大会二日目には開会式(Opening Ceremony)が行われました。始めに主催国である韓国の太鼓演奏と共にサンドアートのパフォーマンスが披露され、正式にGMUN仁川大会が開幕しました。

続いて、赤坂国連事務次官、ソン仁川市長、スン韓国国連協会副会長、GMUN事務総長、GMUN総会議長からそれぞれ歓迎のお言葉を頂きました。特に印象に残ったのは、赤坂国連事務次官の”GMUN is meant to be the Model of Model United Nations”という言葉でした。つまり、GMUNは世界中で行われている模擬国連活動が目指すrole-”model”となるべく大会であり、私たち参加者は世界基準を設定する立場にあるということです。この言葉を頂いて、気持ちが引き締まった学生は多かったと思います。私達はただ国際学生会議に参加するために世界中から集められたのではなく、国連本部が開催している唯一の模擬国連会議で最大限学び、学んだことを各出身国の模擬国連に持ち帰って還元していく義務があることを忘れてはいけないことを再確認しました。

開会式の最後を飾ったのは、参加者一同が心待ちしていた藩基文国連事務総長によるスピーチでした。GMUNの会場に事務総長本人が足を運んだのは仁川大会が初めてであり、事務総長のスピーチには大きな期待が寄せられていました。スピーチ全体を通して、日々世界と向き合っている事務総長の言葉の一つ一つには重みがあり、とても感銘を受けました。事務総長はGMUN開催直前に２回目の任期に全会一致で再任されたばかりで、スピーチの中では今後５年間の意気込みを語ってくださいました。現在世界が抱える地球規模課題はどのような大国でも一国で対処できるものは少なくなっていて、まさに“United we stand, divided we fall”という格言が今日の国際関係を表現しているように、世界が協調して歩むことがより一層重要になってきています。そのような世界のまさに中心で、事務総長は”harmonizer”として世界を率いていくのが自分の役割だとおっしゃっていました。

事務総長はGMUN参加者のような若い世代がいかに世界の問題と向き合い、それらの解決策を模索し、将来の世界を創造していけるかが極めて重要だとなんども強調されていました。私達がGMUNで学んだことを今後活かしていくことが大きく期待されていることを改めて実感しました。事務総長の私達に向けた”Please keep working with us, pushing us and inspiring us…”という結びの言葉を胸に、今後も日々の学業や学生活動を精一杯頑張っていきたいと思います。

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ブログ用：

Global Model UN featured at UN multimedia：

http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/2011/08/at-global-student-forum-ban-urges-future-generation-of-leaders-to-make-a-difference.html

藩基文国連事務総長スピーチ（原文）：

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Key Note Speech at the 3rd Annual Global Model UN Conference

Incheon (Republic of Korea)-- 11 August 2011
It is a great pleasure and honour for me to address this Global Model United Nations. The United Nations is an indispensable organization. That is why it was founded. That is why it is still remaining relevant for more than 60 years. And that is why I am so encouraged by your clear desire to get involved in our work.

Every day, UN staff are in the field, feeding people, saving lives and keeping the peace. Every day, diplomats are working to resolve crises and develop the international laws that govern our ever more complex world. Your experience in this conference will give you a full taste of the complexity of international relations, the intricacies of negotiations among diverse peoples and perspectives, the challenges of achieving consensus and the patience required to win progress. This has been my life for the past five years.

Last month I was honoured to be elected to a second term as Secretary-General. It is a great honour. I can confirm my commitment to work together with you for world peace, development, security and human rights. My pledge to Member States is to make the United Nations even more effective and relevant. To deliver results for those who need us most. At the moment we face a growing humanitarian emergency in the Horn of Africa. The famine in Somalia is spreading. Tens of thousands of lives are at stake. The United Nations is there - saving lives.
We have appealed for roughly $2 billion in urgent assistance. So far, we have received only a little more than half that amount. But we will keep up the pressure and do what we can – and we must – to assist those in need. In the same way, we will continue to keep up the political pressure round the world wherever and whenever we see human rights being trampled, democracy being subverted and justice being denied.

This is the United Nations. It is your United Nations. So, I am delighted to see you here today. If there is one theme that sums up my first term as Secretary-General, and which will run through my second term for the coming five years, that is “new multilateralism”. I am sure you have all heard the saying, “united we stand, divided we fall”. That adage captures this moment in international affairs. No single country or group of countries, no matter how powerful they may be, can take on the major issues of the day alone.

In an era when challenges spill over borders and have global reach, our future depends on how well we work together. We must work in unison to defeat extreme poverty and build a more just and prosperous world. We must stand up for human beings in crisis: people caught up in war or disasters, or those whose fundamental rights are being infringed. We must unite to overcome climate change, and create a greener, more sustainable world for all. And we must create a safer world, free of nuclear weapons.

You are an important part of the solution. The world needs your active engagement. Twenty years from now, my generation will largely have left the scene. You, here today, will stand in our place, very soon. How the world looks in 2031 will depend largely on the decisions we make now, in 2011. Whatever decision you make now, whatever decision we make together, will determine the future in 20 years. Yes, technology offers solutions. But I prefer to put my faith in people, young people in particular. That is why the United Nations needs your engagement on the challenges that will shape the world you leave to your children.

I urge you to use the knowledge and skills you gain from this Model UN exercise and other pursuits to advance the objectives of the United Nations. After all, you will soon be the government officials who will negotiate peace, the community leaders who will help feed and shelter the vulnerable, the entrepreneurs and innovators who will get carbon emissions under control, the lawyers and human rights defenders who will fight injustice, impunity and intolerance. Many of you are already making a difference. I am sure that one among you will become secretary-general, or president of the General Assembly, or a president, prime minister, foreign minister or ambassador. That will depend upon how you do today. That is why I am telling you the future of our world depends on your active engagement today.

Recent events around the world have shown the power of young people to take the initiative and positively change the course of history. Increasingly, young people are saying to their elders, to their governments: “This is not the world we want.” We have all witnessed the tremendous changes and turmoil that have swept across the Middle East and North Africa. We have all witnessed the peaceful protests in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and elsewhere. But all of us have also seen terrible violence there and in Libya and Syria. Your generation is showing a growing resolve to change our world – and a capacity to make things happen, through peaceful means. I welcome this.

The world must take account of your voices. It must take account of the legitimate aspirations of young people everywhere for opportunity and dignity. Please keep working with us, pushing us and inspiring us. Help shape our world for the better help us meet the collective tests of our times and help the United Nations deliver what the world needs at this crucial moment. Never underestimate the power of the individual to make a difference to change the world. Please accept my best wishes for a rewarding Model UN. Thank you.