Columbia International Relations Council and Association - CIRCA
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CIRCA is one of Columbia’s largest and most active student organizations and the largest devoted to international relations.
We are the umbrella organization that houses CPR, CMUNNY, CAFA, CESIMS, CMUNCE, and a MUN Travel Team. The Columbia International Relations Council and Association (CIRCA) is an international relations organization operated and coordinated by Columbia students. Founded in 2007, with currently over 400 active members, it is Columbia’s largest student-run organization. CIRCA is comprised of seven pr
incipal sections that contribute to the organization’s mission of furthering international relations knowledge and discourse amongst undergraduates through debate, discussion, and service. Columbia Model United Nations in New York (CMUNNY)
CMUNNY is a Model United Nations conference held over four days every October for over 450 college delegates from around the world. Over sixty institutions are represented annually, whose delegates debate in almost twenty committees crafted by Columbia undergraduates. Committees focus on a range of time periods, geographic years, and topics, and follow a crisis-oriented approach as over 200 committee staffers force delegates to constantly adapt to changing conditions, creating fast-paced and intimate debate sessions. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Columbia Model United Nations Conference and Exposition (CMUNCE)
CMUNCE is a Model United Nations conference held over four days every January for over 750 high school delegates from around the world. CMUNCE’s over twenty-five committees vary significantly across time periods and topics, executed by over 120 staffers. CMUNCE also employs crisis Model UN, a significant differentiator alongside most other high school conferences that focus on “traditional Model UN.” CMUNCE also prides itself on its significant outside-committee activities, ranging from meetings with diplomats and consuls, tours of the United Nations, and an Exposition bringing together non-profits and summer programs to exhibit for its delegates. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Educational Simulations (ESims)
ESims is the organ of CIRCA’s dedication to promoting Model United Nations and International Relations Education to New York City Public Schools. In addition to hosting four conferences a year at Columbia geared to under-privileged Title I high school students in New York City, ESims takes a proactive educational approach, teaching Model UN (and hopefully finding Model UN clubs) at several of these schools. Travel Team
The travel team is Columbia’s very own team of undergraduates that trains and completes year-long at Model United Nations conferences across the nations and even around the world. Members undergo rigorous weekly training sessions and are recognized as some of the best delegates on the Model UN circuit, having recently achieved top awards at conferences including the Security Council Simulation at Yale (SCSY), the University of California Berkeley Model United Nations (UCBMUN), and the Oxford International Model United Nations (OxIMUN). CIRCA Academics
CIRCA Academics is responsible for organizing academic lectures, panels, and other engagements throughout the school year for the Columbia community. Notable events from this past year include a lecture by the Pakistani ambassador to the United Nations, a panel of international policymakers on the crisis in Syria, and a debate on the South China Sea dispute. CIRCA Academics also organizes private meetings between a limited number of CIRCA members and diplomats in New York City, and recent participants have included the UN missions of Venezuela and Brazil. Lastly, CIRCA Academics hosts the Columbia Academic Symposium on International Relations, or CASIR, a day-long symposium featuring notable speakers including the Editor-in-Chief of Vice Magazine, Rocco Castoro. Now!Here
Now!Here is CIRCA’s own travel magazine. The publication features articles, photos, and art inspired by the international experiences of Columbia students. Whether they’re planning a trip or just looking to travel vicariously, Now!Here takes its readers to a place far away from the here and now. It runs a twice-annual print publication, a year-long online magazine, and a blog. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Columbia Political Review (CPR)
The Columbia Political Review, the newest member of CIRCA which joined in April 2014, is a publication that includes everything from movie and book reviews with a political slant to in-depth features on politics ranging from local to global issues. All content is generated by undergraduate students at Columbia University. It is published in print four times per academic year and year-long online. Its circulation exceeds 4,500 and alumni include notable journalists and politicians at the Wall Street Journal and The New Republic.
