MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (MEP)
MEPs represent their countries as well as their political group during the debates in the European Parliament. You will be assigned to one of the eight political groups, but you will have to find allies in other groups as you try to push through your amendments – while at the same time working with the Ministers in the Council. You will have a direct impact on the proposals passed and if you work hard enough, you could even draft the most significant amendments that make or break the law!
MINISTER OF THE COUNCIL
In the Council of the European Union, Ministers from each Member State meet to debate the proposals as presented by the European Commission. Your primary focus as a Minister is to defend the interests of your country and the national government you are part of while cooperating and compromising with your colleagues despite competing interests and values. This can be particularly tricky as voting in the Council is based on qualified majorities, considering not only the number of countries voting, but also the number of citizens of each country. Simultaneously, you must avoid conflicts with the MEPs to make sure the proposals also reach the majority in the Parliament.
JOURNALIST
Journalists are a vital part of any political landscape – even if it’s a simulated one. As an MEUS Journalist, you’ll have the opportunity to capture different moments throughout the simulation and then present them according to your role, publishing breaking news in real-time and reporting on the conference in your own preferred way. It is thanks to Journalists that all participants can always keep track of all decisions during the extremely fast-paced sessions. You will also be working closely with Photographers who will help you add visual excellence to articles you will be curating on proceedings in the conference.
INTEREST REPRESENTATIVE
Interest Representatives give lawmakers an understanding of their actions’ impact on the outer world and on the daily life of over 500 millions European citizens. Although often criticised for their influence on the European Union’s legislative process, your actions derive from this simple reality: decisions taken at the European level have a large effect on our daily lives, economies, jobs, environment, income and social protections. As an Interest Representative, you will be an expert on one of the topics debated at MEUS and it will be your responsibility to ensure that the politicians you work with are able to retain an overview of everything at stake during the simulation. By putting your knowledge at their service, you have the unique opportunity to influence the way the legislation is forged and thus guide how it will impact the group and interests you represent.
INTERPRETER
Interpreters play a pivotal role at MEUS: they interpret speeches, debates, meetings with Interest Representatives and press conferences, both from English into their mother tongue and vice versa (providing relay interpreting for the other booths), thus ensuring communication among other participants is smooth. Although all participants are expected to be able to communicate in English, Interpreters make the conference more realistic, dynamic and inclusive. Interpreters work mainly in the simultaneous mode, but they also have the chance to try their hand at consecutive interpreting and chuchotage (whispered interpreting), getting the opportunity to hone a variety of interpreting skills in a real-life working environment that provides the best conditions for an excellent interpreting practice.
PHOTOGRAPHER
As a Photographer you will capture moments of the debate, being the visual storyteller who illustrates what is going on. This will help you to get a grasp of the topics, the people debating these topics and the emotions fueling these debates, making your tasks as a Photographer reach greater depths especially in an intense setting. You will have to pick the best photos, edit them and endue them with our watermark for the MEUS album, released online after the Conference. This demands your willingness to keep up the work even after the Conference has come to an end. But just as for all other Participants, the results of your hard work will be rewarding and lasting for yourself too.
