Meet the World: Bremen International Model United Nations Conference 2004

The first annual Bremen International Model United Nations conference (BRIMUN) will be held April 6th-8th at IUB. Organized by the local Model United Nations student society at IUB, BRIMUN will bring together more than 200 students from universities in Germany, Europe, Africa, and America who will participate in a university simulation of the United Nations.

[ Mar 24, 2004]  The concept of a Model United Nations (MUN) was developed by students in America more than 50 years ago in order to simulate the challenges of diplomacy and international negotiation. They particulary focussed on areas of peace and conflict resolution that are a part of the day-to-day work of the United Nations. During a MUN conference participants are assigned to delegations representing a specific country. These delegations represent the positions of their "countries" in the General Assembly, Security Council and the respective committees. The debate takes place in English, all rules of the United Nations protocol have to be followed by student diplomats. Internationality is represented through the topics discussed, however, especially in Europe, most of the participants used to come from the country hosting the event. This led members of the IUB Model United Nations to the idea of launching their own virtual international MUN conference. A multinational faculty and student body makes BRIMUN truly unique and guarantees an international and multicultural environment.

BRIMUN 2004's agenda "Where are we heading?" encourages delegates to think beyond the present issues and to discuss solutions to problems that society will face in the future. BRIMUN will simulate three General Assembly Committees which address world issues from political, social and environmental perspectives. The Political Committee deals with topics such as "Cloning" and "Drug Smuggling", the Human Rights Committee considers issues of human rights, and the Environmental Committee will examine the preservation of the environment focussing on "Waterpower". BRIMUN will also include special-purpose forums such as the International Court of Justice.

The conference program starts with an Opening Ceremony on April 6th. Key note speeches are delivered by IUB president, Dr. Fritz Schaumann, Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Berlin, Jeremy Cresswell, and General Consul of the United States of America in Hamburg, Susan Elbow. The conference is expected to become an annual event at IUB.

BRIMUN 2004 at IUB Further Information and the detailed program of the conference can be found under: www.brimun.org more info »