From the very beginning, BerMUN immediately stood out among every conference we’ve been to. As opposed to an American-style conference, which is organized by college students, BerMUN is almost completely organized by the students of the John F. Kennedy School, a 50 percent American, 50 percent German public exam high school in Berlin.
After Wednesday’s opening ceremony, where each delegation gave a short speech, we ventured to the JFKS on Thursday for the start of committee at 8:30 a.m. sharp. Brookline was one of four American schools there, but even so, in my committee, everybody spoke very good English, regardless of whether they were Palestinians living in Riyadh or Germans living in Singapore.
Once in committee, we began to lobby. In European Model United Nations, conferences set topics for debate beforehand, just like in America. But it is expected that students arrive with completed resolutions (formally written solutions to the problem at hand). Lobbying is when delegates get together in small groups and try to combine their resolutions to achieve the best possible result.
Since BerMUN doesn’t give awards for delegate performance the way conferences do in America, everybody was much less competitive. With no awards motivating delegates, we were instead motivated to simply come up with a comprehensive, effective resolution that would pass the house. We were driven to be diplomatic and faithful to our country’s policy. In this much less stressful environment, we wrote, argued, laughed and grew much closer as a result, acting as one team as opposed to a group of individuals looking out for themselves.
As the conference got underway, I had to keep reminding myself that every single member of conference staff I saw was either my age or younger. My chairs were 15, 16 and 18 years old, but they were some of the most professional and composed chairs I have ever seen, always completely on top of debate and keeping us on track.
European MUN rules keep the spirit of collaboration alive, but they also force you to think on your feet. When a delegate finishes a speech, the chairs ask if they are open to any points of information. If they say yes, delegates are allowed to ask questions to which they must respond. These questions usually are designed to trip the delegate up or highlight flaws in their reasoning. By responding with “any and all,” a delegate shows that he or she is well-researched and ready to counter any question that comes his or her way. On the other hand, by refusing to accept points of information, a delegate shows that he or she doesn’t feel up to dealing with hostile questions, and thus is viewed as a quasi-coward.
On the whole, I surely can’t say if I like European MUN or American MUN better. The two are very different, right down to how they pronounce words like BerMUN (I went in thinking it would be pronounced Brr-Muhn, but they pronounce it Bear-Mewn). Sitting here on this airplane, somewhere in between Berlin and London, I would have to say that I love the European culture around diplomacy and collaboration, but the American rules of procedure will always be first in my heart.
