The Backbone of MUNISA: Meet the Board of Directors

By Sterre Schlosser

The Board of Directors (BOD) is a group of dedicated students selected to help plan, prepare, and execute ISA’s annual MUN conference. The BOD started their preparations back in April and has been meeting weekly since then. I spoke to Mr Kelly, the MUN Director, who told me that in preparation for MUNISA, the BOD was in charge of “ordering supplies, organising the opening and closing ceremonies, getting spaces arranged, managing catering” and more. He also told me he’s “very proud of the work [the BOD] has done”, citing “the way they’ve worked together” as the reason MUNISA was as successful as it was. 

Secretary General Elle Chassin and Deputy Secretary General Amelia Dorner led the BOD.

Amelia and Elle are 12th-grade students who have been members of MUN for four years. I spoke to Elle about her responsibilities, and she told me that "leading up to the conference meant organising everything the members of the BOD were doing.”  At MUNISA, Amelia was “there to support Elle as Secretary General.” Her responsibilities included “choosing the date, coordinating with facilities, IT, inviting other schools, and other planning tasks.” During the event, Amelia and Elle “managed the rest of the BOD and made sure they were on top of things.” During the conference, Elle “interacted with MUN directors, delegates, and student officers, and made sure everything was running smoothly.” Elle was also able to deliver the “concluding speech, ending the conference.” After spending many months preparing for MUNISA, Amelia found that “seeing MUNISA come to life was really amazing.” Her highlight as a BOD member was “the people. It was such a special group of people.” Similarly, Elle found the process “very rewarding, especially because [she] loves MUN so much.”

In preparation for the conference, Betty Leskova, Head of Logistics, and Konrad Himmelreich, Assistant Head of Logistics, played a considerable role in setting MUNISA up for success. Betty told me that she and Konrad are responsible for “everything physical that has to do with the conference”, entailing “ordering everything, setting up the rooms, and talking with teachers and IT.” Betty and Konrad’s hard work over the months meant that every delegate, chair, and other member of MUNISA had access to the resources they needed. 

Throughout the conference, I shadowed Josephine Aloccio and Adiv Enjeti, the MUNISA Conference Managers. I observed as they helped people sign in, answered questions, and provided conference tours to officials from other schools. Leading up to the conference, Josephine and Adiv “picked the countries in each of the committees and assigned a country to each participant”. Their work also entailed “printing and preparing all of the name tags” and ensuring “that each name tag got to the right delegate”. Josephine told  me that “being a member of the BOD has allowed [her] to appreciate how difficult it is to pull off a MUN conference”, especially “for bigger conferences than MUNISA”. She ended by saying that she believes “[the BOD] can be very proud of [their] MUN conference”. 

Emma Lynch and Sienna Ural worked as the Heads of Admins. Sienna told me her role “is essentially helping organise the admins, tasking them with helping in committees, making schedules for admins, and making sure they’re in good health.” Emma added on saying that she and Sienna “correspond how many people have to help in each committee, how they can best support the chairs, as well as additional tasks such as coat checks.” 

Sienna told me that being a member of the BOD has given her “a new light about what organising a MUN conference looks like. When you go in as a delegate or chair, you’re more immersed in the people around you, whereas being a part of the BOD shows you the logistical side of the conference. It’s really, really rewarding”. On  the importance of the BOD, Emma spoke about how she’s “been working on the event for almost a year now, so we’ve definitely put in a lot of effort to make the event successful for everyone.” 

Lastly, I spoke with Lilly Tanz, the Head of Media. She told me she’s “involved with the image of MUNISA to everyone who’s coming and also our online perception.” Lilly manages MUNISA’s social media platforms and the website. Lilly has a team of “two DP film students who will be taking photos and videos, capturing our memories from MUNISA24.” Being a member of the BOD has given Lilly “a lot more respect for the work and effort that goes into a conference”. Lilly uses her “experience as a delegate and a chair to optimise the best angle and way we can capture MUN”. 

Overall, the collaboration, hard work, and invested time of the BOD brought MUNISA 24 to life. Speaking with Mr Kelly and various BOD members was inspiring and highlighted the unseen work supporting the event. 

For more information on MUNISA, read The Voice’s new article: “ISA Hosts Annual MUN Conference” or go to www.munisa.nl

Photo Credit: Andy Imes and Jaroslav Lemmens