Welcome to PANAMUN XXIV: Fostering Global Resilience. My goal this year is to give everyone at the conference the chance to show off what they already have, as well as pick up a few things.

I have been in ISP since Kindergarten, almost 12 years now. I am a Senior now, and honored to be part of the team that organizes the conference that I have gained and learned so much from. My MUN journey started in the 8th grade in the Economic and Social Council of PANAMUN, and continued in the Indigenous Committee of the Global Classrooms MUN conference in New York. I then went on to represent Luxemburg in the Security Council in the 9th grade, before taking a sabbatical year in 10th grade when I dedicated myself to the Global Issues Network, where I pioneered a couple of initiative projects that had to do with helping the environment, and educating others on how to do so.  This eventually evolved into the recycling system at my school, that is now fully functional.  My year away from debate made me realize how much it means to me, and how much I learned from it that I could apply to other facets of life.  Because of this, I applied to be a chair, and luckily got the position of being the Co-Chair of the Political Committee in PANAMUN XXIII.

Apart from MUN, I am a huge sports fan.  My football club is Arsenal, and my American football club is the Atlanta Falcons. I also casually follow basketball, tennis and boxing, and have favorites in all of the sports. I play pickup sports in my free time and enjoy running and spending time in the Gym as well. Besides being very interested in athletics, I am also a comic book junkie and a car enthusiast. I go DC over Marvel and Sedans over SUVS. I also enjoy every genre of music, and usually have a song playing in my head. The thing I value above all others however, is constantly making myself better. I believe every day is an opportunity to improve ourselves. I also believe the only way to do that is to push ourselves to the limit to see just how far we can go and that is why I am very demanding of myself and others, as I believe that is the only way they can be the best they are able to be.  Doing things with passion and to our maximum potential is a great way to live life and I hope PANAMUN gives all of you the opportunity to do that.

Here’s to an amazing conference and unforgettable experience!

Your Deputy-Secretary General, Pavan Balani.