岡山大学 Alumni（全学同窓会）
グローバル人材育成支援事業 グローバル人材自己啓発奨励金事業 体験レポート

岡山大学グローバル・ディスカバリー・プログラム３年
グローバル人材育成特別コース 伊傳菜友子

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

Introduction

From Okayama University, 7 students including 4 Japanese and 3 international students joined the National Model United Nations (NMUN) in Erfurt, Germany. There were delegates from over 12 countries, with more than 450 students and faculties. This was my fourth time joining the MUN conference, and my first time joining NMUN. It was my honour to be a member of the delegate at NMUN, and I had a wonderful experience there thanks to my friends, Professor Caleb, and my teachers who encouraged us to join. Not only the conference but also, we had a study tour to learn about Erfurt. I would like to explain what I learned from NMUN, Germany 2023.

My experience at NMUN, Germany 2023

Before writing about my experience, 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 MUN is to let students understand and learn about international relations, diplomacy, and UN operations. MUN conferences take place at several levels, including high school, college, and international. Participants, or we call delegates at the conference, represent different countries at a Model UN conference and take part in talks and debates on global issues. Preparing a position paper, conducting previous research, managing, and analysing data, and possessing general communication abilities—such as confident speech delivery and the ability to debate strategies for compromise and negotiation—are all necessary for this task. Gaining firsthand knowledge in understanding the intricate problems of the modern world is likewise a worthwhile endeavour.

At the NMUN Germany, there were 4 committees, which are the General Assembly Plenary (GA), Human Rights Council (HRC), Security Council (SC), and United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA). I was the representative of Argentina in the General Assembly Plenary (GA). Also, from Okayama University, 2 students joined GA with me as the delegate of Italy. Because from Okayama University, we have 7 students in total, I decided to try participating alone. Usually, all delegates should be in pairs, so I was extremely nervous participating by myself until the NMUN including the study tour started.

GA conference was held at the Town Hall (Rathaus), Festsaal Room. It was a beautiful structure inside and outside. I had never seen such a huge, beautiful Town Hall before, so I was excited to stay there. The painting that was on the wall and the ceiling, has a deep history which looked interesting. Of course, not only the Town Hall, but also around the city of Erfurt has a rich and deep history. Because it was almost Christmas, there was a Christmas market with many food stalls. Those, each time I saw these views, I somehow felt less nervous and more relaxed. 

At GA, inside that wonderful room, we focused on these topics: 1. Implementation of the Convention against Corruption 2. Science, Technology, and Innovation for Sustainable Development. As a diplomat from Argentina, I was able to give speeches and negotiate and collaborate with countries in the same South American region, North American, and European countries to finally complete the draft resolution. It was a great learning experience for me to be able to utilize English to promote my country’s position and negotiate with other countries, more so than my experience participating in the MUN in Japan.

In addition, during the opening ceremony on the first day held at the Kaisersaal, the NMUN provided interesting talks from several guest speakers. Of particular interest was the talk by Holocaust survivor and education advocate Maud Dahme. I only learned Holocaust in my world history textbook, so when I listened to her speech, I was moved by her experience and what she want us to work on in the future.

The study tour, which included visits to the “Buchenwald concentration camp Memorial,” the “Wartburg Castle,” a UNESCO world heritage site, where Luther translated the Bible into German, and the “Point Alpha Memorial,” a Cold War-era American observation post adjacent to a section of the Iron Curtain on the East German border, also impressed me. I had seen these places almost exclusively in world history textbooks and was very happy to visit them one day. At the same time, the deep history I saw and heard at the respective memorials and the end of the self-centred power of human beings was sobering. I felt many of the things I feel because I have grown up in the present society, and I learnt once again that there is a history in the world that I do not yet know. I could only pray silently with my hands together as I listened to the guide’s explanations with the other participants, but I was determined to make the most of what I saw and heard at the conference afterwards. 

Through my stay in Erfurt, I realised that I still have a lot of room for growth. I also found that my communication and other skills, which are my weapons, have been greatly enhanced and that I cannot still think things through and gather information. In this way, I was able to make many discoveries and encounters as a result of my participation in the international MUN, and I would like to write about some of the other things I learnt.

1. The first is how much advance preparation is needed. Of course, I had also prepared well in advance and gathered information to be able to cope with any eventuality, but the students from abroad had much more information than that. They researched and used not only the current situation in their representing country and basic information about the UN but also the situation in countries they do not represent and the treaties they need. Also, the speeches delegates gave had a high quality. They must have been so busy that they did not have time to think about the draft of his speech, but they delivered it perfectly, and once again I realised that we needed to be able to process information and speak out.
2. The second is friends are precious and important. As I said in the beginning, I was a delegate who participated alone. Because of that, I needed to work on the speech and the position papers by myself which was so hard. However, thanks to my friends who went to NMUN with me, I could ask them my concerns and we practised the speech together. Also, I met wonderful people around the world, and they became friends with me. On the study tour, we were with California State University students, and we exchanged our lives in each country. They cheered me up not to worry so much at the conference, too. I was able to make friends not only this but also many students from different universities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I am really glad I started MUN. It all started when I was a first-year university student when I attended a MUN lecture in the third semester and challenged OKAMUN, and I am convinced that it is because I have gained experience since then that I was able to stand well at NMUN and won the award. My experience at NMUN is still very much with me, and I hope to pass on the skills I acquired here to my younger colleagues. MUN is open to everyone, and each participant has the opportunity to face real and international challenges. That is why we want more people to know about MUN. For this reason, I am now trying to get involved in the management. Thankfully, by a fortunate chance, I am the representative of the Okayama University MUN Circle, and I am also the chair of JUEMUN2024, the largest English-speaking MUN in Japan, which will be held in Okayama, and the vice chair of NUMUN2024, which will be held at Nagoya University. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the wonderful and life-long experiences I had at NMUN and the many people I met. I would like to make every effort to achieve even greater heights in the future.