Hello! My name is Maria Paula Marquez, I am 17 years old and I will be the DSG of Echopress in the upcoming PANAMUN XXV conference. I was born in Mexico City, however I have also lived in both Texas and Rhode Island in the United States, and I have been living in Panama for six years now. Ever since I was four years old, reading became my passion, and I realized the power words can have. From then on, my love for words has never ceased following me. With words one has the power to express beauty in unthinkable ways; the EchoPress Team wishes to explore and convey these to everyone attending the conference with our daily newspaper and online posts. It is the hope that everyone in the conference even those who don’t like to read and write can appreciate our articles and feel something as they learn something new, see themselves featured, learn about their chair, their country and more, that arises in me the motivation to lead the EchoPress team in the best way I can.

This is my fifth year involved in PANAMUN, and I can honestly say that each experience, as different as they have been, has shaped me and prepared me for this final one. Working as a delegate for two years and being involved in EchoPress for another two, I feel like I have acquired knowledge of different aspects of PANAMUN that have substantially shown me the essence of this conference. It’s more than just teens discussing issues written on some papers but instead it is today’s youth engaging with world problems and uniting to solve them in the best way without compromising the safety and happiness of any other nations. It is this unity that shows what we are capable of and thereby gives us hope for a better future.

PANAMUN has allowed me to prosper in distinct ways as a person over the years, through the overflow of various emotions and hard work, which is why I am eternally grateful for having had the opportunity to participate in it so many years. I wish everyone this same experience, which is why as part of the Secretariat and the whole PANAMUN team we have been wholly devoted to making this conference an unforgettable one that will hopefully tap into everyone’s potential. Let your talent flourish along with this conference and hopefully it will help you all as much as it helped me. Good luck and get ready for the best PANAMUN yet!