for high school delegates who are hoping to glean substantive and academic value from Model United Nations conferences. Additionally, high school-run conferences such as from the San Francisco Bay Area, Santa Teresa High School's SCVMUN, one of the oldest MUN conferences on the west coast at 50 years of conferences held at the school, Huntington Beach High School's Surf City and Novice Conferences, CHSMUN, and Mira Costa's LAIMUN are all nationally-recognized conferences and programs in the top 50 US High School Rankings. In Washington State, most Model UN activities, conferences, and clubs are situated within the Washington Eastside. Four of the largest and most active annual conferences in the region, PACMUN (Pacific MUN), EDUMUN (Educational MUN), KINGMUN (King County MUN), and SeattleMUN, are overseen and managed by Model United Nations Northwest, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The area is dotted with independently-run conferences, such as WOWMUN and WASMUN. Midwest Despite the fact that the Midwest has fewer conferences than the more established East and West Coast circuits, it still has a very developed and distinct Model UN culture that is dominated by small regional conferences (such as Midwest Model UN (MMUN), Model UN at the University of Illinois (MUNI), and large international-level conferences centered around Chicago). While some major conferences are located in Michigan and Missouri, most are located in Illinois, specifically in Chicago. Chicago is a major hub of the Model UN community at large, but maintains a strong sense of independence, and is known to have a characteristic focus on realism and innovative crisis simulations. MUN is mostly seen as an educational political exercise, where the students understanding of the world and power is emphasized, and where awards and resolution writing tend to be de-emphasized. As a result, the Midwest's crisis conferences are well-regarded, with ChoMUN and CIMUN being particularly well known for this style. Model United Nations of the University of Chicago (MUNUC) is the largest high school conference in the Midwest, featuring 33 different committees in 2021 for its 33rd session, with several thousand delegates in attendance. The Model United Nations Development Organization (MUNDO) runs the Chicago International Model United Nations (CIMUN), which featured 24 committees, and welcomed 1300 high school delegates in 2014, its 11th annual conference. CIMUN is known to be among the most innovative and fastest growing Model UN's in the US and features some of the most realistic simulations available for high school students.