FAQs - UNA Groups at universities
Below you will find some of the questions that UNA Groups at universities most frequently ask us. If you have a question that you want answering then please feel free to tweet, Facebook, or email us.
Individuals
Q. What’s the best way for university students to get involved with UNA-UK?
A. There are two fantastic ways to get more involved with UNA-UK
- Join us - give us your name and email address and we’ll send you monthly updates and invites to all our big events.
- Join your university society to campaign on your campus and meet other internationalists. We have almost 50 youth branches across the country all promoting the United Nations and campaigning on global issues.
Q. Who is eligible to join a UNA Group at a university?
A. In order to join a university group, you must be 18-26 years old or in full time university education.
University UNA Groups
Q. What are the benefits of being a UNA at university?
A. Joining as a university society instantly links you and your group into a country-wide network of internationalists who have an interest in, and passion for, the United Nations and international affairs. You and your group will receive materials for your stand at freshers' fair and invites to our Youth Conference and you'll be able to use an official logo. Everyone involved will be eligible to take part in our national campaigns and annual Youth Council elections. You will also get to promote your society's events on our website giving you a huge new audience.
Q. What activities do university societies undertake?
A. Our groups are diverse and so is their work. As long as your activities promote the work and values of the UN and UNA-UK you can be as creative as you like. Some groups focus on Model UN and others undertake campaigning work. The most successful societies are those that establish a good mix of activities to attract as many people as possible.
Q. How can our branch get involved with UNA-UK’s campaigns?
A. UNA-UK launches a campaign pack every academic year for its university UNA Groups. This pack contains major UNA-UK campaigns and provides you with ideas and opportunities for holding successful events on your campus.
Q. What does UNA-UK expect from its youth branches?
A. Every branch is asked to sign an agreement document which explains UNA-UK's expectations. In summary, we expect groups to:
- Organise events that promote the work of UNA-UK and the UN.
- Appoint a President / Chair, Secretary and Treasurer as a minimum number of officers.
- Keep UNA-UK up to date on all aspects of the society, including elections, events and officers.
- Communicate regularly with UNA-UK.
- It's important to remember that although UNA-UK will help university societies as much as possible, each group is responsible for its own management and organisation.
Q. How does UNA-UK support university groups?
A. UNA-UK supports UNA Groups at universities by organising events and activities throughout the year. This will typically involve key events like freshers' fairs, the Youth Conference and AGM. UNA-UK also has a rolling volunteer internship programme, which provides university groups with a dedicated point of contact at UNA-UK.
Q. How can being a UNA officer benefit me?
A. The main motivation for becoming a UNA Group officer should be a passion for the United Nations however; there are lots of other benefits. Having experience of holding an official position in a nationwide network promoting the United Nations is a fantastic starting point for your career. The skills you build in leading and facilitating your branch are invaluable to future employers and will serve as great examples on your CV. At the end of each year we issue a certificate of involvement to every branch officer. Officers also get to hear about our campaigns, events and activities first, and can contribute ideas for new projects.
Q. We'd like to build our identity on campus, can we use the UNA-UK logo on flyers for events, t-shirts and hoodies?
A. Every university group has their own exclusive logo that they can use on their materials.
Q. How can our youth branch publicise our events?
A. Easy! Just enter the event's details here and it'll appear on our website.
Q. Do we have to be recognised to our student union or guild to be a UNA Group?
A. Whilst your UNA Group doesn't have to be recognised, we would recommend it. SUs and guilds can often help you find rooms to meet, a stall at Freshers' Fair and possible funding.
Q. We want to have a strong online presence, can our UNA Group create our own Twitter and Facebook accounts and YouTube Channel?
A. Yes, as long as you make it clear that it's your association. You may also want to follow UNA-UK on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and Youtube.
Q. There's already a model UN society on campus, is that a problem?
A. Talk to the executive committee of the MUN group and find out if you can work together. Consider if you could you work as one society on MUN and campaigning work. Lots of student unions and guilds, quite reasonably, won't allow two societies with similar aims to affiliate so apart from being in the spirit of the UN to work together, it's also in your interest!
Q. Can we receive funding from UNA-UK?
A. From time to time, UNA-UK may make money available for special projects or campaigns but does not, as a rule, provide funding or grants to individual youth branches. However, we do provide support and advice on how to obtain funding from other sources, such as your student union or through fundraising. We also provide branches with promotional materials such as posters, balloons and supporter cards and subsidise events like the youth AGM and annual conference.
Q. How can we get the most out of UNA-UK?
A. There are plenty of things that you can do to get the most out of your society:
- Communicate frequently with UNA-UK's outreach intern – they will give you new ideas and connect you with people doing similar work
- Ensure that you provide UNA-UK with regular updates on your branch’s activities. We will make sure they feature on the UNA Group website giving you much more exposure than you otherwise would have
- Take full advantage of the opportunities available through UNA-UK – come to our events, apply for our internships and run for election
- Get in direct contact with other branches close to you or those who are doing similar work – they will have ideas you may not have considered and have first-hand experience of what works and what doesn't
Any other questions?
If you have a question that's not answered here contact us and we'll reply straightaway. If we think it's a question that a lot of people are asking, we'll add it to this web page.
