The Power of Opportunity!
Who we are and what we've done!
O-MUN is the world's first fully online Model United Nations program. Run by students for students, we have had an amazing six months of growth. We host live online debates on important global issues every month, and are expanding into places where MUN has never gone before: to home schooled students, government schools in Malaysia, even to individual students in Gaza and Somalia! More importantly, O-MUN is proving to be place where young people can exibit real leadership and global collaboration. We are a unique program, hoping to reach ever more students as we quickly grow.
Our debates take place in a virtual conference room, easily accessible to participating students. When you have a debate with students logging in from Malaysia, Taiwan, Jordan, Qatar, Egypt, the USA, Colombia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, interesting things happen! To see what this looks like, check out one of our demo debates!
The Impact
O-MUN's first Indiegogo campaign helped us take the first O-MUN team to The Hague International Model United Nations in early 2013. It was a huge success, and has launched us on a new path of growth and outreach.
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National Programs: We are currently working on the formation of several national level programs in Taiwan, Turkey, Israel/Palestine and Malaysia. These programs will target new students and schools currently unable to participate in Model UN.
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O-MUN Francias:We are in the early stages of developing O-MUN Francais, the first French version of our program. We are hoping Arabic will be on its way later in 2013.
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jrO-MUN: There are even fewer MUN options for middle school students, which is why jrO-MUN is so exciting. Our Middle School program focuses on skill development and collaboration in a safe, school friendly online environment.
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uniO-MUN: Just now underway, uniO-MUN is providing university students a space to discuss critical global issues. How cool to have students from Afghanistan, Jordan, the UK and the USA, all debating together!
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Reaching the individual:O-MUN's core belief is that anyone with internet access should be able to participate in substantive debate on international issues. Additionally, our community of students promotes friendship and collaboration across immense distances and cultural differences. Every student has the RIGHT to engage with the world, to have their voice heard, and to learn the skills needed to make a difference in their community (and world!). Supporting O-MUN means giving students real opportunity.
More than a Concept! This is the Real Thing!
It's important for funders to know that O-MUN is not just an idea in search of funding. We have grown from one debate of 15 students a year ago, to a half dozen debates monthly, a Facebook community in excess of 1800, and a presence in face to face conference environments (The Hague, Dubai International Academy, THIMUN Qatar). We know this is working, and our growth is evidence of that. That is why your support is so crucial at this time.
What We Need
Thanks to a generous donation from THIMUN Qatar, our Blackboard Collaborate needs have been recently met. But we have other areas that require levels of funding, and proceeds from our $20,000 campaign will help us cover the following:
- Improved webhosting and storage capacity
- Tech support for website maintenance
- Software subscriptions
- Fiscal Agent and Business Fees
- Conference Registration Fees
- Director/Assistant Director Travel--> Outreach
- Scholarship/Subsidized Travel for Students
- Printing/promotional items
O-MUN is run by student and Director volunteers, and has operated with zero operating budget since its inception. Our costs are low, given our global reach, but that is changing. This campaign will provide the seed money to make necessary conference and outreach commitments for the 2013-2014 school year.
And one more money thing that's really important...
O-MUN is currently applying for its 501(c)3 status, and is becoming an incorporated business in the state of California. Until we have our nonprofit status finalized (a rather lengthy process), we will be hiring the services of fiscal agent
Cultural Media Serices. CMS, starting July 1, will help to oversee our donations, and provide us with the necessary accounting services needed for fiscal transparency and responsibility. This campaing's donations will be the seed money for our 2013-14 activities, and will be overseen and managed by
O-MUN's Board of Director's, in compliance with our organization's bylaws.