Letter from the presidents

Venerable Committee Chairs, Honourable Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the 21st national MEP session in Wels, Upper Austria. We are delighted to be hosting the 2nd digi national session from the 28^th to 30^th of January. Despite Covid-19 restrictions, MEP continues to ensure a vivid and animated exchange between students from all over Europe, in this case Austria and Germany. 

Despite being online, this MEP session will grant you the opportunity to have thought-provoking discussions, insightful debates and meet new people, perhaps even future friends. The Model European Parliament is a truly exceptional opportunity, cherished by many current and past members. 

You may not be able to currently be there, but Upper Austria truly embodies the typical Austrian landscape always seen in the media. With its vastly diverse scenery, including imposing mountain ranges and lush lakeside terrain, Upper Austria makes up a fundamental part of Austrian culture and economy. The region boasts tourist hotspots like Hallstatt, a small traditional village that attracts around one million tourists every year or the lake area Attersee, to name but a few of the countless tourist destinations frequented by so many. 

Upper Austria does not just offer beautiful scenery, it continues to be a hub for innovation and industrial progress from ARS Electronica to Voest. All fields summarized under the umbrella term STEM are innovations of the future. Austria holds a lot of untapped potential and brainpower just waiting to be recognized and developed.

In these times of isolation, the importance of digitalization has been highlighted. Zoom and Teams have become crucial to our daily lives and more and more people rely on technology for daily necessities. These advancements will become ever more relevant as our world becomes more and more digital. The focus of this MEP session will be on this and how we, as a society, can draw positives from the pandemic and the growing digitalization. How will the global consequences of the virus outbreak shape our future to come? 

The pandemic has created a seemingly unmendable divide in our society and it is up to all of us to bridge the gap. MEP gives us the necessary skills to reach a compromise and have fruitful debates about crucial topics which need to be tackled sooner rather than later.

We are looking forward to seeing your resolutions and wish you a valuable and exciting MEP experience.

We hope that you will enjoy this year's national MEP session!

Your Presidency

Ronja Endfellner (WRG ORG Wels), Manuel Ganja Tejera (WRG ORG Wels), Solomon Clarke-Foster (Theresianische Akademie), Laurenz Stastka (Theresianische Akademie), Benedikt Wietrzyk (Theresianische Akademie)