By Adeline G11

This year, our Secretary General is Nina Brown, supported by Deputy Secretary Generals Luiza Andrez David and Lucas Ruiz Scala. For all three, it is their first time in these roles, and they have high expectations to meet. However, they have proven their capabilities with this year’s MUNTAG conference. 

Nina, Luiza, and Lucas have all been in MUN for a number of years, working their way up from being delegates, to chairs, and finally where they are now. They’ve valued their time in MUN, with Luiza discussing her love of how MUN gives students a platform to become changemakers of tomorrow, and how it enables them to develop the skills needed to navigate topics of global complexity and interconnectedness. Lucas added that MUN helps to develop debating and writing skills, a valuable part of today’s globalized world. 

Contrastingly to the majority of other roles in MUN, nearly all of the work of the Secretary General and the Deputies is done before the conference takes place. Prior to the conference, they must create councils, determine the theme, and choose topics. This year’s theme is “Empowering Youth Through Education” which not only relates to the topics chosen, but relates to MUN as a whole and how delegates are empowered to make actual change in the world. 

Choosing committee topics is a large part of these positions. To determine which topics are used in the conference, the Secretary General and Deputies must first brainstorm which topics to use, and then narrow the options down until only the best are left. Some of those used in today’s conference, particularly in the security council, are the same topics that were discussed in this year’s THIMUN conference. In our interview, Lucas emphasized the importance of using topics that are able to include all countries involved, while Nina showed faith in today’s conference by explaining how the topics chosen for today’s conference are ones that have worked for other conferences in the past.

Now that the planning stages have been completed, their duties are largely finished. During the conference they mostly focus on housekeeping, doing things such as observing councils, choosing awards, and checking that position papers are submitted. Nina said that they’re almost “like admins for the day” now that all of the preparation is done. Luiza is a bit worried about “debate going haywire” and a loss of energy in councils, but is confident in the chairs’ ability to intervene and ensure constructive discussions.

As it’s their first time in these roles, this was a learning experience for the Secretary General and Deputies. They didn’t realize just how much preparation was involved, and must plan weeks in advance if the conference is to go smoothly. “If we’re unorganized then everyone else is going to be unorganized,” Nina explained, “next month this is happening, so what can we do this month?”

Overall, the three have enjoyed their new positions. Luiza and Nina both miss parts of being delegates, as that’s where the action is, but Nina is relieved that she doesn’t have to write position papers or opening speeches anymore, and finds the tedious parts of being Secretary General exciting.

Our Secretary General and Deputy Secretary Generals have done a great job preparing for this year’s MUNTAG conference and are confident that today’s conference will go well. Additionally, they highlighted the work of Ms. Butterworth, Ms. KCuster, and Mr. Brown in making this day possible.