In February this year, four delegates from Heidelberg attended the JCUMUN in Rome. Although it was still winter, the sun was shining, and we were able to go sightseeing before the start of the conference. After a day of exploring the city, we finally got ready for the first day of the conference on Thursday.

However, we had one more stop planned before heading to the campus of the John Cabot University. We were able to visit the German Embassy in Rome. Together with our partners from Mannheim, Munich and Konstanz, we checked into the embassy after leaving all our electronics at the entrance. The building of the embassy was beautiful. With a small shop with drinks and pastries in the courtyard, the embassy was most welcoming. We were welcomed by Katherina Niemann and taken to a conference room with multiple employees and a diplomat of the embassy and the foreign ministry. They introduced themselves and their work, especially with the UN bodies based in Rome, the FAO, WFP, and IFAD. They then patiently answered our endless questions about both politics and their careers. It was truly amazing for our delegates to be able to ask all sorts of questions and get a real understanding of what it means to work in a multilateral framework. After our time had run out and we said goodbye, we were all hungry, but we also wanted to see more of the city. So, we made our way into the center of the city and split up into some restaurants to get some food and then met up at the Pantheon for gelato.

Afterwards, the conference started at the university’s campus with an opening ceremony and Aperitivo, where we first got to know and talk with other delegations. Eventually, the Heidelberg delegation left with some other delegates to get pizza for dinner.

The next day started with coffee, tea and delicious pastries provided by the conference organizers and then our first session started. With three delegates to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) committee and one delegate to the UN General Assembly, we were off to three days filled with debate and diplomacy. On Friday evening, the JCUMUN provided us with pasta for dinner, but the real highlight was on Saturday night, the Gala. On the top floor of the Rome Marriott Grand Hotel Flora and dressed in cocktail attire, we were able to see the whole city of Rome. We could even see the Vatican City and St. Peter’s Basilica. Dancing all night with our new friends from all over the world, we didn’t leave until the Gala was over.

The next day was also the last. After a last session of debating, we ended our committees with fun awards, placard signing and a farewell. At the closing ceremony, Lara Jentzsch received a shout-out and Lilia Wildemann the award “Honorable Mention”, both for their work in the IMF committee. Taking the last pictures and saying goodbye one last time, the Heidelberg delegation also had to say goodbye to one another as some of us took the FlixBus home, while others decided to stay in Italy a little longer. Either way, all of us had an amazing time and we were glad that we had come to the JCUMUN. We hope to be able to attend again next year!