Harvard Model Congress (HMC) is the largest congressional simulation conference in the world. HMC provides high school students from across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and abroad an opportunity to experience American government firsthand. Although HMC is run entirely by

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

undergraduates, it is a

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non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

operated independently of the

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

Domestic Conferences

Harvard Model Congress

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, founded in 1986, is the oldest of the HMC conferences and is held annually in downtown Boston. Each February, nearly 1,500 delegates travel to

to handle important issues facing the nation at the time of the conference. Students assume roles in committees in the three branches of the

government. Programs include committees acting as the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, and

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

as well as other functions associated with government like lobbying. Founded in 2001, Harvard Model Congress

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

is an American government simulation program based on the Boston model and the first conference of its type on the West Coast. The four-day conference, held in the San Francisco Financial District, is more intimate than the Boston conference and features a lower student-staff ratio and more individual attention from Harvard undergraduates. The conference was originally located in San Diego and subsequently moved to San Francisco, where it continues today.

International Conferences

Harvard Model Congress Middle East, formerly known as Harvard Model Congress Dubai, was founded in 2013. Harvard Model Congress Dubai 2013 took place at the American University in Dubai, UAE from January 24–26. It hosted over 300 students from 11 different countries in its first conference. Harvard Model Congress Asia was founded in 2004, holding an annual conference in mid-January (second weekend of January). HMC Asia was organized in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

for the first time in history in 2014. It then became the largest international Model Congress conference, attracting nearly 600 students from 19 countries and 4 continents. HMC Asia focuses on America's political system and international governmental institutions. The 2008 conference, supposed to be held from September 4–6, was cancelled due to rebellion in Thailand. As the substitution for the cancelled 2008 HMCA, the 2009 session of Harvard Model Congress Asia was held in Seoul, Republic of Korea from January 22–24. In 2020, HMCA moved to Tokyo, Japan for the first time in its history. In 2021 and 2022, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, HMCA was hosted entirely virtually. In 2023, HMCA will return to Seoul, South Korea for its first in-person conference since the pandemic. Harvard Model Congress Europe was founded in 1987 and holds an annual conference in mid-March. Although it simulates American government with six congressional committees and several US government special programs, HMC Europe also looks at institutions of international governance, including (among others) the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

Group of 24 The Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on International Monetary Affairs and Development, or The Group of 24 (G-24) was established in 1971 as a chapter of the Group of 77 in order to help coordinate the positions of developing countries on ...

, and

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

. HMC Europe 2020 was canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and the 2021 conference will be hosted virtually. Harvard Model Congress Latin America was founded in 2014, holding an annual conference near the end of August. The first HMC Latin America took place at São Paulo, Brazil from August 21–24 at Centro Universitário Belas Artes de São Paulo. Although it mainly simulates American government, HMC Latin America also includes committees specifically relevant to Latin America such as the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

and the Presidential Cabinet of Brazil. The final HMC Latin America was held in Mexico City, Mexico in 2018. In all international conferences, students discuss and debate international issues from a more global perspective, formulating policy firsthand. The structured committee settings expose them to the realities of the democratic process, challenging them to forge compromise while advancing the interests of their constituency. The conferences seek to provide an unparalleled educational experience for talented secondary school students from around the world, offering hundreds of students each year an exciting opportunity to practice public speaking and policy writing. The conferences accommodate students with varying degrees of English ability, and the global diversity of participants and staff offers delegates the unique opportunity to approach challenging issues from numerous different perspectives.

Harvard Model Congress Boston History

Harvard Model Congress Asia History

Harvard Model Congress Europe History

Harvard Model Congress San Francisco History

Harvard Model Congress Middle East History

Harvard Model Congress Latin America History

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Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

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Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

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Logistics

Harvard Model Congress is one of the largest Harvard

student organizations A student society, student association, university society, student club, university club, or student organization is a society or an organization, operated by students at a university or a college institution, whose membership typically consists ...

, and each year around 200 Harvard undergraduates assist with planning and running the conferences. As soon as one Harvard Model Congress conference ends, planning for the subsequent such conference begins. For the Boston conference, topics for debate must be chosen by May so that briefing books can be prepared over the summer and distributed by early fall, in time to allow delegates to begin intensively researching each committee's topics for debate. Updates to briefings are written and distributed to schools by winter, and issue summaries are also provided to the delegates. HMC 2009 was HMC's first-ever

paperless A paperless office (or paper-free office) is a work environment in which the use of paper is eliminated or greatly reduced. This is done by converting documents and other papers into digital form, a process known as digitization. Proponents claim t ...

conference. For the duration of the event each year, Harvard Model Congress uses essentially all of the conference space available at the Boston Sheraton. Although most of the written work during the actual weekend of the event is done by the delegates, the staff continues to provide programmatic direction and manages all operations throughout the duration of the conference.