Secretariat Interview: Daniel Nogueira Feijo
By Tasmiyah Randeree
Meet Daniel, a second-year student at the University of Toronto and also NAMUN’s Director of Specialised Agencies. His areas of study -International Relations and History- are the first indication of his deep passion and dedication to foreign affairs, and so it comes as no surprise when he tells me that he has been involved in Model United Nations since the age of 13: “I attended an international high school in Brazil. It was a British school and I just wanted to try out MUN. The more I stayed in it, the more I loved how dynamic, how cooperative and how interactive it was. The fast-paced nature; it was lively and I loved that.”
A quick read of Daniel's blurb on the NAMUN website will show you that, though he is Brazilian at heart, he considers himself a global citizen: “A global citizen is anyone involved with international organisations, someone who is aware and interested in what goes on in the rest of the world. I would also say its someone who doesn't know where they're attached to or where they are from.” The latter sentiment is definitely something shared by most students who move around during their studies, and so I wondered if all ‘global citizens’ felt the same way Daniel did towards MUN. “How would you persuade students to join this organisation, especially if it sometimes has a reputation of coming across as too intense?” I asked. He laughed and went on: “I actually have experience doing this. The easiest points to make are that MUN is fun. You get to dress up and take on the personality of a new person. It's also an opportunity to practice your public speaking and organisation skills and know more about the world. There's something for everyone, and above all, it's fun to see everyone get so into the MUN environment.”
Calling himself a veteran, Daniel confesses that he has lost count of how many conferences he has participated in. “I started at 13... I've probably done over 20 but this is my third time doing a university-level MUN. My first experience doing one on this level was Harvard MUN. I was in high school and I remember everything just felt really big especially because | was so young. My involvement in the conference was much more restricted compared to now but | got to see how competitive people can really get in these settings. I would have to say that the conferences I’ve had more involvement in are the ones I enjoy the most. Last year, I was a crisis manager for a committee set in medieval times. It was very obscure but it turned out to be very fun and enjoyable for the staff and delegates. That's one of my favourite parts about MUN, the liberties we take to ensure that committees are more fun for the delegates.”
But as with any experience, there are challenges and even though Daniel has been involved in MUN for six years, there was once a time when he struggled as an amateur: “It's all about flexibility. You have to know that each MUN is different from the one before. There are new people and new obstacles and so it creates a new experience. I have found that MUN is very much about how to work well in a team as you meet new people and try to work towards objectives in specific settings.” But the rewarding aspects outweigh the obstacles for Daniel, and he isn’t only referring to the physical awards handed out to delegates: “Sure, awards received as a delegate are satisfying, but now, as a member of staff, I hand out awards which is equally rewarding. It’s great when your peers recognise your hard work, but more than that, when you see the work you have put into these experiences.”
Having participated in more MUN conferences than he could count as both a delegate and a staff member, I posed the question: so which role do you prefer?
“You learn a lot, both as a delegate and as a staff member. As a high school student, | enjoyed being a delegate but now being a staff member is definitely what I'm more interested in. There are a few differences between the two: staff roles are more organisational based, less competitive and personally more enjoyable. I would say the biggest difference is competitiveness versus cooperation. As a delegate, it's about a performance. You have to play a certain role which is fun and | fondly remember my time as a delegate, but as a staff member, you're there to work with everyone. It's less about yourself and more about your team.”
With all this talk about his past experiences and current work on the NAMUN team, I wondered what plans, if any, Daniel had for his future and if MUN correlated with these in any way:
“My future plans are abstract and I think they're allowed to be vague in my second year of university, but I am interested in the international side of the private sector: working with foreign clients and carrying out negotiations. I feel like MUN has allowed me to work on skills like speaking, teamwork, research, and public relations which are all connected to this job. But I don’t see myself necessarily going to work for an international organisation because of my involvement with MUN. I think the skills it teaches you can be applied to various jobs.”
And he isn’t wrong. Though the content of Model United Nations is specific, the way it allows students to learn and strengthen skills that can be used in the real world is a point that Daniel supports when he answers my next question: What has been the biggest lesson you have learnt from MUN?
“In any position within MUN, there is a lot of work that needs to be done so you have to learn to manage your time well. And sometimes when a task doesn’t work out, you need to give yourself a break, instead of stressing unnecessarily, and recognise the importance of time management but also the importance of asking for help if you need it. I've been in situations where I can’t dedicate as much time as I want towards certain things. But I've learnt that freaking out is never the answer. It doesn’t help anyone.”
Having been in the MUN circuit for many years, Daniel has learnt a lot, but he has also had the opportunity to meet inspiring individuals. “When I was in high school, I was tasked with finding a guest speaker for a conference. I contacted Doctors Without Borders and the speaker they selected was a female doctor who had spent years in Afghanistan, working with people who had no medical aid at all. It was very inspiring to hear her speak, but I had the opportunity to talk with her after the conference and there's one thing she said that I have never forgotten. She told me about a patient she was once treating who was very nervous. She didn’t know if the patient would live or die and she didn't speak Pashtun, only English and Portuguese, so she didn’t know how to calm the patient down. She decided to just speak in her own language soothing her in Portuguese, knowing that the patient wouldn't understand, but it calmed her down anyway. It's amazing how language transcends differences, and that has always stuck with me.”
Before I concluded the interview and bid farewell to Daniel, I asked him if there were any final remarks he wanted to add. He smiled and immediately sang the praises of the amazing team he works with: “As a delegate, you know someone has organised the conference but sometimes you don’t know who or how it was organised. And now as a staff member, I have more insight into the hard work and executive decision making that goes into a MUN conference. It's very impressive how university students can do so much. There are people who find sponsors, book hotels, organise events on a large scale and organise socials and food. Someone has to make sure every single one of these things is done and paid for, whilst balancing their university workload. The skills that flow out of the secretariat are amazing. You have to plan ahead and there's a lot of work that goes into it. So hopefully, after reading this, delegates will gain more appreciation for the secretariat's effort in organising the conference. Beyond that, they might be more eager to apply for secretarial positions in the future, if their skill set and personality fit the role.”
And for anyone who questions the purpose and effectiveness of MUN, especially newcomers and first-timers, I leave you with Daniel's final comment: “You do gain a lot of life skills which you may not realise the benefit of now at the university level, but you will come to appreciate them in the real world. There will be opportunities for these skills to be applied: dealing with people, negotiating, foreign interests etc. so I always encourage people to look at MUN, not only as something that looks good on a resume but as an experience that opens opportunities.”