One day as a chair

Have you ever wondered what motivates people to become chairs and what their day looks like? We have spoken with multiple chairs from various committees and wanted find out what it's like to lead a room full of aspiring diplomats. Therefore, we thank Jule, Timon, Sammo and Anes for their time and effort in sharing their experiences!

Chairs have often attended OLMUN many times as a delegate before, for example Sammo, who could call himself a veteran of the OLMUN, as he is now participating for the fifth time. This explains their valuable experience and helps them to handle situations they once experienced themselves.

Timon, a chair of the first General Assembly, has already won the Best Delegate Award two times. That’s why he - and others - were curious to step into the role of the Chair, to see the OLMUN from another point of view and take on a bigger challenge. Although, they have participated in the OLMUN many times, they had never chaired before. The main responsibilities of the Chairs are the creation of the presentations and organising the daily schedule. Additionally, many chairs want to make sure that everybody feels comfortable so that a great debatte can take place and to give an overall smooth experience for the delegates. "The chairs and I are not there for ourselves but for the delegates and to ensure they have the best possible time in our committee", said Timon.

Chairs have their own style for managing debattes:

Some try to spread fun and create a nice atmosphere, while others prefer a more structured and serious approach to make the debatte more effective. Many choose a balance between both and respond to the mood of the delegates. This shows that the role of a chair is very diverse when it comes to creating a fabulous committee session.

Before the day of a chair starts, they prepare themselves with the slides and make sure to get a good night's sleep. In the morning, for most of the Chairs, it is fundamental to have a powerful breakfast and to get into the right mood before stepping onto the stage. In the sessions they conduct their committee for the resolution with opening debates and select people to speak by connecting voices.

However, sometimes if the debates become more unproductive, the Chairs help out

with different strategies. To catch fresh air or drink water they initiate a short cookie break. Additionally, the gossip box or the light punishments lighten up the entire atmosphere and bring fun into the room. Therefore, it is hard to stay serious.

Nevertheless, the chairs think that it is a part of their participation to create those moments and to join in.

Everyone we spoke with really likes their role and essentially would like to take on the same role again. One challenge is that OLMUN sometimes overlaps with important exams. Because they have meetings up to 11:30 p.m. some of the chairs sometimes feel really exhausted due to a lack of sleep.

In summary, the chairs have a packed day with lots of responsibilities. That is why we appreciate the work of the chairs to keep up the OLMUN spirit. Without them it wouldn't be possible to have a productive and organised OLMUN like it is now.

by Niklas Mählmann, Tim Kramer and Piet Schultz