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The Model African Union Conference – Howard University, Washington, DC
Each year, Dr. Clemente K. Abrokwaa takes group of students to represent the Pennsylvania State University at the anual Model African Union conference. This year on March 3, 2007, students who represented Penn State University include Ambrose Appiah, Jennifer Stahl, Dominique Reed, Dionna Shinn, Shane Doud, Brandon Alston, and Aline Niyonkuru
What is the Model African Union?
The Model African Union (MOAU) conference is a simulation of the African Union held at Howard University in Washington, DC from Wednesday through Saturday at the beginning of March each year. The conference is designed for university and college students drawn from across the nation, with each school representing one of the fifty-four African countries. This year (2007) Penn State represented Tunisia but has also represented several African countries in the past, including Malawi, Lesotho, Benin, Togo, Egypt, Eritrea and Ghana in its nine- year participation in the Model. In total, each conference draws about 300-400 students from across the nation, with each school avidly committed to defending their country’s position on the various African issues of economics, politics, social and cultural concerns.
Student Participation & Eligibility
All Penn State students interested in the Model are eligible for selection to participate in the conference but they must take at least one African course, preferably AAAS 110 to acquaint themselves with the nature of the African society, its political structures, cultures and economics. The African Union is composed of five major organs, namely:
- Assembly of Heads of State and Government – (all Member States belong to this Assembly).
- The Executive Council
- The Technical Committee on Economic Matters
- The African Human Rights Committee
- The Technical Committee on Social Matters
- The Peace and Security Committee
The Faculty Advisor from each university or college assigns each of his/her students to serve on one of the organs or committees above. The duties and responsibilities of each committee are explained in detail at the website of the Model: www.modelafricanunion.org. A school can represent two or three countries, if they have more participants in their group. Serving on a committee implies that each participant must be capable of expressing themselves in front of a large audience and defending their position on crucial matters arising from debates.
Resolutions
Participants of the Model are encouraged to write and submit their resolutions for discussion on their committees. The format of the resolutions follows strictly the style of those of the African Union, which can be accessed at the Model’s website above. The Penn State team was able to pass their resolutions both last year and this year.
Funding
Penn State’s participation in the Model has been actively supported & funded by the following Offices:
- The African & African American Studies Department
- The Vice Provost for Educational Equity – Old Main
- The Associate Dean, College of the Liberal Arts
- Marilyn Byers – Alumni Office– Sparks Building
- Mr. Earl Merritt - Minority Recruitment Office – Sparks
- The Africana Research Center
For more information regarding the conference and participation, please contact:
Dr. Clemente K. Abrokwaa at: 865-5257, or email to: cka1@psu.edu
The Department encourages students to think about ways in which active involvement in research provides skills that could contribute to effective leadership development.
Upper-level courses normally require research, but students are also encouraged to undertake independent research in topics/issues that will help them to expand their range of knowledge and skills. The Africana Research Center (ARC) sponsors an annual undergraduate research symposium where students who have conducted research on topics of interest to the ARC are recommended by their professors in the AAAS department for participation in the symposium. Presentation of research at the ARC Undergraduate symposium also helps students to develop skills that will be important in job interviews and public speaking.
The Department’s emphasis on research is also directed at encouraging students to pursue careers in education from K-12 to university level. The Department sees its research mission as central to the development of a highly-educated professional workforce and well-informed citizenry among future generations. Undergraduate research can also become a mechanism for encouraging students to pursue careers in the academy in a variety of fields.
The list of research projects that were presented at the 2006 ARC Undergraduate Research symposium were:
2006 Undergraduate Summer Discovery Grant:
This year, Juliann Haynes, a junior majoring in history has been working with Dr. Cary Fraser of the AAAS Department on broadening her understanding of citizenship in the United States. Juliann became interested in the topic when she took a course on Civil Rights and American Politics, 1933-1968 in the fall of 2005 with Dr. Fraser. She had undertaken an independent study course with Dr. Fraser in the spring of 2006 on: The Evolution of Citizenship in early 20th century America. That research encouraged her successful application for an Undergraduate Summer Discovery grant in support of a project: Eleanor Roosevelt, Women's Suffrage, and the Changing Meaning of Citizenship in 20th Century America.
Juliann plans to use the grant to spend a period of 10 days doing research in the papers of Eleanor Roosevelt at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library in Hyde Park, New York. She will be producing a research paper that can be presented at the PSU Undergraduate Research Exhibition in April 2007, and will use the research as part of her portfolio when applying for graduate school where she plans to pursue studies in history. Juliann is interested in becoming a historian with a view to an academic career.