As the delegation of BG/BRG Knittelfeld again participated in the Model United Nations of Munich (short MUNoM) this year, we are delighted to tell you about our experience and share some of the memories made in Munich with you:
We, 19 students from the 6th, 7th and 8th form and our two teachers, arrived in Munich on Monday, November 13, by train. On our first day there, we explored the city with our friends and later all had dinner together at Paulaner brewery. After dinner we reviewed our resolution papers and made some last-minute changes to prepare for the conference on the next day.
The MUNoM conference itself started on Tuesday, November 14, with our school representing the following countries: Sudan, Myanmar, Syrian Arab Republic and the Netherlands. After the opening ceremony, we, as the delegates of the above-mentioned countries, engaged in lobbying within our respective GA (General Assembly) or ECOSOC (Economic and Social Forum). There we focused on finding enough co-submitters for our resolutions, so that they could be discussed in our committees. After lunch, the ambassadors delivered their opening speeches, all while the Security council was already in session. As the first day of the conference concluded, we had free time allowing everyone to explore the city centre of Munich even further.
The following day featured another round of lobbying until lunchtime. After lunch, the discussions of the first resolutions started. Some delegates presented their resolutions, others submitted amendments, and some participated in the debate. The outcome varied from committee to committee, with resolutions passing in some and being rejected in others. After the second day of the conference our entire group visited an Escape Room. There, we worked together in groups to successfully “break out” of four different rooms - all in line with the motto “Teamwork makes the dream work!”.
On Thursday, we spent the whole day debating different resolutions and everybody spent their evening differently.
Friday already marked the end of the conference. The initial plan for the day was, for each GA and ECOSOC, to select one resolution (from those they had passed) and to present it in front of the entire assembly. Sadly, due to time constraints, only two G’s got the chance to present their resolutions.
Just before lunch, the Security Council introduced an unexpected crisis, which required the collaboration of the delegates from all countries, over
400 in total, so that we could form a resolution together. Even though this may sound very serious, this resolution was designed for entertainment. The delegation of Sudan attempted to colonize their own historical colonizers, for example, while Belgium formed an alliance with all former colonizers to attempt colonization of their former territories. During these discussions, the delegation of the Netherlands tried to fully legalize cannabis and cocaine. Despite an overwhelming support for this amendment from numerous countries, time constraints hindered its discussion with the entire General Assembly (Where it would have passed for sure!).
Following the discussion of this amazing resolution, we already had to say goodbye to our friends from the European School of Munich (ESM) and to all the wonderful people we got to meet during this week. Quite typically for Deutsche Bahn, we arrived back home in Knittelfeld with a more than two-hour delay but were grateful for and happy about the challenging but truly amazing time we spent in Munich stepping in the shoes of UN delegates and performing live on stage to represent the interests of our respective countries as best as possible.
Let’s now yield the floor back to Munich and we encourage you to click through the MUNoM Times as well as the photos attached to get a better impression of our time in Munich.
We are already looking forward to even more fruitful debates in the years to come!
The delegation of BG/BRG Knittelfeld & the MUN directors Prof.in Katrin Plank and Prof.in Sabine Sperr
2023 Munom Times Day 1 (hier klicken)
2023 Munom Times Day 2 (hier klicken)
