Exterior looks on day 3 of ILYMUN 2025
Hi, I’m Colombe, from l’Oiselet high school. I had the opportunity to attend day three of the ILYMUN conference in Lyon on March 15th. Let me tell you how it went.
Arrived at 8.30, a little lost and disoriented, I finally found my way to the press team. Here, Angele, the head of press department who I had interviewed a few months ago, introduced me to the whole team, and they immediately applauded like they were waiting for me, or like I was someone important. In reality, they had no idea who I was. That’s the moment I realized ILYMUN is not only a conference, but also a social event, during which motivated students from all-around Europe gather to share a common passion : geopolitics. That explained their welcoming attitude.
So, after visiting the complex, I stood alone for a while admiring posters and pictures, widespread by the atmosphere that reigned. I watched students running through the corridors with earpieces, cameras, mics and papers, showing confidence and determination. This was their project, and for some, their epiphany. I was also surprised when I saw the number of technologies used, most of the journalists having their own computer. All students were dressed up very elegantly, and seemed to take their role very seriously, but once again it seemed to be more than a theater piece, and the debates I heard afterwards confirmed this impression.
What stroke me the most was the numerous languages that were spoken next to me : French of course, but mainly English, then Spanish, German... Many students were switching from one to another without showing an ounce of hesitation, and no matter in what language I asked my questions, I’d always get a polite and precise answer. At the end of the day, I surprised myself by writing my notes in a mix of French and English, to focus on the content of the debates.
Then, I watched comities in session, like the security council, and again, the implication of the delegates made me question mine. They seemed to be, not to play, the delegation of a country. And every time I heard a country that is usually not an ally of France during those debates, I was mind-blown by the power of conviction of their remarks. I imagined how hard it would be to defend opinions that I do not share, but I realized talking against myself was a great way to refine my own ideas. Lobbying appeared to me as a manner to do that : when going to talk to someone, you have to accept that you won’t agree on everything. During lobbying, one delegate in particular caught my eye, speaking with fervor in front of a little group, hanging on his words.
During lunch break, I heard that same delegate asking “Where’s Russia ? I need to talk to him !” and thought that maybe this happened during “real” U.N. sessions.
But I was not ready for the general assembly. It was going so fast, and the first time I heard “Can the delegate please touch the floor”, I thought the chair was joking. He was indeed not : the delegate just went down to speak in front of the others. I got used to the “point of personal privilege !”, “point of information !” and “point of order !” in the end, admiring once again how delegates had mastered the art of MUN debates.
Finally, I attended the closing ceremony. And after spending days and days overthinking at night these past weeks because the world is falling down, the speeches I heard were exactly what I needed in order to find my hope spark again. This is how I’d like to remember ILYMUN, and how I’d like anybody reading to remember this article : as a way to show that youth is still hopeful. Hopeful because we can take decisions together. Hopeful because our mission is not to fix the past, but to go beyond it, beyond our differences. All the skills those students learned today won’t be useless, but they don’t have to be a burden on their shoulders to repair the world adults left us. They have to be a way to spread our values : “democracy, in a world of peace”.
Colombe GENIN
