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Final Report 2008
TUMgoesWorldMUN
Harvard WorldMUN Conference
March 2008 in Puebla, Mexico
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
Contents
Foreword
A Word from the Head Delegate
A Word from the TUM President
A Word from MUNTUM e.V.
The Selection Process
Working on Weekends
Fundraising
Public Relations
DISEC
Michael Bengsch
Sarah Port
UNESCAP
Carina Mann
UNHCR
Jean-Luc Rippinger
HGA
Thomas Emmert
UNHRC
Tom Braun
SOCHUM
Jemima Peppel
WHO
Veronika Beck
WTO
Arash Houshmand
Marcus Demmelmair
A Sample of a Draft Resolution
Social Events
Afterword from the Faculty Advisor
Introduction
The Conference
Preparing for the Conference
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TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
This final report describes the experiences ten students
of the Technische Universität München (TUM) made as
the delegation of the TUM for the Harvard World
Model United Nations 2008 (WorldMUN) in Puebla,
Mexico.
Thanks to the engagement and interest of two
students, Felix Naumann and Theresa Veer, the
TUMgoesWorldMUN project was launched in 2006 and
enabled the first TUM delegation ever to attend
Harvard WorldMUN conference in March 2007 in
Geneva, Switzerland. The annual WorldMUN
conference brings together students from all across the
world for a week to enable them to debate pressing
political issues in a simulation of the committees of the
United Nations and develop their own, often ground-
breaking solutions. In order to firmly tie this unique
project to the TUM and allow other students to attend
the conference in subsequent years, Model United
Nations Technische Universität München (MUNTUM), a
non-profit registered association, was founded after the
TUM’s first participation. In a long-term perspective,
MUNTUM is supposed to create a basis of
communication and cooperation for WorldMUN alumni
and other interested students, with the goal of hosting
the WorldMUN conference in Munich eventually. In
summer of 2007, the second TUM delegation was
chosen. Ten students - Arash Houshmand, Carina Mann,
Jean-Luc Rippinger, Jemima Peppel, Marcus Demmel-
mair, Michael Bengsch, Sarah Port, Thomas Emmert,
Tom Braun and Veronika Beck - were selected in a
demanding application procedure to represent the
TUM, with support of their faculty advisor Alexander
Heinz, at the WorldMUN conference in Puebla, Mexico,
in March of 2008. The team’s intensive preparations
began in autumn of 2007 and ranged from fundraising,
rhetorical training and simulated committee sessions to
public relations, the planning of the trip itself and
workshops on the structure and working of the United
Nations. In February of 2008, Harvard assigned the role
of Thailand to the TUM delegation, whereafter the
delegates scrutinized Thailand’s history, political
structure, culture, economic condition and inter-
national relations in order to be able to act thoroughly
in accordance with its role in the international
community. At the same time, individual and intensive
preparations for the different committees began, which
meant not only familiarising oneself with the topics
that were to be debated and analysing Thailand’s
stance on them, but also practising the rules of
procedure for committee session.
Detailed accounts of the delegates’ personal
experiences in the run-up to the conference and in
their committees as well as of the preparations can be
found in the following.
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TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
A Word from Jemima Peppel Head Delegate
For me, it has been a challenge, pleasure and great
honour to be the Head Delegate of the
TUMgoesWorldMUN delegation of 2008, an incredible
team of ambitious, motivated and open-minded
students.
Much has been said and will be said in the following,
but left for me is to reemphasise and reaffirm,
wholeheartedly, the outstanding potential, dedication
and enthusiasm every single delegate displayed. These
students have proven their ability and willingness to
question established structures and have demonstrated
that they have all the necessary prerequisites to play an
active role in our world. This project opens up
perspectives beyond the ordinary and inspires to look,
think and go beyond.
In the name of the entire delegation, I would like to
express our most sincere thanks for the generous
support we have received from Roland Berger, the
Robert Bosch Foundation, the Friends of the TUM, the
Carl-von-Linde-Akademie and the president of the
TUM, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Wolfgang A. Herrmann. My
thanks also go to this great delegation that has shown
commitment and dedication in a very special mixture of
supportiveness and scepticism.
I very much hope that we have herewith begun a long
tradition of TUM participation in the WorldMUN
conference, for I believe that it is a unique experience
and unique opportunity for students to represent their
university at a truly global conference and to adapt
their horizons to our globalised world.
Sincerely
Jemima Peppel
Head Delegate
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
Dear Delegates, Friends, Partners
and Alumni of TUMgoesWorldMUN,
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TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
A Word from Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. W. A. Herrmann
President of the TUM
Nowadays the objectives and positions young people
can achieve in their professional lives do not only
depend on high-quality and comprehensive education.
Much rather, the commitment and engagement of
every single student as well as the willingness to
acquire qualifications on his or her own initiative play a
decisive role the importance of which should not be
underestimated. Employers do not only expect
technical and scientific excellence from young
professionals, but also a strong and well-formed
personality.
Harvard’s annual World Model United Nations
conference (WorldMUN) provides an excellent stage for
student initiative and dedication that I believe deserves
to be supported and fostered. I therefore gladly act as
the patron of the TUMgoesWorldMUN project.
Since the winter term 2006, students of the Technische
Universität München have the opportunity to
participate in the TUMgoesWorldMUN project and to
compete with students of top universities from all over
the world in political debates. With this final report, the
current delegation of the Technische Universität
München presents its experiences during the project
year 2007/2008 crowned by their participation in the
WorldMUN conference in Puebla, Mexico, in March this
year.
As the president of the Technische Universität
München and the patron of this project, I hope that
students of our university will continue to take great
advantage of the opportunities this project offers to
them and will be able to incorporate the fruits of their
efforts into their future careers successfully.
Sincerely
Wolfgang A. Herrmann
Präsident
Technische Universität München
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TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
Dear Readers,
A Word from MUNTUM e.V.
6
We are very happy to be able to celebrate the second
birthday of TUMgoesWorldMUN with you. We are
proud that it was again possible for us to send a highly
qualified and motivated team to one of the leading
model UN conferences in the world, the Harvard World
Model United Nations.
There are many without whom it would not be possible
to accomplish such a project. We want to thank our
partners and supporters, both the institutions and
persons, who encouraged us, gave advice and
contributed to our funding. We also want to thank this
years' delegation for spending countless hours,
together and alone, preparing for and organizing the
attendance at the conference.
A special characteristic of our project is the high
responsibility of the annual project team. We do not
only expect a thorough preparation regarding the work
at the simulation itself but also self-organization of the
preparation phase with all its difficulties. This
challenges the much-needed core competencies and
helps to advance them. We do not only offer a high-
level inter cultural education program, we also expect
our participants to grow personally by taking part in it.
This year we decided to start the project even earlier
than the years before to offer the Team for 2009 even
more preparation time. To accomplish this next years
team is going to have its kick-off in July 2008, about
nine months before the next Harvard WorldMUN.
We are looking forward to assist MUNTUM throughout
another excellent year.
Theresa Veer
Felix Naumann
MUNTUM e.V.
Dear Friends, Alumni and Partners,
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
With regard to our experiences during the selection of
the 2007 team, we decided to lay down a few general
aspects guiding the selection of next year’s delegation.
The members of the selection committee must have
attended the WorldMUN conference at least once and
are chosen by the directorate of the Model United
Nations Technische Universität München Society,
MUNTUM e.V.
The selection committee uses the list of primary and
secondary criteria for selecting next year’s delegates.
These include:
• Proficiency in English in written and in spoken
form,
• Enrollment in a university in the year
of attendance of the WorldMUN,
• Exceptionally high motivation and
interest in international relations,
• The willingness to invest a sufficient
amount of time into this project.
Prospective delegates can apply every year for
attendance in the following year during a given period
of four weeks.
All applicants have to complete and to submit all
application materials, which include:
• A fictional letter addressed to a
potential sponsor of the project,
written out in full (in German).
• A curriculum vitae of maximum two
pages, written out in full (in German),
• A statement of one page about which
country the applicant would like to
represent at the WorldMUN and why,
written out in full (in English),
• A statement about which committee
the applicant would like to be on
during the conference, and why,
written out in full (in English),
To ensure neutrality and objectivity, following rules
apply to the members of the selection committee:
• Should a member of the selection
committee be acquainted with an
applicant, he or she is obliged to
abstain from discussion and voting
on the acceptance of this applicant.
• The application is submitted without a
photo of the applicant.
Last year, after long debates, the selection committee
eventually chose the delegation for the WorldMUN
2008 in Puebla, Mexico, which consisted of ten
students from different departments and different
years, ranging from Molecular Biotechnology, Physics,
Biochemistry, Electrical, Mechanical and Chemical
Engineering to Mathematics and Business Economics
and from year one to year six.
The Selection ProcessAlexander Heinz
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TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
The Six-Day War, drug trafficking in Latin America, the
different committees and of course Thailand all were
topics we discussed during weekend workshops. In the
six months before the conference, we met every
Tuesday afternoon, but this was not enough. Tuesdays,
we normally only managed to talk about organizational
issues. So how can a group of students prepare for such
a conference properly? Every student has free time on
weekends, therefore the only option we had was to
sacrifice some of our weekends to work hard for
WorldMUN.
The underlying idea was to learn and practice for the
committee work and at the same time to start the
teambuilding-process. At our first weekend in
December 2007, we simulated a meeting of the
Historical General Assembly. The topic was the Six-Day
War and everyone was assigned a different country to
represent.
I have to say - representing Israel was exhausting!
During this simulation, our delegates mainly practiced
the Rules of Procedure. If you were discussing the issue
and the moderator said, “Are there any point or
motions on the floor?” and a delegate answered
“Motion for an unmoderated caucus for 20 minutes in
order to discuss the withdrawal of Israeli troops from
occupied territories during the war”, how would you re-
act? The Rules of Procedure are of the highest
importantance and crucial for the understanding of this
conference. Without knowing them, you cannot even
get the chance to speak. In the beginning of our
simulation, it was difficult to maintain a fluent
discussion, but in the end our delegates started to
comprehend the concept. Moreover, spontaneous
speeches had to be made and rhetorical impact on the
audience had to be practiced. Delegates started to get
confident and finally, what was only bits and pieces
became a draft resolution. Committee work usually
begins with some opening speeches, then goes into
several moderated/ unmoderated caucuses on different
aspects and then the first document,
a working paper, is handed out. The
same procedure is repeated, the
second document to be introduced
being a draft resolution. Then, draft
resolutions are merged and plenty of
amendments are made, so that in the
end there is one comprehensive and
strong resolution.
These procedures we trained during
our next weekend in March 2008,
where we debated about drug
trafficking within the Organisation of
American States. Furthermore, every
delegate had to present his work and
research for his committee, also, presentations on
general Thailand-related topics were held. For research
and further explanation of the sequence of events
during a week in committee the whole Saturday was
reserved. Students who had attended the WorldMUN
conference the year before shared their experiences
with us. By now, our delegation started to conceive the
concept of the whole conference.
All in all, the hard work during these weekends was an
important prerequisite for successful participation at
WorldMUN. Not only content, research, speeches,
debates and documents were of highest importance,
but the most crucial aspect was that by doing all this
work together, teambuilding took place. We ate
together, laughed together, discussed together, woke
up together and saw our effort turn into results
together.
Working on WeekendsCarina Mann
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TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
“Fundraising is not an event, it is a process”. This
quotation from Edgar Powel describes this part of the
project perfectly. Fundraising was one of the most
decisive pillars of this project due to the fact that the
conference took place in Puebla and the traveling
expenses were estimated to be tremendous. The
fundraising process can be classified into three steps:
Selection of possible sponsors, acquiring sponsors and
finally raising the money.
The first step, starting at the end of October 2007, was
to define a set of companies and foundations with an
interest in sponsoring science and engineering
students. This set was based upon contacts acquired in
the year before. Within this set, an additional focus was
placed on companies in the Munich area.
The second step was the real grass-root work done by
every member of the WorldMUN project: Every team
member received a list of five to eight company or
foundation contacts which had to be contacted before
the deadline (November 30th). These foundations and
companies were asked by the team members whether
they were interested in sponsoring us. In order to
present to them adequate reasons and statements, the
team had the chance to attend a small coaching by the
“UnternehmerTUM”, conducted by Olivia Thywissen.
This step was doubtless the most exhausting and
arduous as we had to override many disappointments
and accept many rejections.
Finally, we received notice that Roland Berger Strategy
Consultants and the Robert Bosch Foundation were
again willing to support us financially. But also the
Technical University of Munich supported this project.
After step two was accomplished, the project team of
TUMgoesWorldMUN could start to prepare the
conference.
Step three is still in progress until now. The financial
grants from our university and the Robert Bosch
Foundation cannot be accessed until all receipts
respectively expenses are collected and settled.
All in all, the whole fundraising process required a lot of
time and effort. The project was pending on the
amount of money the team was able to raise. For the
future, I personally hope that the fundraising is less
time intensive and that the participation in a
conference, even if it takes place far away, can be
assured earlier. Most importantly, we want to integrate
our sponsors more into the whole project. A long-term
partnership between the team and the companies
should be established, in order to ensure the
sustainability of the project and to provide the firms
with exclusive access to highly motivated students.
Even regarding this aspect Edgar Powel was right:
Fundraising is a (continuous) process.
Our supporters
Technische Universität München
Roland Berger Strategy Consultants
Robert-Bosch-Stiftung
Bund der Freunde der TUM
Stadtsparkasse München
FundraisingMarcus Demmelmair
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TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
The two main goals of our efforts were to increase the
popularity of the TUMgoesWorldMUN project at our
university as well as to soften the contrast that many
people see in the combination of technical studies and
politics. We believe that we have, in part, succeeded.
A main pillar of our work was to establish contact with
national and regional newspapers as well as internal
publications of the TUM not only to make our project
known to a wider range of people, in business as well
as in the university, but also to create a basis of
interested students at the TUM that might be willing to
work with us in the future to hold the WorldMUN in
Munich eventually. Articles about our project were
published, among others, in the TUM Campus
magazine, on the TUM website as well as on the
website of the Carl-von-Linde-Akademie and numerous
different publications of individual departments within
the TUM.
Furthermore, a reporter of the Süddeutsche Zeitung
attended one of the delegation’s weekly meetings and
watched an hour-long simulation of a committee in
order to be able to fully understand the proceedings of
a WorldMUN conference and the actual point of all our
work. Consequently, two articles, one before and one
after the conference, were pub-lished in the
Süddeutsche Zeitung, describing our work and
motivation in great detail. In addition, it is of great
importance to us to establish the TUMgoesWorldMUN
project as an integral part of our university’s annual
offerings and thus lay the foundations for future
delegations who we want to feel truly representative of
their university and supported by the student body. We
tried to do so by publishing a series of articles about
the progress of our preparations and about our
experiences in Mexico in different department
magazines and thus enabling the student population to
follow our work and whereabout closely.
Last but not least, by promoting our project we tried to
demonstrate to our university that technical thinking
and out-of-the-box, global thinking are not two
necessarily conflicting concepts, but can rather function
together and create analytical, clear, logic while
innovative patterns of thought and argumentation.
Public RelationsJean-Luc Rippinger & Jemima Peppel
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TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
An International Effort to Deal with the Problem of Child
Soldiers
Not to be mistaken for the Security Council, the
Disarmament and Interntaional Security Committee
(DISEC) is the oldest committee of the United Nations.
DISEC takes care of the most urgent problems of
international security and proposes possible solutions
to these problems. Afterwards, it is the job of the
Security Council to debate those propositions and to
decide on actions to be undertaken and sanctions to be
imposed. Like in past years, the committee was
competently chaired by Aneesh Venkat.
In DISEC, all member states of the United Nations are
represented. Therefore, unfortunately, formalities like
the check on attendance always took quite long.
The first task of the committee was to set its agenda.
We could choose between Topic A: ‘Eradicating
Chemical and Biological Weaponry’ and Topic B: ’An
International Effort to Deal with the Problem of Child
Soldiers’. Since Thailand is a direct neighbour of
Myanmar, whose military forces are currently using
approximately 70000 child soldiers, and therefore more
directly affected by this issue, we decided to vote for
topic area B. Despite a very emotional debate on both
sides, the committee eventually opted to face and
tackle the problem of child soldiers.
Regrettably, the delegations of the countries most
concerned with the issue like Myanmar or Congo were
not present in the committee, hence the discussions
were not always as controversial as we had expected.
Right in the beginning, we bonded with Singapore and
Afghanistan and spent the first lunch break with writing
the first working paper. We benefited from the fact that
we were a double delegation in the way that there was
always one of us following the debate in the committee
while the other one stayed outside, writing on a draft
resolution and lobbying our crucial interests. Soon, we
had gathered a big group of people who wanted to join
in writing a draft resolution based on our working
paper.
Regrettably, in the course of the committee sessions it
became more and more obvious that the group was too
big. Almost one third of the committee had tried to
integrate their opinion into the resolution, which, in the
end, led to smaller groups being quicker and
introducing their draft resolutions first. Subsequently,
we decided to insert Thailand’s most crucial points as
amendments to the draft resolution of some other
delegation.
In listening to presentations of NGOs like Amnesty
International or Save the Children International as well
as of the author Anne de Graff, who has met many
former child soldiers in refugee camps in Africa and has
written many books about their fate, we were always
aware of the humanitarian aspect of the issue,
prompting all delegates of the committee to work even
harder on a comprehensive and enduring solution.
DISEC - Disarmament and International Security CouncilMichael Bengsch & Sarah Port
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TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
When I saw the TUMgoesWorldMUN poster for the first
time, with the slogan „Do you want to experience the
UN live and take part in its discussions?” on it and the
Palais des Nations in the background, I instantly
decided to apply. I had heard only very little about
Model United Nations (MUN) conferences, but after
searching the internet and visiting the website of last
year’s TUM delegation, I was even more convinced.
Many students at the TUM are not particularly
interested in politics, and especially the UN has a
mystical touch for those who usually care about their
own studies only. Therefore, I was really happy to find
out that participartion in such events was organized by
someone from the TUM, and curious to meet the other
students contributing to this project.
An important part of my personal WorldMUN
experience was all the time our team spent together to
prepare the conference. Only few of us had been to a
MUN conference before, but all of us were very
motivated, and those who had participated in the
conference in Geneva in 2007 were of great help. Even
though I did not get the committee I was hoping for
(UNEP), I could not wait to get to Puebla and represent
Thailand worthily.
The WorldMUN conference exceeded all my
expectations. DISEC was the largest committee with
over 170 delegates, and Sarah and I were both a bit
intimidated in the beginning. It took some time to
understand how the Rules of Procedure we had
practised before were applied during committee
session, but we quickly found other countries with a
position similar to Thailand’s, and as some of them had
a lot of MUN experience, we started writing a joint
position paper during the first lunch break. From this
time on, Sarah and I were very involved in the process
of lobbying for positions, finding compromises with
other groups, convincing delegates to merge their
interests and keeping an eye on what others groups
were preparing.
Even though, in the end, our resolution did not pass, I
learned a lot this week, especially during intense
negotiations with people specialized in totally different
domains, like politics or international relations. This
dialogue is an aspect I am missing in my studies.
I regret I will not have the opportunity to participate in
this project again because I will finish my degree this
year. I can highly recommend to everybody to
participate in the Harvard World Model United Nations,
every aspect of it is a unique experience: the
preparation, the committee sessions, the diversity of
students participating and the social events, in two
words: the WorldMUN spirit.
Personal Résumé
Michael Bengsch - 24
Electrical and Information Engineering
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TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
When I saw the posters of TUMgoesWorldMUN, I
instantly knew that it was an interesting and
outstanding project. At that time I did not even have
the slightest idea of what a Model United Nations
(MUN) conference actually is, let alone had I
participated in one. But after I had done a bit of
research on the internet, I was determined to apply,
because I found the whole concept exciting as such and
believe it is important that we do not lose sight of the
overall relations and problems in this world.
How does a specific country react in critical situations?
What position does a country have on a certain issue
and why? Which political relations exist between the
countries of this world and what are they based on?
Which convictions do people of different cultures have
and according to which principles do they live their
lives?
By dealing with a major issue of global politics and by
the consequently necessary research about the
problem and country you are representing, you also
learn a lot about yourself by challenging your own
opinion and considering how you yourself would act in
a specific situation.
The conference itself was really exciting, too. In the
beginning, everything was still new and unfamiliar and
the self-confidence of other delegates sometimes felt
daunting, but soon I started to feel comfortable with
the procedures and in my role as a delegate of
Thailand. Day after day, convincing others of our
opinion and working towards a resolution frenetically
became more and more fun. I was a little disappointed
when some delegates wrote a resolution overnight
instead of going to the social events with everyone else.
The point about WorldMUN - what distinguishes it from
all the other MUN conferences - is that, in addition to
the work in the committees, there is a special focus on
getting to know the host country and socializing with
students from all over the world. The contacts and
experiences I made and of course the awesome
locations in Mexico made this conference an
unforgettable adventure, so that I recommend
participating in this project to all of you.
Personal Résumé
Sarah Port - 22
Molecular Biotechnology
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TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
Sustainable Development and Water Resources
UNESCAP is the largest UN body serving the Asia and
Pacific region and moreover the biggest and most
comprehensive of the UN’s five commissions concerned
with this area. It was established in Shanghai, China in
1947 and has its headquarters in Bangkok now. The
ESCAP enforces and attempts to meliorate regional
cooperation. Therefore, it focuses on challenging issues
that can be most effectively addressed by intense
cooperation. Managing globalization, poverty reduction
and tackling emerging social issues are now the main
challenges and, respectively, threats that the region
seeks to overcome.
In this year’s session of WorldMUN, UNESCAP was
constituted by 38 delegations from all over Asia and the
Pacific, along with their global partners the United
States of America and the Netherlands. The first topic
to discuss was ‘Sustainable Development and Water
Resources’. The second one dealt with ‘Combating
Transnational Organized Crime’. But time was limited
and because of that, one of the topics had to be left
out. The delegations present decided to work on
writing a resolution on the first topic, considering the
importance of the perception of sustainable
development for the world’s fastest growing economies
located in this region, especially when raw materials
and water resources are already scarce.
Representing the Kingdom of Thailand, I was very
pleased to see other delegations willing to effectively
cooperate and find solutions to tackle this global threat
together. The committee session started with some
great opening speeches mentioning local situations,
concerning growing economies and environmental
endowments, and furthermore taking into account
fields in which immediate action is necessary, such as
the Kyoto Protocol that is expiring in 2012.
Soon, a large range of topics to be discussed and solved
in a draft resolution appeared. Every region was
fighting to see its priorities covered by the draft
resolution. After several speeches, the committee
realized that all the delegates actually had quite similar
goals. In an unmoderated caucus the committee split
into five thematic sections: Education, by means of
raising public awareness; the establishment of the
Technology Investment Project (TIP); Water
Management; Climate Change and Green
Development. For each topic, delegates sat together
and started developing the respective working papers.
As an ASEAN Member, I worked together with the
delegations of Singapore, Malaysia, Lao PDR and
Indonesia in the field of water management. My main
objective in this section was to convince other
delegations of the importance of monitoring water
resources management and that the same body should
monitor results and investments.
Having written the working paper, delegations split
again and each section was discussed in a moderated
caucus, so that every delegation was aware of the work
done in other groups and several changes and
rectifications could be made. During the following
committee session, the Pacific Island Developing
Countries, that did not feel they were represented well
in the existing working papers, handed out a sixth one,
dealing with disaster management. Now, all the
working papers had to be integrated into the draft
resolution, which was also discussed in several
moderated caucuses.
Last but not least, amendments to the draft resolutions
were raised. Representing Thailand I raised some
amendments to each section. For example, I felt that
the part dealing with disaster management was not
taking into consideration the importance of preventing
natural disasters, by for instance, safeguarding coastal
forests.
So all in all, the UNESCAP committee at WorldMUN
bravely fulfilled its mission and a great and very
comprehensive resolution was handed out to the UN.
UNESCAP - UN Economic and Social Council for Asia and the PacificCarina Mann
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TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
There are impressions that we get during the
conference and memories that stay with us and that
make once-in-a-lifetime experiences such as
WorldMUN unforgettable. Having been to more than
three different Model United Nations conferences, I still
keep on talking of “once-in-a-lifetime experiences” and
that is because every single conference seemed to me
like being the first. They all have things in common, but
are at the same time so diverse that you always get a
different message to take home.
Diversity is the word to describe this WorldMUN.
Diversity of cultures, languages, personalities,
mentalities and most of all diversity of opinions, qualify
the WorldMUN as the conference with the most variety
I have ever been to.
However, one characteristic that every conference has
is the so-called “MUNspirit”! It is this spirit you have for
one week, where the whole world’s youth gathers to
discuss and find resolutions to problems concerning
everybody equally, to face the problems you hear of
every day in the news and finally have the chance to
speak in front of people from all over the world,
proposing your solutions! Lots of students that came
from far away just to talk to you, listen to you and
debate WITH you! Everyone has the same goal and
suddenly all this diversity unites for one aim, to write
the resolution and fulfil the mission in the end.
During the conference you are representing a country
and therefore an opinion that is not exactly yours.
Nevertheless, when you go for dinner with the
delegates from your committee, you re-alize these
delegates are students only representing a country too,
just like you. Representing a different country gives you
the opportunity to think from another perspective. In
our every-day life we do not really get this opportunity.
Or let us say, people often forget about it. If you think
from a point of view that is not yours, you will
understand your own opinion better and probably
others’ too. How many misunderstandings could have
possibly been avoided?
What I take home from this conference is that
sometimes you are forced to integrate an opinion
totally different from yours into your own. This was the
most challenging part for me. If you arrive at this
conference with an idea and you want to propose it to
others, you will then see that these other delegates are
doing just the same so that you end up trying to merge
the ideas, without forgetting to defend and support
your own.
With every conference I gain more experience. Firstly, I
learned to talk in front of hundreds of people, secondly,
I improved my English, thirdly, I got to know different
cultures and mentalities and, finally, I learned how to
support my opinion properly. Such conferences offer us
great experiences and chances we do not receive every
day. It is hard work, but it is worth it! I wish every
student would have such an opportunity...
Personal Résumé
Carina Mann - 20
Biochemistry
15
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
Afghanistan Refugee Crisis
This year’s topics in the UNHCR were ’Afghanistan
Refugee Crisis’ and ’Economic and Social Integra-tion of
Refugees in Host Countries’. In the opening session of
the committee the Afghan refugee crisis was placed
first on the agenda. In dealing with this topic, the main
goal of the delegates’ negotiations was the future of
the Afghan refugees in Afghanistan and in the host
countries Pakistan and Iran.
But before answering the question of the future,
UNHCR had to decide on its role in repatriation from
host countries. Therefore the delegates had to analyze
what past actions and approaches of the agency had
shown and how far it has been effective in alleviating
the crisis. Then, what policy decisions and practical
measures should the UNHCR take in the future in order
to ensure the sustainability of their work and how is the
agency going to interact with the host countries and
work with them in dealing with the ever-changing crisis
while balancing adherences to the principles in the
Refugee Convention against the realities of each host
country’s national sovereignty?
Most of the time of the first two committee sessions
was spent in moderated caucus where especially Japan
and Turkey introduced interesting approaches on the
subject of micro-financing and Refugee-ID-Cards in
order to organize the distribution of further help. The
delegation of the Royal Thai Government brought in a
point on “Third-Country-Resettlement” where refugees
could be given the opportunity to resettle to third
countries like for instance the US or European
countries. Thailand, being the host country of Burmese
refugees, knows that those large populations are
triggering unrest in host countries, burdening the
people and economy. Thailand believes that this crisis
cannot and should not be borne by the host country
alone. This proposal though led to a large controversial
discussion especially with China.
Being very productive in finding solutions for the
different problems creating the Afghan refugee crisis,
the committee had to vote in a hurry on a resolution
draft before the end of the last session. This led to the
problem that the controversial Third-Country-
Resettlement-Point that was supposed to be introduced
as an amendment was forgotten and not included in
the resolution draft we voted on in the end.
Furthermore, because of all the hurry, Thailand could
not vote in favour of the draft resolution as it contained
some aspects that were highly controversal with
Thailand’s policy. Very impressed by the high quality
and productivity in my committee, I felt a bit
disappointed about how it was brought to a conclusion.
Nevertheless, as UNHCR was a great committee I would
choose it again.
UNHCR - United Nations High Commissioner for RefugeesJean-Luc Rippinger
16
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
As I am very interested in politics, I was
immediately enthused when I heard of the
TUMgoesWorldMUN project. As I have already
applied for participation in next year’s
conference, you should know that I made some
great experiences this year. We had intense and
constructive discussions on the ’Afghan Refugee
Crisis’ in a superb committee, while the social
events in the evenings and nights were a good
opportunity to get to know the people you were
debating with in a more casual and relaxed
atmosphere. High quality and professionalism
during the day and high spirits and partying in
the evening - that was WorldMUN 2008 in
Puebla, Mexico.
On thing I believe I can extract for myself is this:
I observed consensus on issues that are being
controversially discussed in our world by people
who are often assumed not to have compatbile
political or religious opinions. I think that most
of the people participating in this conference
have the same ideological notions though about
how our world should be and what needs do be
done to really change something in the future.
These ideological foundations, together with a
good deal of reason and realism will, I believe,
create a prosperous future for our continuously
coalescing world.
Personal Résumé
Jean-Luc Rippinger - 21
Mechanical Engineering
17
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
The India-Pakistan War of 1971
The Historical General Assembly (HGA) is the only
committee of the WorldMUN that does not exist in the
real United Nations. Its goal is to resume efforts to
solve a historical conflict that could not be solved in the
past and, by doing so, to prevent the parties involved
from going to war. This year, the topic of our debate
was the India-Pakistan War of 1971. Military conflicts
between the two countries already had a tragic
tradition at that time and even today the relations
between the two countries are constrained by tensions.
In the preface of the war, there was a dispute within
Pakistan about the democratization of the country. The
eastern part, known as Bangladesh today, was
underrepresented in the military and among the
political elite. The resulting rivalry and geographical
division of the two parts of the country lead to an
election in which two big parties achieved high scores
but each was just elected in either the east or the west
of former Pakistan. There was no way to reach a
consensus and thus the democratization stalled.
When riots occurred in eastern Pakistan, the military
launched what they called “Operation Searchlight” to
reestablish public order by force, which lead to the
complete escalation of the situation and, eventually, to
civil war. India immediately made a stand against
Pakistan by denying overflight rights in order to isolate
the eastern part of Pakistan. Subsequently, the
Pakistani military government found itself stuck
between between a rock and a hard place. Because of
the Indian boycott, it was unable to emerge from the
civil war victoriously, and had to use paramilitary
militias to support its troops.
This is the starting point for the negotiations
of the UN and of our committee. India is in a
position of power while Pakistan has to
somehow find a final solution to this
conflict. The fronts are hardened and stakes
are high for Pakistan: the division of the
country is at risk.
Thus, an enthralling discussion emerged in
which India and especially Pakistan, both
alongside their supporters, tried to promote
their position and argued against each other
quite outspokenly from time to time.
Representing Thailand, my position was
similar to that of the United States: pro
Pakistan and against India. For quite a long
time, everything seemed to be running well
for Pakistan until the delegate could not
resist the temptation to submit an aggressive and
completely unbalanced working paper and, by doing so,
courted the resentment of many fellow delegations.
Later on, the US did not back Pakistan as clearly as
before so that it became obvious that concessions to
India would be necessary in order to get enough
supporters to pass a pro-Pakistan resolution.
I believe that this change of policy by the US, which in
my eyes was a clear deviation from their country’s
foreign policy at that time, thwarted our efforts to push
through a pro-Pakistan resolution. So, finally, common
sense and ethical values of the individuals taking part in
the negotiations prevailed over the cold political
balance of power of 1971. I did my very best to
represent the bad. The good made their point.
We won.
HGA - Historical General AssemblyThomas Emmert
18
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
This year, I attended the WorldMUN conference for the
second time. It was, once again, an overwhelming
experience, even though I already had some idea of
how the conference runs. The lead of the committee by
our chairman, Shaheer Rizvi, was excellent just as was
the organization of the social events, which on their
part were breathtaking.
The debate in committee was absolutely amazing. Our
topic was quite polarizing so that soon two distinct
blocs had developed. Furthermore, the commitment of
the delegates was very strong so that we had tough
debates literally all the time. We argued about the
phrasing of sentences right until the end of the last
session and only passed our final resolution a few
minutes before the ultimate end.
Through this whole week of intense debating, I learned
many things. Needless to say, I improved my English a
lot by talking to other students or writing papers but,
what seems to me even more important, I also got used
to holding speeches with very little preparation in front
of an audience of about 100 people during moderated
caucuses.
Besides this, through your preparation preceding the
conference you get to know a lot about the country you
will be representing, about its culture, its political
system and situation, its foreign affairs as well as about
the topic you will be debating and the United Nations
themselves. It would probably be too much to say that
you gain a thorough understanding of the workings of
the United Nations, but at least you get an insight into
its power and its limitations.
In addition, commitee sessions are also about convin-
cing people of your opinion and gaining their support.
You have to get along with everyone. When someone
has a different opinion than you do it is often better to
literally build him a bridge to enable him to swap sides
without losing his face.
But WorldMUN is way more than just a role game to
simulate the United Nations. You get the chance to
meet many different people from all over the world and
talk to them, mostly about politics, but also about
philosophy or even soccer. Some of the people you
meet become real friends and you stay in touch with
them long after the conference. It is a meeting point for
politically interested young people from all over the
world who share their ideas and points of view during
one week of intense debate and conversation. It
promotes international understanding in the most
sophisticated and best way possible. At the same time,
you should keep in mind though that WorldMUN also is
a game and that you should not go there if you are not
interesting in trying to win in it. The preparations also
were lots of work and the conference itself was really
exhausting to the point at which it was not fun
anymore.
All in all, I would not want to have missed this exper-
ience, this chance to feel the spirit of WorldMUN again.
Personal Résumé
Thomas Emmert - 21
Mechanical Engineering
19
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
Outcaste Discrimination
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is
one of the most important committees within the UN.
Even the former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said
in his March 2005 report (A/59/2005) that “the
creation of the Council would accord human rights a
more authoritative position, corresponding to the
primacy of human rights in the Charter of the United
Nations.” He added that “those elected to the Council
should undertake to abide by the highest human rights
standards”. The USA are not a member of the Council
as there are not enough “safeguards to keep human
rights abusing nations off the council”. The members of
the council are elected for three years by the General
Assembly in order to promote and protect human
rights. Our committee was conducted by Catherine
Bevilacqua, a third-year Harvard student majoring in
Social Studies and a former WorldMUN delegate as
well. She coordinated the sessions and helped to direct
the debates towards a comprehensive solution. In the
first committee session, which is held to decide which
topic to discuss, opinions already differed extremely.
After debating for three hours, the delegates voted
against ‘Freedom of the Media in Venezuela’ and in
favor of ‘Outcaste Discrimination’. All committee
members were extremely well prepared and thus a
heated debate began as soon as the topic had been
chosen. During debate it was easy for everybody to find
suitable allies. The interesting thing about such a small
committee is though that most alliances are not formed
during debate, but during informal session. It is just
easier to come to a compromise and to explain
positions when there is no limit to speaking time.
Furthermore, debates then are not as formal, so
arguments can be exchanged much quicker.
As committee sessions went on, the debate became
more and more heated, because most countries
wanted to integrate their position into the working
papers. Some countries insisted on their opinion and
were not willing to compromise at all. Therefore, the
committee had two draft resolutions, which differed
only in small details. For example, some
countries did not want to have a
paragraph about women’s rights in the
resolution; others were resolute and
insisted on it. Eventually, the paragraph on
women’s rights passed and became part
of the final resolution. As the conference
came to an end, all delegates agreed that
they wanted to have a strong, well-
founded resolution and therefore formal
sessions were interrupted more often to
merge the different working papers into
one draft resolution. In the last session,
almost all delegates voted in favor of the
draft resolution, so that it passed.
To put it in a nutshell, this committee was a great
experience for all delegates – we had heated debates,
but nevertheless all committee members learned a lot
and contributed to a better international under-
standing.
UNHRC - United Nations Human Rights CouncilTom Braun
20
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
My expectations about the WorldMUN conference in
Puebla, Mexico, were exceeded really in every single
aspect, even though it was my second participation in
such a conference. The host team was incredibly
motivated to make this conference a unique experience
for everybody. And as the host team did, our team, the
TUM delegation, tried to make this conference an
unforgettable experience for everyone of us, what, in
my opinion, we did with great success.
My biggest challenge in this project year was to choose
the best and most suitable students for the TUM
delegation from the wide range of other great
applicants. The members of the delegation that
attended the WorldMUN in Geneva in 2007 elected a
team of four people to select the new delegates for the
conference in Mexico. I was lucky to be one of those
four and thus tried to pick students who demonstrated
an exceptionally high motivation for the entire project
and who were aware of the fact that participation in
the TUMgoesWorldMUN project means project
management as well as simulated work within the
bodies of the United Nations.
Of course, I was very excited about meeting the new
team and working with them. As it turned out, the
teamwork went very well, here in Germany while
preparing the conference as well as in Mexico during
the conference itself. Of course, I was unable to see my
team as much as I saw my fellow delegates during
conference sessions. But the WorldMUN conference
is also about creating a network of people from all
over the world. That is why it was very important for
me to debate in a small committee, because during the
sessions I like to participate as much as possible, which
is easier in a small committee such as the United
Nations Human Rights Council and thus the contacts I
made were much more intense. Additionally, a small
committee is simply more dynamic and the chances to
express my opinion and to find people willing to
compromise are higher. But even in such a small
committee as mine, the variety of opinions was very
impressive. Some delegates raised points that differed
extremely from my own opinion and led us to great
discussions during and after committee session. The
possibility to discuss current affairs topics with people
who have such different perspectives is one of my main
reasons to attend another WorldMUN conference next
year. That is also why I will do everything possible to
give other students from the TUM the chance to
experience the WorldMUN feeling and to broaden
their mind. Therefore, I am still highly committed to
the TUMgoesWorldMUN project and hope that
sometime in the future we will have the chance to
welcome Harvard University and students from all over
the world to a WorldMUN conference here in Munich
at the TUM.
I also want to thank all our sponsors and partners -
without you it would not have been possible for us to
attend the WorldMUN conference and make so many
incredible experiences.
Personal Résumé
Tom Braun - 24
Physics
21
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
The Humanitarian Crisis in Myanmar
Myanmar has been under military dictatorship for
almost half a century. What the rulers then proclaimed
as the “Burmese Way to Socialism“ led to a steady
deterioration of the economy, food shortages and
brutal suppression. Their “Roadmap to Democracy“ of
2003 did not actually entail any democratic progress
but rather led to pseudoreforms to calm down the
angered international community. The UN has passed
many resolutions demanding reforms, but they have
had little to no effect. Thus, the SOCHUM at WorldMUN
this year wanted to develop a new approach towards
the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar.
Thailand’s newly elected government, which came to
power after a brief period of military rule in 2007, has
made its policy towards Myanmar very clear –
economic interests undoubtedly override humanitarian
concerns in Thailand’s relations with Myanmar. Many
investment deals have been signed and energy imports
from Myanmar to Thailand have risen to new highs.
Thailand believes that a heavier emphasis should be
placed on the role of ASEAN, the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations, as a connective element
between the international community and the
Myanmar rulers, through which international support
and aid workers could be chanelled. Thailand also sees
the economic sanctions many Western nations have
imposed as missing the point and suggests, backed by
ASEAN states, offering trade deals to Myanmar at the
report of democratic progress in the country.
Of course, not all countries agree with this
approach. Many industrialised nations, the
US above all, do not believe sanctions are
generally ineffective, but rather think that
these have not had any impact yet because
so many other nations continue trading
with Myanmar as usual. At the same time,
many developing nations, especially African
ones, want to uphold Myanmar’s right to
sovereignity more strongly, which they see
infringed by many of the suggested aid
programs.
Clearly, thus, debate in committee session
was heated and highly controversial. The
resolu-tion that was passed in the end
contained many paragraphs every nation
could agree to, but still developed a new
approach towards Myanmar by placing a higher
emphasis on the role of ASEAN, just what Thailand had
pushed for. Furthermore, it called for the institution of
a round table consisting of representants of Myanmar,
ASEAN countries, the UN, the EU, the US and NGOs
active in Myanmar.
The devastating cyclone in May 2008 once again
reminded the world of the crisis in Myanmar – even
though hundreds of thousands were suffering, the
rulers denied access to all international aid. In the end,
they agreed to cyclone aid from ASEAN, so the new role
our committee had assigned to ASEAN might in fact be
realisable. In any case, I felt directly concerned by
events that are taking place thousands of miles away
from me. This might be a general phenomenon of
globalisation - but it might also be a WorldMUN-
provoked extension of my horizon.
SOCHUM - Social, Humanitarian and Cultural CommitteeJemima Peppel
22
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
After hearing about it for the umpteenth time, you start
to wonder about what it might be, start to doubt it, to
mock it. Every single person you ask about past
WorldMUN conferences gives you a short and sweet,
though at first completely meaningless answer: the
WorldMUN spirit! What may seem to you like bad
marketing in the beginning, then, in fact, turns out to
be an absolutely adequate description of reality. The
legendary WorldMUN spirit is indeed difficult to
quantify or qualify, but strong and real and persuasive
once you have felt it yourself. It is this spirit that gets
you addicted, that makes you work through the nights,
that gives you inspiration and unlimited motivation.
However strong your interest in our world was, the
WorldMUN intensifies it further. But even more, the
conference and its preparation taught me coordination
and cooperation, power to persuade and influence,
about inter-group dynamic and standstill as well as
questioning and defending the validity of my own
opinions. I learnt about the difference it makes to be a
group as opposed to a bunch of individuals, about
lobbying, manipulating, speaking in front hundreds of
people and clouding the issues I was demanding from
others with lots of well-sounding words.
Basically, this conference functions as the venue for
more than 1500 students from all across the world to
discuss our global future, the design of which they
themselves will probably influence significantly. It was a
unique experience to meet so many people who have
developed visions and the determination to have an
impact. I believe the ideas these people have
developed for our future are less radical and more
compatible with established structures than those
young students had a generation ago, and might even
be realisable. It is not a global socialist revolution they
advocate, but rather the integration of a social and
ethical component into the global market that would
relocate the balance between efficiency and equity
further on the side of the latter. While these people
might make you feel justified in awaiting our world’s
future with positivity, you begin to wonder why change
is so slow despite all this clustered motivation,
imagination and cooperation. Do such strong ideals
impede one’s way towards actual influence? Does it just
take time for change to happen, the process of change
itself being intangible, only the outcomes visible in
retrospective much later? Or might our generation be
the one that manages to speed up the pace of change -
so that it can keep up with the pressure of, say, climate
change?
In addition, the fact itself that I was debating about the
future of Myanmar with people from Pakistan,
Singapur, the United States, Venezuela and Lebanon in
a small town in Mexico made globalisation feel actually
seizable. I wish that today’s leaders are inspired by such
happenings, discover the concept of global
cooperation, look beyond short-term gain and assume
responsibility for their generation, but also for those to
follow, responsibility for the people within their
countries, but also for those on the other side of the
world. They might be unable to agree on a universal
valuation of globalisation, but they are forced to
acknowledge that today’s problems require a global
approach and global solutions. Dear World, I
recommend: some WorldMUN spirit!
Personal Résumé
Jemima Peppel - 19
Mathematics
23
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
Traditional Medicine
The delegates of the WHO - one of the biggest
committees - could choose between the topics ‘Organ
Trafficking’ and ‘Traditional Medicine’.
In the run-up to the conference, the delegates had to
analyse how the issue of organ trafficking is dealt with
in the country they were representing. Furthermore,
they had to deal with the actual situation and
opportunities concerning organ transplantation in their
position papers. The main points to be discussed were
today’s medical possibilities, organ donation from living
as well as deceased people and the increasing of public
awareness of the issue of organ transplantation and
donation.
For the second topic area, Traditional Medicine (TM),
the delegates had to find out what forms of TM are
used in their countries and to what extent TM is
integrated into their countries’ health systems. Also,
the state of knowledge and education of TM
practitioners had to be dealt with before the
conference.
After a long debate right in the beginning of the first
WTO session, the delegates voted in favor of discussing
Traditional Medicine for the rest of the time.
Then, there was a first unmoderated caucus to clarify
block positions of the African, Asian, Latin-American
and Western countries, find out about positions of
individual countries and bring them together in a
comprehensive working paper. Because some delegates
had already quite a few WorldMUN conferences, two
big blocks formed on the second day, an Asian and a
Latin-American block. Only the African block retained
its position, but with notably less influence. The two big
blocks then again worked separately on new, though
very similar working papers, which were further
improved several times thereafter.
The main goal of both blocks was to gather the
improvements and suggestions of all countries to
implement them in a first version of a draft resolution,
which was written on the fourth day of the conf
erence. But on that day - thanks to the intensive work
of a few delegates - it was possible to arbitrate between
the two blocks and on the evening of the fourth
conference day, the two blocks merged into one and
worked hard on one consolidated draft resolution for
the whole committee. This draft resolution was then
introduced on the last conference day, so that there
was not much time left for the delegates to introduce
their amendments. During the voting procedure,
almost all delegates voted in favour of the draft
resolution and it was thus passed.
The following issues of TM we discussed during the
WorldMUN conference and we attempted to solve
were included in our draft resolution: research, the
introduction of quality standards for TM products, the
development of an international database for infor-
mation exchange, the development of regional WHO
offices to coordinate the integration of TM into the
allopathic system, the improvement of the education at
universities in the area of TM and the sustainability of
the growth of plants and the environment.
WHO - World Health OrganizationVeronika Beck
24
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
After studying abroad for one semester in Concepciòn,
Chile, and a three months traineeship in Udon Thani,
Thailand, I have already had the chance to get an inside
view into very different kinds of cultures. At that time I
realized how important it is to be open-minded about
the culture, politics and history of the country you are
living in, in order to gain a better understanding of the
people there and have the chance to get in touch with
them more closely.
When I heard about the TUMgoesWorldMUN project,
for me it was an opportunity to get to know another
foreign country, because in my opinion each country
you get to know and experience widens your horizon.
But as luck would have it, we were assigned the country
of Thailand for the WorldMUN conference and
represented it in different committees at the
conference in Puebla. So for me this was the chance to
deepen my knowledge of Thai culture and politics and
also give the other team members an account of my
experience of Thailand. I decided to take the World
Health Organisation (WHO) as my first choice. The two
possible topic fields were ‘Organ Trafficking’ and
‘Traditional Medicine’, and I had the possibility, during
my stay in Thailand, to get an insight into Thai research
on typical Thai plants used to cure diseases as cancer or
malaria. Furthermore, I had the chance to get to know
traditional Thai medical techniques such as Thai
massage and other medicine practices. Because of this,
I saw that there was great potential for Thailand in the
WHO session, if the topic traditional medicine were
selected.
At the moment, I am finishing my degree, so for me this
was the first and last chance to participate in such a
conference. For me, the WorldMUN 2008 in Puebla was
a great experience that I would not want to miss. It was
the chance to discuss the world’s pressing problems
with hundreds of students from all over the world. The
enthusiasm of the students to represent their countries
in the best possible way as well as their great
preparation for the conference really encouraged me.
Thus it was possible to have very good professional
debates during the committee time as well as very
interesting discussions about different topics beyond
the committees’ sessions. In total, I was very surprised
by the open-minded and friendly atmosphere of the
WorldMUN during committee sessions as well as during
social events in the evenings, during which the host-
team managed to spread true Mexican flair and to give
the WorldMUN delegates an idea of life in Mexico.
In my opinion, the WorldMUN 2008 in Puebla was a
unique experience that every student should have at
least once during his studies. And this experience is
worth the intensive work in the run-up to the
conference. I am sure that I can adopt and import the
new insights and experiences I gained into my
professional life. Furthermore I think it is a wonderful
feeling for every single one of us to know that one has
made a contribution to the world’s peace and
international understanding by participating in this
conference. So I can encourage all students to get
involved with this project and participate in a
WorldMUN conference.
Personal Résumé
Veronika Beck - 26
Physics
25
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
and Public Health
We got to know the first people of our committee just
some seconds after we entered the conference room.
We were really surprised how open-minded, friendly
and interesting every single person was. The diversity
was really high in this committee especially – that was
what made this committee extraordi- narily exciting
besides the topic that was chosen: ‘trade-related
aspects of intellectual property rights and public
health’. Both of us preferred this topic to ‘trade and
labor standards’.
Acting according to Thai policies, we were supposed to
play a decisive role in bringing together the interests of
the ASEAN block. Therefore, right from the beginning
we started negotiating and actually had a sort of
mediator function between the poorer states of the
region (Myanmar) and the developed ones (Singapore).
Unfortunately, we had not realized until the end of the
first conference day how important lobbying was – and
not only during the official unmoderated caucuses but
also during regular debates and moderated caucuses or
even during lunch breaks.
Committee work went on with high speed. On the first
day three working papers from three different blocks
were already introduced. The discussions were tough
and the delegates were eager to assert their points of
view. After several unmoderated caucuses the blocks
became more obvious. The industrial nations got
together looking for stronger regulations on intellectual
property rights, in opposition to the developing
countries. These were looking for less regulations and
red tape in order to be able to sort out things faster
when it comes to fighting severe diseases and
pandemics like Aids, TB, and Malaria.
In the course of the discussion
Thailand was largely involved in
lobbying for the interests of the
developing nations and tried to gain
appreciation from the US in order to
work on a joint solution with the
developed world.
Nearing the end of the conference a
consensus did not seem possible –
the interests and points of view still
were too far away from each other.
This was the hour of fine and very
sensitive diplomacy and horse-
trading. Finally, after hours of
detailed work and six amendments, a
resolution was passed. Thailand had
worked on this resolution right from
the beginning and also signed it.
In retrospective, the committee and the conference
itself were an unforgettable experience for all
participants. With creativity in mind and goal-
orientated negotiations everybody contributed to the
unforgettable WorldMUN experience
WTO - World Trade OrganizationArash Houshmand & Marcus Demmelmair
26
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
High ambitions, huge financing difficulties and very
little preparation time were only some of the
challenges the project team had to face right from the
beginning. Since our delegation had only just been
formed, we did not have any specified structure within
our team. We had to get to know each other and figure
out the best way to make this project work.
At that time, I thought that it would not be easy to do
so. We all did not know each other properly and were
active in very different fields of study. Our budget
estimations were relatively high and we had a hard
time finding sponsors in the beginning. This was really
frustrating for me, but when Marcus, who was in
charge of sponsoring, started pushing, I got back on
track.
My personal conclusion – we did a great job. Besides
project management I was also looking forward to deal
with political issues. As an engineering major, political
interest probably is not very common, which is
remarkable and special of my fellow team members
from the TUM as well. We all had a technical or science
background but still wanted to turn into authentic and
credible ambassadors of a nation for a week. After two
intense weekend workshops and numerous preparatory
meetings, I felt prepared to head out to Puebla as a
delegate from Thailand and the TUM. The conference
itself was an unforgettable experience. I have never
before met so many impressive and interesting people
in one spot. They all had the most diverse background,
spoke several languages fluently and had traveled all
around the globe. Being around such amazing people
really broadened my mind.
Looking back at the project TUMgoesWorldMUN, I
think it was a great success for me personally and for
the team as well. I had the opportunity to scrutinize
global problems and learn how to approach them in
order to find solutions. Furthermore, I got a great
insight into the United Nations and came to understand
how their work and effectiveness depends on every
single member state.
There are not many chances in life to make such va-
luable and priceless experiences. I can only recommend
to everybody to take the time and participate in this
project, because in our globalized world it is imperative
to recognize and deal with global issues - even as a
scientist or an engineer.
Personal Résumé
Arash Houshmand - 22
Chemical Engineering
27
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
Before the conference, former participants always
talked about the “WorldMUN Spirit”. Firstly, during the
opening ceremony, I really wondered what this spirit
was supposed to be about – but no later than during
the global village I got at least a glimpse of it. The
colorful get-together of the different delegations, the
various nationalities, and the overall diversity was
fascinating. In summary, exactly three components of
the whole event were most exciting for me: people,
committee and the spirit.
The people from all over the world with their different
backgrounds, but same goals and commitment were
captivating. The conference was such a good
opportunity to meet very interesting personalities,
receive brief insights into other cultures (with a focus
on the Mexican culture, of course) and get to know
different views on specific topics – ranging from
abortion to Zimbabwe. The people are actually the
most important element to make this event
unforgettable.
Secondly, the conference was also amazingly absorbing.
My personal opinion is that the WTO committee was
one with really outstanding students, eager to work on
a solution (the topic were ‘trade related aspects of
intellectual properties’ and ‘public health’). Participants
introduced the first working paper on the very first day
at the beginning of the second session. Discussions
were exiting and, most of the time, the speakers stuck
to the opinion of the country they were representing.
What was really challenging was the fact that
informal discussions outside of the conference
room, during lunch breaks or at night, played a
crucial role. Unfortunately, I realized too late how
important it is to keep in touch with every person
respectively country of interest in order to assert
the targets of the country represented, in my case
Thailand.
Last but not least, the spirit of WorldMUN is something
really hard to describe in words. Besides the conference
the organizers, Harvard University and the Benemerita
Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, provided an
outstanding program of social and cultural events.
During these events it is possible to get to know even
more people and international friendships can emerge.
It seems like the world got together and became one,
at least for some hours.
Finally, I want to mention that this conference –
although it was indeed pretty short – had a positive
influence on my ability to speak in front of an audience,
on my personal perspectives and self-esteem.
On the other hand, I had to invest a lot of time into this
project. But I loved to do that, because the experiences
(at the conference and during the organization before)
you make are tremendous. I therefore hope that more
students will have the chance to take part in the
TUMgoesWorldMUN project and discover the spirit of
this conference.
Personal Résumé
Marcus Demmelmair - 23
Business Administration
28
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
29
A Sample of a Draft Resolution developed in SOCHUM on the Humanitarian Crisis in Myanmar
The General Assembly,
Emphasizing the importance of upholding the inherent right of sovereignty guaranteed to all states under Article 2 of
the United Nations Charter, (...)
Realizing that past UN resolutions on the situation in Myanmar have not achieved the desired results in creating
factual change and the subsequent necessity to develop a different, proactive, comprehensive, long-term approach to
the issue, (...)
Further stressing the need for the Myanmar Government to resume cooperation with the UN Special Envoy and the
UN Special Rapporteur and to work towards the rehabilitation of child soldiers and encourage freedom of political
expression,
1) Encourages Myanmar to continue and strengthen its seven-step political roadmap, including the planned
constitutional referendum and general elections; (...)
2) Recommends the design and implementation of Myanmar’s national reconciliation program, which will consist of
a media/educational campaign; the implication of which is subject to the body empowered in article #3;
3) Emphasizes the importance of a strong focus on social and humanitarian development in order to improve the
living standard of the people of Myanmar, hereby creating a positive environment for substantial movement
towards a free and equal Myanmar; (...)
6) Calls upon the empowerment of the current ASEAN body in the following manner: Membership would include the
UN Special Envoy and NGOs while the UN Special Envoy will be chosen by the Secretary General and he would be
from the ASEAN region; (...)
7) Suggests the creation of a Myanmar Forum on National Reconciliation (MFNR), supervised by the UN Special
Envoy in cooperation with regional governments, to:
a) Act as a liaison between the government of Myanmar and disenfranchised groups;
b) Ensure inclusiveness for all ethnic minorities and political groups in order to promote cultural understanding,
communication and cooperation in Myanmar;
c) Periodically set and assess targets to be met by the government of Myanmar in relation to the status of
prisoners and drug-trafficking within the country;
8) Recommends the easement of restrictions on the entry and the functioning of international NGOs to alleviate the
humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, with priority given to projects proving the provision of humanitarian aid; (...)
13) Strongly urges the international community to stop arms trade with Myanmar as to ensure that Myanmar stays on
the path to peaceful reconciliation; (...)
16) Recommends the periodic re-evaluation of current sanctions, as well as the possible softening of targeted
sanctions by the Security Council and the EU upon receiving favourable reports from the MFNR on social and
humanitarian targets set by MFNR;
17) Decides to remain seized to the matter.
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
30
Social EventsMichael Bengsch
Beside the official part of this WorldMUN, the host
team from the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de
Puebla organized interesting activities during the lunch
breaks to enable the delegates to see more of Puebla
and, as you would expect from a Mexican university,
amazing social events in the evenings where we had
the opportunity to meet other delegates in a less
formal context. The Global Village is always scheduled
for the first evening, where delegates from all over the
world represented their home country or the one they
were assigned with typical food and drinks. Because it
would have been too complicated to import Bavarian
food, we decided to represent Thailand with colored
cocktails, which we ordered by color to resemble the
Thai flag, and some sweets. Our drinks together with
two of our delegates in Lederhosen were a complete
success. In committee sessions, people still remem-
bered us from the Global Village. When we ran out of
food and drinks, all of us went to have a look at stalls of
other delegations and had fun until late into the night.
The second night was a Noche Méxicana in a vast
hacienda, with typical food, attractions like a bull-riding
simulator and horseback riding, and, of course, lots of
Mexican music and drinks. Wednesday was Cabaret
Night, where many teams from different countries
performed dances or sketches before the event turned
into a huge party. The fourth night, the Aztec Night,
also took place in a big hacienda outside of Puebla,
with a show symbolizing an Aztec sacrifice ritual
including traditional dances and other live stage shows.
The last evening was reserved for
the Farewell Party, which had a
clear dress code: “as nice as pos-
sible”.
The theme was “angels and
daemons”, so that there were
artists performing acrobatic
shows, others juggling with fire,
ice sculptures at the entrance and
an ice bar inside as well as a
Mexican band playing live. We
had an amazing time in incredible
location and celebrated our
WorldMUN experience adequate-
ly. Sadly though, this party was
also the last opportunity to
exchange contact details with all
the new acquaintances everyone of us had made in
order to keep the cross-country communication
flowing.
I think the social events were a very impressive and
important part of this WorldMUN 2008. They had a
major share in creating the ‘WorldMUN spirit’.
Let us see whether Den Haag can keep up with such
amazing and hot Mexican fiestas next year!
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
31
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
32
Afterword from Alexander HeinzFaculty Advisor
After my participation as a delegate in the Harvard
World Model United Nation conference in 2007, it has
been an honor and pleasure for me to be the Faculty
Advisor of the TUMgoesWorldMUN team of 2008.
My duties were mostly in the area of the formal
conference preparation of the delegation. This included
learning the “Rules of Procedure” (RoP, the formal rules
of the committee simulations, which are more or less
identical with the rules of the real United Nations) and
how to use them, and also to clarify the importance of
a good, structured and substantial preparation. Thus,
planning and directing the training and preparation
weekends made up a big part of my work. In addition to
this, I helped the project group at any time, mostly
during discussions of controversial topics, with words
and deeds. At the conference I was able to help our
participants with some hints and solutions to smaller
problems.
In retrospective, I have to say that the work of the
delegation of 2008, concerning both preparation and
the conference itself, was great. It made me proud to
see our delegates taking part with full concentration in
the debates of the committees during my visits to
committee sessions. They did not only discuss
suggestions of other delegates and the different ways
to get to a final resolution, but also brought in their
own suggestions and tried to carry them through into
the final resolution.
Finally, I would like to thank all participants for the good
collaboration and funny moments we had during this
project. I hope I was able to help and teach you a little
bit, like I was able to learn from and with you all.
Sincerely
Alexander Heinz
Faculty Advisor 2008
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
Dear Delegates, Friends, Partners
and Alumni of TUMgoesWorldMUN,
Published by
MUNTUM e.V.
St. Stephan Weg 5, 82041 Munich, Germany
June 2008
Articles written by
Alexander Heinz, Arash Houshmand, Carina Mann,
Jean-Luc Rippinger, Jemima Peppel,
Marcus Demmelmair, Michael Bengsch, Sarah Port,
Thomas Emmert, Tom Braun, Veronika Beck
Layout by
Arash Houshmand and Jemima Peppel
Print by
Contact:
www.worldmun.de
Donations to:
MUNTUM e.V
Kreissparkasse München
BLZ 70250150
Konto-Nr.: 17283003
Alexander Heinz
Arash Houshmand
Carina Mann
Jean-Luc Rippinger
Jemima Peppel
Marcus Demmelmair
Michael Bengsch
Sarah Port
Thomas Emmert
Tom Braun
Veronika Beck
Delegation 2008Contacts
TUMgoesWorldMUN 2008
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