“MUN has had a huge impact on my current career.”

Who doesn't want to attend a MUN on a Mediterranean island? That's what I thought when I saw the MaltMUN conference in mymun. Unfortunately, I couldn´t go, such a surprise movement from Bea. For sure, I got class…(crying in university student). But thanks to connections, I had the opportunity to have a sneak peek of Briana Mifsud´s experience. She not only told me about her role at the conference but, most importantly, chatted with me about her MUN career. 

Briana is a Junior Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) Malta Associate. With a bachelor's degree in European Studies, she currently has a role in the Enforcement Section of the Unit, where she helps local obliged entities ensure compliance with their AML obligations. Of course, she is also a football fan, which was a recurrent topic during the whole interview, even though I must say that I only watch the international cups just not to feel FOMO. She is more of an expert. 

Her MUN journey began at MaltMUN 2019. “A friend pushed me to join,” she confessed. She was on the ECOFIN committee representing the Japanese delegation. She really had a great experience, “although sometimes it was a bit overwhelming.” Of course, this is normal, she affirmed. Her advice for first-timers is to actively listen and build your position based on what others are arguing. 

She also considered it essential to familiarise yourself with the Rules of Procedure, the committee's mandate, and a thorough background check of previous attempts to resolve the issue. Finally, she prefers short position papers with a clear structure and focus on essential points.

She had fantastic advice regarding chairing for the “selection of topic process”: “Stay up to date with the current hot topics and see what other MUNs are doing.” Basically, try to find the “hidden gem” that can spark engaging debate. Of course, in terms of the Study Guide, she is clear: “ Keep the information relevant and accessible to delegates.” I must not forget to say that her chairing career is more than impressive: MaMUN 2022, PolMUN 2022, FreiMUN 2023, MUNUSAL 2024, LakeMUN 2024 and MaltMUN 2024. I couldn't be more jealous!

As a chair she told me that MUN Command has been extremely helpful especially for managing motions. She also pointed out that it is useful for the roll calls and ensuring smooth voting procedures. “The statics are the best, you can keep track of your delegates performance and it makes the process of selection awards more objective” she confessed. 

I asked her what role she preferred the most to have: "Deciding between chairing and organizing has been tough, but both roles have taught me so much." She was the Conference Manager for MaltMUN 2022. Her task was to manage full-time the organization of the conference, which, by the way she had to balance with a full-time job  and the writing of her thesis.  Truly a girl boss. “We were recovering from COVID years, so we had to secure the venue, and to increase interest from delegates coming from abroad”. I was super happy that at the end, everything went well, and she could enjoy an amazing conference.  

Continuing with her organizer career, she was the Vice-president of MaltMUN 2023. Her tasks included supporting the president and helping with the administrative side of the MUN. “It’s less about the spotlight and more about ensuring that everything runs smoothly behind the scenes”, she affirmed. 

Of course, these roles as organizer were accompanied by the use of mymun. “mymun has been an incredible tool for organizing our conference” She confessed that before using the platform the process was manual and highlytime-consuming. “It has really modernized the way we organize the conference and made it easier for a smaller team like ours."

On a lighter note, we couldn't end our conversation without some anecdotes of her MUN life. She told me about the now famous “incident” at LakeMUN 2024, which was almost an assassination scenario (roleplay): “It was one of the thrilling moments of the committee!”. 

At the end of the interview, she told me about her experience in a job interview. “They found my MUN experience intriguing,” she said. I showcased the important skills that MUN had given me over the years: public speaking, negotiation, and, of course, diplomatic behaviour. “MUN helps you to grow as a person.” This is mainly because it sharpens your social skills and helps you understand different perspectives. 

Our conversation inspired me—not just because of her MUN journey but by how she balances all her passions like a total girl boss. Conference organising, a full-time job, and her career? She’s unstoppable! I couldn’t make it to MaltMUN this time (ugh, I still regret it), but fingers crossed, we’ll hit up future conferences together. And who knows? Maybe we’ll even catch a football game in between all the debating.