National Model United Nations in Erfurt, Germany 2023
(19th November ~ 25th November)

Introduction

My adventure with MUN started in my first year at University. I got very interested thanks to my Professor at the time. I had already taken part in Model United Nations. There were Okayama MUN, Nagoya MUN, JUEMUN, and now NMUN in Erfurt Germany. I get to collaborate with representatives from more than 12 nations. Thanks to the tour that was part of this occasion, I also had the opportunity to learn about German culture. I want to discuss my experiences and the lessons I took away from NMUN Germany in the report I wrote.

My experience

First, let me define Model UN: Model UN is a simulation exercise that mimics the decisions and operations of the United Nations. The goal of the course is to teach students about international relations, diplomacy, and UN operations. Conferences for MUN take place at several levels, including high school, college, and international. Participants—often referred to as delegates—represent different countries at a Model UN conference and take part in talks and debates on global issues as well as try to come up with solutions.
There were four committees at the National Model United Nations Germany: the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), Security Council (SC), Human Rights Council (HRC), and General Assembly Plenary (GA). In the Human Rights Council (HRC), I represented Argentina alongside a colleague delegate from Okayama University named Lin Thu Kha Htaik.

Each committee had a designated place where it proceeded. The venues were the town hall and the parliament, which are stunning buildings with a lot of history, and the Bildungsstätte Andreasstraße, also known as the Memorial and Education Center Andreasstraße, were the venues for my HRC committee meetings. It is a museum located in a former political prison run by the East German Ministry of State Security. This building in my opinion was purposely chosen for the human rights committee. A place that before was broking human rights now become the place where these rights are being discussed among delegates. This shows that the place is what the people there represent.

A study tour was held prior to the conference, during which we visited the Point Alpha Memorial (a Cold War U.S. observation post on the East German border, adjacent to a section of the Iron Curtain), Wartburg Castle (a UNESCO world heritage site where Luther translated the Bible into German), and the Buchenwald Memorial. I as a Polish citizen had already learned basic German history, and World War II history, however, my understanding of German culture and history has increased as a result of seeing these locations, particularly the Point Alpha Memorial and the Buchenwald Memorial because I had traveled to Auschwitz so seeing the other concentration camp was very interesting.
I was also able to meet a lot of new people and make new friends around the world that I still have contact with to this day. They had as well organized a pub even that I found interesting.

I had a terrific time participating in this NMUN among other Okayama University delegates. We all resided at the same hostel as Professor Caleb, totaling seven of us. The entire journey to Germany was rewarding and enjoyable, but also exhausting. Furthermore, I would like to express my gratitude to our lecturer Caleb, who provided us with invaluable support and encouragement during our whole stay in Germany.

What have I learned

During these days of the conference I learned incredible things and new skills that I am more than sure I would definitely use not only in my University life but in my future job as well. I believe that this MUN was held in Germany Erfurt is one of my life-changing moments. Some skills that have increased the most are communication and problem-solving skills. I needed to find common ground with other delegates, think about world issues, as well as find the best solutions, and every decision that I was making had to be for the benefit of my country.
Another important benefit that this conference gave me was the way of building my confidence. I’ve learned a lot about Argentina as a result of representing the nation of Argentina at this conference, especially in regard to its foreign policies and ideas, from politics to culture. The greatest benefit of Model UN, in my opinion, is that it allows you to represent a differentnation,whose political opinions may differ on certain international matters.

Thoughts and Aspirations

After this MUN conference I can confidently say that I will remember for the rest of my life, I was able to meet incredible people and learn a lot from them. Erfurt was also an incredibly beautiful city, although I am from Europe and my hometown is very close to Germany I had the chance to experience Europe from a new angle thanks to my friends from University. The majority of them were never in Europe, and they were so excited that it made me feel the same way.
Even now half a year later I still have contact with the delegates from the United States of America. Friendships that were created during his time will stay with me for years.

In my future career, I would like to work in or in cooperation with the United Nations, however for now I will be able to chair JUEMUN 2024, the largest English-speaking MUN in Japan, which will take place at Seishin University in Okayama, because of the expertise I gained from my prior four MUNs.

Conclusion

To conclude my experience I can say that I can’t wait for the next MUN. MUNs are always so unique, and fun to me that I always want to take part in more. I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart to my team from Okayama University, and the Professor for this beautiful experience.

活動レポート