MUN has three types of caucuses: moderated, unmoderated, and formal, or what is sometimes called a Panel of Authors.
Moderated
These are popcorn-style debates, where the Chair will call on one country after another to speak for a given period of time. They usually allow you to focus in on one specific problem within your broader topic. For example, in a committee discussing how to solve climate change, you could have a Moderated Caucus on damage to coral reefs. You can also use them to discuss specific Working Papers and Resolutions. You need a motion to have a Moderated caucus, which needs to include the topic and time. So a motion to discuss coral reefs would sound something like this:
“China motions for a moderated caucus on the topic of coral reefs, for a total of 10 minutes, with 1 minute per speaker.” Think of them as:
- Formal
- Speech to the whole committee
- Narrowly focused
Unmoderated
These are informal conversations where you can get up and move around to talk to other delegates. This is where you really convince other countries of your position, and find out what their resolutions are about. This is also where you usually start writing resolutions, and figuring out exactly how you want to word things. A Motion for 'unmod' usually sounds like this:
“Brazil motions for an unmoderated caucus of 10 minutes.” (You don’t need to state a purpose for unmod.) Think of it as:
- Informal
- Lobbying
- Conversational
Formal
This is where you stand up in front of the committee and present the draft resolution you’ve worked so hard to write. Sometimes your draft resolution will be projected on a screen behind you, and other times everyone will have paper copies. During a formal caucus, you will summarize the solutions you have come up with, and usually answer questions. Sometimes, a Chair will want you to read out the whole draft resolution, and sometimes you can just summarize and take questions. The motion for Formal caucus usually sounds something like this:
“France motions for a Formal Caucus on Draft Resolution 1.1 for 10 minutes”
If your Chair also wants to have a separate Q&A session, you can motion for that:
“France motions for a Q&A session on Draft Resolution 1.1 for 10 minutes”