- official balmun newspaper -
Issue 2/2009 • Saturday, June 13th
10 Reasons ...why you should not have missed the Opening Ceremony
by ANJA DIETZMANN, PAULA TAUBE AND MARIA WUNDERLICH
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Overwhelming multicultural feeling: How often have you been in one room with 200 participants from 27 nations?
2
“Burkina Faso needs bridges!” – and China
has the people to cross them.
3
Speech by Mr. Döring – principal of the ISG: Right now everybody knows about the need to eat lettuce with strawberry jam.
4 5
Costa
Rica?
Absent!
Presence of political prominence – be close to the stars: Roland Methling, major of Rostock, was delighted by the fact that so many young people have a keen interest in political issues and participate in this year’s conference. As well as Jochen Schmidt, Head of the LpB of MV, encouraging everybody to attend the BALMUN – Dance this evening.
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Mexicans do wear sombreros! – but still have to follow the dress code. Ecological spirit: everybody seems to hope for fruitful debates... “We are better than Cambridge University!”, according to Emily Büning, a Youth Delegate of Germany, BALMUN has a lovely atmosphere, a favourable size and is much better organized than Cambridge’s MUNConference.
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Principal Thomas Döring.
The cookie break afterwards. And keep in mind: “Amnesty International is watching you!” Youth Delegate Emily Büning
Breaking News
North Korea launches Atomic Missile again South Korea pull troops to the border
PHOTOS(4) THOMAS WEGENER
North Korea once again has run an atomic long-range missile test. Even if that has occurred several times lately, the situation is certainly more serious this time. Reffering to South Korean reports the long-range missile has struck the ground close to the South Korean border. We have no information so far if the missile has struck close to or even hit inhabitated territory and if in that case people possibly have been harmed. As a reaction to this happening South Korea has proclaimed the highest alert staged in the country and is just stationing its troops close to the North Korean border. With the hope of avoiding a more than ever possible war between the two countries a few head of states have already expressed their disfavor regarding the latest events. German chancellor Angela Merkel has said that she is "very concerned about the current situation“ and expects the UN Security Council to react as quickly as possible. North Korea should finally "be made accountable for their actions."
Page 2 • Issue 2/2009
Editor‘s note
Why should we get some sleep? Going to bed at 2 AM, getting up at 4 AM. That‘s BALMUN. When I woke up this morning I thought: "Oh no!" But hey, who needs sleep? It‘s BALMUN! That‘s why I wrote at 4.17 AM via Twitter: "Why should we sleep? Working again after 2h of rest.“ I‘m pretty sure I‘m not the only one with this schedule. Mrs Regine Koch spends more time in the school than in her bed. That‘s what we‘re living for. I‘m sure I‘ll won‘t get any sleep the next night because of the BALMUN party. I‘m really excited and hope to meet as many of you as possible.
Read what the Editor-in-chief thinks during BALMUN www.twitter.com/ egyptianrevival The BALMUN team www.twitter.com/balmun ... or on Facebook or StudiVZ
IMPRINT Head of Press / Editor-in-chief Matthias Bannert
Why you never meet Nigerians at MUNs
Building bridges between schools
Deputy Secretary General named their countries but nobody said "Present“. Why did the delegates of Nigeria not come?
Roland Methling the major of Rostock was due to time pressure only shortly available at yesterday’s Opening Ceremony, but still was delighted by the fact, that so many young people are interested in political issues. He hopes for a repetition next year and would appreciate a cooperation with the Christophorus Gymnasium (CJD) - a private school in Rostock. There are rumors that the conferences might take place at the ground of the CJD. An idea which is declined by the majority of the organizing team since the ISG has spent many hours bringing up their little baby called BALMUN.
by PAULA TAUBE AND VALERIA NIEBERG
The need of firmer connections between the nations of the world is closely linked to everyone of us – perhaps even closer than one might think. The fact that 30 delegates did not turn up on Thursday evening shows the significance of this year´s topic: Building bridges. Bureaucracy is the main reason that hindered participants to attend BALMUN 2009. The Conference Managers Carolin Kieckhäfer und Robert Martens confirmed that a delegation from Nigeria was unable to come to Germany due to the fact that they were refused a necessary visa. It is not the first time that Nigerians could not come to a Model United Nations conference: Belarussian participants reported about similar experiences with Nigerian MUN-attendants. Beside such serious matters
Important: Torge Schwandt (left) and Robert Martens walking by.
Executive Managers Matthias Bannert, Erik Muttersbach © 2009 Bannert Media All rights reserved.
nagers confirmed that BALMUN will proceed just fine, Robert Martens said: Feel free to donate!
THIS YEAR‘s NUMBERS
139 delegates 30 missing delegates 27 countries
Blogging for Europe The political weblog about the European Union, Europa-Blog, starts on August 1st with an international version. For that the team needs new blogger from all over Europe, even from Germany, that want to publish articles on Europa-Blog. More information on their website www.europa-blog.eu or mail webmaster@europa-blog.eu
TORGE SCHWANDT (Secretary General): For the second time Torge Schwandt holds the position of Secretary General at the BALMUN conference. 19 years old, Torge has almost finished school after spending one year as an exchange student in Oregon/USA. As it is appropriate for a Secretary General, Torge has written his A-Level examinations in the subjects Social Studies and English. After school he plans to study international relations and economics. His main task in this conference the Secretary General defines as “keeping an overview, briefing the chairs and being there for everyone who has a problem”. Another duty yesterday was to deliver a speech on behalf of a guest speaker who could not take part in the Human Rights Committee.
Layout Matthias Bannert, Christine Ruppert
Produced by
some delegates found other reasons to stay home. A well prepared participant who had written his resolution long before the conference started unexpectedly cancelled his attendance - according to his friends he got scared. The missing participants would have enriched our conference, says Secretary General Torge Schwandt. Internationality always adds to the atmosphere of MUNs. And participants always add participation fees. Even though the Conference Ma-
GRAPHIC THOMAS WEGENER
Look at BALMUN‘s VIPs!
Duty editor Christine Ruppert
Editorial staff Karoline Darmüntzel, Anja Dietzmann, Kate Ilyina, Wencke Lubojanski, Luise Jacobs, Laura Michel, Valeria Nieberg, Daniel Redkozubov, Josefine Rosse, Paula Taube, Thomas Wegener, Maria Wunderlich
Where are the missing delegates?
Smiling: The president Victor Boadum. PHOTOS: THOMAS WEGENER
Robert Martens (Conference Manager): To start with: Robert did not sleep much in between the last 96 hours. When he doesn’t organize a whole MUN conference together with Carolin Kieckhäfer, he is as well engaged in the Youth Bank, a student’s initiative supporting any kind of project initiated by young people. In his free time Robert is passionate about playing Frisbee. A little bit untypical is that Robert will do his community service in a senior citizen’s residence but will remember his skills by studying economics in the future. As Robert states, he did not spend one year in the USA but in Texas, which seems to have made a great impression on him. Victor Boadum – President of the GA: With the highest position, Victor Boadum is the youngest member of the VIP trio. Attending John-F.-Kennedy High School in Berlin Victor arrived on Wednesday to get in touch with the whole team and the facilities. As well as for Torge and Robert it is also the last school year for Victor who already counts the last days: 13 are left. Mister President is also very proud to be accepted at George Washington University to study International Relations. He is looking forward to moving to Washington D.C. but is also aware of the challenge to live on his own.
Issue 2/2009 • Page 3
The "Legally Blonde“ Phenomenon
FACES OF BALMUN
The successful movie doesn´t remain a fictional story anymore We all know that cliché about blonde women. Some sexy girls from Geesthach now proof that this is not always true. by LUISE JACOBS
own way leads the determined young woman with her queer chihuahua to the source of all decisions: the parliament in Washington. But her extraordinary pink suit and her naivety according to her wish to change animal´s world stand out. Although she might not be as trustworthy as the other lawyers dressed in black she
Blond hair, endless legs and a body a man dreams of. These are aspects every man would associate with a blonde. Despite her striking appearance the city slicker Elle Woods aims high and wants to change the law of animal experiments. And as a great attorney she is completely convinced that she can achieve her aim to tighten the ban of animal maltreatSexy: Vivien, Janne, Elisabeth ments. Going her
PHOTO LUISE JACOBS
is able to put her request into practice. This phenomenon of the supposedly ingenuous but shred blonde woman is noticeable also at this year´s BALMUN. Walking through the entrance hall you run into girls dressed in pink tops, high heels and other pink parts of their perfectly combined oufit. The Mexican delegate Vivien N., who looks extremely delightful with her blackberry pink skirt, is one of them. She is convinced of the determination and self-confidence the colour pink spreads: “I love the colour pink and for me it stands first of all for independence. Pink tops and skirts belong to the main part of my wardrobe. I wear pink clothes because I want to show everyone that the typical image of a blond girl is totally wrong“
A gentle pink blouse and an adequate lipstick underline the look of the Russian delegate Janne E. who feels comfortable in a pink blouse: “Wearing a pink blouse means to stand out a bit; but honestly, it feels good.“ “Why a PINK umbrella? Why not a blue or a black one?“ I asked the representative of Amnesty International Elisabeth W., who responded in a surprised voice wearing a purple tie and a pink top: “I mean, why not? Pink is a wonderful colour. It is a young and vivid colour, which makes you smile and I love it.“ This is a counter statement to wipe out the still dominating prejudices against blondes and the colour pink because these three girls definetly disprove that superficial image.
What‘s going on in the committees? by VALERIA NIEBERG
ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITEE: The delegates of the Environmental Committee have their heads in idealistic clouds: Why not give every citizen a bottle of water every day? In one corner of the room you hear delegates speak out their thoughts a little bit too loudly, in the other one a second group discusses more serious solutions to the problem of deficient supply of water in wide regions of the world. More serious, but still: Idealistic. “In Model United Nations you don´t really care about the money.”, remarks a MUN-experienced delegate of Burkina Faso. This is why the chairmen of the EC – Ta-
tiana Pratskevich and Lukas Krönert – expect innovative answers to a central problem of today´s society from their delegates. According to both of them they can be optimistic about the results of Friday because “everyone wants the same anyway”: Create sustainable concepts for equal access to and supply of water and other natural resources in areas of ethnic or regional conflicts. by KATE ILYINA
Guests, you’re welcome! Casual jeans and not strict jacket – from the first sight nobody could say that Helmuth Markov worked in the European Parliament for 10 years. But after a few words of his brilliant speech the whole
Political Committee understood what clever thoughts he has in his head! Speaking about fair trade in European Union he said: “Don’t understand everything as proposals, I will tell you only the facts as they are!” And he is completely right. Conference managers invited guests not for teaching, but for fruitful discussions! “Sitting here, like in the UN, you should think not only about your country, but about human being!” The guest man really inspired the Political Committee. How to get in Saddam Hussein’s bedroom? This question was discussed in Disarmament Committee. Thomas Prenzel, Research Assistant from Rostock University decided to choose the
Iraq history as an example of global disarmament politics. Rather hot topic! But the delegate from Iran Muneeb Ur Rehman thinks it would be more interesting to listen to personal thoughts of the guest than simply to watch presentation, though he found it rather useful. And chairs share his opinion. Torge Schwandt’s transformation. Richard Amoah Kyereh, special guest from Ghana(Executive chairman of NGO) hadn’t got the visa. But he sent his speech to conference managers, and Secretary-General read it to Human Rights committee. Unfortunately delegates couldn‘t ask questions, but still they caught the main ideas!
Josephina Wappler (17), Rostock (ECOSOC, China) A word about Rostock? - Awesome! Chocolate Chip Cookies or rather fruits? Cookies!!! One thing you couldn’t leave home without going to BALMUN? - High Heels. Baltic Sea or swimming pool? - Baltic Sea, of course! What have you planned to state and underline at BALMUN 2009? - I would like to emphasize that we need to support the farmers in order to avoid their migration to the cities.
Evgenia Andrejuk (20), Minsk (DC, Chair) A word about Rostock? - Tremendous! Chocolate Chip Cookies or rather fruits? Fruits!!! One thing you couldn’t leave home without going to BALMUN? - Blouse and trousers – dress code! Baltic Sea or swimming pool? - Baltic Sea, Baltic Sea, all the times Baltic Sea – it’s great! What have you planned to state and underline at BALMUN 2009? - I want the delegates to understand actively why it is so complicated to achieve an agreement at the real UN-conferences.
Jung – Hyun An (15), Berlin (HRC, China) A word about Rostock? - Sexy! Chocolate Chip Cookies or rather fruits? Rather fruits... One thing you couldn’t leave home without going to BALMUN? - Teddybear. Baltic Sea or swimming pool? - Baltic Sea. What have you planned to state and underline at BALMUN 2009? -We should demand free access to resources for any country until 2015.
Aitzaz Rehman Sheikh (21), Pakistan A word about Rostock? - Beautiful! Chocolate Chip Cookies or rather fruits? Cookies! One thing you couldn’t leave home without going to BALMUN? - Suit. Baltic Sea or swimming pool? - Baltic Sea. What have you planned to state and underline at BALMUN 2009? - Be more agressive! – in debates.
By Maria Wunderlich
Page 4 • Issue 2/2009
“The Chance is better than ever“
Herald head interviews NNN head
With Dietmar Tahn, head of the regional newspaper "Norddeutsche Neueste Nachrichten“, Herald editor-in-chief Matthias Bannert talks about good newspapers, the future of regional press and the rivalry of internet. Interview by Matthias Bannert
Mr Tahn, has the role of newspaper changed? Yes, that‘s for sure. Is the internet a rival or an addition to the newspaper? For regional newspapers it‘s an addition.
Breaking news should be published in the internet. But the background information must be printed in the newspaper. The internet is a threat if you don‘t need to read the printed edition because all articles are completely online. I prefer to publish teasers of articles in the internet. What do you think about the statement, that the media are the fourth power besides legislature, judiciary and executive power? Do journalists have a control function for politicians? This should be the ideal. But that‘s very different from case to case. You need to be very independent. It‘s a journalist‘s function to cover grievance. How does one make a good regional newspaper?
You need to keep in touch with your readers. Print their letters. Take their hints seriously. Try to see the reader as a costumer. The one that produces the newspaper must live in the region of the reader so you get a better insight. Which topics do readers like best? You need to satisfy several topics. For everyone should be something interesting in the newspaper. Some sports, some culture. How does the future of newspapers look like? Do we still need this medium? The chance for regional newspapers is better than ever now. There you find information you never can read in other newspapers or in the internet. That‘s a unique feature and a chance.
r e p a sp w e n fe li l a e r s it is v Herald team
How the professionals are working by Josefine Rosse
Working as a journalist includes more than writing articles and searching for information. You have to work organized and professional. A journalist‘s day can be very long and hard. Besides dozens of telephone calls, taking pictures and collecting news, it is a reporter‘s task to meet one‘s deadlines and to design layouts. For getting some impressions of editorial work the press team of BALMUN visited the office of the regional newspaper “Norddeutsche Neueste Nachrichten” (NNN). There everybody could go through the production rooms and have a look at the writing program
of real columnists. Furthermore Mr Tahn, the head of the NNN, agreed to do an interview with all of the press team members. Everybody could ask questions regarding journalism. With humor and charm the editor-in-chief explained the most important facts with respect to produce a newspaper. In his opinion the best condition is to love this job and to be interested in writing. Journalists has to put their own interests aside. It doesn`t matter, if a journalist is interested in photography, if the reader doesn`t like it. “Every individual person has an individual meaning. We have to write articles that are interesting for everyone”, Mr. Tahn says. In addition
Producing a real life newspaper: The BALMUN Press Team
a reporter has to be good in grammar and spelling. “If it‘s difficult for you to write articles and to be in contact with humans, you should think about another job”, he adds. During the years the occupational image of the reporter‘s
job changed. The influence of the internet and the competition on the market make it more difficult to exist as a newspaper. Although reading is especially for young people necessary for recognize social life, only less of
photo Matthias Bannert
them read local newspapers. If you want to become a journalist you have to be disciplined. At university you can learn how to deal with specific tasks like designing layouts. Journalism is science as well as chemistry or biology.
Issue 2/2009 • Page 5
“All helping hands on deck!“ Nothing would work without them: the staff team Have you ever thought of the girls and boys running around all the time? The staff team makes the conference to that what it is now. Don‘t forget it. by WENCKE LJUBOJANSKI
When the doors opened for the Opening Ceremony of this year’s conference last morning the Assembly Hall of the Innerstädtisches Gymnasium had turned into an authentic General Assembly. Now, let’s turn back in time to see how this goal was achieved by our “helping hands”: “We have been here since Wednesday last week”, Max Schröder (17), member of the technical staff, explains. “We kind of live here at the moment. If we could, we would even sleep here but actually ADVERSTISEMENT
Always in action: The staff team of BALMUN.
we don’t sleep at all.” Max and his team of three other boys set up every computer, microphone, light spot and whatever else is necessary for a successful conference. “After having spent months of work we can just hope that everything works out” – probably a wish everybody had on this Friday morning and
PHOTO Thomas Wegener
fortunately everything went well. Great job, guys! After the Opening Speeches of each country the first cookie break was waiting for the 139 delegates and at the same time this was the first chance for our staff team to shine. “I really love my job.”, Laura Kucharz (17), this year’s
Chief of Administration and Staff, explains. “I don’t feel inferior to any other participant. We support the whole conference and nothing would work without us.”, she added. Laura coordinates all of the staff members after she herself was a member at last year’s conference. After two months of preparation she and her team take care of every delegates’ problems and wishes. We caught Tim Heinrich (20), also a member of staff, running down the hall. He admitted that his work was stressful but nevertheless it is a positive kind of stress. “And when there is a problem there always is a solution which we will find, no matter what.”, was the last thing we heard him say before disappearing in some committee room. Our staff team: always on the run but passionate, “no mat-
ter what”. Still there are dozens of other people one could mention when thinking of “helping hands” like, for instance, the more experienced members like Robert Straßburg who is participating as Senior Staff Advisor after being the Head of Staff at the last year’s conference or Annemarie Nack, the former Conference Manager, who are always willing to help out with their knowledge and experience. They and all the different staff members are the people behind the scenes who ordinary delegates usually do not get to see very often but are the foundation of every conference. “We are really excited about the positive feedback we get.” Laura told us. So, do not forget the people outside of the committee rooms who do their best to take care of you!
Page 6 • Issue 2/2009
Are you Bored,
fellow Delegates? Look at these pictures. What‘s up, fellow delegates? Is your topic too boring, so that you have to read a book, listen to music, talk (and write) about private things or even sleep? Come on, guys! Discuss your resolutions ...or read "The Baltic Herald".
A Letter to Russia This letter to the Security Council delegate of Russia was given to us from someone who wants to remain unknown: “Hey honey, How are you? Is it ok in the Security Council? Much work? In the Environmental Committee it‘s okay and relaxed. Are their nice guys or more freaks? So enjoy your time and see you leter. Love, Hava“
Dinner with the VIPs