GENEVA INTERNATIONAL MODEL UNITED NATIONS
HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS
The Heads of Departments are managing small teams. We have the Events Team, the Translation Team, the GIMUN Delegations, the HR Team.
Meet the Heads!
Events Team
Maria Teresa Failli
Maria Teresa grew up in Italy attending a Swiss school, which gave her an insight into a multicultural and multilingual context. She then moved abroad, studying International Relations in Geneva and Brussels. She is now pursuing a Master’s degree in European Studies. Passionate about languages, cultures and travels, she decided to join the NGO GIMUN. After joining the association, first as a delegate and then as a member of the events team, she now wishes to make GIMUN an encounter between different cultures and languages, where diversity becomes uniqueness, enabling confrontation and dialogue in international environments.
Events Team
Shavonne McDonald
Shavonne is a student currently doing her Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations at the University of Geneva. After finishing her Matura in Zurich, she decided to move to Geneva to experience a different and more international part of Switzerland. Shavonne decided to join GIMUN’s Events Team at the beginning of her studies to improve her organisational and management skills. Having collected great experience and beautiful memories with GIMUN and its members, she is ready to face a new challenge being Co-head of the Events Team. She cannot wait to meet the new members and see what this year has to offer
Translation Team
Célia Mercier
Born and raised in France, Célia grew up speaking both French and Italian at home. Attending an international school, where she went on to learn English and Spanish, made her discover her passion for languages. She then pursued a BA in Multilingual Communication at the Faculty of Translation, which gave her the opportunity to study in Geneva, Edinburgh and Bologna. She is now following up with a MA in Legal and Institutional Translation, which she hopes will bring her closer to her lifelong dream of working as a translator in an international organisation. After having been a member of GIMUN’s Translation Team for a year, she hopes that becoming Head of the department will allow her to promote the importance of multilingualism by providing quality translation, a dimension of communication she thinks is essential to diplomacy, whether that be in the student-led context of GIMUN or in real-life diplomacy.
Translation Team
Cloé Mini
Cloé is 21 years old, and she comes from Ticino (Italian part of Switzerland). She is currently in her first year of Master in Specialised Translation (economic and financial, and legal and institutional translation) at the University of Geneva. The languages she is studying are Italian (her mother tongue), English, German, and French, and last year she also started a weekly Chinese course. During the 2021-2022 term, Cloé has been selected as Undersecretary General for Translation for the GIMUN Annual Conference. During the Conference that took place in February 2022, Cloé coordinated a team of six translators from all over Europe, also having the opportunity to give her contribution to the creation of the third edition of the GIMUN journal. Growing her interest in interculturalism, GIMUN has allowed Cloé to get in touch with new people and to better know and understand cultures across the world. For all these reasons, Cloé feels now ready to start her new adventure as Head of the GIMUN Translation Department.
Beginner Delegation
Simon Kjeldgaard
Simon is a 21-year-old student currently in his third year of Bachelor in physics at the University of Geneva. Simon joined the GIMUN as a member three years ago and this is his second year as Head of Delegation. Simon is from Denmark but was born in Switzerland and has spent a short time of his childhood in India and Vietnam. For most of his life, he has lived in or nearby Geneva. He speaks French, English and Danish fluently. Since he has had the chance to be Head of Delegation for the second time, Simon plans to make a memorable year for all future delegates, hoping that they will seek out more important roles and responsibilities.
Beginner Delegation
Natacha Pambou--Orski
Natacha is a 20 years old Political Science (SDS) Student. She has been part of GIMUN since Sept. 2020, when she moved to Geneva for her studies. Before that, she grew up in several countries : Indonesia, Gabon, Congo, the Netherlands, the UK, France ; and is passionate about worldwide connections and learning about different cultures. After two years as a delegate in the weekly GIMUN meetings, she decided to take a step forward and apply as Head Delegate. It is a great pleasure to take this responsibility. Alongside with her studies, Natacha is involved in NGOs and gets multiple occasions to experience UN-related tasks. She aims to create a serious yet fun environment, in order for all the delegates to enjoy their first (but hopefully not last) GIMUN experience.
Human Resources Team
Florence Koch
Florence is a 21 year old student and is currently completing her Bachelor's degree in International Relations at the University of Geneva. Raised in Zurich, Florence developed a passion for advocating for the youth early on during high school, where she actively engaged in the student environment as the student president. Living in Geneva has greatly influenced her interest in international politics and communication. Wanting to expand her knowledge and gain experience in the domain of international politics, she joined GIMUN in 2021. She is grateful for the opportunity she has had so far at GIMUN meeting wonderful new people and sharing great experiences with all of them. To her, GIMUN represents an organization that brings young people together in a place where they can acquire new skills, share their thoughts and debate about the ongoing international affairs. She hopes that within her role as a Head for Human Resources, she can create an environment for the participating students where everyone can reach their full potential.
Human Resources Team
Giulia Calisti
Giulia is a 21 years old student. Raised in Aosta, a little city of northern Italy, she decided to move to Switzerland to attend the university and she’s now studying International Relations at the University of Geneva. Passionate about law, communication and languages, last year she decided to join GIMUN’s Human Resources team. After having gained experience in the association and in her department she is now ready to pursue her journey in the GIMUN as one of the Heads of the Departement