A Summary of the CLEIMUN17 Opening Ceremonies
The opening ceremony commenced with a welcome from the Director of CLEIMUN17 and Director of the International Programs at Saint Edward High School, Michael Perrins. Mr. Perrins spoke of the true uniqueness of the CLEIMUN Conference experience as a collaboration of both novice and expert MUN participants, as well as the mixture of the CLEIMUN and THIMUN Conference structures. A brief welcome and thanks were then expressed by CCWA, who are joint partners of CLEIMUN17. The Chair then yielded to the principal of St. Edward High School, Dr. Frank O’Linn. Dr. O’Linn spoke of St. Edward’s background and of the importance of togetherness among the world community.
After an introduction to the CLEIMUN/THIMUN style and regulations, both Secretary Generals, Francis Smith and George Hildebrandt, spoke to their peers about the importance of MUN to the world. Both expressed the impact that any individual can have on the world, whether it be now or in the future. Deputy President of the General Assembly Charlie Giganti then introduced the CLEIMUN17 Key Note speaker, Mr. Joe Cimperman.
Mr. Cimperman spoke of this generation of MUN participants and the impact they can have on the world. He called them to fight isolation, misunderstanding, and fear of the unknown. He also advocated the importance of engaging in the world and understanding what is fact and what is perceived to be fact. Along with this, he expressed that everything you do today, will ultimately make a better tomorrow. Mr. Cimperman then went on to tell his reasons for entering local politics in the first place. His anger is what drove him to make a change within the Cleveland community and beyond. His advice to the participants was to use their anger to impact the world. Mr. Cimperman ended his speech with a quote from Winston Churchill with the premise that mistakes will be made, but we should not let these mistakes end our journeys; we should continue to persevere for change. After applause for Mr. Cimperman, After the conclusion of the ceremony, the 2017 Cleveland International Model United Nations Conference was officially set in motion.
