TSMC to begin construction of European chip factory in Q4 '24    German inflation up to 2.4% in April    Biden harshly hikes tariffs on Chinese imports to protect US businesses    Madinaty Open Air Mall Welcomes Boom Room: Egypt's First Social Entertainment Hub    Oil steady in early Tuesday trade    Indonesia kicks off 1st oil, gas auction    Cred entrusts Ever's clubhouse operations to Emirati firm Dex Squared    Mabany Edris boosts Koun Project investment to EGP 7bn    Sales of top 10 Egyptian real estate companies hit EGP 235bn in three months: The Board Consulting    Key suppliers of arms to Israel: Who halted weapon exports?    Trend Micro's 2023 Cybersecurity Report: Blocking 73 million threats in Egypt    Egypt and OECD representatives discuss green growth policies report    Egypt, Greece collaborate on healthcare development, medical tourism    Egyptian consortium nears completion of Tanzania's Julius Nyerere hydropower project    Intel eyes $11b investment for new Irish chip plant    Al-Sisi inaugurates restored Sayyida Zainab Mosque, reveals plan to develop historic mosques    Shell Egypt hosts discovery session for university students to fuel participation in Shell Eco-marathon 2025    President Al-Sisi hosts leader of Indian Bohra community    Japanese Ambassador presents Certificate of Appreciation to renowned Opera singer Reda El-Wakil    Sweilam highlights Egypt's water needs, cooperation efforts during Baghdad Conference    AstraZeneca injects $50m in Egypt over four years    Egypt, AstraZeneca sign liver cancer MoU    Swiss freeze on Russian assets dwindles to $6.36b in '23    Climate change risks 70% of global workforce – ILO    Prime Minister Madbouly reviews cooperation with South Sudan    Egypt retains top spot in CFA's MENA Research Challenge    Egyptian public, private sectors off on Apr 25 marking Sinai Liberation    Debt swaps could unlock $100b for climate action    Amal Al Ghad Magazine congratulates President Sisi on new office term    Egyptian, Japanese Judo communities celebrate new coach at Tokyo's Embassy in Cairo    Uppingham Cairo and Rafa Nadal Academy Unite to Elevate Sports Education in Egypt with the Introduction of the "Rafa Nadal Tennis Program"    Financial literacy becomes extremely important – EGX official    Euro area annual inflation up to 2.9% – Eurostat    BYD، Brazil's Sigma Lithium JV likely    UNESCO celebrates World Arabic Language Day    Motaz Azaiza mural in Manchester tribute to Palestinian journalists    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Kicking off the Model African Union
Published in Al-Ahram Weekly on 26 - 11 - 2015

Around 150 students from 13 universities representing ten countries had the chance to discuss important topics at the Model African Union throughout Egypt this month. Among the topics was the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), discussed during the anthropology session before the official opening of the round.
“Our aim is to spread awareness of African issues and assert African identity,” said Samah Youssef, an economics professor at Cairo University and the academic supervisor of student activities. She said that the Model African Union is a bridge of communication between Egyptian and foreign students.
“Egypt is not against the building of the GERD, but it has concerns over its technicalities,” said Sahar Mohamed, a teaching assistant at the African Institute for Research and Studies at Cairo University.
“Through this Model African Union, and African communication more generally, we aim to open up to the African continent,” said Hussein Mourad, deputy head of the African Institute in Cairo. Egypt has a lot to offer its African siblings, he said, through capacity building as part of its leading role on the continent.
“Young people are capable of conducting talks the same way officials do,” said Hanadi Roshdy, a spokesperson from the State Information Service (SIS) in Cairo, adding that Africa today has immense population resources that will be of benefit for the future.
More than a billion people live in Africa today, a number capable of turning the continent into another China in five years, said Nader Fath Al-Aleem, the African Union (AU) ambassador to Egypt.
“Young people will accomplish this as a result of their willpower and persistence,” he said. Al-Aleem added that the Model African Union focussed particularly on the 2063 African agenda, dubbed “The Africa We Want.”
Delegates at the Model Union presented papers proposing solutions to the problems of Africa. Mohamed said that it is through conducting research and discussing current issues that young people can move away from selfishness or self-absorption.
The Cairo University Institute not only conducts the annual round of the Model Union, but also holds workshops for school children between 12 and 18 years of age. Children were also asked to present research at this year's event, though on a smaller scale. “They have inspired topics for masters' theses,” Youssef said.
The Model's opening day coincided with African Youth Day, adopted by the AU in 2006, and this saw students sharing experiences from last year's Model. The student activity is under the patronage of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the AU and the SIS, and has been held for the past three years.
“You are the future,” AU Ambassador Al-Aleem said. “The next century is African.”
The writer is a freelance journalist.


Clic here to read the story from its source.