OberMUN 2018: the diary of a MUN general coordinator

OberMUN 2018: the diary of a MUN general coordinator.

The second edition of our OberMUN 2018 has just come to an end. What a stunning experience!  The students were just wonderful. In addition to our own delegates from Liceo Oberdan another 8 schools took part in the simulations and it was fantastic in the way they debated on current affairs ranging from disarmament to the illegal trade of artefacts and from drugs trafficking to the environment and health-related problems. The opening ceremony started with an absolutely magnificent performance by our great Oberdan Choir directed by Maestro Roberto Brisotto: the choir sang the National Anthem and Beethoven European Anthem, accompanied by a former Oberdan student and remarkable pianist, Federico Forti. The whole theatre stood up to honour our country and the European delegations present in the extraordinarily attractive conference room at Museo Revoltella placed at our disposal by the Town Council. And we were taken aback by the beauty of the music and the ability of the singers. At that point I knew we were ready to start our new adventure that would take place in the following three days, and the thought that our preparations had finally come to an end inundated me in an adrenalin rush  of confidence that everything would work out well and it would be an outstanding experience.

After the opening ceremony and the official photos, we moved to the Regional building in Piazza dell’Unità, where the debates took place in the rooms kindly offered to us by the Region Administrators. The simulated debates went on as scheduled and the students asked questions, were given answers, modified resolutions.  Sometimes their motions were accepted and sometimes they were turned down. It was an extraordinarily  mind-blowing experience, described by one student as “It changed my entire life!”.       

Young delegates negotiating together, surprisingly skilled and competent: our students’ secret lives. And how can we forget the gala dinner in Trieste? What an incredible evening! These young men and women, formally dressed, united in their efforts, friendly sitting at their tables in the unique dining – room of the prestigious and famous Savoia Hotel. 

The last day of OberMUN 2018 started in a Trieste swept by incredible gusts of Bora and a gelid temperature due to the air coming from Russia. At this point one may say that Russia was definitely involved in the talks. The students were approaching  their final resolutions. A vetoed resolution showed that critical thinking is always present in such debates and thus the simulations started to look impressively realistic. It was the moment to end the debates and move to Museo Revoltella for the closing ceremony.  

And it was the time to acknowledge the best delegates and delegations, and to thank all the bodies that allowed this activity to take place. It was another very fulfilling moment, and very emotional too: it was time to say goodbye to the delegations and to their wonderful teachers, to finally embrace them and to thank their families for letting them be with us, and to thank Oberdan families for having taken care of our guests.

Well, in conclusion, OberMUN was a great success this year, like last year; we learnt from our mistakes, we made things better, we overcame the problems. Together  we fought for  it, we did not surrender when we were confronted by adverse difficulties, we yielded  enthusiastically towards the end and finally got there,  following this year’s motto “Carpe diem usque ad astra”, because we truly believed in our project: if you are strong from within, you can win anything, and we did, and now our memories of the event are proud and enriching .

Lorenza Fonzari

Notizie

Ultima revisione il 10-11-2020