A simulation for diplomacy: With the ISM delegation at the National Model United Nations in New York

The UN simulation is called National Model United Nations (NMUN) and offers students from all over the world the chance to take on the role of UN delegates. The state or organization that you represent is determined about half a year before. This gives all participants enough time to immerse themselves into these specific topics. This year, the ISM delegation has represented the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in different comitees like the UN Environment Assembly, the UNESCO or the General Assembly 1 and 2.

How would we describe our time in New York? An exciting adventure with diverse challenges for the international community, democratically and diplomatically developed approaches and a skyscraper-high mountain of new knowledge and experiences. The days at the NMUN are shaped by numerous, exciting meetings. There are the assembly meeting, at which all states and organizations get together to listen to the statements and opinions of the protagonists. The meetings are regularly interrupted by intensive work phases. During this time, you have the chance to exchange views with different delegations to evaluate common positions, discuss different approaches and find allies. Lived diplomacy.

After this, we have worked on working papers in different groups. The papers contain the positions, opinions and suggestions of the involved delegations. Based on this, different resolutions and decisions are made. After many rounds with improvements and adjustments, a document is produced that the majority of the committee members have decided on in a democratic process.
Of course, this is only a general and simplified depiction of five days of hard but exciting work at the conference and a long preparation time. But it shows that experiencing the democratic and diplomatic processes realistically is at the heart of the event.

Participating in the NMUN always opens doors and offers the possibility to meet many important personalities. This year, our delegation had a meeting with the Jordanian ambassador in Berlin as well as meetings with several members of the German parliament. Additionally, we could squeeze a meeting with the Jordanian UN representative in New York and with the German delegation between conference appointments to gather more insightful knowledge during this unique trip. Of course, we couldn’t refrain from regularly making small trips to famous New York sights. This way, we could create a great balance to our time at the conference and also better get to know our own delegation.