Opening Ceremony

Today, 31
st
of May 2013 marked the opening of the second edition of the MUNOB conference held
in Bucharest. The ceremony started at no later than 10A.M., at the Palace of Parliament, with the
Romanian national anthem, followed by a roll call and a very inspiring speech from the President of
the Chamber of Deputies, Valeriu Stefan Zgonea.
During his speech, Mr. Zgonea admitted to being honored to be invited to the ceremony, and also
how pleased he was to see so many youngsters debating on such important issues. He also affirmed
his belief that those participating at the MUNOB conference will have a great hand in improving both
the political and educational system of Romania. Mr. Zgonea added that he feels this project will
have great benefits on the students, teaching them about the workings of political institutions and
how decisions are made to combat global issues.
Ending his speech with a plead to remember that no matter what the outcome of the debates will
come to be, we must all depart as friends, he gave away the stage to the principal of the National
College Mihai Viteazul, Mr. Sever Popa, who took time to welcome the students and said a few
words about the MUN projects and what he felt is his influence on the future of our generation.
Next in line to give a speech was the representative of the Ministry of Education, closely followed by
the Secretary General, Mr. Vlad Ciausu who talked briefly about the most important issues to be
discussed in the days to come such as the situation in Mali and Cote dIvoire due to terrorist attacks.
After a brief break of fifteen minutes, the ceremony was resumed and the ambassadors of the
participating took the stage to give their speeches, the most memorable of which was that of the
USA Ambassador, who approached with two of the other delegates, confusing the members of the
presidency. It turned out the other delegates were there to provide the background needed for the
ambassador to hold his speech, the flag of the United States of America.
The ceremony ended at 1P.M. with the official song of this years MUNOB, Because We Can by Bon
Jovi.
Following, the delegates were led by an appointed guide in a tour of the Palace of Parliament, which
notably left many slack-jawed at its grandeur.