<aside> 💡 During lobbying and merging, delegates form a group (”bloc”) to merge their draft resolutions into one document - by combining clauses, the final product will then be sent to the approval panel before being debated in the house.

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Definition

The goal of lobbying and merging is to create a well-written and successful resolution that can be passed during the debate. Lobbying and merging usually starts at the beginning of a conference. Delegates that have written resolutions on the same topic shall form groups, and chairs will assign delegates into breakout rooms accordingly.

Location

In a committee the debate chair would usually separate the room into smaller sections by debate topics which would allow delegates that have resolutions of the same topic to crowd together at a same region so that they can merge. Lobbying and merging will take place in the respective committee rooms.

Lobbying & Merging: the process

Click on the toggles to go through the process step-by-step:

• Delegates enter conference - to their own committees

<aside> 📌 Tip: when opening speech is included in the conference, make sure to listen to other delegates speeches closely - by doing so, you can choose which delegates you would like to work with, and send notes to those delegates to form blocs together.

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In some cases, forming blocs may not be at the discretion of the delegates. The chair may need to divide the house into random groups, and the delegates must then collaborate within these groups. For example, if only a few (e.g., 2-3) delegates have chosen a specific topic while the majority leans towards another, the chair would have to ‘assign’ a number of delegates to join the other group in order to form a bloc.