And without further ado, McMUN 2016 comes to an end

Closing ceremonies marked the end of a weekend filled with hard work, new friends and unforgettable parties.The enthusiasm and spirit the delegates brought with them to McMUN 2016 was obvious the minute the doors were opened, as they flooded into the room cheering and rushing to take their seats in the ballroom.

After a warm welcome from Kaitlyn Bowman, president of IRSAM, the after-video of the conference was shown for the first time. It truly did the weekend justice, with its excellent footage from delegate registration to committee sessions to McParté, and gave the audience time to look back on the whirlwind of the past few days.

Secretary-General Marta Canneri focused her last speech at McMUN on thanking everyone that made this conference possible. Instead of thanking each individual secretariat member, as is customary, she wanted to give more recognition to all the people that worked so hard for this event to come together. Everyone from faculty advisors and head delegates, to supportive parents and family, to McGill staffers and hotel staff were vital in making this weekend a success and were duly applauded by the Secretary-General.

Next, each committee chair in turn took the stage to present their 4 awards: Best Delegate, Outstanding Delegate, Book Award, and Honorable Mention. This portion of the ceremonies brought to light how close some of the committees had become. With inside jokes, shared memories, and promises to meet again one day, the chairs gave touching and often humorous speeches, supported by laughter and cheers from the delegates.

Last but not least, the delegation awards were announced. The award for Outstanding Small Delegation went to Ohio State University and that for Outstanding Large Delegation went to Michigan State University. Best Small Delegation was awarded to Florida International University and Best Large Delegation was awarded to Georgetown University.

Before the ceremony ended, Chief of Operations Justine Leblanc and Chargée d’affaires Ginny Tan thanked Marta Canneri for all of her hard work and guidance over the past 10 months and presented her with a gift. With applause from the delegates, Marta Canneri then took the podium one last time to gavel close the amazing weekend that was McMUN 2016!

Photo credits to McMUN/Jinah Kim