Dear Participants of THIMUN,

My name is Matthijs Loop and I have the privilege of serving as the President of the General Assembly at the 40th annual session of The Hague International Model United Nations.

I'm Dutch of nationality and have been living in Holland my whole life. Right now I am in my final year at the Stedelijk Gymnasium in Haarlem. In my spare time I like to play field hockey, go out with friends or play a game of pool. Other than that I dedicate a lot of my time to music, especially club music (house, electro, techno...) and hope to be able to act as a dj someday.

My MUN career started 3 years ago. Over the years I have participated in various ways: as a delegate, student officer and organizer of Haarlem Model United Nations. What attracts me most about the MUN program is the wide variety of people you meet and the intense discussions you sometimes find yourself being part of. Hence, my main goal at a MUN conference is to learn from others and use this experience to help new participants getting involved. Being PGA, I therefore hope to be able to help the delegates with making this THIMUN conference a professional, successful and memorable one.

As you all might know, the theme of this year's THIMUN conference is climate change, one of the most pressing and urgent issues we face in the world today. Although opinions on the significance of the problem might differ, no one will deny that the world needs to act today to properly tackle this problem. As the world citizens of tomorrow, it is therefore of utmost importance that we discuss this issue at THIMUN and try to find solutions that will change the world ... for the better.

I wish everyone a very enjoyable, but above all, successful conference.

With kind regards,

Matthijs Loop