IT IS NOW IN SESSION
The air is buzzing with excitement. Some delegates smile as they see friends from previous years; others look around nervously - it is their first MunoM. The large hall slowly fills up and the movement is constant. Delegates move from one end of the room to the other, the Chairs follow them round trying to get a head count.
This year's conference is full of firsts too: it is the first time it has been done at Hanns Seidel Stiftung. This year's venue is a conference centre in Munich which hosts events dedicated mainly to economic and political issues. For the centre, it is their first time hosting an event like MunoM too.
The movement comes to a halt and voices quieten as a loud hammer indicates that the Opening Ceremony has begun. First up is the school director, Herr Ensing. He initiates his speech with a welcome of all the students of the various schools that are participating in this year, marking the opening of the 15th MUNOM. From European Schools in Alicante, Frankfurt to Varese, to Metropolitan Schools of Vienna and Stockholm, the diversity of nations was ideal for a Model United Nations. Herr Ensing mentions the sponsors of the event, those being the Bavarian Ministry of Education, Traublinger Bäkerei & Konditorei and Alpenbauer. The focal point of his speech was to encourage the young generation to occupy themselves with modern day topics, outlining the importance of MUNOM to this cause. He later states that "The world needs people like you - open minded, flexible and motivated", finishing off his speech with a motivational "you can make a difference!". The audience bursts into applause and the first guest speaker makes her way to the podium.
The first guest speaker is Cristine (surname unknown) from the EPO, who is speaking on behalf of the president of the EPO. She welcomes everybody to an "inspiring event" and says that us children are most qualified to be diplomats in the future. Cristine then goes on to explain how this event is great diplomatic practice, and very closely resembles the real thing. She also strongly encourages participants to try for the EPO, as it also very much represents law and order in Europe. Finishing off her speech with a motivational "you are what shapes our future", she walks off stage with applause and Mr Allen makes his way to the microphone.
The third speaker to address the 360 delegates was Mr Allen, the new MUN head of board of directors. His speech was different to the other four as he focused much less on politics (although a Brexit mention was unavoidable) and orientated his speech more towards MunoM as an experience. Mr Allen has participated in the organisation of MunoM since 2012 - and therefore felt he should give the delegates some "words of wisdom". He laid out what MunoM means to him in five main points: teamwork, diversity, opportunity, responsibility and lastly, making long lasting memories. Amongst other snippets of advice, he reminded delegates to "have a go" and "leave the conference with no regrets".
The penultimate speaker was Lisa Deletioglu. The Secretary General of this year's MunoM gave a speech which covered issues she clearly felt passionate about. The MunoM 2018 topic is: "focusing on the principle of Equality and its meaning in relation to the structure of democratic values in the 21st century" , and this was at the heart of her speech. She criticised our current economic and political framework - at one point, she noted that the only the "rich are winners" and used statistics consistently throughout her speech to prove her point. Amongst other things, she highlighted the stark contrast between our privileged lives and, for instance, the 250 million children who are subjected to illegal child labour. She asked fundamental questions about the future of democracy and the part we have to play in effecting change: in her words, we must "relearn the importance of our political system".
The second guest speaker, Julia Leeb, gave an inspiring talk on her career as a photojournalist and documentary maker. Originally from a conservative Bavarian background, she sought a more "open-minded, flexible" environment. On a trip to Myanmar - when it was still under a military dictatorship - she learned how different the media's version of events was to real life, and decided to dedicate her career to bridging this difference. Her mission was to "help visualise politics". As an extensive traveller (she has been to Ecuador, Libya, Egypt, Italy, the Democratic Republic of Congo and North Korea - just to name a few), she quoted Huxley in saying that "to travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries". One of the issues she felt particularly strongly about were women in war - she spoke about how they are the "primary victims" of warfare, yet played no role in starting or inciting the war itself. Her photography give voice to women who are entirely underrepresented by mainstream media and yet make up a silent majority of victims.
The Opening Ceremony of MunoM 2018 was engaging and exciting. If the next three days of debating are in any way as insightful and intelligent as these speakers' speeches, then MunoM 2018 will prove to be a success.