DPSMUN 2009

Researching the culture and background of your country

You can get some of this info from your country's permanent mission to the United Nations at and/or from your country's embassy or consulates. (Check Country @ a Glance for information based on the UN's statistical databases or InfoNation which allows you to compare up to seven countries at a time.

This information is important because it will help you understand why your country adopts certain positions and policies. Being aware of your country's historical development as well as its cultural, political, economic, and social background will help you understand its people and the arguments they would use to support or oppose different policies.The same holds true for the arguments that the representatives of that nation would be willing to accept during debate.

your general knowledge of a topic needs to be supplemented by your knowledge about your country. If we return to the infectious diseases example, your policy on this topic would have to take into consideration the infrastructure that is available in your country (or lack of it) to fight these diseases. If there is no education programs to inform citizens how to prevent certain diseases or if there was a recent natural disaster then your country's policies must reflect the current conditions that exist within its borders.