15 dynamic committees

20+ participating countries

Harvard Model Congress Asia (HMCA) is a government simulation conference run entirely by Harvard students who are passionate about international relations, government, and teaching. Organized by Harvard College Model Congress Asia, a student organization at Harvard University, HMCA has been committed to providing an immersive educational experience for high school students from across the globe since 2004. Additionally, HMCA is part of the larger Harvard Model Congress community, which was first started with the Harvard Model Congress Boston conference in 1986. Since then, the HMC community has expanded to conferences in San Francisco, Europe, the Middle East, and of course Asia. Each year, thousands of high school students have the opportunity to participate in an HMC conference, and we are thrilled to bring our educational mission and our enthusiasm to Asia.

HMCA teaches highs school students about government and international relations by providing insights into pressing global issues and by offering a forum to discuss possible solutions. HMCA’s staff of talented Harvard undergraduate students, selected after a competitive application process, strives to encourage a passion for government and international relations by simulating international organizations and the United States government. After extensive writing and research, HMCA staff members develop in-depth topic briefings to allow for pre-conference delegate preparation. Topics of the briefings widely range from job creation to the fight against international crime; all with the purpose of engaging delegates in fascinating and relevant issues. As a result, high school students participating in the conference, known as delegates, will gain knowledge and skills crucial to confront the global challenges of the 21st century. HMCA works diligently to prepare and encourage every delegate to participate actively in committee sessions, author treaties and bills, and give speeches before large groups on complex issues. HMCA’s goal is to help students articulate their views and engage in the productive debate that is a vital part of leadership, government, and civic engagement.

HMCA empowers, inspires, and connects high school students from across the world. Delegates participating in HMCA come from over 10 different countries in the Asia-Pacific region, all types of schools, and a wide array of backgrounds and experiences. Thus, delegates will learn both from the program curricula and from engaging with one another. Our enthusiastic and extensively trained staff is dedicated to creating an informed, intimate, and lively forum for debate about a range of fascinating global topics. By creating a dynamic educational environment, we hope to broaden delegates’ awareness of the world while inspiring them to discover their own leadership potential. After three days of thorough debate, cooperation, and hard work, each conference delegate will leave with increased confidence and leadership skills, a profound understanding of foreign relations, improved public speaking skills, a better mastery of English speech-making, and the ability to find common ground among disparate views.

HMCA is dedicated to accessible and inclusive educational opportunities through our Scholarship Program. The Scholarship Program has allowed hundreds of delegates from across the Asia-Pacific region to attend our conference for free or reduced rates. Due to gracious donations and grants, the HMCA Scholarship Program has been able to grow and support more talented delegates every year. Additionally, HMCA has created free training materials for first-time faculty advisors and delegates to prepare for the conference.

HMCA partners with local universities to host the most culturally immersive conferences for students. Since 2004, HMCA has partnered with numerous prestigious institutions, such as Ewha Womans University (Seoul, South Korea), University of Tokyo (Tokyo, Japan), and the National University of Singapore (Singapore, Singapore). Additionally, HMCA conferences have taken place in five different locations: Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. Each host location provides an exciting experience for delegates to engage with a potentially new culture.