Every corner and every street had a story to tell: gazing at the city from the Brooklyn Bridge, one experiences an overwhelming stream of stimuli. Beneath you the mighty Hudson River, in the distance the Statue of Liberty, to your left and right the skyline of New York unfolding like a magical tapestry, while you are literally standing on the major connecting link between Manhattan and Brooklyn! But we didn’t come for sightseeing…even though in New York it is somewhat inevitable! During our study week, we had the honor of visiting both the Embassies of Germany and the Consulate General of Cyprus, providing us with valuable insights with regard to international diplomacy and the challenging task of promoting your respective countries’ standpoints while simultaneously seeking the creation of productive and impactful alliances. As we were representing the Republic of Cyprus, alongside the Republic of Seychelles, at the upcoming conference, visiting the Consulate General of Cyprus in New York gave us the opportunity to gain a more profound understanding of Cypriot history and geopolitical position. We also had the great pleasure and honor to visit Milbank LLP in their New York offices, where we participated in an insightful panel discussion emphasizing different career paths to big law and the challenging but also inspiring profession specifics of a lawyer working at such a distinguished law firm.

Before we knew it, study week was over and the conference we had anticipated for so long was about to start! The distant target was becoming vibrant reality! Upon arriving at the Midtown Hilton Hotel, where the conference was facilitated, we were met with a very familiar picture. Delegates were running around, faculty members and head delegates were trying to get an overview, hotel personnel was assisting with luggage transportation, while queues in front of the elevators were forming rapidly…to the untrained eye the above may very well be understood as an accurate description of chaos, but to us it was greatness unfolding at an uncanny scale. An unexpected highlight was the opening ceremony, which was far more than a typical opening ceremony. It was a lesson for life! Farrukh Khan confronted us with the bitter realities of today’s international relations landscape, not in an attempt to teach us a specific view on the current war-dominated situation but aiming to make us realize the special role of our generation in this unique Gutenberg-Press-moment, to use his own illustrative term. After awaiting the gavel sound, signaling the official opening of the conference, we ran to our respective committees, determined to put our skills into action! 

Personally, I had the distinct honor of representing the Republic of Cyprus in the third committee of the General Assembly, focusing on promoting the rights of women and girls in the aftermath of conflicts. Adrenaline and pure excitement filled the room when we were given the opportunity to engage with other delegations in our first informal session, already forming alliances and exchanging views on the topic. My and Luma’s work, my delegate partner, constituted one cog within a well-oiled machine, which was our delegation! In every committee, members of our delegation did not just contribute to the work of each alliance but took the lead and delegated tasks efficiently and with great professionalism. Exhaustion, especially during night sessions, was not uncommon, but our enthusiasm remained untouched. After each conference day we gathered as a delegation and shared our news of the day, further strengthening our group dynamic and creating a special bond between us. Like in every conference, we were also confronted with some rather unpleasing events during sessions, but our diplomatic discipline always showed us the right path. Before we had realized it, the conference approached its end, during which lied one other highlight of the conference, as our delegation received an outstanding delegation award, alongside several individual awards, underscoring that our efforts had not remained unnoticed. 

Venimus, vidimus, vicimus! We came, we saw, and we conquered! 

A chapter ended, but this also means that a new one just began for our beloved association! 

Written by Iakovos-Georgios Ioannidis (15.04.2026)