Once again AMUN will take place at the Rio Branco Institute (IRBr), the official Brazilian school of diplomacy, operated by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Rio Branco Institute (IRBr) was created on April 18, 1945, as part of the centennial celebration of the Baron of Rio Branco's birth.

In March 1946, the IRBr Preparation Course for the Diplomatic Career was established. Its first class consisted of 27 Third Class Consuls, as Third Secretaries were then known. It was as of that date that the IRBr's Entrance Examination became the only possible entrance point into the diplomatic career.

Over 1250 Brazilian and 140 foreign diplomats have passed through the Rio Branco Institute.

The IRBr's objectives have always been:

•to harmonize knowledge previously acquired in undergraduate courses with the education required for a diplomatic career;

•to develop an understanding for the basic elements used in the formulation and execution of Brazilian foreign policy; and

•to initiate students into the practices and techniques of the career.

To date, the changing needs of diplomatic activities have ever counseled regular adjustments of the Institute's programs and procedures, in order to keep the Brazilian diplomat's education up-to-date.

In 1995, the Graduation and Improvement Program - First Phase (PROFA-I) was created. This new course will be equivalent to a Masters degree.

PROFA-I sanctions the idea that, due to the complexity of international relations and to the increasing chores of the diplomatic function, career-oriented training has to be continuous.