Whether United Nations or global corporation, university or global city network - they all employ specialists from all over the world who are often only in Bonn for a limited period of time: the so-called expatriates. The "BonnExpat" series of events, which has included an international Carnival reception in the Old Town Hall for the tenth time now, is particularly aimed at them. After all, Carnival also works in English!

Bonn's international residents want to fill the session motto "Whether in the pub, the street or the hall, we all celebrate Bonn's Carnival" with diversity. In a city where people from around 180 nations live, it is not just the UN Campus that is a place of diversity, but Bonn as a whole. This applies to the way we live and work together as well as to Carnival itself as an expression of the Rhineland's joie de vivre. This cheerful togetherness also connects most guests with their major professional concern - the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

Agenda 2030 calls on us to take everyone along and leave no one behind. "BonnExpat Alaaf!" brings the cultural heritage of the Rhineland closer to the international residents of Bonn and takes everyone right along. It is an event that has long since established itself in Bonn's Carnival. Bonn’s Carnival highnesses (Prince Cornelius I and Bonna Carina I) and the Beuel Washer Princess (Sabrina I) all took part, as did Godesia (Julia) with her Prince (Florian I) and Liküra (Isabell I).

Since 2017, "BonnExpat Alaaf!" has also been the most important season date for the UN Funken, the Carnival Society of United Nations staff. Mayor Katja Dörner used to proclaim the symbolic figure of the international Carnival in Bonn on that occasion, which has been the "UNiversa" to date.

"In the anniversary season of Beuel Women’s Carnival, I am particularly pleased to make our Rhenish traditions known in our international Bonn and to be able to proclaim the first UNiverso. I think it's a great sign that Stephan I is highly committed to the Sustainable Development Goal of Gender Equality in his office. I am also particularly pleased that he is the first male Carnival highness to come from the ranks of the city," said Mayor Katja Dörner.

UN Funken President Heidi Nabel-Meyer from Canada, who works for the United Nations Volunteer Program, added: “Through their choice of their Carnivalistic sovereigns, the UN Funken aim to make a statement for diversity. The most important criterium for a UNiversa, a UNiverso, a Duo or a “Dreigestirn” is their dedication and commitment to the mission of UN Funken: building bridges between Carnival and the Sustainable Development Goals for which we all advocate.”

UNiverso Stephan I (Ernest) is a true young man from Bonn who is committed to climate protection and sustainability both in his professional and private life. Since climate protection needs all levels from global to local, he moved from the UN Climate Change Secretariat to the City of Bonn's Climate Neutral Bonn program office on 1 January 2024. Stephan I combines internationality with the traditions of his home and study town of Bonn. With his appearances as well as during the Bonn Rose Monday parade, he wants to set an example for gender equality and the diversity of nations, cultures and life orientations. As a supporter of the HeForShe campaign, he was also welcomed by the Executive Director of UN Women Germany, Bettina Metz, at his proclamation. The campaign encourages men to stand up for women's rights. Together with his partner, who is happy to support him in his appearances during Carnival, Stephan I lives in Muffendorf in the south of Bonn – in the vicinity to Bonn’s Prince Carnival Cornelius I. 

On Rose Monday, the UN Funken will once again be on foot to carry the motto of the United Nations in Bonn, "Shaping Sustainability", into the parade. As part of the Bonn Carnival family, they are making a special contribution to greater sustainability in Carnival. This can be seen, for example, in the wooden medals on ribbons from a project for the economic empowerment of women in Sierra Leone. UNiverso Stephan I is privately involved in the project. The UN Funken will also be accompanied by several cargo bikes provided by Stadtwerke Bonn.

Climate-neutral mobility is also a trump card in Carnival and something that the Carnival Society is particularly committed to. Thanks to the UN Funken, the first climate-neutral Carnival procession made its way through Bonn on Rose Monday of 2019. The UN Funken also invested in climate protection projects in the Global South in 2020 and 2023 to offset around 1,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. They will continue the tradition in 2024 together with the Bonn Carnival Festival Committee. The President of the UN Funken, Heidi Nabel-Meyer, and Treasurer Lutz Leide, representing the board of the Festival Committee, presented the climate certificate to Mayor Katja Dörner in the presence of UNiverso Stephan I, Prince and Bonna.