My name is Felipe Félix Méndez, and I am truly honored to serve as the Secretary General of PANAMUN XXV: Closing Gaps. I was born in Panama City to a Panamanian mother and a Uruguayan father, and I have lived here ever since. In August of 2015, I enrolled in the International School of Panama, where I am currently a senior.

 

I have been involved in Model United Nations since 8th grade, when I joined my previous school’s Debate Team. Since then, I have participated in some 20 conferences, both as a delegate, and as a Student Officer. This will be my fourth year participating in PANAMUN; I have previously served in the Secretariat as the President of the General Assembly and been a delegate to the UNHCR and the Security Council. I have also served as a Student Officer at THIMUN The Hague, been a Junior Co-Chair at Harvard University’s HACIA Democracy and moderated other conferences in Panama. I have been a delegate at other international conferences such as the Boston College’s EagleMUNC and the Junior State of America’s Summer Symposium at Princeton University.

 

Upon my enrollment in ISP, I founded the Debate/MUN Team along with several other students in my school, many of whom are chairs or members of the Secretariat in this year’s edition of PANAMUN. I have also delivered keynote speeches at TEDxYouth@ISP and the Panama Global Issues Network conference (PANAGIN).

 

I truly believe that the ideas of young people have the potential to change the world, and I see PANAMUN as the ultimate example of this. Therefore, I encourage everyone involved in the conference to regard it as an opportunity to collaborate with students from different backgrounds to create comprehensive solutions to issues affecting people throughout the world on a daily basis.

 

I have proudly embraced the challenge of making this edition of the Panama Model United Nations the best one yet. I look forward to meeting you in Panama!