With Micha, Yevhenii, Marc, and our friends from Heidelberg, we began our journey to Malta one day prior to the conference. Be it from Munich, Mannheim or Heidelberg, we all eventually found our way to Sliema, where we would be staying for the duration of the conference on the 15th of September. The day we arrived was mostly spent enjoying the lovely Maltese weather and sun, especially since Germany had been extra-gloomy the days before.

Finally, the day after, the conference had begun! En route to Valletta, specifically the national library, we took the Sliema-Valletta ferry ride, a lovely 7-minute boat trip that lets you see Malta from a viewpoint one is not usually used to. We started off with the opening ceremony which included speeches by some very prominent figures including the current Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S.A to Malta, the former president of Malta, and the current Maltese ambassador to the UN, who will be representing Malta in the Security Council in the coming two years. After a short lunch-break, committee work finally started to kick off, this time in the Maltese parliament building, where the rest of the conference would take place. With Micha in the UNSC as the People’s Republic of China, Yevhenii as Mali in UNEP, and Marc as the chairperson or committee director of UNEP, we frivolously began debating, moderating and negotiating. After a hard day’s work, the delegates, chairs, and organizers all gathered for our first social of the conference, a dinner followed by a get-together at a bar.

Saturday was the most jam-packed day of the conference. We partook in debates from dawn till dusk and after a good day’s work, we kicked back and relaxed in Sliema for a short while until the next social. Luckily, this social event was in Sliema, so we didn’t have to travel very far. The social was at a beach club situated right next to the Mediterranean Sea. The open-bar gave us more than enough fuel to party for hours on end. After having really made our mark at the social by singing multiple German Schlager-songs at the top of our lungs, we called it a night, headed back to our abode in the hope we would be functional enough for the final day of committee work.

The final day, like the two before, included intense debates about a multitude of topics, which was finalized by the introduction, voting, and passing of a resolution for each committee at MaltMUN 2022. Following the triumphant end of committee work, we headed down to the actual parliament room, where the closing ceremony would be held. The deputy speaker of the Maltese parliament officiated the ceremony which also included a message by the Maltese minister of foreign affairs. During the award ceremony, our very own Micha Fischer won ‘Best Delegate’ for his superb performance as the People’s Republic of China in the UNSC. After the deputy speaker announced the closure of MaltMUN 2022, we all said our goodbyes to all the friends we made throughout the conference and thanked the organizers for an absolutely wonderful conference.

And also, a final personal note by Micha Fischer, our ‘official’ Head Delegate:

Like already said, MaltMUN 2022 was one of the most memorable conferences we visited yet. However, MaltMUN in general is a conference that especially is friendly and accomodating for beginners and therefore can be recommended to anyone who considers participation in a conference.Malta as a whole, and Valletta specifically, are comparatively small communities and everything you need, from good restaurants via beautiful rocky beaches through to the conference locations at the parliament itself, is only a short walk away. With regards to the academic perspective, MaltMUN’s organizers focused heavily on preparing everyone as best as possible for the committees with a preparatory online session even before the conference. Of course, also the chairs of the committees handled individual questions excellently. Conclusively, if you want to partake in a beginner-friendly conference, go to MaltMUN 2023, enjoy this beautiful Island at the boundaries between European and Arabic culture, experience the atmosphere within a real national parliament and make great MUN memories.

MaltMUN 2022 - A conference in a city stuck in time