VIENNA, 17 January 2025 – Around 150 students from 13 nationalities came together at the Vienna International Centre (VIC) to act as delegates and interpreters translating the debates in French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Russian and Spanish. The participants are studying at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) and the University of Vienna and come from different academic backgrounds, united by a shared interest in global affairs and diplomacy.
The event kicked off with opening remarks by the Officer-in-Charge of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) Vienna, Sonja Wintersberger, who highlighted the 80th anniversary of the United Nations this year under the theme “Building our Future Together”. Ms. Wintersberger stressed the importance of young people engaging in topical issues and taking an important step towards fostering solutions. This includes global crises such as conflicts, inequalities, climate crisis, and out-of-control technology.
Programme Management Officer at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Matthias Jurek and Deputy Permanent Representative of Austria to the UN in Vienna Georg Oberreiter both emphasized that right now multilateralism is more important than ever.
The student’s opening statements and negotiations focused on global challenges such as the threat of climate change. The students represented countries from all over the world including Armenia, Barbados, Malaysia and South Africa, after months of preparatory work. Around 40 students of translation sciences simulated interpretation services in more than five languages and gathered real-life experience using the United Nations interpretation booths.
The participants discussed key themes of justice, migration and protection, all related to the environmental challenges we face today. The event was supported by UNEP, UNIS Vienna, the Permanent Mission of Austria to the UN and Universitas Austria.
Simultaneously, high school students aged 14 to 18 from schools in more than 18 countries participated in a three-day Model United Nations Conference at the VIC, organized by the Vienna International School. More than 450 delegates from Austria, Ethiopia, Slovenia, Türkiye and other countries considered how to transition from conflict to cooperation in this year’s simulated event. They gained valuable experience in diplomacy, public speaking and conflict resolution.
