Students from the University of Cologne had been going to conferences even before the University had its own society. Back in the day, members of the European Law Students’ Association (ELSA) organized and sent off delegations. After 4 years of continuously and successfully participating in MUNs all over the world, the students were committed to making Cologne the home of Model UN, resulting in the Cologne Model UN Society as well as the Association being founded in 2016. Since then, the Society has continued to participate in and send award-winning delegations to conferences around the globe: from Tel Aviv to Paris to Edinburgh and many more.

In 2018, the first CologneMUN conference took place and followed the theme “Rights and Responsibilities”. With around 150 participants, the first ever conference was celebrated as a success and paved the way for the second edition. In 2019, CologneMUN hosted 120 participants over 5 committees following the theme “Migration: Challenges and Opportunities for a Changing World”. After another success, the new Secretariat was excited and motivated to plan the third annual CologneMUN conference. However, the plans had to be halted and eventually canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic which then left its mark on the Society. With students finishing their studies and no new members joining as normal university activities could not be realized, CologneMUN experienced turbulent times.

In 2022, when life was slowly returning to normalcy, new members found their way to CologneMUN and were inspired by the idea of what MUN entails. Their motivation brought the Association and Society back to life. Since 2022, CologneMUN has been actively and continuously participating in conferences all over Europe in Sofia, Maastricht, St. Gallen, Rome, Paris, Hamburg, among others. In 2023, a delegation traveled to Tel Aviv for TAUMUN and won three awards. Our members participate as delegates as well as chairs. In 2022, the third edition of CologneMUN took place as a small group of students were determined to bring the conference back – which was also the theme of the conference in which around 75 delegates participated.

After a successful conference and an incredible learning experience, the newly formed collaboration between Society and Association decided to focus on rebuilding CologneMUN locally and sustainably by acquiring new members and sending them to conferences for them to experience the MUN first-hand and fall in love with it. Now, in 2024, CologneMUN has rebuilt a solid foundation and is ready to take the next step.

In 2025, a new and highly motivated Secretariat took on the challenge of organizing CologneMUN once again. After the previous year’s plans for a conference unfortunately fell through despite months of effort, this year everything is in place. From logistics to academics, every detail has been finalized early, thanks to the commitment and professionalism of the current team. Their hard work ensures that CologneMUN 2025 will not only take place, but also set new standards for excellence, participation, and international collaboration.