Leon Birkholz
Born in Mönchengladbach, Leon spent his first five years in this city, until he and his family moved to Neuss, a small city next to the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, Düsseldorf. During his years of secondary education at Nelly Sachs Gymnasium, he made his first contact with MUN, which guided him to joining the MUNelly project and also to participate in various conferences in NRW and the Netherlands, in the course of his final year of highschool. After graduation he traveled to Canada, in order to improve his language skills. Learning languages in general is one of Leon´s passions and currently he works on developing his Arabic. Besides languages, Leon enjoys sports, like playing or teaching Handball as a trainer. Academically, Leon studies political science at the LMU Munich, anticipating his BA graduation in political systems worldwide and international relations next summer semester. This combination of subjects is one driving factor behind his MUN ambitions. Additionally, Leon would be honored to bring in his expertise and knowledge from previous conferences.
Pia von Blomberg
Pia was born in Munich and grew up in a town nearby. During her school career, she was part of organizing various events and festivities as a member of the SMV
(“SchülerMitVerantwortung”). She was also able to participate in study trips to Italy and Finland, which first sparked her interest in foreign countries and cultures. Following this passion of hers, she spent the summer months after finishing high school at a language school
in Paris, living with an amiable woman and her cat. In November 2020 she started studying political science with a minor in sociology at the LMU. Wanting to broaden her horizons, she finished a Harvard online course on humanitarian law, which ultimately led to her working as a student assistant in a law firm focusing on criminal law.
She loves spending time with friends and family and reading books and magazines mainly centered around politics, international relations or humanitarian action. Other than that, she enjoys lengthy museum visits.
While this is her first MUN experience, it’s an honor for her to be part of this year’s delegation project. She is eagerly looking forward to facing this exciting challenge and improving her knowledge of diplomacy as well as her public speaking skills.
Lia von Braun
Born and raised in Munich but having a large family with an Australian background, Lia got to know the literal other side of the world many years ago. Having spoken English with her Australian grandmother at an early age, she developed a great interest in both the language as well as the country, a big part of her family is from. When Lia spent almost a year abroad after school, she soon developed a strong interest in traveling to foreign places as well as meeting and interacting with people from all over the world. It’s Lia’s dream to graduate from Australia’s top universities with a master’s degree either in International Law, Environmental Law or Global Human Rights Law.
In her free time, Lia has a passion for horses, her violin and the outdoors. In summer, she loves to go on long road trips with friends and in winter she spends lots of time hiking or skiing in the mountains. There must also be a book around all the time for her to read.
Lia has always been fascinated by the United Nations; yet the trigger for her application lies within her deepest belief, that today’s climate crisis and pandemic can only be tackled if each and every one is on board. Lia started
studying law at the LMU in 2018 after working in a law firm for seven months after school. Since she’s been focusing her studies on International and European Public Law last year, she desires to gain a deeper understanding and greater knowledge of international problems as well as find the best possible solutions. She also aims to improve her negotiation and rhetorical skills as well as being able to defend an opinion she isn’t necessarily supporting herself. In Lia’s opinion, there is no better way to do that than at MUNAM: she will gain new knowledge and that is the first step to making a difference, may it be just a tiny one.
Therefore, Lia is looking forward to an exciting year as a delegate in which sheaims both to foster her understanding of international relations as well as work
together in a team of like-minded young people. She is convinced that she will benefit from MUNAM not only on an academic level but also on a personal one.
Karl Zachary Corro
Karl was born in Manila and raised in the middle of two vastly different cultures: Filipino on one side of his family, and Chinese on the other. He grew up in the Philippines and Hong Kong, and intermittently in Los Angeles, California. This exposed him at an early age to cultural differences around the world and exacerbated his experiences of growing up bicultural in Manila. He completed his primary and secondary education in the Philippines, and cultivated his interests in literature, international politics, psychology, and sports such as kung fu, boxing, baseball, and Chinese Dragon Dance.
After high school, he was accepted to the University of British Columbia and Fordham University, but unfortunately could not afford the tuition fees. He ended up studying Psychology in a university in his hometown, but eventually chose to drop out and learn German in order to study Political Science. He learned German in Berlin and Heidelberg, did his time in Studienkolleg in Frankfurt, and spent one semester at the Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main before transferring to the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
Karl enjoys analogue and digital photography, cooking, traveling, reading, and sports like boxing and baseball. He speaks fluent English, Tagalog, and German. He also speaks basic Mandarin Chinese and is currently learning Spanish alongside his studies.
Gabriele Freundl
Born and raised in Munich, Gabriele had the luck to grow up in a bilingual household and learn about German, as well as Italian culture. His time at a humanistic high school in Munich helped him to develop an open mindset and learn more about the world. After his stay abroad in the USA for ten months, Gabriele began to identify not
just as German, Italian or European anymore, but also as a global citizen. His interest in politics, his awareness of global challenges like the climate crisis and his conviction that these problems require global solutions, lead him to start studying political science and sociology at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich. After finding out about MUNAM he was eager to apply and join the organization, hoping this would take him a step further towards his dream and goal to pursue a diplomatic career and work for the United Nations. In his free time Gabriele enjoys playing the piano, playing soccer and reading books.
Nadia el Ghali
After being born in Munich to a German mother and a Moroccan father, Nadia grew up in Munich and a small town in Eastern Germany. Thus, being raised between two cultures and experiencing intercultural exchange from a young age, she developed a big interest in international relations und intercultural communication.
In school, she took part in exchange programs to France and visited different European institutions, which only deepened her interest in multilateralism and international relations.
During high school she also earned further language certificates in French and English. The passion for different languages and international relations has led her to study political science and law as a minor at LMU Munich, where she specializes in internationally oriented sub-fields. Next to her studies she also works as a student assistant at LMU Munich and is engaged in summer holiday projects for young children. Nadia strongly believes that multilateral problem solving is one of the key variables to tackle modern day problems, like climate change or the Covid-19-Pandemic and that it is crucial for the international community to work together to overcome those challenges. MUNAM offers the perfect opportunity to deepen her knowledge on politics and diplomacy and to experience first-hand how this can be possible. She is excited for a great year full of fruitful discussions and new challenges. In her free time, she likes reading, playing piano, learning new languages
and spending time in nature.
Bettine Kuffer
Being born in Bavaria and growing up in multiple cities, including Hamburg, Schwerin, and Lübeck, before moving back to Munich to finish her A-Levels, she came in touch with people from different backgrounds, cultures, and who had different political opinions. As a result, she strongly believes in communication and a change of perspective to solve and discuss problems. Her interest in languages, speaking German, English, French, and Italian, getting to know new people, and learning more about politics made her first interested in MUNAM.
Offering the opportunity to deepen her knowledge about political structures and meet new people with different backgrounds whom all share the same mindset, she is very excited to be a part of the new Delegation.
Being raised playing multiple instruments and while completing her A-Levels she even was a harp student at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, there she studied Harp for two semesters after her A-Levels to deepen her knowledge of this instrument and music in general. Now she is studying German at the LMU Munich. In her free time, she likes to read as much as possible, write, improve her skills in all the languages she speaks, and make/listen to music. Bettine is looking forward to an exciting year as a delegate where hopefully things are starting to feel normal again and where it is possible to visit MUN Conferences again.
Sophia Lücke
During high school in Bavaria Sophia ́s interest in foreign cultures lead to her first year abroad in a host family in Argentina at the age of 15. After graduation Sophia went to Uganda for one year to work at the “Social Innovation Academy” full time for the volunteering program “weltwärts” run by the BMZ. During this time, she discovered her passion for social entrepreneurship. She has ever since volunteered with this NGO while also taking part in organizing the german social entrepreneurship and idea’s competition “Generation-D” as a member of the strategy team. Next to her fluency in German, English and Spanish she is able to say among three other phrases “I don’t need a plastic bag” in Luganda, one of the over 40 languages of Uganda. Experiencing very different ways of living and how strongly they are shaped through politics fostered her interest to learn more about political phenomena. This is why she currently pursues a degree in political science (major) and law at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and the Universidad de Granada (Erasmus). Sophia is excited to be part of this year’s delegation project and is looking forward to deepening her understanding of international politics, diplomacy, and the United Nations. Furthermore, she is eager to debate globally relevant topics with students from different study backgrounds and countries.
Anton Schaeffler
Anton was born and raised in Munich. In secondary school he developed an interest in politics, which led to him becoming a part of the school’s student union and eventually being voted as head student. Trough his work in said union, he got to deepen his relationship with the teacher who later introduced him to MUN. Along with a handful of other students, Anton got to know the world of MUN at conferences in Haarlem, Stuttgart, Athens and Augsburg. MUN inspired him to look into a career in international diplomatic work. As he graduated secondary school, Anton immediately enrolled at university, starting his studies in law in 2019. He chose to pursue a degree in this field after finding out that graduates have good chances at working as diplomats later in life.
Now, he focuses his studies on International Public Law and European Law, once again underlining his interest in international politics. He also recently started working for the non-profit project EU FOR YOU, which runs social media accounts with a focus on informing young people about EU politics and current political developments. Anton is excited and highly motivated to get back into MUN and is thrilled to be a part of this year’s MUNAM Delegation Project.
In his free time, Anton likes to exercise and enjoys playing board and card games, like the traditional Chinese board game Go, with his friends. In the summertime, you will most likely find him exploring Greece with his girlfriend.
Cornelius Weis
Born in Stuttgart Cornelius attended a bilingual high school as well as one focused on psychology. After successfully graduating he is currently studying law at Ludwig- Maximilians Universität. During his time at high school he got involved with politics early on becoming a member of the young liberals. The attendance of the Frühlingsakademie, an event where interested students and experts debate current issues of philosophy, economics and politics boosted his interest for international, as well as national and geopolitical issues.
Especially the diplomatic and strategic aspect of international communication and action fascinates him. In his free time, he enjoys outdoor activities such as skiing and golfing or spending quality time reading or cooking.
The globalized world is severely shaken by upcoming conflicts. Will there be a new cold war with China? How could the craving for authoritarianism in the west be saturated? – The UN might have answers and will surely help as a mediator to settle conflicts peacefully. Cornelius
participates at MUNAM delegation project to meet ambitioned people with shared interests and gets to know and appreciate different stands on political issues. Studying to become a lawyer he appreciates the posed opportunity to boost his rhetorical skills in conjunction with connecting with interested students from other countries He is looking forward to get an inside view of the house of cards of international politics and diplomacy.