The United Nations Society Nuremberg e.V. offers together with the Diakonie Neuendettelsau Scholarships in a total value of 1000€ to four applicants of every BayernMUN conference. In the next few pages we will present the scholarship holders of 2018 to you. If you want to be awarded with a scholarship for our conference in the next year, feel welcome to find more information here.
Angelina Keller
Why did you choose BayernMUN for your next MUN experience?
A: In my opinion, Bayern MUN is a terrific opportunity to meet and discuss with other people who are also interested in politics. Seeing students gathered together from different schools and even countries is really exciting! This is a unique event which will help me to improve my personal skills, such as speaking in front of others for example.
How can the scholarship help you in financing your political education?
A: It was actually very important for me to get this scholarship because I really wanted to attend the Bayern MUN, but for my parents the sum was a little too expensive. I would like to gain more political experience, nonetheless, in this case, it is only possible with this kind of aid. Therefore, I am really thankful.
Do you consider political education important in a student’s life?
A: With democracy almost all over the world it is vital to motivate the students to get more people involved in politics.
We have a great privilege. By voting, for example, everyone of us can somehow change the world, yet even this small step requires knowledge about political topics or parties, and school is the best way to educate the children. So yes, I would say it is important.
What is your field of study and how is it related to MUN (or soft skills in general)?
A: I am still attending high school with focus on social and political studies. That is where my interest in politics began. Now, in 11th grade, we have a MUN-related course where we learn how to give speeches and get to know the United Nations better.
How important is it for you to get involved in a political decision-making process?
A: I would say very important! I find it fascinating to be part of such a process because even at the Mini-MUN I went to, I learned how complicated and difficult it is to find an optimal solution for everyone but that is also one of the most exciting parts!
Cullin Flynn
Why did you choose BayernMUN for your next MUN experience?
A:I chose BayernMUN for my next MUN experience for various reasons. The historical city of Nuremberg is a fantastic setting to motivate other young diplomats while discussing matters of international importance. Furthermore, topics such as access to clean and safe water are directly relevant to my previous studies. Finally, the large committee organization along with delegation pairs are both new ideas to me, and I look forward to exploring them with my American colleague and fellow alumnus of Grand Valley State University.
How can the scholarship help you in financing your political education?
A:This scholarship enables me to continue gaining international perspective, a crucial part of engaging the international community, while also bringing back new ideas to my own community in the United States. Additionally, I am considering a career in diplomacy—specifically agricultural diplomacy—as a foreign service officer. This experience will act as a simulation to my future meetings and discussions in this capacity.
Do you consider political education important in a student’s life?
A:Political education should be the basis in a student’s life. It has the potential to inform students about the dynamics of community processes. Furthermore, political involvement is inevitable: Even those taking the so-called “non-partisan” stance must eventually recognize and be affected by the policies, decisions and actions of other parties. The only way to come to terms with this reality is through political education.
What is your field of study and how is it related to MUN (or soft skills in general)?
A: My fields of study include Spanish language, literature and grammar; and Natural Resources Management (NRM). At first glance, only the NRM has direct relevance to the topics considered at BayernMUN, e.g. “Ensuring Access to Clean and Safe Water” and “Achieving the SDGs through STI and data-driven decision-making”. However, oftentimes the nuances of our languages and literatures are a direct result of political situations across the globe. This can also be the case when one examines the content of female vs. male writers and how their perspectives impact Equal Participation in Democratic Governance and Peacebuilding.
How important is it for you to get involved in a political decision-making process?
A: It is crucial for me to get involved in a political decision-making process. As a young diplomatic on a bi-governmental exchange between U.S. Congress and the Bundestag, I have had the opportunity to explore the processes of political decisions, such as election campaigns and legal reform, from an international perspective. This has only made me more excited to return to the U.S. and have an impact on my own constituents.
Antonia Kuhn
Why did you choose BayernMUN for your next MUN experience?
A: What interested me the most about BayernMUN are the interesting topics that we will discuss during the conference. I believe that these topics are highly important for achieving progress in the world and hope to broaden my knowledge on them during BayernMUN. Also, I had heard that the academic level at BayernMUN is quite high. This was a special incentive for me to take part in BayernMUN, because the better everyone is prepared, the more fun the MUN will be. Next to these content-related reasons, I liked that it is possible to take part as a delegation of two people. I have never taken part in any MUN as a team, so this will be an exciting new experience.
How can the scholarship help you in financing your political education?
A: Even though lots of content can be accessed online for free, most of the better political magazines and newspapers do require you to pay at least a small contribution in order to be granted access. Other magazines can only be purchased in a printed version. However, reading different magazines and newspapers constitutes an essential part of my political education, which sometimes makes it quite costly. The scholarship certainly helps me in financing this, as it allows me to “reuse” my BayernMUN budget for different purposes.
Do you consider political education important in a student’s life?
A: Yes, absolutely. The whole world is politics, one could say – politics influences our everyday lives, from the food that we can buy in the store to the states that allow us to visit them without requesting a visa. Only very few parts of our life are truly private and free from being impacted by politics. Educating oneself about politics is therefore not only necessary to understand the world one lives in, but also essential for actively take part in shaping it. Also, we students are the next generation, so the future depends on us. Being politically informed is the first step in taking over responsibility for the world that we want to live in in the future.
What is your field of study and how is it related to MUN (or soft skills in general)?
A: I study German and European Law with a focus on public international law. This means that my studies comprise quite much of the – sometimes quite abstract – legal framework that shapes the international community, and that the UN is a part of. Knowing about the legal contexts helps me to frame the topics and to understand state’s positions better during MUNs. But not only do I profit from my field of study during MUNs – this relationship also exists vice versa. MUNs teach me to be a better public speaker and how to define clearer arguments for my positions, which is a skill that I will need a lot during when hopefully working as a lawyer in the future.
How important is it for you to get involved in a political decision-making process?
A: As I believe that being informed about and engaged in politics is the best way to shape the world one lives in, being able to take part in the political decision-making process is of high importance to me. There are so many ways of getting involved in the political decision-making process, like being an active member of civil society or part of a campus group, and all of them are equally important. I am part of my university’s student parliament, where I get to engage in political debate and decision-making myself. Despite all effort this takes, it feels good to be able to speak for those who elected me as their representative.
Jesse Karanja
Why did you choose BayernMUN for your next MUN experience?
A: My last MUN experience was at HarvardMUN in February 2017 and it was a very eye opening and challenging MUN for me. It made me want to see what attending a MUN in Germany would feel like. Despite me having attended KleMUN at my university here, I have never attended MUN as an individual. Hence, this is the perfect opportunity to put my debating skills to the test as an individual and not as part of a delegation.
How can the scholarship help you in financing your political education?
A: As soon as I heard about the MUN, I was very excited because it would be just after my very last university exam. However, the distance and travel costs were a huge deciding factor. With the scholarship, I am able to fund my stay and travel at ease and can therefore enhance my degree in International relations with hopefully fruitful debate.
Do you consider political education important in a student’s life?
A: Politics is all around us and is happening constantly. If we as students do not take the initiative now to discuss and debate world issues that will shape our tomorrow, then who will? We cannot be the 99% who complain about government policies and their imperfections, we have to be the 1% who find solutions. Solutions that will not only better us as individuals but for the greater good of each and every one of us.
What is your field of study and how is it related to MUN (or soft skills in general)?
A:I study international relations in the 7th semester and about to complete my bachelor thesis. In my 6th semester, I did a 5-month internship at the European Chambers where I got the chance to engage with different leaders in the political world and learned a lot about public speaking and networking.
How important is it for you to get involved in a political decision-making process?
A: It is paramount! As a Kenyan, I believe that a lot of unethical practices that happen in politics back at home e.g. corruption, happen because we let it. We are not aware of our rights as individuals and that the taxes we pay, are going to the pockets of greedy politicians. That is why it is very important for me to get involved, because the decisions I make, will affect the livelihoods of people. And this is very important to because I have seen firsthand, what ignorance and lack of political interest has done to cripple African governments.
