A Delegate at the Model UN

Charlotte Lindemann

Charlotte Lindemann, an exchange student from the University of Innsbruck at UNO, served as a delegate of UNO’s Model UN team. Read her account in her own words:

My Experience as a Delegate of UNO's Model UN team

Hi, I’m Charlotte since August 2023 I’ve spent my year abroad at UNO. Early on I heard about the Model United Nations Club. Since I’ve always been interested in Model UN but so far never had the chance to participate in it, I decided to apply to join this year’s delegation to go to New York in March for the National Model UN Conference. After the selection process, we had our first meeting at the end of the fall semester where we already got to know what topics we would get to dive into for the next couple of months, but most importantly which country we would get to represent in New York. This year we had the honor of representing the Republic of South Africa which I would then represent in the UN Environmental Assembly and talk about South Africa’s position on the topic of Biodiversity conservation.

After our well-deserved winter break, we came back ready and excited to learn about South Africa, the UN, and our individual topics. The first few months were characterized by the work on our position papers. The position papers would become the foundation of our positions at the conference and consist of two pages containing very dense information about the two topics selected for each committee and in the end my paper even got rewarded with a position paper award!

After we finished this very challenging part of the preparation it was time to focus on all the other skills we would need. We practiced public speaking, the role of procedure that we would follow in the week in New York, and went over the dress code and the behavioral expectations to arrive as prepared and professional as possible. All this preparation paid off and got rewarded with an award as Distinguished Delegation, equivalent to a silver medal, at the end of the conference. And then it was time to go on my first trip to New York!

After a good night of sleep and some exploring of the city, the conference started with an opening ceremony and then it was time for us to slip into our role as ambassadors for South Africa. The goal for the next couple of days was to come up with resolutions that each and every member state could agree with and simultaneously represent South Africa’s positions to the best of our ability. Personally, this was more challenging than I expected it to be sometimes, especially since on some days we would work on the resolutions and give speeches from 8:00 in the morning till 10:30 at night. But even though it was a very challenging experience, I could learn so many new things and grow with all the challenges I faced.

And of course, it wasn’t just all work. One day we got the chance to meet up with some of UNO’s Alumni in an office building with a wonderful view over Times Square. The closing ceremony took place in the UN general assembly, so we got to sit in the chairs where to world leaders normally sit. After the closing ceremony, we also got the chance to dive even deeper into South African culture and try some of its amazing food. And the remaining free time I also had the chance to explore some more parts of the city before we went back to New Orleans, all very tired and exhausted but with great new friends, memories, and experiences that we got to make.