“The sky is truly the limit when it comes to the opportunities MUN provides!”

Differentiating myself from half of the MUNers in this world, my MUN journey kicked off in my first year of undergrad at Maastricht University. Honestly, if you told me back then that I’d make it this far, I would've thought you were lying. EuroMUN and I? We've had a wild ride with all the ups and downs, but I’ll always return to the place that made me happiest. 

Last year, as you probably know, I chaired the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe with Vanessa. We had some legendary delegates, but one of them really stuck with me: Santiago. If I remember right, he was the parliamentarian from Spain. This dude had us laughing non-stop with his memes—#SaveTheChildren and #DontDropTheBaby—and we somehow made it through all the proposals while keeping the vibe light with some “Motions to Chill” sprinkled in.

Santiago is 19, a second-year law student at Maastricht University. He started his MUN journey four years ago back in high school when it was just another extracurricular. After a couple of conferences, he got super into his school’s debate club and eventually found his way into MUN. What got him hooked? The chance to meet people from all over the world and, of course, get better at public speaking. “I saw huge improvements in how I express myself,” he says.

His first MUN experience was online. He represented Peru in the DISEC Committee (yeah, pretty advanced committee). “It was a crash course in how to strategize. A lot of learning, but totally worth it.” His main piece of advice? Prepare and just go for it.

When Santiago got to uni, he joined the United Nations Student Association (UNSA) Maastricht delegation. He swears by attending MUNs with a delegation. “It’s a game changer. You get to connect with people before the conference, get tips from the experienced folks, and just feel way more ready.” He confessed that when he went to his first conference with the delegation, he made a lot of friends that are still around. “Going solo is cool for the experience, but a delegation gives you extra training and support”.

Now, Santiago’s the Secretary-General of EuroMUN 2025. Big deal, right? He’s all about shaping the conference’s vision and making sure everything runs smoothly. He works closely with his Deputy Secretary-General to make decisions that serve EuroMUN’s best interests. One of the biggest challenges? “It’s managing financials while still keeping up the high standards we’re known for.” Plus, they’re trying to balance the classic MUN vibe with new ideas, like their work on Maastricht Diplomat (UNSA Maastricht’s Journal Committee) for the International Press Corps.

They also pulled off a MiniMUN conference—just a one-day event. Santiago said, “Honestly, I barely got any sleep before the conference. I think I had like a 15-minute nap.” But it was worth it. MiniMUN seems to be the ultimate training for the EuroMUN Team. They had to handle last-minute changes and solve problems on the fly, which showed how much they’ve grown. Even during the event, they stayed cool under pressure. Big respect for that. He also mentioned he once had to represent Nicolás Maduro in the UNSC, and that’s definitely one of those “I can’t believe I did that” moments.

For Santiago, organising and participating in MUN has been a game-changer. “mymun makes everything more accessible and efficient for participants,” he said. He also credits MUN Command for keeping everyone updated on debates, making everything more streamlined. Additionally, He had a thought for the chairs. “A trend I’ve noticed is that some chairs focus way too much on complexity instead of making things engaging”. The best study guides should go deep but still be easy to follow, he said. You want delegates to feel hyped to participate, not overwhelmed. And let’s be honest—MUN needs to be fun! “I once saw a debate on whether memes were allowed, but honestly, a little fun makes everything better and boosts the whole learning experience.”

Santiago uses MUN to figure out his career path and follow his passions. “The exposure to different perspectives, diplomatic strategies, and global issues has been huge for me,” he declared.

While we’re all laser-focused on May right now, and I’m over here grinding to finish the Study Guide for the BRICS+ Committee, don’t tell Matias (our Academic Member), but I might have to pull a few all-nighters to get it done... Joking, joking, but honestly, after the rollercoaster of EuroMUN 2024, I’ve learned that late nights are just part of chairing in MUN conferences. BRICS+ is such an interesting committee, so I’m excited to make it as engaging as possible for the delegates. But yeah, many late-night coffee runs are definitely in my future.

And honestly, I’m going to miss having Santiago as one of my delegates this year. He was such a standout last year, and he brought so much energy to the table. But for sure, I’m going to pull him in as a guest speaker at some point—his insights and experience will be invaluable to the next generation of MUNers!