Two students from the Faculty of Law become world diplomacy champions

Marilyn : Diplomacy is a way for state representatives, like ambassadors, to exchange and defend their country's interests on the international stage. The idea is always to seek compromise and cooperation between states. Each country has its own history, its own values, its own politics, but the aim is to put our differences aside to find common solutions.

Delphine: I've always been interested in international relations. It's a field I'm passionate about and I really wanted to do something concrete with it. Participating in this type of experience is an incredible opportunity.

Marilyn : What I love about my studies is all the theoretical part of law, but I was missing a more practical aspect. Diplomacy precisely allows me to develop speaking, debating and negotiating skills: skills that will be essential for me later on, particularly when working in law.

Marilyn : Listening is really essential. You have to be able to understand the reasoning of others, especially in a context where everyone comes from a different country, with their own way of approaching problems. The aim is to arrive at a solution that can benefit everyone, and to do that, you have to know how to listen, follow the arguments of others and build a common response.

Delphine: You also need to be able to put yourself in the other person's shoes, to understand their point of view. And then, self-confidence is important, especially when you're speaking or debating. You also need to know how to adapt, in particular by listening to what others have to say, so you can adjust your own speech accordingly.

Marylin: During these conferences, each party arrives with its own issues. The challenge is to succeed in integrating all these perspectives into a common solution, and that really comes down to listening and adaptability.

Marilyn : I learn a lot from her, especially in speaking and negotiating, which are key skills for practicing as a judge or lawyer. Knowing how to defend someone requires more than theory. I'm also doing further training in political science and have a course in the history of international relations. The lectures allow me to apply what I'm learning, but also to better understand how things work in practice.

Delphine: It also helps us make the connection with certain courses, like European or international law. It's a good way to start familiarizing ourselves with these subjects, while approaching them in a more concrete way.

Delphine: This year, the competition was held in Manila, in the Philippines, for a week. We received the theme a few weeks before the competition, which enabled us to prepare well, to understand the position of the country we were representing, so that we could best defend our point of view during the debates. Personally, I represented Egypt in the Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Committee (SOCHUM). The topic was access to universal healthcare.

Marilyn: For my part, I represented Colombia, in the social development committee. The theme was global poverty reduction. It's quite a broad topic, with a multidimensional approach, both cultural, social and economic, which made the research and negotiation work particularly interesting.

Marilyn: What I really like is all the personal development it's given me. I've gained a huge amount of self-confidence, I've got to know my strengths and weaknesses better. It's also really motivating to see how far you've come. I think that, in a few years' time, that's what I'll remember most of all: how much this experience has made me grow.

Delphine: MSB pushes us as much academically as personally. You develop as a person, gain confidence and become more efficient. All this with a group of friends who are living the same adventure as we are. You also get to meet people from all over the world, which really opens up your mind.

Marilyn: This year was also MSB's 20th anniversary. I think our real strength is diversity. Within MSB, there are students from all over Belgium, as much from Wallonia as from Flanders and from a wide variety of backgrounds: law, engineering, medicine, political science... And then above all, there's an incredible friendship between us.

Delphine: We're all highly motivated and we're living this adventure to the full, together. During the conference, we rely heavily on our ability to listen and adapt. We're not here to impose our ideas, but to build collective solutions with the other delegations.