The Conference
In the middle of our MUIMUN conference are the debates. But there is a lot more to this exciting weekend!
Workshops
Get ready for MUIMUN
Committees
MUIMUN 2021 is back! This year’s motto:
Meeting Halfway – Risks and Benefits of Compromise
May 13th – 16th
Committees
Rules of Procedure (to be updated)
Security Council
Cyberterrorism and Cyberattacks in conflicted countries
Drug cartels and their arising influence on governments
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing
Curbing the threat from antimicrobial resistance to animal and human health
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
Female Genital Mutilation as a major threat to Global Health
Combating the Consequences of Trade War in the Global South
Presidential Summit
up-to-date situations arising in the committees of MUIMUN 2021
Offline-Committees:
Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee (SOCHUM)
Ensuring accessible water: Discussing the commercialization of water
Commission for Social Development (CSocD)
Racial Discrimination as an impediment to sustainable development
The Board
Security Council
Andrei Pankratov is a 21-year-old college student from Tallinn, Estonia, currently studying Politics and Governance at the University of Tartu. His passion for Model United Nations conferences started at the age of 12 with the Estonian Model United Nations, where he was the youngest participant at the time. He continued participating in Model United Nations conferences as a delegate for five years, receiving Outstanding and Best Delegate awards. As a delegate, Andrei got the opportunity to participate in MUN conferences in Ukraine, Belgium, and the United States. After passing chair training in Estonia, Andrei became an aspiring chair in the Estonian MUN community, participating in conferences both in Tallinn and Tartu, as well as gaining international experience in the United States and Italy. Along with Model United Nations conferences, Andrei also participated in global education training and international seminar, becoming involved with the Estonian National Commission for UNESCO youth group. Apart from debating and global education, Andrei’s experience includes participation in local politics. Having served as a member of the Tallinn Youth City Council and the Estonian Youth Assembly, Andrei gained invaluable experience which fueled his passion for politics, largely inspiring his academic career choice. Andrei has also been involved in the international student movement, having participated in the International Student Festival in Trondheim and taking part in student exchange networks. Right now Andrei focuses largely on his second-year studies, with some of the most interesting topics for him being international relations and political philosophy. He continues to take part in MUN conferences in Europe, all while being the Secretary General of the leading Model in his home country. Andrei hopes that MUIMUN will be his most challenging undertaking yet, where he will assume the role of a Chair in the Security Council.
Fernando is a 21-year-old student originally from Salamanca, Spain, where he is pursuing a Double Degree in Law and Business Administration at the Octa Centennial Universidad de Salamanca. Currently, he is on a one-year Erasmus exchange at ESSEC Business School in Paris and last year he took another exchange at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, while interning at a technology-related company. He has prior MUN experience as a delegate in MUNUSAL, at the 2016, 2018 and 2019 editions. In the 2019 conference, he met Ana – MUIMUN 2020’s Secretary General – who told him about MUIMUN while she was chairing his committee and invited him to chair the Legal Committee of the 2020 MUIMUN edition, which unfortunately was finally cancelled. Thus, this will be his first chairing experience.
Fernando spent his final year of high school studying in Miami, Florida, where he became close to multiple people from Latin America and founded an association to help Venezuelan refugees once he was back in Spain. He also dedicates much of his time to ELSA – the European Law Students’ Association, where he served as Vice President and Director for External Relations at his national group, among other positions.
Fernando is enthusiastic about politics, economics and law. He is an assiduous Forbes and The Economist reader and is currently deeply involved in learning about STEM disciplines, which he considers to be fundamental in our 21st century society. He is most passionate about UN Sustainable Development Goal number 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, because of the need to enlarge the Statum Legis and work towards effective legal protection. His most-liked subjects in university are Constitutional Law and Strategic Management.
Money Heist, Peaky Blinders and Suits are his favorite Netflix series, and if he had the chance to be a historical character, he would choose to impersonate Winston Churchill or Simón Bolívar.
FAO
Mostly referred to as Jackie.
She is a 22-year-old Kenyan lady. She currently lives in Kenya. She is a student in Kenyatta University, Parklands Campus currently in her Final year pursuing Bachelors of Law (LLB). Jackie also takes a French Course on the side in Alliance Franchise in Nairobi, Kenya. She is an active participant in Mooting and The Model United Nations (MUN).
She has participated in various MUNs and has over 4 years’ experience. She started out as a delegate and later become Chair in several conferences such as the Sub-Saharan International Model United Nations held in August 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa. She currently serves as the Campus Director for Kenyatta University and the Under-Secretary General for Chairing and Training for the Sub-Saharan International Model United Nations.
Jackie is currently part of the Millennium Fellowship Program Class of 2019 for the United Nations which encourages partnerships between various projects and organizations with the ultimate objective of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. She is very passionate about the protection of the Environment at large and has even specialized in its study. Her main focus in life is to leave a footprint as an ambassador for Environmental protection and having encouraged the Youth to do the same. She considers herself as a Global Citizen and looks forward to the day that everyone identifies themselves as Global Citizens.
Hamza Naseer is from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science degree in both Psychology and Philosophy. He has served as both the Vice President and General Secretary of his university’s philosophy society.Having achieved considerable success in the national circuit, he now divides his time between coaching at various institutions and reading into his favorite topics: philosophy, literature, linguistics, and psychoanalysis.He looks forward to chairing at MUIMUN ’21 in the Food and Agriculture Organisation. As a chair, all he expects from potential delegates is good research, qualitative and quantitative speeches, and solutions of a practical and impactful nature.
ECOSOC
Fondly called Benny, Benevolence Mbano is a 26-year-old Zimbabwean woman, currently resident in South Africa.
She holds a bachelor’s degree of Arts in Law and Politics and International studies from the prestigious Rhodes university, Grahamstown, South Africa. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree at the University of South Africa, while actively taking part in community engagement. Benny desires a world in which both genders are treated fairly and equally, youths are gainfully empowered, and women are respectfully treated, and therefore considers herself a lover of humanity. She desires an Africa where every member of the society can actively contribute to the growth and development of their respective communities; Women well catered for in all ramifications and Youths given room on the decision-making table.
Benny who currently serves as the International Partnership and Public Relations Director for Thrive Opportunities, a youth orientated organization aimed at bridging the wide gaps in access to opportunities, would like to establish NGO safe havens in rural Africa to assist GBV survivors by providing free legal services and a platform that helps them start afresh.
Waqas Halim is an educationist and a researcher in International Relations, based in Pakistan and Canada.
Currently, he is working as the Director of the Center for Technology in Education, the Smart Cities Initiative and the Media Lab at Information Technology University in Lahore. He is passionate about the use of technology for social change and governance. Waqas holds a Masters in Public Administration with concentration in International Development from Columbia University, and is a Fulbright Alumnus. Previously, he has worked with the World Bank and the United Nations. He has won several accolades at different Model United Nations.
Presidential Summit
Saskia Millmann is a final year PhD Candidate in International Law at the University of Glasgow.
Previously, she graduated with an LLM in International Law from the University of Edinburgh and an MA in Jewish History from the University of Munich. For her undergraduate studies, she read both Law and History and has since laid a focus on Public International Law and Jewish History. Saskia has been passionate about MUN since she first participated in a High School MUN in 2010 and looks back at a long ‘career’ after having attended over 60 conferences – including eight MUIMUN conferences.
Given that MUIMUN always had a special please in her heart she is equally happy and sad that this year’s edition will be her last time at a MUN conference.
Corentin, mostly referred to as Coz, is a French student finishing his Master’s degree in Peace, Conflict and Development Studies in Castellon, Spain. He is passionate about cultural mediation in conflicts and strongly believes in the importance of dialogue when it comes to transformation of issues.
He started MUNs on 2014 and has been on the roads of Europe since then to attend other simulations. From that time on he considered MUNers as his family and he really wants to make you feel like a part of that family. After a dozen of MUNs as a delegate he decided to start chairing in Berlin2018 and then on several occasions across Europe. As chairing is caring, and he is willing to make you feel at home in the committee, even if this very committee is online. The Presidential Summit is a very atypical council to be in, and Coz is super excited to join you on this adventure.
A fun fact about him is his passion to coordinate ties and shoelaces, so delegates, online or not, but careful with the outfit!
SOCHUM
Maria will be your chair for the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee at MUIMUN 2021. MUIMUN has a special place in her heart not only because she participated in MUIMUN 2017. Growing up close to Münster, MUIMUN is the first MUN conference she ever heard of and have visited as a student for one day during school. With her first impressions at Münster, she continued her way with many conferences.
Maria is a psychology student at the University of Konstanz and she will finish her Master’s degree in March. After starting MUN several years ago in high school, she still loves the heated debates and fruitful discussions. In Konstanz, she has been a board member of the United Nations Association Konstanz e.V. for the past 2 years. Even after leaving the board she still helps with organising debating events.
Over the course of the past 6 years, she has been in several MUN conferences inside and outside of Germany. She has been chairing crises as well. Now she returns to Münster to chair the SOCHUM. With this being her last MUN, the circle of MUNing will close where it began.
She is looking forward to welcome you in the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee at Münster University International Model United Nations 2021!
CSocD
Jaqueline is a 22-year-old student from Bonn.
After she finished her BA in Political Science last year, she is now pursuing a second degree to becomean English and Maths teacher. In High School she discovered MUNs and has since seen many different sides of them, taking part as a delegate as well as member of the Secretariat and Executive Board. Once she is a teacher herself, she plans to pass her passion on to the next generation of aspiring MUNers.In the little time she does not spend involved in MUNs you can probably find Jaqueline in the kitchen as she loves to bake but as she is not much of a cake eater herself, she is always more than happy to share with her (MUN) friends. Jaqueline is very excited to hopefully join the MUIMUN team in Münster in May and is looking forward to guide the delegates through heated debates as a Chair of CSocD.
Get ready for MUIMUN
MUIMUN 2021 is a “hybrid-conference”.
This means that the major part of the conference will be executed online to be able to welcome university and college students from all around the world, whereas we are planning to have a small “in-person-conference” for a limited number of people from Münster, held in small groups and under hygiene regulations.
These two are going to operate in different committees, but still be connected through Workshops, Socials and Delegation meetings during the conference.
We are sorry to have to restrict the offline conference to people from Münster, but this is the only possibility for us to guarantee a possible participation.
In case German restrictions won’t allow us to hold a conference in presence by May, we would switch these “offline-committees” to online as well, but inform you with sufficient anticipation.
How do I prepare myself?
- Read the study guide (you can find the right one on the site of your committee)
- Research your committee topic and your country position thoroughly.
- Position paper: a two-page paper about the general position of your assigned country. Find an example here
- Read up on our RoP (still to be updated); note there will also be a short workshop in the beginning
- Deadlines and timetable: here
Any further questions?
FAQ or contact delegates@muimun.org
Workshops
Workshops for 2021 have not been announced yet. To get an impression of what you can expect, here you can find last year’s workshops.
Humanitarian Crises and Our Responsibilities – Joachim Gardemann
For many of us, humanitarian crises seem to occur only in remote countries and only for local or regional reasons. A closer look to some scenarios like the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the ongoing Syrian war or even the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa however will demonstrate our responsibility as former colonial power, belligerent nation or as big player in global markets. We will have to accept our responsibility for causation of today´s postcolonial conflicts and inequities, but as well for our capabilities, being one of the richest countries worldwide. Compared to countries like Tchad or Lebanon, we only spend a little fraction of our wealth for the alleviation of suffering. But we are responsible, either for causation or for our capabilities to help.
Joachim Gardemann, born 1955, is a medical doctor, specialist in child and youth medicine, specialist doctor for public health systems and master of public health. Since 1994 he is member of the Emergency Response Units for international disaster relief of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. As a delegate for ICRC or IFRC he took part in humanitarian missions to Rwanda, Tanzania, Macedonia, Iran, Sudan, Sri Lanka, China, Haiti, Jordan and Sierra Leone. Joachim Gardemann is head of the Centre of Competence for Humanitarian Relief of the Muenster University of Applied Sciences.
A Career with the United Nations – Isabel Hofstaetter
During this workshop we will take a look at a variety of ways to join the United Nations workforce, ranging from internships to entry-level programs like the YPP- or JPO-program. Next to a general overview on the working conditions at the United Nations (professional fields, career prospects, salary, core values and competencies), the workshop will also entail concrete information and exercises regarding the UN-application process.
Isabel Hofstaetter works as Junior Professional Officer (JPO) in Information for the United Nations Regional Information Centre (UNRIC) in Bonn. She holds an M.A. in Human Rights and International Relations from Roehampton University in London. Before joining UNRIC, Isabel worked with the German Development Cooperation in Uganda and, most recently, with the United Nations in Timor-Leste.
The Ethical Dimensions of Sustainability – Michael Quante
In this workshop the concept of sustainability and its ethical dimensions are discussed. In specific contexts (Health and Justice; Integrity in Politics; Human Dignity and vulnerable Groups) discussed in three parallel sessions the concept will be applied. This workshop addresses normative questions related to sustainability based on philosophical ethics. These workshops are run by Dr. Simon Derpmann, Mrs. Lisa Schmidt and Dr. Katja Stoppenbrink (they take place as parallel sessions).
Prof. Dr. Michael Quante is professor of philosophy with specialisation in “practical philosophy” at the University of Münster. He is also involved in the Excellence Cluster “Religion and Politics”. He wrote his dissertation on “Hegel’s Concept of Action”, and habilitated on “Personal Life and Human(e) Death”. Between 2012 and 2014 he held the office of President of the German Association of Philosophy. Since 2016 he holds the position of Vice-Rector for Internationalisation and Knowledge Transfer at the WWU Münster.
Negotiation Skills – Henning Höber
Negotiations are a recurring part of both our private and professional lives. But many of us – and even experienced political leaders – know little about the strategies, tactics and applied psychology of effective bargaining. The workshop is designed as a crash course in basic and intermediate negotiation techniques, based on the proven methods of leading law schools and business schools. Participants will explore distributive and integrative bargaining tactics in two highly interactive simulations. These role plays enable them to experience the essential concepts and pitfalls of negotiation first-hand and reflect upon their performance during the debriefing of the case studies.The workshop is limited to 30 participants and requires the willingness to actively negotiate with a randomly assigned counterpart during the session.
Henning Höber is a lecturer in the departments of business administration and political science at the University of Münster, where he is teaching negotiation and dispute resolution. In addition, he is currently completing a part-time PhD program in management at the University of St. Gallen. As part of his studies, he was a researcher at several leading business schools in Europe and the Americas. Prior to his graduate studies in business administration and economics in Germany and Mexico, Henning spent two years in Barcelona, working in the shipping and insurance sectors.
Current Risks for the Global Economy – Thomas Apolte
The world economy has been booming until recently. Thanks to that boom we have been observing a huge catch-up growth in emerging markets. This grossly reduced poverty in both relative and absolute terms, not just in China but in a considerable number of countries worldwide. This trend, however, seems to be at risk for mainly three reasons. The first is the popular recurrence to protectionist conceptions of international and global trade. The second is the emergence of a new form of state-capitalism, that started out in China and Russia but has become popular in the US and many EU countries as well. The third threat stems from the awkward current state of the European Union, facing both the Brexit problem and mushrooming populist and anti EU movements. In our workshop, we want to shed more light on the three problems at hand and to work out interdependencies between the three problems areas.
Thomas Apolte is professor of political economy at the Center for Interdisciplinary Economics of the University of Münster. Although trained as an economist, he works as an interdisciplinary social scientist, crossing the borders to political science, sociology, and psychology. In the last decade, his core interest has been in the economic theory of autocracy as well as in theories of political conflict, terrorism, and revolution. He has published in international Journals such as “Public Choice”, “Economics of Transition”, “Constitutional Political Economy” and “Defence and Peace Economics”. He is the founder of the conference series “Political Economy of Democracy and Dictatorship” which is held every spring in Münster, bringing together some 70 interdisciplinary scholars from more than 20 countries worldwide.
International military operations in Africa with the United Nations – 1st German-Netherlands Corps
The 1st German-Netherlands Corps is engaged in military actions in various countries. This workshop will include a presentation about the 1st German-Netherlands Corps. After this there will be a presentation about the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA) especially their structure, mandate, capabilities and challenges. In addition a briefing about the French military operations in the Sahel region and their cooperation and challenges in the cooperation with the MINUSMA mission of the UN will be addressed. The workshop will be concluded with a scenario that is used in trainings for Political Advisors about a challenging military situation in such a mission with a discussion about a possible solution and the related implications of the solution.
This workshop will be conducted by LTC Ellert Klotz from the German Army, LTC Wycliffe Nieboer from the Netherlands Army and LTC Stephane Collet from the French Army. The 1st German-Netherlands Corps is a multinational formation consisting of units from both the Royal Netherlands Army and German Army. The corps’ headquarters is situated in Münster and also takes part in NATO Response Force. The corps has national and multinational operational responsibilities. Currently the 1st German-Netherlands Corps consists of twelve nations: Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States.
To be announced !
Our Patron for MUIMUN 2019
Monica Ferro, Director of the UNPFA Office in Geneva since April 2017, has worked to promote equality, development and human rights for the past 20 years.
Prior to joining UNFPA, Ms. Ferro had a twenty year career of public service in Portugal, during which she served as the Secretary of State for National Defense, as a university lecturer, a media personality and an activist.
She served as a Member of Parliament and was Vice-President of the Parliamentary Group of the Social Democrat Party; Chair of the All Party Parliamentarian Group on Population and Development; and Vice-President of the European Forum of Parliamentarians for Population and Development. Ms. Ferro is a founding partner of the 2015 Objective Association – United Nations Millennium Campaign, Portuguese United Nations Association, and Founding Member of P&D Factor Association for Cooperation in Population and Development. A National Defense and Civil Crisis Management Auditor, Ms. Ferro has also been a lecturer at the University of Lisbon, guest lecturer at the National Defense Institute, Air Force Academy and University of Military Studies. Furthermore, she is an Associate Researcher at the Centre for Gender Studies, University of Lisbon and has been a columnist for several national newspapers and magazines, and author of more than a hundred articles, entries in encyclopedias, book chapters on the United Nations, Development Cooperation, Human Rights, United Nations, Security Sector Reform and Gender equality.
Mónica Ferro is Portuguese and holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in International Relations from the Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences, University of Lisbon, and is also a PhD candidate with a thesis on “Security Sector Reform in Fragile States”. She is married and has two daughters.
Monica Ferro
Our Patron for MUIMUN 2021 is still to be announced!
Fees
Online Conference Fee: €7
Offline Conference Fee*: €18
Payment
Payment will be processed by PayPal or bank transfer. Should you encounter any problems, please contact us, we are glad to assist you.
International students facing financial problems are invited to inform themselves about our scholarship programme.
The non-profit Münster MUN e. V. (German registered association) supports the MUIMUN project actively, especially with a staff (the volontarily working MUIMUN organization team) and ideally. Additionally, it also helps in funding the project.
The MUIMUN Conference is hosted by:
