More than 250 young people from around the globe got the chance to step into the role of diplomats at the UN Headquarters in Vienna as the Vienna International Model United Nations (VIMUN) took place for the 25 th time from 4 August until 8 August.
Taking full advantage of being in a real UN diplomatic setting, young delegates assembled in their committees to negotiate different solutions to tackle highly topical global challenges and, ultimately, to adopt draft resolutions. They experienced first-hand the difficulties and advantages of multilateral negotiations. The aspiring diplomats utilized and further enhanced their negotiating and problem-solving skills while they balanced being a team player and leader. Juan Poveda Alvarez from the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) committee at VIMUN pointed out that the participants needed "a lot of commitment, open-mindedness and initiative" to reach consensus.
This year's topics reflected the breadth of global challenges; from "Human Rights Violations in the Middle East", Nuclear Technology and Applications Included in Health Care" and "The Situation in the South Chinese Sea" to "Finding Measures to Prevent Cybercrime" and "Use of Satellites for Global Security and Telecommunication". After four days, the young delegates left the Vienna International Centre (VIC) with new friends, a myriad of ideas and key takeaways, and plenty of inspiration to make a positive difference.
The participants of VIMUN 2019 were welcomed to the United Nations in Vienna by the President of the United Nations Youth and Student Association of Austria- Academic Forum for Foreign Affairs (UNYSA-AUSTRIA-AFA), Michael Pfeifer, the Chair for the Vienna Model United Nations Club (VMC), Kevin Lechner, and UNIS Vienna Director Martin Nesirky.
The simulation conference is an annual event that is organized by the UNYSA-AUSTRIA-AFA and hosted by the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV).
