New academic year, new delegation! We started our first session this week and are now expecting the applications of our potential new delegates that will be representing Namibia next year in New York. It is going to be a great challenge and a lot of fun. You still have the chance to apply until 10pm today and become part of one of the biggest simulations of the United Nations from April 14th until April 18th 2019.
Finally, it was there – the moment (or rather the days) we had been waiting for. When we sat in the opening ceremony on Sunday, March 24th, overviewing a grand ballroom in which hundreds of people were chatting excitedly, we felt that this was what we had been preparing for since octobre.
After the opening ceremony, our delegates immediately went into their first committee sessions. Speeches were held, votes cast and finally the agendas were set. The small committees, as well as some of the larger ones, even got as far as forming the first working groups and brainstorming ideas for possible resolutions.
Monday found our delegates bright and early in the morning at the Bahraini mission in New York, where a real Bahraini delegate took time from her schedule and answered all of our questions on Bahrain and its position on various topics – e.g. the close relationship of the Bahraini government with civil society and the balancing act of supporting the local economy and creating living space for the people. She also gave our delegates and overview about the work of a diplomat at the UN in general.
Tuesday proved to be the longest day at the conference, with three 
intervalls of approximately three hours in committee. The day turned out to be psychologically and physically straining, but also very rewarding, since we got a lot of work covered. Especially those working papers who were told to merge by their respective chairs and directors were actually grateful for the long and numerous committee sessions scheduled for the day.
Wednesday marked the last official day in committee and thus the last opportunity for a final sprint towards the allegorical finish line. Frantically typing we finished the last sentences on our working papers, in order for them to be accepted as draft resolutions. Once the papers got accepted, they were open for all of the other members of the committee to read. During the last official hour of the committee sessions we voted upon the presented draft resolutions. Almost all of them were accepted by their respective committees as resolutions – the hard work definitely paid off!
On Thursday we visited the UN in New York, where the closing ceremony took place. There, all our work was rewarded when the delegation of Bahrain, respresented by the University of Tübingen, was recognized with an Honorable Mention Award for excellent diplomatic conduct. Furthermore, we want to extend our congratulations to all of those who also won an award for their position papers or a peer award for their outstanding diplomatic work!
What is left to say is that overall, the experience was very challenging, since it was necessary to adjust to a variety of characters, to stay in our role as delegates, and to negotiate resolutions that were beneficial both to our own countries as well as our cooperation partners. But on the other hand, we gained a lot of experience – the close proximity brought us as a delegation closer together as a team and we got to know people from all over the world.
Since this will be most likely the last post from the 2018 delegation, we want to seize this opportunity to thank our faculty advisor, Bettina, as well as our head delegates Nora and Jovana for all the advice, patience, and knowledge they lent us. We do know that all three of you put a lot of work and effort into the project – we really appreciate all that you have done for us and are grateful for the elaborate preparation preceding the conference (as well as the sweets you brought us during the committee sessions in New York 🙂 ). Thank you!
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Have you ever wondered how our NMUN-seminar works? How the simulation in New York will work? How we sound when we give a speech in front of other delegates, what challenges we face, or what we are looking forward to the most in the States?
The answer to these questions and many more will be available soon – on March 11th, 12 am on the micro-Europa website (you can find the link attached to this article below), to be precise. Our delegates Andrea, Tuba and Anna talk with Ina Mecke and Lena Hofbauer about challenges they face, hopes they have, and experiences they made as a part of this years NMUN Tübingen delegation.
Thanks to Lena and Ina, who were great hosts and showed a lot of interest for the project!
You can find a short teaser here: http://micro-europa.de/nmun-projekt-i-teaser-zur-sendung/
Make sure to tune in at: http://micro-europa.de/
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From February 14th to 18th, part of our delegation went on a trip to Geneva. Geneva hosts the head quarters of many UN organizations and is home to many diplomats from around the globe. Travelling to Geneva was therefore particularly interesting for our preparation for NMUN, since we had the chance to visit some institutions related to the UN, as well as two organizations that will actually be represented by some of our delegates – namely the WHO (World Health Organization) and the IOM (International Organization for Migration).
On our first day in Geneva, we started with a guided tour through the Palais des Nations. The Palais des Nations is the European headquarters of the UN. Afterwards, we visited the German Permanent Mission in Geneva and had a meeting with a real diplomat, who has been working for Germany for years. He gave us a detailed insight into the work of a diplomat and into the working processes withing the UN, which was very interesting for us. The last stop on Thursday was the ILO (International Labour Organization), where we were told about the tasks and the goals of the ILO and how the different actors – states, employers, employees, etc. – come together and work on improving the working conditions for all.
The next day saw our delegates visiting the WHO first. 
There, we got an introduction into the action processes and protocols that inure in case of emergency – like the Ebola outbreak a few years ago. We were also introduced to another part of the work of WHO – mitigating the risks of health hazards like smoking with the help of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). In the afternoon, our next stop was the IOM, where we were lucky enough to get an expert for each of the three topics our delegates of the IOM will discuss in New York. Therefore, we learned a lot about Migration in Libya, Climate Migration and Cross-Border Displacement, as well as IOMs work with Civil Society. Our final appointment led us to the OHCHR – the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. There we were told about how the UN and
their network of state and non-state actors controls the implementation of Human Rights in the member states of the UN and helps improving living conditions. To relax after the long day we went to the Lac de Genève where we enjoyed delicious cheese fondue – at least those of us who eat cheese.
All in all we had a very informative and extremely interesting trip to Geneva and it is safe to say that we have learned a great deal and that this knowledge most certainly will come in handy in New York.
We want to thank all of the speakers and persons that made time for us from their (already very tight) schedule to give us an insight into the mechanisms that keep the UN working – we are very grateful for your assistance and the knowledge you shared with us!
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Last Friday, February 9th, the Tuebingen Model United Nations took place in the “Neue Aula” of the Eberhard Karls University. Much like the simulation at Hohenheim, our delegation was joined by students from Hohenheim and Heidelberg during our UN Simulation. After a great opening and welcoming speech from Prof. Dr. Thomas Diez, director of the Institute of Political Science, the Simulation began.
The topics before this General Assembly were:
After a short round of agenda setting speeches, the committee voted to debate the first topic Women, Peace and Security during the simulation. A variety of working groups emerged quickly after this decision, and discussed issues like femicides, UN women working in conflict zones, or strengthening women via education. At the end of the day and after fruitful discussions, there were six draft resolutions on the floor. Out of the six, five were adopted and became resolutions.
A huge thanks to the TMUN department who planned and organized the whole event. You did a great job and we all had an educational, as well as fun simulation. Our gratification also goes to the Tübingen head delegates Nora and Jovana and our faculty advisor Bettina, who acted as the chair and the rapporteurs respectively and thus ensured that the session was running smoothly and we could focus on writing and negotiating.
Being convincing is maybe the most important skill for a delegate to achieve. Oratory is a key factor in being successful during the negotiations and giving speeches, making statements and arguments.
To help the Tübingen NMUN delegation 2018 in improving our body language, speech structure, and presentation skills, Dr. Marco Behrmann of Cevey Consulting visited us on Sunday, February 4th. After a short introduction concerning the theory of speaking successfully, he challenged us to write two speeches within ten minutes and to present them before the group. The first speech dealt with randomly assigned topics like foreign language lessons in elementary school, the influence of chocolate, or speed limitation on Autobahnen. The second speech was based on the research we have done on our Position Papers and was set in a certain scenario – e.g. that we had to convince uncooperative delegates of our position in a firm, but diplomatic manner. The feedback we received, additional to the training, has certainly helped us become better speakers and will prove invaluable during our time in New York.
Our delegation thanks Dr. Behrmann, Senior Consultant with CEVEYCONSULTING, for his great and generous support.
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It had been quite a while since our delegates were able to practice negotiating and public speaking. So it was overdue that we participated in another Model United Nations Simulation, to keep these skills as sharp as possible. In this case, we attended the Hohenheim Castle MUN (HCMUN), which was hosted in the Hohenheim Castle by the Club of Hohenheim. The main difference to our internal simulation from November was, that this time there were delegates from other universities, namely Heidelberg and Hohenheim, participating as well.
To arrive in Hohenheim on time, we met early on Saturday, the 20th of January at the bus station in Tübingen and drove from there to the castle. During the bus trip, the excited (but nervous!) chatter grew in intensity: Which of the topics will we discuss? Am I prepared enough? Will I meet people from my committee from the other delegations? Is my tie fitting properly? Et cetera, et cetera.
After signing in at the castle and approximately half an hour of mingling and networking and looking for potential allies, it was finally 10 am and the simulation began. The topics on the agenda were:
1. General and Complete Disarmament
2. Implementation of the Outcomes of the United Nations Conferences on Human Settlements and on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development and Strengthening of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)
3.The Right of Peoples to Self-Determination
Finally, the delegates decided upon discussing the first topic, General and Complete Disarmament. These discussions led to five draft resolutions, that covered a variety of topics, ranging from small arms to landmines to nuclear weapons, from more controlled weapon trading systems to complete prohibition of certain weapons. In the end, the hard work, long discussions, and hours of writing and researching paid off, since four of the resolutions were adopted by our General Assembly. We felt that our previous training in implementing the Rules of Procedure or understanding how a draft resolution paper needs to be structured really helped us, since we quickly became comfortable in our role as delegates. This in turn created a productive and cooperative working atmosphere and is also one of the reasons why we will fondly remember our time at HCMUN.
To celebrate a successful simulation, the Club of Hohenheim had organized a wine-tasting event, which was a great opportunity for all participants to socialize with the other delegates and to get to know each other better. We enjoyed the local wine and food and had a great Saturday evening together. It was especially interesting for us to meet the delegates from Hohenheim and Heidelberg, who will also be part of the conference in New York this March.
A huge ‘Thank You’ is also due to the organizers of HCMUN and all the delegates from Hohenheim and Heidelberg. It was a pleasure to get to know you and to work with you. We had a lot of fun in participaring in HCMUN and are looking forward to our next joined simulation, TMUN, on the 9th of February, in Tübingen.
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It has just been a few days since the new year started, but our delegates are as busy as ever. For example with explaining to reporters, and thus the readers, what we will do in New York and why we are so thrilled to be a part of this experience.
This time, the delegate in question and to be questioned was Andrea Frick, member of the Tübingen WHO committee and originally from Herrsching, which is close to Munich. There she met up with a representative from a local newspaper, which resulted in a great article that details our work as delegates and what will await us in New York.
A shoutout to Andrea, for your work and commitment, as well as to the local newspaper Merkur for reproting about us.
Click here to read the article
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Welcome back on this blog! We hope all of you had a good start into this new year and are looking forward to all of the exciting things that are going to happen in 2018.
The NMUN Tübingen Delegation 2018, or to be specific, Delegate Lena Cordes, started strong into the new year with an article about our work. Lena was kind enough to sit down and talk with a reporter from her local “Kreiszeitung” about Bahrain, National Model United Nations, and her work as a delegate. The article is really well-written and captures the challenges and rewards we face in our preparation for the biggest UN simulation in the world.
So thank you, Lena, for your time and effort and a huge thanks to the Kreiszeitung Bremen as well to report about us!
Click here to read the Article
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As a delegate, you have a lot to do: you have to learn about how the UN (and especially your committee!) works, what the country you are going to represent has done in the past and plans to do in the future, and doing a lot of fundraising work. And even though this is all interesting and fun in its own right, our delegates were delighted to switch the computers for a mug of mulled wine, tactical discussions for light conversation, and notes for Secret Santa presents (Wichtelgeschenke). And as you can see, we had a lot of fun that evening while getting to know each other better.
So thank you for the party department for planning everything to make this party as lively and memorable as it was!
A big shoutout is also due to the student group “Unterwegs” who were kind enough to let us borrow their rooms for our party – the party would not have been the same if we had to celebrate in our usual seminar room!
If you want to check out “Unterwegs”, just visit them here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/unterwegstu/
All that is still left to say is Merry Christmas to all of you, enjoy the holidays, and a happy new year! See you (on this blog) next year!
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