About THIMUN

The THIMUN Foundation

In 1968, Mr. Paul Sand from The American School of The Hague organised the first Model United Nations in The Hague. In 1981 the THIMUN Foundation was established and is today directed by a Board of Directors consisting of teachers from international and Dutch schools, in particular, the Deutsche Internationale Schule Den Haag, the British School in The Netherlands , the International School of The Hague, Het Huygenslyceum and Lyceé Francais Vincent van Gogh. The THIMUN office in The Hague is permanently staffed.

In 1995 the THIMUN Foundation was accredited as a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) associated with the United Nations Department of Public Information. 2001 saw the first annual session of the THIMUN Youth Assembly. In 2003 the THIMUN Foundation was granted Roster Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

Secretary General Kofi Annan, who visited THIMUN in 2002, stated:

“The fact that THIMUN exists to uphold the values of the United Nations among the young is particularly important, since it is from the young that we should draw our energy and inspiration as we strive to make the United Nations effective and responsive to the needs of the people worldwide.”

Objectives

The object is to seek, through discussion, negotiation and debate, solutions to the various problems of the world: e.g. questions of human rights, protection of the environment, economic development, disarmament, the problems of youth and of refugees, as well as the more critical issues of war and peace. The young delegates, in seeking solutions to these problems, can learn to break away from narrow, national self-interest and develop true international cooperation. The research and preparation required, the adoption of views and attitudes other than their own, the involvement and interaction with so many other young people from around the world, all combine to give the young people a deep insight into the world's problems, to make them aware of the causes of conflict between nations and to lead them to a better understanding of the interests and motivation of others. Thus, in a small way, the THIMUN Foundation, through its conferences, attempts to fulfil the aims and goals set by the founders of the United Nations in the Preamble to the Charter of the United Nations:

"to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours."

The Hague International Model United Nations

The THIMUN Foundation organises several conferences:

• THIMUN, a five-day simulation of the United Nations for secondary school students,
• THIMUN-Singapore, a four-day Model United Nations in Singapore, with the annual conference taking place in November each year for secondary school students,
• MINIMUN, a one-day Model United Nations in The Hague for schools in The Netherlands and Belgium, and
• THIMUN Youth Assembly, a five-day conference for young people between the ages of 16 and 25 who discuss a variety of global issues and produce Action Papers, which form the basis for the participation of THIMUN Youth in international (UN) conferences.

Boards

The THIMUN Board consists of a Board of Directors and an Advisory Board. Each member has extensive background experience within the international education system. All members have vast amounts of knowledge with the Model United Nations Programme, hence set the guidelines and quality standards for THIMUN and its affiliated conferences

Board of Directors

Linda Dubock (Chair) - Deutsche Internationale Schule Den Haag

Frances Laughlin - British School in The Netherlands

Remco van der Zwaag - Het Huygenslyceum Voorburg

Karl Mythen - International School of The Hague

Alain Meidinger - Lycée Français Vincent van Gogh

Fokke de Jong - Da Vinci College Leiden

Martin Goff (Chair) - Sevenoaks School, United Kingdom

Michael Allen St. Andrew's College, Ireland

Dennis Boyle-Woods (Emeritus) - International School of Beijing, China

Anthony Calabrese (Emeritus) - American Int'l School of Budapest, Hungary

Blannie Curtis - American Int'l School Lisbon, Portugal

Pamela van Driel (Emeritus)

Didem Erpulat - Özel Izmir Amerikan Lisesi, Turkey

Martin Kollar Jr. (Emeritus) - Kaiserslautern American High School, Germany

Hans Christian Naess - Int'l School of Stavanger, Norway

Andrew Newman - John Burroughs School, United States

Walter Peterson - John F. Kennedy School, Germany

John Piggin - Royal Russell School, United Kingdom

Ouriel Reshef - American School of Paris, France

Irwin Stein - Lincoln American School, Taiwan

Robert S. Stern - TASIS England, United Kingdom

Margaret Taylor (Emeritus)

David Williams (Emeritus)

Cornelia Ohlig - Schule Schloss Salem

Michelle Wren - International School of Brussels, Belgium

Jeff Buscher - International School of Manila

Jack Wyss Lockner - American International School Johannesburg

Offices

The THIMUN Foundation has fulltime staffed offices in The Hague, The Netherlands.

The Hague

Irene Crepin - Managing Director

Tanya Keizer - Assistant Conference Manager

Esmeralda van der Hout - Assistant Conference Manager

Singapore

David Taylor - Director of Development