VUBMUN is VUB’s Model United Nations student organisation, and social sciences student Adam Alexander Jukl is a member of the board. Hard work as a kitchen assistant taught him a life lesson, and Adam now wants to seize every opportunity out of respect for those who didn’t have the same chances as him. One day he hopes to be able to give something back.

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Adam was born in the Czech Republic but grew up in Denmark. His studies in civil engineering in Wales were a logical consequence of the subjects he chose in secondary school, but his heart wasn’t in it. He returned to Denmark and found work as a kitchen assistant. Working at least 10 hours a day was the norm, sometimes for two weeks without a break.

“Those six months in the kitchen changed my life. Most of the people were of foreign origin, and it dawned on me that they didn’t get the opportunities I would,” Adam says. “I’ve never been closer to burnout because of the hard work. My colleagues were all ages, and that kitchen was their opportunity, their life. And then I started thinking about the privileges I had been afforded.”

Like it is in Belgium, education in Denmark is subsidised, with an allowance for students. “So those people in the kitchen were paying for my educational opportunities with their hard work. It was my moral duty and responsibility to grab these chances with both hands. For all those who don’t get those opportunities, and yet still pay for them.

“After six months I went to work in a warehouse, and there I noticed that the conditions were better regulated by the union. Then I understood even more clearly the difference from the kitchen, and how good leadership can make a difference for people. Workers and employers both have needs. If you listen to each other’s needs, you can achieve mutual understanding and a better arrangement for all parties. In the meantime, at VUB, the academic year started, and I decided I would do everything in my power to make it a success, in the name of my colleagues in the kitchen.”

Model United Nations: Partnership at scale

“I had already done the Model United Nations at my international high school, but I had the feeling that at VUB, students chose it more out of a conscious commitment. I joined VUBMUN on day one. With extracurricular activities, some students prefer to wait till their first year is over, but for me this is the year when you get the chance to experiment with completely new things.

“In VUBMUN, students organise training courses on leadership, speaking, negotiation, legislation and international politics. The aim is to take part in international conferences and to simulate debates and negotiations on world themes such as women’s rights, poverty, war, the climate and the pandemic. This is between people from different cultural and political backgrounds, and with diverging interests. In the simulation, you are sometimes given a role that is not your own, sometimes in opposition to your own ideas. That’s how you broaden your view of things. Often you get the farthest not by defending your own point of view with fire, but by looking for common ground. That is the essence of consensus, partnership beyond borders.

“Interacting and communicating with each other is also important. Those who manage to build a good working relationship based on trust through interaction at the micro level have a better chance of overcoming the challenges, and thus make the most progress.”

The future after corona

“Because of corona, we had to cancel our conferences in Tokyo and London. It was difficult to stay committed, but I had to. As a leader in an organisation, it is your job and your responsibility to keep others motivated and to try your best to keep your promises, both to the delegates and to my fellow board members, Ines and Roderic.”

Adam is already thinking about his future after VUB. “My ambition is to give something back for the chances I’ve been given. What this will be and how to get there, I haven’t yet figured out. The United Nations is a dream, but my ambition is the EU. It is painful to say, but United Nations is not feasible for everyone because of the long unpaid internships. I can’t afford six months full-time in New York without income. Through paid internships, the EU actually offers more equal opportunities. Both are still very competitive environments, however. I have the feeling that for me it has to be done in a different way. First I have to immerse myself in something, prove myself and then take the opportunities that come along.”

He also wants to do a master’s abroad. At 22, he has already lived in four countries. “When you grow up in a form of diaspora, it is easier to feel European. But I am a European, without a doubt.”

But first, Adam will watch The World Needs You films. “The more international films you watch, the more varied your view, the more familiar you become with the cultural context of a country.”

And on 29 and 30 April, VUBMUN organises the first Diplomacy Days: two fascinating days about United Nations skills, including an impressive line-up of speakers and in-depth workshops. An opportunity to be seized, don’t you think?

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