Hi, my name is Maxine Verhelst, and I have the honor of being one of your Deputy Secretary Generals of High School for PANAMUN XXVI! I am 17 years old and will be a senior at the International School of Panama for this edition of the conference. I was born in Belgium and have lived there, the United States of America, France and now Panama. Amongst other things, I really enjoy water sports, reading, and Pinterest.

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I have been involved in MUN since I was first introduced to it at my school in France which organized ILYMUN. I proceeded to become a delegate, a chair and a member of the secretariat until I moved away before that year’s conference. Having left mid-way, I was thrilled to know that my new school hosted such an amazing MUN conference I couldn’t wait to be part of.

Like many others, MUN has allowed me to develop a lot personally. Although I’ve always been aware of the fact that injustice exists, I was always too shy to feel that I could do anything about it. Joining debate club was the first step I took to try to get out of my comfort zone. Then, facing the challenge of being a delegate my first year and expressing my ideas in this setting, brought an element of reality to my idealistic dream of making the world more fair. It was then that I realized to what extent making change for the better can be such a difficult challenge.

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However, after this first experience, I felt determined to give the future me and peers a chance to speak up and make a difference. Through this, I was shown the power of diplomacy in all aspects of life. Today, as DSG of HS, I am excited to be able to share these discoveries and allow future delegates and chairs to develop personally through the challenges of the positions and the learning that comes along with them.

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PANAMUN is conference of full of dialogue, enthusiasm, teamwork and cultural diversity all in the common goal of bettering the world starting with us youths/the youth. I’m proud to be part of it and can’t wait to share our preparation so you can make the best of it!