Conference Policy & Code of Conduct

Scope & Application

The TMUN Conference Policy applies to all participants, including delegates, observers, teachers, adult chaperones, volunteers, media team members, and committee staff. The TMUN Secretariat reserves the right to modify, enforce, or interpret these rules as necessary to ensure the safety and integrity of the conference.

General Conduct

All participants are expected to maintain a high level of professionalism, respect, and maturity toward one another, including teachers, staff, the Secretariat, hotel personnel, and fellow delegates.

TMUN enforces a zero-tolerance policy toward bullying, harassment, discrimination, or disruptive behaviour.

Delegates must abide by TMUN policies and hotel rules at all times. All attendees must comply with Canadian and Ontario laws.

Note that the possession or use of alcohol, drugs, tobacco, vaping, or any intoxicants is strictly prohibited at TMUN and on hotel premises.

Awards

The awards that delegates may win at TMUN are Best Delegate, Outstanding Delegate, Honourable Mention, and, additionally, in General Assembly and Specialized Agency committees, Best Position Paper. Although all committees confer at least one of each of these awards, the number of awards each committee confers varies depending on its size.

Awards criteria and decisions are selected by the discretion of the committee director and staff, and depend contributions and involvement with all aspects of committee, including but not limited to: impact made to the committee, the quality and persuasiveness of speeches, the accuracy to which delegates represent their country/character, the level of involvement in debate, leadership, creativity, diplomacy and cooperation, and quality of actions taken in crisis (where applicable).

Please note that award criteria may vary slightly depending on the committee. However, each committee’s specific criteria will be clearly communicated to delegates by the committee's direction.

Technology Use Policy

The use of technology in committee sessions is not permitted during the conference. All TMUN committees will be 100% paper-based, and all research should be completed before the conference.

Furthermore, the use of AI to write position papers is not permitted. While technology and AI may aid in the research process, it is up to the delegate to ensure all information and sources are credible and to write a position paper in their own words.

Plagiarism & Pre-Writing

TMUN strictly prohibits plagiarism (including the use of AI) in position papers, resolutions, crisis notes, and other submitted work, and affirms that all solutions and speeches should be the original work of the delegate.

Pre-written resolutions and crisis notes are not permitted and will be rejected. Delegates found plagiarizing or submitting pre-written work may be penalized regarding awards. TMUN defines pre-writing as writing done outside of committee sessions, including both before and between sessions.

Research and note-taking may be done outside of sessions and brought into committee for the personal reference of the delegate, but materials submitted (resolutions, crisis notes, etc.) are subject to the pre-writing policy.

Attendance & Absences

Delegates are required to attend all committee sessions unless excused by committee staff or the Secretariat.

If you anticipate being absent before or during the conference, notify the Secretariat and your sponsor teacher/chaperone via email, including your reason and location during the absence. Unexcused absences from a committee session raise concern for the safety of the delegate and may jeopardize a delegate’s chances at an award.

Dress Code

Delegates, observers, committee staff, media team members, and volunteers are recommended to dress appropriately in formal business attire of their choice.

Examples of appropriate attire may include suits, suit-jackets, formal sweaters and long sleeve shirts, blazers, vests, dress shirts, dress pants, dress shoes (or otherwise presentable shoes), skirts, dresses, blouses, ties, and tights. Casual clothing, such as slides, jeans, runners, t-shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, etc., does not fall under the categorization of formal business attire.

In the instance of committees with particular settings, delegates may choose to wear setting-relevant clothing (e.g. a doctor’s coat in Grey’s Anatomy), but are urged to keep their attire professional — these items are meant to accent the delegate’s business attire, not override it.

Note that TMUN strictly prohibits the appropriation of cultural wear and the display of symbols of hate/violence. Delegates should be especially cognizant of such policies if choosing to wear particular clothing for the committee.

Name Tags

All participants receive a name tag identifying their name, role, and committee. For security reasons, participants must wear their name tags at all times.

Anyone without a name tag must visit the Secretariat Desk for identity verification and re-printing. Individuals not registered with TMUN are not permitted on hotel premises and will be asked to leave immediately.

Delegates without a name tag will not be admitted to the Delegate Social or any conference sessions.

Language

English is the official working language of TMUN. All committee debate and documentation must be conducted in English. The use of other languages or simulated accents is not permitted.

Enforcement

Participants found to be in violation of any conference policies may be subject to the following actions:

  • Penalizations towards committee award decisions.

  • Prohibition from participation in the conference, either temporarily or for the remainder of the conference.

  • Notifying parents, guardians, sponsor teachers, adult chaperones, and the school administration of the conduct in question.

  • Barring from attending future iterations of the conference.

Enforcement action taken against conference policy violations is at the discretion of the Secretariat. The type of action is dependent on the severity and circumstances of the violation. The vast majority of conference policy violations will result in penalizations in award decisions, and extreme cases may result in notifying the delegate in question’s school administration and guardians, and possibly a ban for the remainder of the conference.