An Overview of The Hague 101st International Session

Day One – Settling in, welcome dinner and meeting new people

The first day was mainly dedicated to travel and getting a first glimpse of the city. As delegates began their journeys, the Delegates Yap channel became active—it was exciting to get a sense of everyone’s personalities. I travelled with another EYPUK delegate, and after arriving in The Hague, we dropped our bags off at the hostel and took some time to explore the city. I recommend this as during the session you will be very busy and have limited time to do so.

We returned to check in around mid-afternoon, just as most of the other delegates were arriving. The rest of the afternoon was spent settling in and meeting our roommates and other delegates.

Later in the day, we made our way to a separate venue for dinner. The atmosphere was lively and full of energy—it felt surreal to be surrounded by so many people from different parts of Europe. It was the first real opportunity to get to know people, conversations flowed easily.

Day Two – General and committee bonding, ‘Eurodessert’

The second day kicked off with general team-building activities, which was a great way to see all the delegates and officials interacting together for the first time. It was fun and energising, and you could feel the excitement. We then split into our individual committees. That’s when we properly met our full committee for the first time and spent time doing bonding games, which helped us get to know each other and understand the committee dynamic.

After a full day of bonding, we moved to a new venue for dinner and Eurodessert.

This was one of the highlights—getting to try foods from all the different countries was both fun and eye-opening. One of the Finnish delegates gave me an incredibly sour sweet, and I had the shock of my life. There was also a photobooth and a DJ, which made the evening even more fun.

Back at the hostel, a big group of us gathered downstairs to relax and chat before heading off to bed. It was a nice, low-key way to wind down after such a full-on and exciting day.

Day Three – Committee work, committee dinner

On the first day of committee work, we focused on knowledge-sharing and brainstorming. We developed our aim statement and started shaping ideas for our resolution, discussing the direction we wanted to take. It was a much more relaxed process compared to Nationals, since committee work was spread over three days instead of being crammed into one.

That evening, we had our committee dinner, which I really enjoyed. It felt like the first time we truly bonded as a group with no tension or awkwardness and it allowed us all to get to know each other in a different environment.

Day Four – Committee work, remembrance evening

For me, the second day of committee work was a definite improvement—we had finally found our groove as a team. That day, we focused on writing our because clauses and thinking about potential by clauses for our resolution. The atmosphere was productive but fun, with energisers throughout the day—especially Just Dance (my favourite).

In the evening, we attended a remembrance dinner at The Hague’s city hall, marking 80 years since the end of World War II. We were seated with people we hadn’t interacted with before, which created a great opportunity to talk to delegates and officials we had not me before. There were also representatives from different organisations at the tables, and several speeches throughout the evening.

Day Five – Committee work, skills lab

On the final day of committee work, my group was ahead of schedule and managed to finish our resolution early in the afternoon. Even so, we decided to spend extra time reviewing and editing it, which ended up being really helpful and created less work for our chair.

That evening, we attended the Skills Lab, where everyone took part in two different workshops. I went to workshops hosted by the College of Europe and Amnesty International, and I found Amnesty’s especially interesting, as it delved into society’s unfair profiling of marginalised groups. After the workshops, there were stalls set up by each organisation, giving us the chance to chat with people we hadn’t been able to see during the sessions.

We ended the night back at the hostel, relaxing and hanging out with everyone.

Day Six – Embassy visit + excursion day (human rights non-profit), Euroconcert

In the morning, we had our embassy visit, which was a great chance to be with the entire UK delegation. Although I already knew one person prior to the session and had become very close with another UK delegate, I hadn’t really gotten to know the rest of the delegation until then. It was also fascinating to speak with the diplomats at the UK embassy and have the opportunity to ask them questions.

Afterward, we had lunch together in a nearby park before heading off to our individual excursions. I visited the Netherlands Helsinki Committee, a non-governmental organisation focused on promoting human rights, which I found both insightful and inspiring.

In the evening, we attended the Euroconcert, which I really enjoyed—it was incredible to see the range of talent and to experience different cultures through music and performance.

After returning to the hostel, some members of my committee gathered to create our defence video for the next day’s debate. I thoroughly enjoyed the process—it was such a fun and creative moment, and I made some great memories. At one point, the lift started randomly taking me to different floors in the middle of filming, which was unexpected (and hilarious).

Day Seven – General assembly day one

The first day of the General Assembly featured six debates, with mine scheduled third. What stood out to me most were the defence videos—they added a creative and personal touch to the resolutions. I really liked this change from Nationals.

Day Eight – General assembly day two + farewell party

The second and final day of the General Assembly included ten debates, followed by the closing ceremony—which, honestly, hit deep. It was emotional knowing the week was coming to an end.

Afterwards, we headed to a new venue for the farewell party. We had dinner, there was music, and the atmosphere was amazing. It was so much fun being with the people we’d just spent an intense, unforgettable week with. Everyone was reflecting a little—sharing memories, laughing, and soaking it all in. We danced, talked, and made the most of our final night before heading back to the hostel to hang out one last time.

Written by Alba N – member of EYPUK and attendee of The Hague 2025

For more information about The Hague International Session 2025, please see their website.