OLMUN – international debates and social interaction since 2001
Having been founded by the former high-school student Gero Elerd, the first Oldenburg Model United Nations Conference took place at the “Altes Gymnasium Oldenburg” with about 100 pupils. Admittedly most the participants of the first session in 2001 were originally German, but nevertheless, a delegation from St. Petersburg provided a certain international flair to the OLMUN, which has been enhanced over the years. Growing to 450 participants in 2006 and to 850 in 2013, the conference developed to become the largest of its kind in Germany. With more and more participants, the number of committees has also increased– from 3 in the beginning to currently 10 committees, offering a considerable diversity of topics.
One of OLMUN’s special features is the fact that from the first session on, the conference has been – and still is – completely organised exclusively by high-school students. The Inner Circle, consisting of approximately 50 students, plans and organises every aspect of this event. In 2005, the OLMUN association was founded with major involvement of Kersten Stamm to create a reliable base for the annual organisation of the conference.
Of course, some teachers are also involved, but only in their function as MUN-Directors, who serve as connecting links between the OLMUN and the schools. On the one hand, they provide help and preparation for their own students, and on the other hand they serve as reference persons for the Inner Circle. This form of cooperation does not only secure the status of the OLMUN as a MUN conference fully organised by their participants but also marks an unprecedented interaction between the schools.
Moreover, our membership in the JUNON (UN Youth association), a union of several German UN groups, since spring 2007 means a further step towards national cooperation and gives us a chance to exchange experiences and socialise with other MUNs.
As more and more students from abroad started to attend OLMUN, the need for accommodation became more urgent. While the first international participants were part of an external exchange programme, the position of ‘housing coordinator’ was soon introduced to administer the increasing number of accommodations of international participants. Our housing programme, which allows foreign participants to stay with host families in Oldenburg, is a brilliant opportunity for intercultural exchange.
In 2020, the conference was cancelled due to the COVID-19-pandemic. As an alternative programme, an OLMUN@home Challenge took place.
List of the Secretariats of Oldenburg Model United Nations Conferences
Year | SecGen | Chairs | ||||||||
2001 | Gero Elerd | Rebecca Beerheide | Sebastian Bick | Ole Seidenberg | ||||||
SecGen | DepSec | President | Dep. President | Treasurer | ||||||
2002 | Gero Elerd | Ole Seidenberg | Katja Ferenz | |||||||
2003 | Meike Wübbenhorst | Ali Aslan Gümüsay | Sientje Möller | Susanne Beerheide | ||||||
2004 | Dennis Ströh | Kersten Stamm | Ali Aslan Gümüsay | Swantje Wübbenhorst | ||||||
2005 | Kersten Stamm | Swantje Wübbenhorst | Merle Frömel | Jantje Kuil | ||||||
2006 | Sören Koselitz | Dirk Romey | Julian Heick | Henrike Haueisen | ||||||
2007 | Timo Schulze | Madjar Navah | Manuel Becker | Dörthe Johannes | ||||||
2008 | Arja Frömel | Felix Bayer | Amelie Hartmann | Hendrik Bäumler | ||||||
2009 | Julian Heno | Giulia Jonetzko | Birthe Rindt | Arne Gellrich | ||||||
2010 | Greetje Grove | Sören Zuppke | Fabian Wiesenäcker | Hannes Felix Grosch | ||||||
2011 | Carla Henckel | Sebastian Klotz | Alex Schmidtke | Felix Virmani | ||||||
2012 | Catharina Jantos | Finn-Ole Metscher | Phillip Kuck | Sebastian Katzer | ||||||
2013 | Helge Wellmann | Catharina Jantos | Yannick Meißner | Felix Seliger | ||||||
2014 | Julian Maskow | Kim Eickmeyer | Onno Winters | Gareth Edwards | Tim Kempermann | |||||
2015 | Ruben Eero Semmerling | Kim Eickmeyer | Emma Beelen | Eva Carlotta von Gablenz | Markus Jankowski | |||||
2016 | Kai Steffen Menneking | Josefine Went | Alke Hochwald | Yannick Bargfeldt | Esther Eriksen | |||||
2017 | Josefine Went | Clara Feldmann | Dominik Ulke | Alexandra Kovalcikova | Tammo Strack | |||||
2018 | Robin Runge | Alexander Linke | Nika Andouz | Anita Kluck | Sebastian Sanders | |||||
2019 | Hedda Spengemann | Amelie Schmidt | Dennis Kirsch | Rasmus Conrad | Anita Kluck | |||||
2020 | Anne zur Horst | Hendrik Ebel | Keno Hillmer | Tristan Leoluca Farinella | Joanna Grave | |||||
2021 | Anne zur Horst | Hendrik Ebel | Tristan Leoluca Farinella | Caroline Renz | Joanna Grave | |||||
2022 | Jelto Heykants | Annelie Kostka | Per Pagnia | Kian Assent | Claas Kämpf | |||||
2023 | Amélie Vocke | Nina Hempel | Mika Jelko Niederheide | Anna Siebels | Marleen Schmidt | |||||
2024 | Philipp Bruhns | Emily Roshop | Lenja Hinrichs | Lada Blech | Mika Jelko Niederheide |
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