By Simon Pompé and Gaia Lisi
EuroMUN 2018 has kicked off. General Secretary Debe was greeted with enthusiastic applause by participants as she started the Opening Ceremony. After the welcoming the delegates and a well-executed pun about Kim Jong Un’s and Moon Jae-In’s recent Honey Moon (haha get it), she gave the floor to the first speaker Professor Thomas Conzelmann of Maastricht University.
He discussed the current dynamics of global politics: Will the Liberal World Order persevere in face of Brexit, renewed international hostilities and new rising powers? Concerned about the future of the international framework, he finished it off with an optimistic message: while old structures will be questioned, international actors always will adhere to multilateral dialogue and diplomacy. This is what MUNs are all about. Such a positive message was also picked up by the next speaker Professor Wiebe Bijker.
He argued that we live in technological cultures where research and science, in particular nanotechnology, should help political decision-makers come to better solutions. Relating to this year’s motto of EuroMUN, ‘Shaping the future from the heart of Europe’, we cannot shape the future of society if we cannot use nor understand research, Bijker said. Afterwards, some students took the floor: the UNSA President and Head of Press Alice Nesselrode and Tasmin Rüffert from the UM Green Office, stressing the importance of the sustainability of both the UN and EuroMUN.
The Secretary General finished the Opening Ceremony with the wish for all to participate in the meme battle, for which the best memer will be announced in the Closing Ceremony, so get your memery on! The Ceremony closed with a well-humoured and enthusiastic audience cheering to the beginning of EuroMUN 2018! Let the games begin.
Over the last academic year, General Secretary Debe, the secretariat and her staff have put blood, sweat and tears into making EuroMUN a reality.
Debe, how do you feel now that EuroMUN has kicked off?
I feel that everything is under control and my project has finally come to life.
What social do you look forward to the most?
The Gala, of course!
Would you like to leave a message to the delegates?
I wish you all to be like Switzerland, the happiest country in the world! Unsurprisingly, given that they’re busy counting their money and stuffing their faces with chocolate.