Schedule and Details
We hereby announce the offical program for this year's elbMUN Conference. You can find a more detailed description of the workshop, our social events and guest speakers below.
City Tour
In the Dresden tradition of going for a walk in the town center every Monday afternoon, we invite you to join us for a little walk of our own! As the streets are crowded in the afternoon, we will try to avoid the masses of people and start in the morning at 11 am in front of the Saxon State Parliament. You’ll be shown around the beautiful old town of Dresden including Semperoper, Zwinger and Frauenkirche feeling the flair of “Elbflorence”. Depending on your abilities to walk, we might cross the river Elbe and enter the “Neustadt”, a place you will get to know in detail Tuesday night. Before getting locked into endless sessions, take the chance to visit Dresden, it’s totally worth it!
Workshop = Mock Debate
On the very first day of this year‘s conference, elbMUN e.V. has scheduled a so-called “Mock Session” starting at 2 pm. Some of you might have wondered what this term stands for – so here is a quick definition:
Taking place before the start of the official debate, the Mock Session is a true icebreaker: After arriving in Dresden and enjoying some of its beauty during our city tour, the delegates will get together with their Chairs in their respective Council. After a short introduction, the Chairs will launch the Council’s first proper debate. However, this first debate will differ from the following debates in a significant way: In lieu of serious topics like women’s rights or the future of Syria, the delegates will be dealing with ridiculous questions ranging from “Nuclear hand weapons for everybody?” to “Abolishment of cumbersome democracy?”. These jocular topics provide for controversial opinions and allow the Council-Members to warm up with the Chairs, the Rules of Procedure and their fellow delegates while exchanging funny arguments and hopefully sharing a good laugh before plunging into the real MUN-world.
Particularly for first-timers, the Mock Session provides a fun opportunity to familiarize themselves with the Rules of Procedure and overcome first reservations. Nevertheless, experienced delegates are just as well encouraged to take part in this session in order assist their fellow delegates and kick off elbMUN 2016 in a fun way!
Guest Speakers
Security Council: Sylvia Groneick - currently working for the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Auswärtiges Amt) with one of her various duties being to represent the Federal German Republic in the Security Council 2019 / 20, the VN General Assembly and the VN Elections
SOCHUM: Nicole Herzog - deputy head of division at the European and international gender equality policy division at the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ)
DISEC: Dr. Judith Vorrath - Associate in the International Security Division of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP)
Conseil Europeén: Dr. Torsten König - professeur de l´université de Dresde, faisait ses études de lettres à Berlin, Paris, Pise et Dresde
Guest Speech
Closing Event
We have the honour to close the conference with a guest speech by Scott R. Riedmann - U.S. Consul General in the states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia.
Social Events
Band Night: Kick off for this year‘s Social Events at elbMUN is the Student Club Bärenzwinger just next to the river Elbe perfectly suitable to our conference’s name. The location offers anything one could ask for: dance floor, chill-out-area, a variety of drinks and lots of great people you will want to meet and if all of this is not enough, we also invited some bands to get you into the right mood. What kind of bands? You will have to pass by and see!
Pub Crawl: It is with great expectations that we invite all of you to enjoy an unforgettable Pub-Crawl through the famous Neustadt with us. Let our guides take you to 5 different pubs and bars accompanied by fun games and great conversations with your fellow delegates, chairs and organizers. The “golden Mile” will give you a unique opportunity to discover the various attractions Neustadt has to offer.
Movie Night: On Wednesday night, you can take a break from the previous discussions and come together to watch the documentary "He named me Malala" in “Kino im Kasten”. It is a touching potrait of the 18 year old human rights activist and nobel peace prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, who had been targeted and shot by the taliban for speaking out on behalft of girl's education. The pakistani schoolgirl survived the assassination attempt severly wounded, but still kept on going with her campaign and rose in worldwide prominence for her incredible courage and marvelous commitment. A stunning movie one shouldn't miss, which also includes her speech at last year's UN conference. Afterwards there will be a buffet with some snacks and fingerfood.
Ball Night: In case you enjoyed the Social Events so far, you will definitely fall head over heels in love with our annual Prom Night. The ball is going to offer a particularly festive atmosphere, which leads us to reminding you of appropriate evening attire. We have organized a dancing performance and DJ that is going to make you feel like dancing all night long. Put briefly, you can expect an extravagant and entertaining unforgettable elbMUN experience.
Barbecue: After a week of plenty of discussions, new friendships and lots of fun, the Social Events of 2016 will end where they started, next to the river Elbe. This time on the opposite side of the river, we will have a barbecue in front of the stunning Dresden panorama. It will be a time to say goodbye with tears, laughter and great food!
