ABOUT US
The Backroom is a technical term denoting the group of organisers coordinating crisis simulations in Model United Nations Conferences.
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Formed by veterans from the Model United Nations circuit in Singapore, the Backroom is a not-for-profit project that aims to develop the soft-skills of students in Singapore to prepare them for the ever-changing working world. We are experienced in designing learning simulations and we have pooled our expertise together to design a curriculum aimed to develop the soft-skills of students in a sustainable manner and further develop these simulations to tailor to the constantly evolving needs of students in Singapore.
With a team that possesses a combined experience spanning over 150 MUN conferences in 6 years, we believe that we are equipped with the necessary expertise to train and develop future experts in Model United Nations and leaders in tomorrow’s world.
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Our training program and events revolve around the 21st Century Competencies. We aim to cater to both veterans as well as inexperienced or first-time participants in MUN. For veterans, we have a training programme designed to challenge your abilities to think on their feet and excel in the art of crisis councils. For beginners, we will guide you step-by-step in learning the ropes of crisis, and how to master the basic crisis fundamentals. Ultimately, what we aim to accomplish is to give you the opportunity and freedom to explore what works best for you, as well as give professional feedback on how to improve your craft.
What is model united nations?
Model United Nations (MUNs) Conferences are conferences where students model the leaders of various nations from around the world, coming together to resolve global issues through fierce debate, lobbying, and collaboration.
Despite its global outlook, MUNs are not just solely about international relations. MUNs develop core competencies crucial to the world of tomorrow, which includes oratorical skills, networking, negotiating, lobbying and problem solving. To excel at MUN, one must master the art of combining effective rhetoric to persuade one’s peers to one’s point of view and effective problem solving that addresses the concerns of various stakeholders in the issue.
our aims
Critical & inventive thinking
We also aim to inculcate habits that foster critical and inventive thinking in our participants. This will be done through an introduction to various mental and heuristical models such as design thinking to improve decision making, and the content gleaned will be put in practice through a series of mock-conferences to reinforce and internalise these concepts while developing flexibility in their utility. This perfectly complements their school work and co-curricular activities as it develops their metacognitive skills and hones introspection, breeding self-aware individuals who strive for excellence.
Civic literacy, global awareness and cross-cultural skills
We aim to inculcate these skills by exposing students to pertinent global issues that pervade the world today. Our goal is to encourage students to think outside their comfort zone and empathise with the difficulties faced by stakeholders who are very different from themselves. By doing so, students learn how to shape their moral compass and figure out how they can contribute to reducing suffering in the world.
Communication, collaboration and information skills
We aim to enhance the learning experience of students by supplementing and complementing their usual school curriculum with the instruction and practice of networking, lobbying, debate and oratorical skills. Furthermore, debate and oratorical skills will be trained in dedicated sessions and groups to build their content, style and confidence, before moving on to larger groups and more complex simulations to fine tune their skills and to hone advanced skills such as improvisation.