resolutions so they can be projected for all delegates to see during voting procedure.

Extra Support Staff: Photographers; people in charge of refilling water pitchers, etc…

Schedule: The WHO Simulation planning should move on a very tight schedule. Here are some of the tasks that must be accomplished, and a rough timeframe in which to accomplish them in: Tasks in chronological order (assuming WHO Simulation is in March and timeline begins in May of the year before the simulation):

- Recruit Secretariat (May-August; final team assembled by beginning of September) - First Secretariat meeting (early September; set plan for regular meetings) - Choose theme and committees (early September) - Recruit Staff (September- early October) - Decide on Venue and size of simulation (OctoberNovember) - Work on getting sponsorship (as early as possible, because companies and grant-giving organizations give out their money early. Make sure to write up what you need and why and to send your budget along with funding requests - Decide on suppliers for equipment (by December) - Finalize Speakers, get an idea of global health fair participants (by December) - Get a committee/theme description and an application form ready on the website (by early December) - Send out the application forms. Start promoting the WHO Simulation (January) - Theme and background guides completed and posted on website (mid-January) - Decide on caterer (if any) (January) - Review applications and assign delegates to committees (late January) - Prepare delegate packages (February) - Position paper due date: a few days before the Simulation - After the simulation, debrief!

Hotel/venue: Deciding on the venue for your simulation can be tricky. Your first decision is whether or not to have it at a hotel. This in turn depends on how many out-of-town delegates you are expecting (the more out-of-towners you expect, the more you should think about using a hotel). Next you must shop

around, looking at the price and facilities each venue offers.

Of course, you must make sure that the venue in question has enough rooms for your committees, and that these rooms can be easily set up in a way that makes sense for a committee session. Do not forget that you need a room where organizing committee can work; these rooms are in addition to the simulation rooms. The room sizes at the venue will decide the number of delegates you can have; or, rather, you might choose a particular venue in order to accommodate a certain number of delegates. Finally, after the simulation, you should reflect on your experience with the venue in order to decide if you want to have the simulation at the same place next year.

WHO Simulation Schedule: Click Here for a sample schedule of a WHO Simulation:

Using session time effectively: This is the art of running a WHO simulation: using session time effectively. The most important thing to understand is the following: one should not try to structure the time artificially.

That is, there should not be one hour devoted to one part of the theme, another hour devoted to writing resolutions, etc.

This drastically reduces the delegate agency that makes these simulations such fun and effective learning tools to begin with.

Delegates will, naturally, figure out when it is best for them to talk about a topic, or to begin writing resolutions. This is important, because last minute alliances can spring up, and ideas idly talked about can become viable solutions after a bit of debate. That being said, resolutions must be edited and handed in before voting procedures, so it is both logical and necessary to set deadlines for when resolutions must be handed in by. Outside of that, it will not do to tell delegates what to do and when to do it. If the WHO Simulation is to be an honest simulation of the political machine that controls global health, one must resign oneself to the fact that, because of time restraints and lack of political will, the delegates will not address everything. That in and of itself is part of the learning experience.

All that being said, there are times when the chairs might want to intervene. If a discussion has become circular and unproductive, if only a few countries are talking, if delegates have gotten off topic- in these and related situations it is appropriate for the chair to steer the committee back on track or to propose that the committee talk about something else.

In addition, the chair must decide when to allow unmoderated caucuses as opposed to formal debate (speaker’s lists and moderated caucuses). This is a balancing act: delegates need time to write resolutions and talk to allies in unmoderated caucus, but debate is important- not only because public speaking is part of the simulation, but because it is a way to share ideas and test them against opponents. With that in mind, the chair should think of the flow of debate this way: formal debate is a “charging” stage, where ideas gestate, grow, and are tested and presented to the public; unmoderated caucus is a “discharging” stage, where all of the creative energy that was charged up during debate finds release, usually becoming trapped in physical form as a resolution. As such, unmoderated caucuses should be allowed “once there has been significant debate”; that is, once the room seems charged up and ready to write. Alternatively, if the room is quiet and no one seems to want to speak, an unmoderated caucus may be useful because it gives delegates a chance to talk to others, puzzle things out, or finish up the resolutions that were likely on their minds. What a chair should not do is cut off an interesting debate because someone has asked for an unmod.

If you are using committee time well, you will know- delegates will be energized, excited, and happy. Too much debate or too much unmod will make them irritable, annoyed, and uninterested.

Delegates are quite an interesting bunch. Good luck, and have fun!

Congo (MSA-DRC)

Kenya (MSAKE)

Denmark (IMCC)

Korea (KMSA)

Algeria (Le Souk)

Dominican Republic (ODEM)

Kosovo (KOMS)

Tatarstan (TaMSA)

Antigua and Barbuda (AFMS)

Ecuador (AEMPPI)

Kuwait (KuMSA)

Rwanda (MEDSAR)

Argentina (IFMSA-Argentina)

Egypt (IFMSA-Egypt)

Latvia (LaMSA)

Saint Lucia (IFMSA-Saint Lucia)

Armenia (AMSP)

Lebanon (LeMSIC)

Serbia (IFMSA-Serbia)

Australia (AMSA)

El Salvador (IFMSA-El Salvador)

Lesotho (LEMSA)

Sierra Leone (SLEMSA)

Austria (AMSA)

Estonia (EstMSA)

Libya (LMSA)

Singapore (AMSA-Singapore)

Azerbaijan (AzerMDS)

Ethiopia (EMSA)

Lithuania (LiMSA)

Slovakia (SloMSA)

Bangladesh (BMSS)

Fiji (FJMSA)

Luxembourg (ALEM)

Slovenia (SloMSIC)

Belgium (BeMSA)

Finland (FiMSIC)

Malawi (UMMSA)

South Africa (SAMSA)

Benin (AEMB)

France (ANEMF)

Mali (APS)

Spain (IFMSA-Spain)

Bolivia (IFMSA-Bolivia)

Gambia (UniGaMSA)

Malta (MMSA)

Sudan (MedSIN)

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BoHeMSA)

Georgia (GMSA)

Mexico (IFMSA-Mexico)

Sweden (IFMSA-Sweden)

Moldova (ASRM)

Switzerland (swimsa)

Bosnia and Herzegovina Republic of Srpska (SaMSIC)

Germany (bvmd) Ghana (FGMSA)

Mongolia (MMLA)

Syrian Arab Republic (SMSA)

Greece (HelMSIC)

Montenegro (MoMSIC)

Taiwan (FMS)

Grenada (IFMSA-Grenada)

Morocco (IFMSA-Morocco)

Thailand (IFMSA-Thailand)

Guatemala (IFMSA-Guatemala)

Namibia (MESANA)

Guinea (AEM)

Nepal (NMSS)

The Former Yougoslav Republic of Macedonia (MMSA)

Guyana (GuMSA)

The Netherlands (IFMSA NL)

Haiti (AHEM)

Nicaragua (IFMSA-Nicaragua)

Honduras (IFMSA-Honduras)

Nigeria (NiMSA)

Hungary (HuMSIRC)

Norway (NMSA)

Iceland (IMSIC)

Oman (MedSCO)

Catalonia (AECS)

India (MSAI)

Pakistan (IFMSA-Pakistan)

Chile (IFMSA-Chile)

Indonesia (CIMSA-ISMKI)

Palestine (IFMSA-Palestine)

China (IFMSA-China)

Iraq (IFMSA-Iraq)

Panama (IFMSA-Panama)

China - Hong Kong (AMSAHK)

Paraguay (IFMSA-Paraguay)

Colombia (ASCEMCOL)

Iraq - Kurdistan (IFMSA-Kurdistan)

Peru (IFMSA-Peru)

United States of America (AMSA)

Costa Rica (ACEM)

Ireland (AMSI)

Peru (APEMH)

Uruguay (IFMSA-URU)

Croatia (CroMSIC)

Israel (FIMS)

Philippines (AMSA-Philippines)

Uzbekistan (Phenomenon)

Cyprus (CyMSA)

Italy (SISM)

Poland (IFMSA-Poland)

Venezuela (FEVESOCEM)

Czech Republic (IFMSA CZ)

Jamaica (JAMSA)

Portugal (ANEM)

Zambia (ZaMSA)

Democratic Republic of the

Japan (IFMSA-Japan)

Romania (FASMR)

Zimbabwe (ZimSA)

Jordan (IFMSA-Jo)

Russian Federation (HCCM)

Kazakhstan (KazMSA)

Russian Federation - Republic of

Brazil (DENEM) Brazil (IFMSA-Brazil) Bulgaria (AMSB) Burkina Faso (AEM) Burundi (ABEM) Cameroon (CAMSA) Canada (CFMS) Canada - Québec (IFMSA-Québec)

www.ifmsa.org

medical students worldwide

Tanzania (TaMSA) Togo (AEMP) Tunisia (Associa-Med) Turkey (TurkMSIC) Uganda (FUMSA) Ukraine (UMSA) United Arab Emirates (EMSS) United Kindgom of Great Britan and Northern Ireland (Medsin)