BerMUN 2011
This year’s BerMUN was very special. Not only because our group consisted of 8 pupils from both 11th and 12th grade, but also because it was the 20th anniversary of BerMUN itself.
Berlin Model United Nations is a simulation of a United Nations conference which takes place at John F. Kennedy School (JFKS) in Berlin and basically is about students from all over the world coming together and working in different committees such as the Environment Committee or the Human Rights Committee and discussing up to date political issues and passing resolutions on how to solve current problems.
This year’s BerMUN took place from 16th to 19th November. Our delegation represented both Somalia and Malawi. This year’s topic was ”Eradicating Poverty”.
Our BerMUN- trip started on Wednesday, 15th November. After 4 lessons at school, we took the 14:40 train to Berlin. During the ride we prepared ourselves for the conferences by discussing in English one another’s taste in music, movies or books and -of course- by improving our resolutions and the opening speeches of the ambassadors Marysia and Jovana.
After quickly taking up our accommodation in our hostel in Stieglitz we at last enjoyed our first real Döner and walked around the neighbourhood.
The next day began with registration followed by the Opening Ceremony of the General Assembly at Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in which the ambassadors of each country’s delegation held a short but informative speech. Our two ambassadors were truly amazing. We also got to listen to some exquisite key note speakers who enlightened us on this year’s topic. When the ceremony ended everyone was excited for the next day. The excitement was justified.
The second day stared pretty early, but when we got to the John F. Kennedy School everyone was wide awake. After the inspiring opening ceremonies at JFKS had taken place the real fun began! We went to work in our committees and started lobbying for our resolutions. Our aim was to find co-submitters for our country’s resolution or to co-sign other resolutions.
In the Human Rights Committee (HRC) where I represented Malawi things were pretty smooth: we quickly found co-submitters and drafted our own resolution concerning the first topic: “Global policies and national measures to ensure equitable access to education, health care, and nutrition”.
The next day was all about debating the written resolutions. In each committee there were various resolutions that could be amended and either pass the voting or fail. We spent the whole day adding new amendments to the resolutions. In the HRC we passed 3 out of 4 resolutions.
The last day passed on debating successive resolutions. The closing ceremony at JFKS took place in two separate auditoriums connected by live video transmission. After the presentation of the work in the committee, the President of the General Assembly Bernhard Reifeld closed the 20th BerMUN Conference late in the afternoon.
The dance on Saturday evening in a club in Berlin provided us with a last chance to meet with all the other delegates from so many countries.
The trip home was very calm, most of us slept it through; we were pretty exhausted after all the debating.
Our group loved BerMUN. It was quite an unusual and exciting feeling to discuss world problems and find solutions along with other students from all over the world. Even thought it was just a simulation, we got to experience the importance of political issues and how they concern us.
But none of this wonderful experience would have been possible, if not for our BerMUN Director, Mr. Tessmann who was a huge support for all of us. We would like to sincerely thank you for an amazing time filled not only with hard work but also lots of fun!
I think I speak for all the delegates, that this year’s BerMUN Conference was the best one ever!
