MADRID, OCTOBER 25^th

The Opening Ceremony marked the start of the second edition of IE MUN’s Conference week, the first one ever being held in person. This year’s MUN is made up of the following committees: UNICEF, WHO, DISEC, UNDP, ECOSOC, UNSC, and Bicameral Crisis (American and Soviet Cabinet). The main objective of Victoria Lujan, the Secretary General, is for everyone to “step out of their comfort zone”.

Many will certainly be pushed to develop their skills in the realm of negotiating, leadership, and public speaking. Adding to that, the UN Secretary General himself, António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, sent his best virtual wishes for a successful conference and stressed that participants should be proactive to help answer imperative questions.

The series of talks that followed urged participants to already start thinking about what being engaged in the UN encompasses. Mrs. Susana Malcorra emphasized that there is constantly a crisis and a problem. Propitiously, the answer and remedies as to how to shape the future lie within the UN and the tools it possesses. Before these tools are used, the 3 vital components that are enshrined in the UN charter must be remembered: peace, development, and human rights.

For there is no peace and development without human rights. Mrs. Susana Malcorra made a point for delegates to always refer “back to these basics,” because it is these elements that must be in absolute equilibrium in order to achieve a sustainable world. Furthermore, now is even more crucial to have a state of balance due to the unprecedented times. Things are changing rapidly as we experience geopolitical tensions between the east and west, China and the US, exacerbated inequality, and the list could go on.

Thus, the UN represents values that are imposed to challenge culture, way of being, and leading. By embracing these principles laid out in the triangle (peace, development, and human rights), young leaders will be a part of creating a different type of knowledge for “a good and sustainable world.”