Antonia Teofilova is one of the chairs for the UNODC. She is a senior at the American School of Barcelona with a passion for public speaking, debating, and leading. She was born in Bulgaria but has lived in Barcelona for the past 8 years. Antonia is involved in various activities, such as sports, school newspaper, Student Council, multiple summer leadership programs, NESDA, and of course MUN — chairing this year's UNODC committee. Antonia started her MUN career in 8th grade, and since then she has participated in 8 conferences in Madrid, Lisbon, the Hague and Barcelona. Moreover, last year she had the opportunity to chair a committee in THIMUN. Antonia believes that MUN provides a learning, thought-provoking and leadership experience, as it promotes awareness, maturity, social skills and responsibility. Furthermore, it teaches students about many diverse world affairs and issues. MUN prepares students for life outside of school and teaches them the necessary skills in order to succeed in a public atmosphere and international relations. Antonia is honored to form part of the BCNMUN 2022 conference, and is excited for a fun, yet productive debate in UNODC.
Maryana Shustova is one of the chairs for the UNODC. Born in Moscow and moved to Barcelona at the age of 4, she is now a sophomore at the German School of Barcelona. Maryana has engaged in Model United Nations since her freshman year and until now has partaken in 5 conferences including BCNMUN. Having experienced both online and live MUNs, she is now excited to look at it from the perspective of a chair. Believing in the power of words and having the desire to pursue diplomacy professionally in the future, Maryana believes that MUN is about finding compromises that benefit the nations involved and solving conflicts on a global level. Model United Nations is a great introduction to the world of international politics, where everyone is given the chance to explore the different cultures, views, and beliefs of the country they are representing, as well as the possibility to acquire knowledge of relevant political issues in order to form an educated opinion on them. Maryana looks forward to meeting the delegates and chairing a fruitful debate on the topics!
Philippine Van Meer is one of the chairs for the UNODC. She was born in Amsterdam into a Dutch/Indonesian family and moved to a small town near Barcelona when she was 3. This is her 4th year at the American School of Barcelona and she is currently in 10th grade. During 9th grade, she participated in various conferences as a delegate online as well as in person, such as IMUN, BCNMUN, THIMUN and BFMUN. She joined MUN when she first got the opportunity to in 8th grade after not being able to in 7th grade due to the COVID 19 quarantine. Through MUN, Philippine has developed her skills in public speaking and problem-solving. It has also given her more discipline, self confidence and has helped her expand her knowledge on current events. MUN has always been very interesting to Philippine as it brought a light to things she otherwise would have never thought would interest her. Throughout the 4 years she has spent as ASB so far she has helped many members of the community though being a part of the student council, Rotary Interact and Refuge art. She hopes to do the same thing by being a chair at BCNMUN 2022. For her, MUN has brought many new friends, memories and experiences. She looks forward to helping others do this too.
