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The importance of
The South African Model United Nations Debating Conferences
The South African Model United Nations (SAMUN) debating conferences are based on the principles and format of a UN General Assembly debate, with a focus on the United Nations, global issues, international relations and human rights issues.
Team Mpumalanga, which was represented by learners from St Thomas Aquinas School and Pine Ridge High School, were the winners of the 2010 SAMUN Cape Town International Conference. |
The above learners as well as the learners from Mpumalanga will be representing South Africa at an International Model UN Conference in the US in March 2011. |
The conferences were first held in 1995 as part of the United Nations’ 50th anniversary celebrations. The 1995 group of debaters accompanied former President Nelson Mandela on his trip to New York for
the UN celebrations. Although the event was run at the time by the National Ministry of Education, Education Africa was called in by the then Minister of Education, Professor Sibusiso Bengu, to assist with
the project. It was a resounding success, giving South African learners a life-changing experience.
In 1998, Education Africa revived the debating conferences for South African high schools. For the past decade, the SAMUN debating conferences have united disadvantaged and advantaged learners from
all nine provinces of South Africa, and have been run successfully at provincial, national and international levels. Today, over 500 South African high schools from diverse backgrounds participate in this
programme on an annual basis.
Blue Ribbon Award
The SAMUN is the only truly internationally recognised national Model UN debating conference. Education Africa USA received a United Nations Blue Ribbon Award on behalf of Education Africa, in Washington DC, October 2000, for programme excellence in furthering the ideals of the United Nations.
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Structure of the SAMUN conferences
The conference structure is divided into the following components:
- Provincial training workshops: Teams attend a training workshop in their province, where they are briefed on the rules, procedures and issues to be debated. Each team is allocated the country whose viewpoint they will be debating in the conference, as well as the topic of debate.
- Provincial conferences: The conference is run firstly at a provincial level, where the debates are held in the Provincial Legislatures.
- National training workshops: The winning teams are appointed a MUNSA tutor to help them prepare for the SAMUN Cape Town International Conference.
- SAMUN Cape Town International Conference: The winning teams from each province, including their educators and tutors, are then flown to Cape Town to debate against school teams from both Africa and abroad. The teams participate in a unique learning experience on Robben Island, where the closing ceremonies also take place.
- USA International Conference: The best performing South African team at the SAMUN Cape Town International Conference, and one member from each of the other eight provincial teams, receive the tremendous experience of attending an international debating conference in the USA and visiting the United Nations headquarters in New York.
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Unique structure of the SAMUN teams: the twinning of resourced and under-resourced schools
The General Assembly democratic process forms a vital part of the debating criteria, and this commitment to democratic processes is carried through to the formation of teams.
Each South African team of four learners consists of a partnership of schools: two learners from a resourced school and two from an under-resourced school, as well as an educator from each school.
This combination is distinct from any other Model UN conference in that it:
- promotes cross-cultural exchange;
- encourages tolerance and peace between the learners; and
- gives disadvantaged learners the opportunity to compete on an equal footing, as they have access to research resources through their partner school.
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Conclusion
Through its design and content, this Education Africa project assists in developing a well-informed youth who will participate in the South African economy with a strong sense of democracy, good governance and ethics. The SAMUN establishes the grounding elements for the development of future leaders for the world of work by changing mindsets and transcending boundaries that can hamper fruitful academic, economic and social achievements.
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