The last few days of the INU conference were definitely the most hectic and so I have benefited from writing this last blog post back in Australia. The seminar itself ended in a marathon model UN session on the Saturday which resulted in a new set of millennium development goals being adopted by the parties (Sustainable Development Goals). Even though the country I represented (The Netherlands) didn’t vote for the resolution to pass, it was great to actually have something to show for the hours of preparation put into the day! The model UN was amazing and expertly run, and I especially appreciated the efficient time keeping (rumour was that in previous years the model UN session has run well past midnight!) What I got from the model UN was this: even though the positions and actions of states can be seen as a logical outcome of their policies, actually experiencing everything happening simultaneously took my appreciation of the process much further.

As to the ‘Global Citizenship’ aspect to the seminar, I think I was able to take away something from this as well. Living and studying in multicultural Australia has meant that I have interacted with people from all of the countries present at the seminar. However, the seminar itself provided a platform to discuss issues and topics that would not ordinarily come up in day to day conversations and it was through this that I think I really gained some insights into global citizenship.