Message from the Chair, University System of Georgia Africa Council (USAC)
Dear Honorable Guest, Delegates, and Faculty Advisors:
As Chair of the University System of Georgia Africa Council (a consortium of 26 public universities and colleges, including some private institutions), it gives me the greatest pleasure and honor to welcome you to the 26th annual Southeast Model African Union Conference at Kennesaw State University, Georgia. SEMAU Conference provides a unique experience because the University System Africa Council (USAC) is the only one of the four World Regional Councils set up by the Board of Regents’ System Council on International Education (SCIE) that engages students in this experiential exercise to practice the art of diplomacy, while, at the same time, learn about a particular continent-Africa and the issues facing it, and also to explore possible solutions to its problems. SEMAU itself is a simulation of the annual meeting of Heads of State of the African Union (AU), and it is really a big Conference on African affairs that gives students an unprecedented opportunity to gain experience about all facets of African life.
To the student delegates, this conference is student-focused, therefore you are at the center of gravity. As such, it is indeed a pleasure to have you at the 2023 SEMAU Conference. You have selected a particular African country to represent. As ambassadors of the countries you are representing, you must take on the character of your selected countries, and that requires that you understand very intimately the position of your country on the issues being debated in your various committees. Under the guidance of your esteemed faculty advisors, you have spent the last few months in intense preparation, attending lectures, researching your individual countries and agenda topics, practicing the rules, and honing your debate skills. Through your semester practice, you have diligently informed yourselves, not only about African affairs in general, but also about the nature, policies, and attitudes of the individual country you are representing at this Conference. I have no doubts that you are now ready with the required knowledge and skills for effective deliberation in your various committees in the three days of the Conference. In the most African spirit, your task is to work collaboratively as a team with your fellow delegates, as ambassadors and policy makers representing African countries, to find African solutions to African problems. At the end of your deliberations, the resolutions you passed will be sent to the African Union Mission in Washington, DC, for consideration and they may end up at the African Union
Headquarters at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Thus, your work here is not just theoretical exercise, but one with practical implications that may impact the work of the African Union.
This simulation of the proceedings of heads of state and government of the African Union (AU) is a splendid exercise. The exercise is designed not only to enrich your understanding of African affairs, but also to hone your diplomatic, leadership and conflict resolution skills. It also constitutes firsthand experiential learning or learning beyond the classroom experience, which are very much in line with the features of two educational pillars that the University System of Georgia increasingly emphasizes: the acquisition of global or international competence and firsthand experiential learning. These are defining skills of the twenty-first century that give competitive advantage in all occupations. Therefore,
USAC congratulate you so highly for being very much in step with some of the urgent drives that the University System of Georgia in particular and world in general values immensely.
Beyond providing fantastic opportunity for high-impact learning and well-established global competitive advantage skills, the SEMAU Conference also creates opportunity for fraternization and lifelong friendships. Therefore, take the time to have fun and socialize especially during the African Night on Friday and make new friends and rekindle old friendships.
To the faculty advisors, there is no amount of thanks that is enough for your dedication for your students and to the cause. Year after year for 26 years, you spent countless hours outside your normal course load to recruit, prepare, and coach your students for this model. There is no iota of doubt whatsoever, that you are a true believer to the cause and no question among the best that the University System of Georgia has to offer. For this labor of love, I am immensely grateful and lucky to serve as your Chair.
We must extend our utmost gratitude to our host institution, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Georgia, its extended communities, and to the SEMAU Director, Dr. Nuru Akinyemi, Co-Director, Dr. Ike Ukeje, International Project Development & Compliance Manager, Ms. Saundra Rogers, and the Conference Organizing Committee for the planning and preparation for this year’s Conference.
On behalf of the University System of Georgia Africa Council, again, welcome to the 26th Southeast Model African Union Conference. We wish you a phenomenally successful Conference.
Thank you and may God Almighty continue to bless you.
