Back in August, we—Georg, Maik and Alexandra—had the pleasure of attending the MaltMUN conference held in Malta’s sunny capital of Valletta. To get the most of the experience, we made sure to arrive with two extra days to spare ahead of the conference, allowing us some time to explore the island. We visited the historic streets of Valletta, explored the neighboring towns of Sliema and Mdina and soaked up the wonderful Mediterranean sun.

After that, it was time for the actual conference! After an opening ceremony with several impressive guest speakers from all areas of diplomacy and international relations, we were led to the Parliament of Malta, which is where the actual committee sessions were being held. All three of us were assigned to the United Nations Security Council, which provided for a lot of fun during the committee sessions. As representatives of France, Myanmar (specifically, the SAC) and the United Kingdom, our debate on the topic of “Addressing the Situation in Myanmar” was quite intense. 

The conference also included three amazing social events, the first of which was a soirée at the Presidential Palace of Malta, where we had the immense pleasure of meeting Myriam Spiteri Debono, the current President of Malta. After an inspiring keynote address by the President, we spent the evening getting to know our fellow delegates and the organizing team at this historic venue before returning home to prepare for the next day of debates.

Our second day of debate was dedicated to discussing specific solutions for Myanmar and productive work on drafting a resolution. However, in a small break from such a serious topic, Georg and Alexandra got to participate in a conference-wide challenge, in which they had to eat a slice of lemon while debating the merits of washing machines—all with a straight face, of course! 

After some more hours of debate, we gathered in the city center and boarded buses to our second social event: a Mamma-Mia-themed beach party! There was a lot of swimming, dancing, chess playing and, naturally, some secret diplomatic deals were struck.

The next morning, we needed to prove our negotiation skills once again when it came to finalizing the details of our draft resolution. After much discussion, a resolution was passed successfully—a celebration that the delegate of Myanmar could sadly not witness, since their observer status dictated that they cannot be present during voting procedure. 

The conference officially concluded with a closing ceremony that was held in the parliamentary chamber of the Parliament Building of Malta. We were honored to hear Angelo Farrugia, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, deliver the closing remarks. The ceremony also included a very proud moment for our delegation: our delegate Maik won two awards—the Best Delegate Award and the Best Position Paper Award—for his outstanding representation of France in the Security Council!

This, of course, needed to be celebrated. Lucky for us, the conference included a third event on the evening of the last day, which was a glamorous masquerade Gala Night! This evening provided a wonderful opportunity for us to dress up, celebrate the last couple of days with newfound friends and it was the perfect way to end the conference.

It was a truly wonderful experience and we thank the Secretariat and the organizing team of MaltMUN for making it possible. See you again next year!