Both agree that their main task is to make sure everybody is all right during the conference, whether participants or team members. Therefore, it is essential for them to remain approachable during every elbMUN event in case anybody wants to talk to them in confidence. They also sit in on the different committees and observe their work as well as group dynamics. After the sessions, they approach people personally if necessary. In doing so, they try to find a solution to any issue through conversation with the affected ones. A look from the outside is very important, as it means giving basic attention to problems that may not be of an obvious nature to the participants, explains Nele.

Aike, a member of the conference team, comes into the break room and sits next to Kaspar and Nele. She joins their conversation by telling them how important the existence of an awareness team is in her opinion. For her, it shows that there is actually an intention to notice discomfort and address it during the conference instead of sweeping issues under the rug.

Both Nele and Kaspar agree. This was one of the main reasons for them to join the team. Nele knew that she wanted to participate in elbMUN and found the work of the awareness team super important. In the end, the team does not have much relevance until it is needed, therefore very few people were interested in joining it. Kaspar was shocked by the fact that practically no one wanted to be on the team and directly signed up for it. He wanted the awareness team to have a visible position and to be noticed during the conference.

Of course, this meant that they had to prepare their work very well in advance. They for example wrote the “Code of Conduct”, which can be found in the “Delegates’ Handbook”. This document contains the participants’ responsibilities, rules of debate and on a respectful behaviour as well as consequences in case of misconduct. “We base our work on the principle of respect for diversity, dedication to strengthening multilateralism and international cooperation and we simultaneously require a similar approach from all participants.”, is one of the text’s first sentences.

Nele addresses that there is a third team member, Fiona, which cannot be forgotten when talking about the preparatory work. She cannot be present at the conference, but she is checking the team’s email inbox during the conference in case they get a message via the anonymous contact form. Furthermore, she was part of the awareness team last year as well, wherefore she could contribute her experience when working on preparations like the Code of Conduct.

After reminiscing about the initial phase of the awareness team, Kaspar goes on to reflect on his and Nele's work during the conference. He states that they often discuss when to intervene in a situation. It is not always clear from the beginning whether their help is really needed, or the involved parties can discuss the problem on their own. When do people want the awareness team to help solve a conflict and when is the dispute simply part of the simulation?

This leads them to talking about the core issue they experience during their work. It is a simple question: Who are we really to decide on this? According to them, in the most cases, their job is just to address and problematize already existing issues, showing that something seemingly normal can indeed be a problem and viewed from many different standpoints.

The hierarchical structures of the conference are challenging as well. Of course, a power difference between participants, chairs and team members should exist for a good functioning elbMUN 2023. However, entrenched power structures have a high risk of leading to conflicts. As the awareness team is an institution standing aside from those structures, Nele and Kaspar can talk to everyone in a more neutral and open way, regardless of which role they are holding during elbMUN. They emphasise how crucial it is to talk to chairs, too, when they commit errors.

Nele remembers that the first time they thought about their role during the conference, they supposed not to be needed much since elbMuners seem to mostly be reflective people. However, they do have a lot of work right now. The collision of different cultures, views and personalities always involves a risk. The participants have differing expectations of MUNs, themselves and other people, which can crash and then lead to conflicts. This is precisely why a different perspective from an external institution is of value, reinforces Kaspar.

And even though they have a lot to do, Kaspar and Nele have never had the feeling of not knowing how to go on. Of course, they had to first assess the threshold for when to intervene in a situation. But most of the participants respect and appreciate Nele’s, Fiona’s, and Kaspar’s work. They take criticism and suggestions by the awareness team very seriously and implement it in their further behaviour. There are only few delegates who do not respect the team’s work. But of course, the team can count on the support of the secretariat and executive board at any times, too.

In the best-case scenario, they are not needed, but it is still important that they are there, concludes Nele as their break draws to a close. Kaspar agrees: “Wow, having this conversation was kind of like writing our own self-reflection!”

The break is over. Nele and Kaspar must return to their work.

By Merret Fides Gregor and Anna Abraham

Anna Abraham: What is your first impression of this conference so far?

Asseem Kinra: It is wonderful. It looks like a United Nations Hall. The old town a historical setting and a very relevant question, pressing question and important question to world economy and politics that you are answering here as students.

Anna Abraham: At first glance, economy might not seem interesting. Why should young people inform themselves about this issue?

AK: We live in a consumer society. We should all be aware of where our goods come from, how they are produced, what price dictates the supply and demand to us. If we don't know this, we do not know how to resolve the problems that we face. Economics is probably the most important issue trying to resolve this problem of global supply chains and value chains.

AA: Can you explain to our readers what a ripple effect is?

AK: The ripple effect is a structural dynamics issue. It's a problem that arises in a supply chain. It occurs due to an unforeseen event for example a pandemic, an earthquake and then this leads to propagation of disruptions across the supply chains. In a nutshell the ripple effect is a propagating effect due to supply chain disruptions.

AA: As a consumer, I've noticed shortages in the supply chain. Why do people not get their goods?

AK: Because our supply chains have become very global, probably way too global and we don't know where the goods are coming from, which is why it is so frustrating. The goods do not reach the consumer and the consumer has no way to correct that as well. Which is why it is an important topic for the consumer.

AA: The pandemics and the Ukraine war probably had an impact as well.

AK: Yes, certainly. That the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have an impact on local consumption just tells us how much we rely on Ukraine and China as a supplier for our products as a consumer.

AA: Would you say that global supply chains are a problem?

AK: Global supply chains are a problem to the extent that we cannot manage them. But global supply chains are also a very important. They help us reduce the price of certain goods and may even make them available to the consumer who could have otherwise not purchased them. It's a blessing in disguise as we call it.

AA: Do you think that politics should try to move global supply chains to more local supply chains?

AK: I don't necessarily think that it is something that policy making should do proactively. But collectively, if there are some measures in order to deal with short term fluctuations, it's all right. But long term, I think the market should be allowed to correct itself. If we like the products made in China, we should let that happen. And besides, I don't think we should go to a world order which we do not know in our generation, which is a non-global supply chain.

AA: Recently, what one can notice is that companies try to bring back some of their manufacturing back to high cost countries. Samsung for example is investing in domestic computer chip production. Do you think that's something that we will notice more often in the future?

AK: It is something that might happen and it is rather progressive. But it is also just globalization.

AA: One last question, do you have any predictions regarding the future of supply chains?

AK: Global supply chains will face deep uncertainty in the future. They will not be so reliable. Reliability is going to be a problem in the short to medium run. I think in the future, we will be able to resolve these problems through technology. We will also see a trend with these high impact low frequency events. Once we get hold of that, we should be able to achieve their reliability. The question is how do we resolve the paradox of wanting many goods and sustainability? That is the big question. We want to achieve low cost goods from very distant destinations. We want more goods, we want to consume, but we also want to be sustainable.

Follow him along on his way representing Morocco in United Nations Committee on peaceful use of outer space (COPUOS).

By Merret Fides Gregor and Anna Abraham

Morning

"My mornings are quite busy. Putting on my badge and my suit brings me into the mood. After arriving at the House of Cathedral, I set my things up at the table and read the news.

Committee sessions

"The chairs are guiding and leading the discussion. They explain the procedure and hand out opportunities for the delegates to speak. Recently, we have been starting on our working paper which will eventually turn into our draft resolution. Sunday, it will be brought to the General Assembly.

Personally, I might do some research. There are different alliances, so I try to listen what the opposing alliance plans. Within my alliance, I try to find out whether we are all on the same page.

I represent Morocco. We are a developing country that is not strict in line with any of the super powers regarding the issue of use of outer space. Therefore, I am free to join alliances."

Coffee break

"Relax! It is important to use the coffee breaks to have relaxed discussions, maybe not even about politics. I also try to get enough sleep, because honestly, just coffee is not enough."

Social Events

"My favorite so far has been the bar night the first day. There were still so many people I didn't know. The bar night has provided a very good opportunity to let people talk together in a relaxing environment. "

After elbMUN

While Sunday elbMUN comes to an end, Joel Kaasalainen's MUN career does not. He has already signed up for GöMUN.

As Tamara Schmidt is a specialist in Financial Engineering, Capital Markets and Derivatives, with over 15 years of experience, she knows what it means to put a lot of effort in a field she is passionate about.

If you have ever been interested in becoming a specialist in one field, the insights of this interview might be interesting for you.

Recipe for becoming (and staying) a specialist feat. Tamara Schmidt

First ingredient: Be diverse and interested

Schmidt is looking back on an interesting career. She used to be a physicist and had many changes in her career. When she started working in the financial market, she was impressed by the amount of topics she was interested in. It was never limited to just one topic.

Second ingredient: Get excited about your topics

Technology is complex. Knowing that there were so many things to discover, was always very exciting for Schmidt. A little dose of fascination for your topics is therefore recommendable.

Third ingredient: Know about your impact

Schmidt always knew about the impact technology has in our society and economy. This knowledge turned into another source of personal motivation.

Shortcut for workaholics who did not want to read the whole article:

Be interested and motivated. Because it is how the Dalai Lama said once:

“If our motivation is strong and wholesome, we can accomplish anything”.

Ten people host in the “get-a-couch program” this year. People who live in Dresden provide their couch during the conference for delegates from other cities, 15 delegates are hosted.

When applying for elbMUN, Ardhendu has also pressed the button “need a couch”. “I wanted to get to know Dresden more.”, explains Ardhendu. Together with a friend he has traveled all the way from Kiel to Dresden to participate in the conference. When he arrived in a Flixbus in Dresden, he was greeted by Paula. For her it was a funny moment: At the gate she realized that her fellow MUN team member Arne hosted Ardhendu’s friend.

When signing up, Paula did not have too many expectations because she knew they would not be at home together very often. Still, they managed to have breakfast together the first morning and also went to a Döner place another day.

Navigating around the city in the mornings was one of the most important tasks for host Paula. “I didn’t feel lost. “, Ardhendu says. So far, he has enjoyed Dresden, especially the old buildings. “Kiel can be quite gloomy at times”, he says.

For him it his first MUN as well. During lunch break he eats hastily to get back to work fast: He writes a resolution for his committee “United Nations Environment Assembly”. For the student of marine geosciences it is an interesting experience to talk about climate change with a political perspective. “There are many things scientists just agree on, but here people disagree because they try to enforce their countrys’ political agendas.”, he explains.

After lunch, his committee holds a free discussion session. Ardhendu sits huddled in the corner between the delegate of Peru and other delegates. Large paper sheets on the wall explain how amendments and working papers function. Someone has scribbled with red and blue ink on them.

It is the fourth day of the conference, tomorrow Ardhendu will travel back to Kiel. Even though due to the full schedule of the conference, they only have been at Paula’s during the nights, he has already found one similarity: They both like spicy food.

By Anna Abraham

Netflix replaced the good old DVDs, podcasts the radio and so on…

Is the so called “digital euro” just the next logical consequence in this story of digitalization?

The PR team had the chance to interview Tamara Ferreira Schmidt, the executive director of the Digital Euro Association (DEA), a specialist in Financial Engineering, Capital Markets and Derivatives.

Schmidt explained the main difference between the digital euro and the money we already see online, when we check our bank accounts.

What we have now is commercial bank money, but not central bank money.

The digital euro will offer the customer another possibility to pay something. You could either pay with your bank money or with the new currency.

Nevertheless, Schmidt still sees challenges till the official launch of the “digital euro”. Even though the investigation phase will end in September 2023, this does not mean the start of the “digital euro”. The end of the investigation phase will only lead to the decision whether to go ahead or not. In the case of the answer “Yes”, this decision would mark the planning of a development date.

Schmidt is careful with predictions but thinks it could be realized in 2027.

The biggest challenge in her opinion is to solve the question, how this big change could work globally.

No wonder Schmidt is so dedicated, as there is a lot of work to do.

Tomorrow, another article will be published, talking about what motivates Schmidt to keep working in this field.

And we all know that the sea and marine life are highly endangered by human activity. Especially the so-called high seas. Those are all parts of the seas that do not belong to the territory of any state. They make up for nearly two-thirds of the world’s waters.

So, what does the international community do to protect the high seas? A year ago, the answer to that would have been “not much”. However, this has changed in the recent past.

On March 4th, after more than ten years of negotiations, the UN member states concluded the so called “High Seas Treaty” in New York in order to ensure fair and regulated protection of the high seas. The agreement, which is seen as a major breakthrough in the general public perception, contains three key aspects.

First and foremost, the contracting states agreed on establishing “marine protected areas” (MPAs) on the high seas. Those areas are under special protection and human activity inside them is only permitted if it does not harm marine life. In December 2022, a UN biodiversity conference was held in Montreal. There, the member states committed on putting a third of the sea and land under protection by 2030 to protect endangered species. However, no legal enforcement mechanism was indicated. With the MPAs coming, this has now changed concerning the seas.

A second crucial point of the agreement is that environmental impact assessments (EIAs) are obligatory for human activity in the high seas. If, for example, a state wanted to make profit from fishing or mining in the oceans, it would have to test first whether the activity’s environmental impact would not be too severe.

Lastly, the contracting states must share all “marine genetic resources” (MGRs) in the high seas. Those are small biological materials from animals and plants in the seas that have a potential use for mankind and are often employed in cosmetics and medicine. As the benefits of using MGRs are supposed to be divided in a fair way between all countries, the agreement can also be seen as one of global justice. Effectively, this is implemented by a financing mechanism for third world countries that do not have the financial means of exploring and economically exploiting MGRs.

Even though the contract is seen as very progressive, there are some critics. Environmentalists opine that its rules are not strict enough. For instance, countries will execute their own EIAs, instead of involving a neutral instance. Moreover, impactful institutions like the International Maritime Organization for shipping and the International Seabed Authority, that regulates mining, are not concerned by the treaty, and can therefore go on with their work as before.

The High Seas Treaty is certainly a decisive step towards protecting our oceans, but does it suffice to put an end to issues like species extinction, overfishing and pollution?

If you want to learn more about the topic, you can click here:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/05/high-seas-treaty-agreement-to-protect-international-waters-finally-reached-at-un

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-64839763

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00757-z

https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/un-abkommen-zum-schutz-der-artenvielfalt-in-den-meeren-18735831.html

MUNs originated in the days of the League of Nations, the predecessor organization to the United Nations. A group of students at Oxford University came up with the idea of simulating the operations of the League of Nations to better understand them. The first conference of this kind ever known took place on November 12, 1921. That was more than 100 years ago!

Of course, the Oxford group didn’t want their idea to come to nothing, but to be heard. So Mir Mahmood, then president of the first so-called "International Assembly" at Oxford, visited Harvard University and presented the concept there in 1922. A year later, then, the International Assemblies began to take place in the United States as well. But at some point, the tide turned: the simulations at Oxford were discontinued, and it was up to the people at Harvard to implement and promote the concept. In the years that followed, annual conferences were held in various cities across the US.

Then, in 1945, something very important happened. The United Nations were founded and replaced the League of Nations. Consequently, the International Assemblies had to become simulations of the UN. The concept subsequently became popular all over the world.

And that is why today, there exist so many MUNs in different countries around the world. Hundreds of thousands of students from various countries participate in MUNs every year. For example in Dresden… The founders of the very first International Assembly in Oxford certainly would not have expected such a result when they wanted to learn more about the League of Nations about 100 years ago! :)

If you want to learn more about the topic, you can click here:

https://www.nmun.org/assets/documents/about-nmun/mission-and-history/nmun-history.pdf

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_United_Nations#Geschichte_und_Verbreitung

https://www.uni-bamberg.de/nmun/projekt/definition/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_United_Nations

https://www.oxfordglobal.org/blog/2020/10/6/a-brief-history-of-model-united-nations

By Merret Fides Gregor and Anna Abraham

Arne (delegate for Brazil)

„I am wearing business casual, button down, suit jacket, suit trousers, no tie, no fly. I´m wearing white sneakers, they are also kind of dirty because I wore them at the Osterfeuer in my hometown. They are not proper attire, they aren’t allowed, you must wear dress shoes. I like the dresscode. I like to wear suits in general and I don’t get the opportunity to wear them very often. I’ve worn this twice. It feels more professional, more official. It’s not like super formal, there have been some punishments for delegates with white sneakers for example having to sing the national anthem or dancing, but it was good fun. The dresscode also makes you more confident. The suit speaks for itself.”

Mia (team): “Today I am wearing shoes with high heels. It hopefully fits the dress code. Generally speaking, a dress code is appropriate. I think, it helps people to get into their role. After all, we model the United Nations. But I don’t feel like it should be imposed ultra strict. Earlier, we had some punishments for people wearing sneakers. As a consequence, they had to dance and read an episode from “Fifty shades of Grey.”. After all, that was more for fun and not to actually humiliate them.“

Paul (delegate for Senegal): „Today, I am wearing a boubou. It’s a traditional Fulani dress. The Fulani are the biggest ethnic groups in Senegal. This dress comes from the south-east region of Senegal. A Senegalese friend told me to get a Tailor in Dakar so I can show the traditional dress in Dresden. I thought elbMUN would be a good occasion to wear it and give it the proper respect. I would never wear it casually in my freetime. They also hand it out to ambassadors and I would like to show my appreciation of their culture. We as delegates have to represent our country in a proper way.

In general, I think the dress code is good because it leaves room for interpretation. Before the conference, I actually contacted the awareness team to make sure they would be okay with me wearing the boubou. To understand, you need to know my personal connection to it.

Caroline Kent is the managing director of Women for Women International Germany. They are both guest speakers at elbMUN.

Veronika Volkova: What do you think are the main challenges in the topic of women rights?

CK: I think there are numerous challenges but maybe we break it down to three. I think the first is the lack of funding for women's rights organizations in particular, local women's rights organizations who can't access the larger funding pots. The second challenge is the resistance to talking about women's rights, the resistance to framing things as feminist development policies or feminist foreign policies because it comes with assumptions that I think are ill informed and don't translate to the realities. And the third biggest issue is conflict, war and the fragile situation of so many million women who are affected by having to leave their homes because of conflict, who live in extreme poverty and are thereby denied access to education, work, health care and social life.

CG: I would just add that women's rights should never be for discussion. In war time, there are other humanitarian issues at stake, there's not enough water supply, there's not enough food supply and that makes women's rights something negotiable in those countries.

Additionally, violence against women is a big issue for women's rights. The whole system does not enable women to speak up and say who their perpetrator is.

I: And what does “Women for Women” do to change the situation?

CG: We work in fragile, and conflict affected states all around the world. And we try to help women understand their rights, know their rights, and have access to their rights. So, for us, our logic is that if women know their rights, they have the power to transform their community, their world and transform their Childrens lives. So, we give them resources, we support them to have access to knowledge and to a yearlong training program where they gain a vocational skill and can be economically sufficient, have savings and also send their daughters to school and not only there their sons.

We have the mindset that women's work is valuable, Women's contribution to society can be valuable although it might not be seen in, in most of the communities where we work.

I: What can each and everyone of us do to change the situation?

CK:. I think the first thing is to inform yourselves about women's rights. About the different perspectives of women in different contexts and to learn about their lived realities and what can be done.

The second is then to share that knowledge with families, with men, with people who might be skeptical about talking about women's rights. Also share with them that women’s rights are not about excluding men, but it's just making sure that everyone has the same equal opportunities. In addition, you can fund organizations to do that or you can volunteer and support.

I: And how did you come so passionate about this topic? Why have you started this?

CK: There's no silver bullet to ending poverty or injustice. If f there were, we would have solved it. But in my experience and to my knowledge, the best chance we have to end injustice and to end extreme poverty is to invest in women. And I think it's something that we haven't done enough and that's why I'm very passionate about our work and the work that is being done to support women worldwide.

CG: We have one figure that we always mention in presentations, that women reinvest 90% of their income back into their families and men only 40. I didn't know all that before I joined women for Women International, but that we really see that women talk to their neighbors, they talk to their friends, they educate their daughters, and they really have this ripple effect in their communities that can also cause structural changes for the long term. So I'm passionate about a lot of things, but I'm mostly passionate about our mission because I think it just works out.

I: Thank you for your time.

There are people who chose to have their first MUN experience with elbMUN and others, who have had so many already, they wanted to become a Chair, in order to experience the debates from a different perspective.

Therefore, the participants´ expectations differ. Some are nervous and

curious to find out, what a MUN has to offer. Others are interested in increasing their knowledge about diplomatic processes and improving their debating skills. While there are some who are looking forward to “nice discussions”, others hope to discover “polarized positions”. (direct quotes from participants)

Some delegates have taken their preparation for this MUN seriously. While some have read a lot about their debating topic, others have painted their nails according to the national colors of the country they represent. (or both)

After pointing out the differences, this article will now present the participants´ common grounds, since the motto of this conference is summarized under the keyword “harmony”.

While interviewing the participants there was one word one could hear in almost every conversation. And that was the word “excited”. Excited for this new or old but always unique experience. Excited for getting to know new people. Excited for the debates. In other words: Excited for this MUN!

Since 1995 and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, there has been progress, but inequality persists.

Why does this situation need to change? Why is the role of women in peacebuilding that crucial?

It is proven that women´s inclusion in peacebuilding processes is essential for long-lasting success. Long-lasting success in this respect refers to a long-term, sustainable, and peaceful solution, that remains after the dissolution of a conflict.

One major problem consists in the fact that women are too often portrayed as vulnerable victims and incapable of playing an important and essential role in peacebuilding.

Let‘ s change that.

Here are some women in peacebuilding:

There is Rajaa Altalli, member of the Syrian Women‘ s Advisory Board, who started documenting human rights violations as soon as the Syrian revolution began and co-founded a NGO.

There is Susan Sebit from South Sudan, an accomplished lawyer and advocate for women‘ s participation in governance and leadership.

There is Drita Haidari, a prosecutor for the Special Prosecution Office of Kosovo who investigates and prosecutes war crimes and is working to change the fact, that no one has ever been successfully charged with conflict-related sexual violence in Kosovo.

The role models and their stories exist. We just need to make them more visible in order to ensure that one day it will be impossible to overlook them.

Anna Abraham : How did you come to MUN?

Sofie Sharaf : So, let’s just quickly go over my MUN CV. Just kidding. I visited my first MUN when I was 16. But then I had a long break until I rediscovered MUN when I went to university. I was really frightened by my first MUN experience and I thought I would never do it again. I thought: It’s so frightening to go upstairs, stand in front of all these people and then speak in English. But funny enough, I actually chose my university because they had a MUN team and I thought I’d give it another try. Since then, I was more involved in MUN. The next conference, I attended was actually MainMUN. I am part of the Main MUN team since 2020 and then quickly discovered that I am more into chairing though. I was secretary-general for the 2021 edition and now I am on the board of directors of the association.

What is your favorite part of MUN?

As a delegate it is always cool to dive into different topics and meet new people. And I think this is the part where it can be hard for first-timers. People are so in their MUN bubble which is for example reflected in how they talk to each other. That way you can easily feel excluded. This happened to me in my first MUN. It really takes some courage to then be willing to break open the bubble of others – this can also be very cool because it is a story of growth.

As a chair I really enjoyed chairing very niche weird committees as the International Maritime Organization. I also chaired the committee on peaceful use of outer space, which I really enjoyed because space law appears to be between science fiction and real life.

What is your advice for first-timers?

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself in your first MUN. You will most likely get into a committee where everyone is more experienced than you. Don’t let that frighten you. Just roll in your own speed. So, if you are not ready to deliver a big opening speech, then don’t do it. Nobody will blame you. If you don’t feel confident to raise a motion until the last day of the conference, then don’t do it until then. Go with your own pace, try to learn from the others, try to approach every new delegate that you feel connected to. Ask questions. And again: Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. You are not forced to participate, so try to get as much out of it as possible. Apply all that knowledge on your second MUN.

Also, there are different kinds of MUN attendees: Some all about delivering perfect speeches, some are all about networking.

What could more experienced MUN delegates do to let newcomers feel more welcome?

Of course, you want to do you if you are experienced. So maybe, you have a thought out plan. Maybe you already have some speeches prepared that you really want to deliver and because you are so much more experienced, they are better than what a first timer would be able to deliver. But, on the other hand, just approach them. If you see someone clearly struggling without a clue what is going on, maybe try to invite them to get into your working group. Maybe approach them in an informal setting.

How can you not become nervous when you deliver a speech?

I am usually not nervous before giving the speech, but incredibly nervous when standing there and already delivering the speech. I remember when I was standing at my first MUN giving a speech and my leg kept shaking. I was like: No, just stop. I didn’t want to seem nervous to others. Some of it will never go away. It is totally normal to be nervous when you push yourself to the limits of what you can do and what you are used to. Let’s say it’s a good sign. It means you are currently growing.

To become less nervous, you can practice of course. If you are not comfortable in talking to a big group of people, maybe not start with giving a big speech in front of the GA. The other thing is don’t be worried about being nervous. Everyone is nervous. It’s okay if you stumble. It’s okay if you forget an English word. It’s probably not your first language anyway. Everyone can understand that.

It might help to structure your speech. Some people write short sentences, some write down keywords. Some very experienced delegates might go to the microphone with nothing. But you don’t have to do that. Find out what makes you most comfortable.

Do you have a favorite MUN moment?

It’s hard to say because there are so many. Of course, being a secretary general was very electrifying: I was giving the closing speech. Magical is not the right word but it goes in that direction. You prepared a year for this conference. That was pretty cool.

Afterwards, it will be done, and you fall into this Post-MUN depression as we all do. Sometimes during closing ceremonies I am struggling to keep my tears inside because I am a very sensitive person.

And as a chair I was always very proud of my delegates, seeing them developing over time and maybe give better speeches.

Do you have more questions about elbMUN, or do you simply want to get to know us before signing up? We have great news!

This Saturday, 2pm CET, our Secretaries-General Charlotte and Paulo will be waiting for you on Instagram Live to talk about the incredible experiences that await you at this year’s elbMUN Conference 2022. This will also be the perfect moment to get answers about any questions you might have concerning the registration process, Dresden, how to best start your research, or anything else.

If you’re not sure yet what exactly Model United Nations is, but care about international cooperation, peace and the UN, this is the perfect session for you to hop in and learn more about MUN. And if you’re wondering about the unique benefits elbMUN has to offer, this Get-to-Know-Session will provide you with all the info you need to know! Come around Saturday afternoon, we can’t wait to meet you and share insights about elbMUN on instagram.com/elbmun!

Do you have more questions about elbMUN, or do you simply want to get to know us before signing up? We have great news! Next Tuesday, 7pm CET, Charlotte and Ankit will be waiting for you on Instagram live to talk about the incredible experiences they’ve had thanks to MUN. They will also drop some hints on what will await you at this year’s elbMUN conference. This will also be the perfect moment to get answers about any questions you might have concerning the registration process, Dresden, how to best start your research, or anything else.

If you’re not sure yet what exactly Model United Nations is, but care about international cooperation, peace and the UN, this is the perfect session for you to hop in and learn more about MUN. And if you’re wondering about the unique benefits elbMUN has to offer, this Get-to-Know-Session will provide you with all the info you need to know! Come hop in Tuesday night, we can’t wait to meet you and share insights about elbMUN on instagram.com/elbmun!

Dear future Delegates,

We could not be more happy to invite you to elbMUN 2022 which is set to take place in Dresden from 20th to 24th of April! After two years of keeping in touch from a distance, we will finally be able to debate, dance and inspire each other in person again. Your Secretaries-General are eager to create a platform that brings to life critical discourse, constructive resolution-writing, and life-long friendships.

Four uniquely picked committees, Dresden’s marvelous baroque flair and our team’s dedication to provide you with an unforgettable experience are our conference’s trademarks. elbMUN 2022 will be complemented by tasteful social events and an elegant setting in the Saxon State Parliament and the Haus der Katholischen Akademie - right at the heart of Dresden’s historic old town.

However, in order to bring elbMUN to life, to pick up the pieces of our puzzle[d] world and to turn our dreams into reality, we need you to become a part of this year’s conference. It would be our greatest honor to welcome you in Dresden as a delegate and live unforgettable moments that will mark us for the years to come. Apply now!

Yours Sincerely,

Charlotte Burkhard and Paulo Glowacki

Secretaries-General of elbMUN 2022