BERMUN 2007

Dear MUN Directors,
World leaders will meet in June 2007 for the G8-Summit which will be devoted to shaping globalization and helping Africa develop. Undoubtedly, the German city of Heiligendamm, the venue of the conference, will be the focus of great media attention and pro and contra demonstrations. Concurrently, seventy-four young adults, from fourteen countries, will gather for the Third Annual J8-Summit to be held in Wismar, Germany. This gathering will figure less prominently in mainstream media coverage. Nevertheless, at the J8-Summit these young adults will address issues relevant to them and their peers around the world. Moreover, some of them personally will have the opportunity to voice their opinions and exchange ideas with the world leaders gathered at the G8-Summit.

Affording youth the chance to present their viewpoints is not only a manifestation of the growing recognition of the potential of our future global players; it is also an acknowledgment of their rising influence and involvement in civil society. The upcoming meeting between J8 and G8 members is in line with a vision laid out by the former Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who in his address to the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth in 1998, reminded the adult ministers that “Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts itself off from its youth severs its lifeline."

With 200 million young adults living in poverty, 130 million young adults illiterate, 88 million unemployed and every fourth HIV/AIDS victim below the age of 24, the idea of empowering future generations to confront their own challenges is slowly taking the center-stage in international politics. Starting in 1995 with its World Program of Action for Youth, which laid out ten priority areas for youth, and an addition of five further priority areas in 2005, the United Nations is in the forefront of promoting youth initiative and awareness. Innumerable NGOs are writing the cause of youth on their banners. Many of today’s 1.2 billion young adults between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four are making their voice be heard in organizations, media, and at youth conferences.

Nevertheless today’s youth continues to be the brunt of criticism and a negative stereotype. It is often labeled as the “MTV-Generation,” and it is portrayed as violent, drug-abusing and the unabashed beneficiary of the consumer society. Based on this unflattering stereotype, a substantial number of adults question the intellectual maturity and preparedness of this younger generation to enter the political and social arena.

Over the past years, our interaction with students in the Model United Nations program has shown us just how aware of and sensitive to humanitarian, environmental, economic and social problems young people are, both at home and abroad. We have witnessed their growing realization that a palette of issues exists which affects them most directly and all too frequently most harshly. To name but a few: HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, illiteracy, employment, and sexual exploitation. The horizon of this current generation is global. Young people are aware that they will soon be the leaders of tomorrow and will be charged with the responsibility of addressing these very issues, of mending the mistakes of the past, and of working to eliminate them. This year’s BERMUN 2007 theme is not only a reflection of our commitment as educators to young people, but also an acknowledgement of the potential they possess:

Investing in the Youth: Empowering Future Generations

Only a generation which enjoys the investment of civil society, including recognition and respect, and which is allowed to work cooperatively to overcome today’s challenges, will be equipped with the necessary skills to serve humanity in solving the world’s future problems.

We look forward to greeting you and your students at the sixteenth annual Berlin Model United Nations Conference.

Sincerely,

Dr. Walter Peterson BERMUN Director

Karin Hövermann BERMUN Director

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