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Model African Union Team Wins Two Awards at National Conference

April 29, 2014

Model African Union Team Wins Two Awards at National Conference

2013-2014 Model African Union team.

The 2013-2014 school year marks the third year in a row for Ohio State University’s Model African Union team to be invited to the national conference that took place in Washington, D.C. at Howard University on February 19th. The group was assigned to represent Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

The team was comprised of 18 students ranging from freshman to seniors in academic rank. The group was successful in winning two awards. These two delegates explain the experience below:

“Upon the beginning of the committee deliberations I have to admit, I felt overwhelmingly intimidated by the thought of the conference and how legitimate it was.  Specifically, I was concerned about being able to follow the procedural MAU rules set out for the conference. Resolutions were also a huge part of the intimidating hesitation of committee work, my partner Azubike and I worked really hard through ups and downs, struggles and victory on our resolution in order to get it passed during the conference. When the first day of the voting procedure had arrived, we were set on our resolution and ready to pass it, little did we know that it was in the road to failure. The initial point of this round was to accept or decline amendments in order to better the resolution for agreement to pass. 

Model African Union National Conference

However, my partner and I did not accept very many amendments, which resulted in the down fall of our resolution. I cannot express to you our shock and disappointment; we were distraught. Giving up was not an option so because the following day was also a voting day, we came back with a new updated version of our previous resolution. However, this time, we came up stronger and ready to negotiate and accept amendments that were presented by other delegates. I could not possibly tell you how beneficial cooperating and acknowledging the ideas of others was. Each committee was given a list of the awards that would be given on the last day of the conference. Each country is to nominate another to win an award. Without our knowledge Azubike and I were being nominated for the breakthrough accomplishment of cooperating and working well with others. This enabled us to be grant with the ‘Outstanding Delegates’ award.” – Leena Dawi


Model African Union Team

“My name is Azubike Akunne this past February I was awarded the chance to travel to Washington DC to participate in the 2014 Model African Union. The objectives of this trip are to introduce young adults to the complexity and often rewarding African Union. During my time at the conference, I was given the opportunity to work on my resolution focusing on the regional economic communities, specifically ECOWAS:Nigeria. Within my committee room a number of resolutions were passed, all of them pertaining to solutions that could be used to help Africa in the future.

Looking back, my time at the Model AU was very rewarding. For my outstanding efforts and preparation my peers awarded me with an award highlighting my efforts. The work and effort put into this conference was well spent. I've walked away with a better understanding of how the African Union works and also gained a number of new friends who will accompany me on my journey through life.” – Azubike Akunne

We congratulate the group on their success and look forward to watching them in the years to come!