Grußwort: Senatsempfang zur Eröffnung der Konferenz Model United Nations (englisch)

Dear Students,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Welcome to the Hamburg Rathaus, our City Hall! And welcome to the Senate Reception for the Model United Nations of Hamburg”! This is the 9th time that Gymnasium Meiendorf has organized this international conference. And that is fantastic. Many thanks to everyone who helped to organize this project!

As a Hanseatic city, Hamburg has a long-standing tradition of international collaboration. The Hanseatic League was the world’s first major free trade zone. In the Middle Ages, it was also a powerful confederation of cities, one whose influence extended from Lisbon to Novgorod. The fact that former competitors like Hamburg, Bremen, Lübeck and Cologne joined forces, establishing joint business centres at international hubs like London or Bruges, was a totally new idea in the Middle Ages.

And this idea left its mark on Hamburg. Up to the present day, for example, this Hanseatic City extends an invitation to its friends every year in February and puts on a celebration for them. The Matthiae-Mahl has been in existence since 1356, which makes it the world’s oldest banquet. This year, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was our guest.

We take the mission of fostering international friendships very seriously. This is even stipulated in the Hamburg Constitution. In the spirit of peace,” as is stated in the Preamble, the City is to be an intermediary between all continents and peoples of the world.”

The significance of the United Nations and of other world organizations will continue to grow in a globalized world. In fact, we also have a special relationship with the UN through the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which has been located in Hamburg since it was established in 1996. 166 countries and the European Union belong to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

Hamburg is also a fitting place for the Model United Nations.” We are especially pleased that so many students from all over Europe have come here to join forces with citizens of Hamburg in dealing with important questions relating to the global world and to learn about the work of the UN. From my experience as a politician, I can tell you: This is a challenging assignment, but one that is truly rewarding.

One of the great strengths of this conference is that you do not represent your own country at the UN, but a different one. Being willing and able to put oneself in someone else’s position, to understand other people’s issues and points of view, is an important ability if one is to be able to achieve political objectives peacefully and democratically. And people are not born with this ability. It has to be learned.
 
It is also important to gain a feeling for what knowledge one needs to acquire. That much discussion is involved in politics is important, but sometimes this makes you think incorrectly that opinions are what matter most. However, politics consists in no small part of content-related work. It is important to read a great deal and to acquire far-reaching knowledge in many different fields. One must work to achieve political positions. Only if you are well prepared in regard to content can you argue and negotiate convincingly in the long term.

The Model United Nations gives you a unique opportunity to experience political processes as intimately as possible. You are not only talking about policies. You are implementing policies, or at least trying to do so. You need to acquire the necessary specialized knowledge, understand the structures in the UN, and jointly mull over solutions in various bodies. You simulate UN negotiations and even the work of the General Assembly. I am certain that you will be listening in a totally different way in the future, the next time a UN resolution is passed or fails.

The questions you will be considering during the conference are serious ones:

• How can you reach agreements in crisis areas that ensure the safety of the aid organizations?
• How can maritime traffic around Africa be protected from piracy?
• How can the black market trade with human organs be stopped?
• How can the conflict regarding territorial claims in the South China Sea be resolved?
• How can the radioactive pollution of maritime habitats be reduced?

These are only a few of the many complex topics. It is important for us to understand the correlations. And the solutions that are developed must also be implemented. This is also very difficult for the real UN, and it is often not possible to alleviate the conflicts. Sometimes the decision-making processes simply take too long. This is why it is important to reconsider the structure of the UN to make it stronger and more effective, not to place obstacles in its way. In our global world, we need global rules and global organizations that hammer out these rules and ensure that they are adhered to.

The organizing committee and Gymnasium Meiendorf perform outstanding work in preparing this conference and running it. And many others help, too in the organization, as sponsors, or as guest parents. This is really impressive.

I wish all of you much success and a great time at the 9th Model United Nations conference in Hamburg. And if any of you like the idea of politics and are considering whether you should choose a course of study or a profession in this area, I can only encourage you to do so. In any case, I like being a politician, and this has been the case for a very long time!

Many thanks.

Es gilt das gesprochene Wort.