For the second time the UN simulation "Model United Nations" (MUN) took place at the department of Social and Cultural Sciences from July 17 to 20. This year 39 students and five teachers from the partner universities Madrid, Edmonton, Lwiw and Zagreb participated, among them two students as a film team. On the part of the department of Social and Cultural Sciences, seven students from the Master ICEUS and seven students from the Master MAHRS participated. MUN has been held at the department since 2019. This year, under the leadership of Prof. Claudia Wiesner, a delegation from Fulda already participated in the MUN conference in Erfurt in January. Since winter 2022/2023, the preparatory seminars for MUN are integrated into the curriculum in MAHRS and ICEUS.

The Fulda MUN 2023 was conducted under the direction of Prof. Dr. Claudia Wiesner and Prof. Dr. Philip Liste as well as Muriel C. Pluschke and Clara Umstätter and with the support of a team consisting of Zhylien Kaja, Vivian Seidel, Vanessa Wintermantel and Pauline Woods (all from the department of Social and Cultural Sciences). It took place within the framework of the projects PATRAPO (Practicing Transnational Politics), Transnational Governance and Human Rights (HAW International), Brückenprogramm Hessen-Ukraine, supported by the Point Alpha Research Institute (PARI). Project partners are the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain, the University of Zagreb, Croatia, and MacEwan University, Edmonton, Canada. In addition, a student delegation from Catholic University Lwiw, Ukraine, led by Prof. Dr. Galyna Protsyk, took part (with the longest journey of over 26 hours by bus).

Three students from Canada as well as the visiting professor at the faculty of Social and Cultural Sciences, Prof. Dr. Chaldeans Mensah, led the participants as chairmen (Dais) through the conference and its proceedings. Beforehand, the students had prepared intensively for the conference for two semesters within the framework of a hybrid, seminar. Students from Fulda, Lwiw, Madrid and Zagreb participated in the online seminar sessions, which were led by teachers from Fulda, Madrid and Zagreb. The Fulda MUN 2023 was the highlight of the seminar for everyone and provided an opportunity to finally simulate a UN conference together in presence. The students were now able to meet in person and exchange ideas and make international contacts. "The conference is a great experience. We have guests from four different countries, which simulate 19 UN states. Everyone is working intensively and learning a lot, but the atmosphere and the exchange are great, both among students and teachers," said Prof. Dr. Claudia Wiesner pleased.

The Fulda MUN 2023 focused on two topics that are of great importance in today's world - "Countering disinformation for the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms" and "Natural Disasters in conflict regions". In the MUN simulations, students slip into the roles of various UN states, which they meticulously prepare in order to represent them credibly. This time, for example, there were Russian, Chinese and South African, but also Finnish, German and French "delegates".

After the opening ceremony with first speeches of the teachers, the delegates decided by majority vote to deal with the topic of natural disasters first. Together they worked out three resolutions on this topic, which were successfully passed despite some abstentions as well as a few dissenting votes. The second topic, disinformation, was on the agenda from Wednesday on. Here, two resolution were adopted by the delegates. "In simulating the UN General Assembly, students learn how the political interest of states finds expression in highly formalized procedures," Prof. Dr. Philip Liste drew a final conclusion.

The Fulda MUN 2023 was framed by a sightseeing tour through the city including a joint dinner, a reception at Frauenberg Monastery, where among others the Dean of the faculty of Social and Cultural Sciences, Prof. Dr. Matthias Klemm, as well as Prof. Dr. Claudia Kreipl, Vice President for Research and Transfer at Fulda University of Applied Sciences, held short speeches, and a concluding dinner with a three-course menu at the Ritter Restaurant. A special highlight was the visit of the Hessische Rundfunk, which brought about a three-minute contribution in the Hessenschau. The videos can be found here  and here  as well as a Podcast here.

July 17-20, Fulda University of Applied Sciences

 We are delighted to invite you to the upcoming Fulda MUN 2023!

The UN Simulation Fulda MUN - Model United Nations (MUN) 2023 conference organized by the projects PATRAPO(Practising Transnational Politics), Transnational Governance andHuman Rights (HAW International), and Brigde Programm Hesse-Ukraine, will take place from July 17-20 at the SK Faculty of Fulda University of Applied Sciences.

 This on-site UN simulation will bring together students from Fulda University of Applied Sciences from the Master programs MAHRS and ICEUS as well as students from our partner universities, the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv (Ukraine), the Università Autonoma de Madrid(Spain), the University of Zagreb(Croatia) and MacEwan University in Edmonton (Canada).

This year's MUN will focus on two topics that hold significant importance in today's world - "Countering disinformation for the promotion and protection of humanrights and fundamental freedoms"and "Natural Disasters in conflictregions".

 We would like to invite you to attend the Fulda MUN 2023 conference as either a visitor or an observer. This will provide you with an excellent opportunity to witness the negotiation and collaboration between international delegates, the drafting and adoption of resolutions on the conference topics, and participation in various events that are part of the conference.

We are looking forward to your participation!

The Fulda organization team: Claudia Wiesner, Philip Liste, MurielC. Pluschke, Clara Umstätter, Zhylien Kaja, Vivian Seidel, Pauline Woods, Vanessa Wintermantel.