From Bamberg to New York – an NMUN experience report

Friedi was in the USA for a while in March. Why? Because she took part in National Model United Nations (short: NMUN)! The NMUN is a global, annual event where around 5,000 students from approximately 140 nations across five continents come together to simulate a major United Nations conference (English: United Nations, UN) in New York City. Through the participation of diverse universities worldwide, a unique intercultural atmosphere is created. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? I want to tell you what exactly happens there and what experiences she gathered – perhaps it's something for one or another 'future self' as well.

Sprachrohr: How did you come to take part in NMUN and how exactly does the "project" work? 

Friedi: "I found out about NMUN through a friend and saw an opportunity that I definitely wanted to take. The process is different at each university. At ours, the whole thing is organised by students for students. Last year there were about 70 applicants in the first round, of whom 34 were invited to an interview. This is where the team-building phase begins. The tutors' task is to select 16 applicants as new "delegates" by the end. The focus is on the question: what kind of person are you in a group? When the notification came in my inbox saying "You're in the band", I was very pleased and also a bit proud. Besides me, there were also Bachelor's and Master's students from political science, sociology, psychology, communication studies and business administration – quite a mixed bunch!

NMUN is a self-financed and/or sponsor-financed project and is carried out with the aim of providing, through intensive preparation, a deep understanding of diplomacy and international problems as well as political approaches and processes. The former delegates pass on crucial knowledge and core skills to us. 

As part of a seminar, history as well as current developments, situations and approaches are taught. There was a lot about the self- and external perception of the United Nations. Since these are frequently criticised, it was of great importance to gain a deep understanding through information about multilateral cooperation of organisations and functions in discussions and group work, and to develop one's own opinion from this. In addition, there is a tutorial with volunteer tutors, which focuses on team development and the practical part of the project, namely preparation for the large simulation in New York.

Throughout the entire time there were mock conferences to make us aware of the procedure and thus prepare us for the large conference in New York. First there was a small internal mock conference that lasted about four to five hours. Then we were in Erfurt, where a total of about 500 other delegates from all over Germany were present. And so it continued until the official final conference. The procedure of each NMUN conference is such that each person or team is assigned a country, which is drawn from three nominated by predecessors. Following this, a vote is held on which committee one takes a seat in. These can be the General Assemblies (6 in total), the Security Council or, for example, the Full-size Committee . For New York we were assigned the Dominican Republic, which was cool and exciting because it has been temporarily on the Security Council since 2019." 

Sprachrohr: And what are the requirements and procedures when it comes to "representing" a country?

Friedi: "The core task is independent preparation and research of the nations. You engage intensively with the country and try to understand any historical events, decisions and connections. What position does my country take on certain issues? What treaties has my country signed? Who are my allies, strategic partners or supporters? At this point, the challenge was to remain objective, since one sometimes had to represent opinions that one would not personally endorse. As an example, I can mention Hungary's (non-)stance on the Migration Pact . You have to fully engage with a country so that you can represent it as truthfully and realistically as possible. Representing itself means writing so-called position papers on certain topics. In these, the nation's own opinion as well as desired future developments and proposed solutions are formulated and then sent to all participants a week before the conference. The course of the conference was a mix of formal and informal sessions. The formal part includes speeches, the informal part includes subsequent meetings and discussions in which ideas for resolution papers are recorded. Being in New York at the end was really overwhelming."

Sprachrohr: And what significance has NMUN gained for you in retrospect? Would you make the same decision again as you did just over a year ago?

Friedi: "NMUN was a very interesting experience for me. The biggest hurdle for me was definitely public speaking, because in the end about 300 people were sitting in front of me listening to me. But that has made me much more confident and especially more composed. With my committee partner, we even received an award in New York for our submitted position paper. That was pretty cool. Besides, you really get to meet a lot of new people from all over the world and exchange ideas on diverse interests. Of course, it doesn't look bad on your CV either, but that wasn't our main focus. In addition to the conferences, there was also another excursion to Berlin, which took us to, among other places, the Interior Ministry and the Federal Ministry for International Cooperation. In the USA we had an appointment at the World Bank in Washington, among other things – also very exciting! I think we all gathered lasting experiences and friendships for life through the new impressions, the intensive collaboration and shared challenges. In my opinion, NMUN is a really valuable and exciting interdisciplinary project that I can recommend to anyone who is interested in politics, even if only to some extent, or who wants to try something new." 

Friedi studies Social and Population Geography in the Master's programme in Bamberg and took the opportunity through Otto-Friedrich-Universität, but the JMU Würzburg has also been sending student delegates to New York for many years. If you're now thinking, "Cool, I want to take part in that": Unfortunately, applications for the winter semester 2019/2020 in Würzburg are already closed, but maybe it'll work out next year! You can find more information on the respective websites and on Facebook. We're keeping our fingers crossed in any case. Thanks for the chat.

Lisa Kühnemann