THE DAILY
No. 4
SAIMUNER Thursday, June 22nd 2017
www.saimun.net
Pomp and Funfair at the Gala Dinner By Julie Ambani was when she declared the drinks and food bar closed for a while but other than that, most had sentiments of undeniable love for her, some even pledging to send her roses the next day. Nirali Patel took over for a while to host a mini fashion show where the delegates who had been nominated for the best dressed delegate award were given a chance to strut their stuff as the crowd cheered for those whose dressing they loved the most.
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Faith and Maya with a friend at the Gala Dinner last night
After the pomp and funfair of the Global Village in the afternoon, the excitement levels for the Gala Night were soaring high.
Joanne later took over the hosting again as she introduced the performers for the night such as Vanessa and Leo, Khweva, among others. Many presentations were made, some good, some outstanding. Singers sang their souls out while instrumentalists
Given that this event was free of charge, many delegates were able to attend and have a good time as they interacted within themselves. Upon arrival at the Michael Joseph Center one could see that the organizers of this event had gone all out. Lively music was blaring, setting the mood for a fun time. The hall was decorated with posters of the SDGs and chatter and banter filled the room. At the back of the room was James the artist who was drawing immaculate portraits of those who wanted to be drawn. There was a drinks and food bar where delegates were crowded each trying to get a cocktail or a snack to bite on. The DJ ensured that the music was contemporary music that everyone could relate to and the crowd was bopping to the beat. The emcee for the night was the vibrant Joanne Ntinyari who took control of the crowd by cracking humor and conducting interactive crowd activities. People said the only time they let her down
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Vanessa and Leo wooing the crowd with a song
charmed their way into the crowd’s heart. One of the performances that everyone agreed was simply phenomenal was that by the quartet who played the violins and cello. Their tunes were to die for. All in all it was a marvelous night which has been termed by the delegates as their favorite social yet. The Best dressed delegate will be announced on Friday during Cosing ceremony.
2 THE GREEN CITY UNDER THE SUN
THE DAILY SAIMUNER
Nairobi Series: The City in Times Past
By Soila Kenya The history of Kenya’s capital dates back to 1899 when the British cleared out the Maasai to build the Looney Express. The Looney (or Lunatic) Express was the nickname given to the Uganda Railway, a project of the British colonizers who chose it for two main reasons. The primary reason was that it connected Mombasa in the East with the rubber tappers of Kampala. The other reason was that it had an elevated position and abundant water supply, which got it its name. Nairobi comes from the Maasai phrase ‘Enkare Nyrobi’, which translates to ‘cool water’. The cool temperature was a welcome relief from the hot Mombasa coastal sun the British had to contend with as they built the railway line from Mombasa to Uganda. This railway line, meant to connect the East African interior with the rest of the world, had been named the “Lunatic Express” by skeptics doubting its economic worth. However, the Looney express camp would prove them wrong. With the railway line complete, the history of Nairobi continued when the British moved their administrative headquarters from the hot and humid town of Mombasa to the cooler, swampy town of Nairobi, thus making Nairobi the capital of British East Africa. In 1919, the Nairobi municipal community formally became the Nairobi City Council. Its boundary was extended to include surrounding part-urban settlements. The boundary was again extended in 1927 to cover 30 square miles (48 sq.km). Geographically, the city of Nairobi now occupies approximately 425 square miles (684 sq.km). During the struggle against British colonialism, the city served as an important meeting point for political activists to get together and compare notes. In 1906, the city had a population of 10,512. Nairobi was the heart around which the predominantly agricultural economy pulsated. People kept streaming to the city.
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Two Kikuyu women deep in conversation on Bazaar Street (currently Biashara Street)
Businesses developed and thrived and the town grew in leaps and bounds. The population was mainly comprised of English settlers, Asians and ethnic communities of the Kikuyu and Kamba whose origins were in close proximity to the city. The Maasai had been relocated by the British a few years earlier to pave wave for settler occupation. The beautiful green foliage and the fact that Nairobi is the only city with a national park within its boundaries earned it the dual identity of “the green city in the sun” and “the safari capital of the world”. Any safari tour to see Kenya’s world famous game animals begins in Nairobi. Before independence, Nairobi was a popular place for big game hunters to begin their hunting expeditions. This proved so popular that famous writer Ernest Hemmingway visited in a quest to bag some game. Indeed, in the early part of the 20th century, Nairobi was the hunting capital of the world. Towards the end of World War II, the strife resulted into a Mau Mau Uprising. There was pressure on the British from the local people that led to Kenyan Independence in 1963. Nairobi became the capital of the new republic.
Did You Know? Nairobi was nicknamed ‘The Green City under the Sun’ by the well-heeled tourists who flocked to the city in the 1920’s. It was home to Swedish writer Karen Blixen who wrote Out of Africa here. A suburb of Nairobi, Karen, is now named in her honour.
CONFERENCE NEWS
THE DAILY SAIMUNER
Delegate Interview: The life of an international delegate at #SAIMUN17
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By Naomi Wanjiku Rupincler Singh is one of the delegates who has received a red rose from a secret admirer in the conference. All the way from Indi-California in India, Singh is representing ECOSOC Committee in the SAIMUN conference.
diplomatic friends and that is what SAIMUN has given me.
He is quite the social type as you will find him interacting with people in social places during his
RS: Patience is one of the key things I have learnt. To listen and understand others before you make your point is important as you may learn something new from them.
TDS: What is one important lesson you have picked from the SAIMUN conference?
TDS: Do you miss anything from India? RS: I miss the food, especially homemade food made by my mum. I miss palatas which are stuffed chapatis. TDS: Are you going back home after SAIMUN? RS: I am going to continue staying in Kenya since I am on a student exchange program doing ACCA at Strathmore University. Ali Mohsin Khimji l PHOTO
Rupinder Singh
free time. Here is a one-on-one interview with Mr Singh. TDS: Is this your first MUN?
TDS: What would you tell other people from international countries who have not attended SAIMUN yet? RS: You are missing out on a very big thing in your life. The people who want to attend SAIMUN just go ahead and knock yourself out in the next
RS: No, this is my 6th MUN and 2nd international MUN. TDS: Is SAIMUN different from the other MUN’s you have attended? RS: Yes, SAIMUN is different because it has a diversified crowd. Over here, people are very nice, the socials which have been organized by SAIMUN are quite interactive. I have also met other people and learnt their culture, so it is a good experience. TDS: What has your experience in SAIMUN been like? RS: It has been a good experience overall. I have gotten to learn other cultures and I have gotten to exchange my views and thoughts with others. I have been able to understand the nature and current state of different countries. This is what I required the most because I needed some
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Rupinder Singh in session in his committee
year. It will be fun and you will get a lot of people to meet. I can assure you that it will change your understanding of your life.
4 PICTORIAL
Yesterday in pictures...
Ali Mohsin Khimji and Rehema Wangari l PHOTOS
THE DAILY SAIMUNER
THE DAILY SAIMUNER
PICTORIAL
5
UNEP: Yesterday’s Highlights By Savita Toor After two consecutive days of discussing and debating on implementation of Water Resource Management (WRM) at all levels through transboundary cooperation, the UNEP committee was divided into groups to come up with a working paper to present to the chair. Africa Nation was the first to present their working paper to the committee followed by Middle East. The delegate from the Africa Nation mentioned, “Governments should impose law enforcements on the usage of water in a particular country. In order for people to stop polluting water bodies, they should be given life imprisonment so that people think twice before polluting water.” The committee calls on relevant United Nation agencies to expand international cooperation and capacity building support to developing countries in water and sanitation related activities. It further urges that states should share their water resources with one another in order to form joint work commissions in order to discuss and devise strategies and policies that should be implemented to manage water resources
6 CONFERENCE NEWS
THE DAILY SAIMUNER
Global Village: #SAIMUN17 ‘We are Global Citizens’
alongside a beautiful piece by Karithwa Kirimi. She literally sent everyone in a “snappathon” right after she was done.
By Kefa Odindo
Crisis committee are perhaps the most active an entertaining committee at SAIMUN. They completely managed to replicate the hullabaloos that they partake of during their committee sessions right to the global village stage, performing perhaps one of the most popular dances in Kenya right now, Bazokizo, they got everyone on their phone, recording the spectacle.
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Delegates practicing a dance during yesterday’s global village
What makes us citizens of the world is the respective cultures we call our own, the most important being that of Human Culture. Neglecting the barriers drawn by borders, religion or race, it is quite clear that what we are is one big global village. The SAIMUN conference on its third day was keen to assure that we get a taste of various world cultures to symbolise our unity. Delegates were tasked to come up with performances as a celebration of world cultures. The excitement and thrill amongst them was evident as the rehearsals started as early as 11am, immediately after their committee sessions.
DISEC then later took the stage with too much psych which in fact replicated within the other delegates. They played an array of African songs that were quite appealing to the non-African delegates as well as give a sense of belonging to the African delegates. Then finally, the last was SOCHUM. They kicked off quite well with a South Sudanese traditional dance then did the lipala dance, but their confusion started reigning when they jumped from culture to giving us a brain fracture. They went as far as playing tunes from “Crown love riddim” which got people thinking, are we still on culture or is it a jam session? By God’s good graces, they
The event did not start exactly at 2pm, a factor that did not deter the responsible parties for bringing up a show better than their colleagues. UNEP delegates were the first to grace the stage with one of the most popular tunes in Africa, Tsa Madebele. Security Council then jumped in right next with the best of Moroccan dance, sending other delegates into pure watching bliss. The beautiful ladies then went on a solo before they wrapped it all up with a dance from Yemi Alade’s song, Africa. UNHCR then brought the vibe back home as they started on a mugithi tune and went on to do a set on Kenyan cultural songs, icing the presentation with a spoken word piece, the first of the committees to move in that direction. It seemed that the manifestation of spoken word was within the delegates, because ECOSOC then highlighted their presentation with a saxophone performance
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Delegates performing their committe dance
still managed to find their way off the stage, for that, we could at least give them a certificate of participation.
All in all, global village was quite a success and a well deserved break from serious discussion “This was the first most amazing global village despite it being my second MUN attendance, “ was all Nina Wambui, Security Council participant, had to say. The general message from the global village was basically that culture makes us who we are, when we deviate then we are no longer citizens of the world.
EXTRAS 7
THE DAILY SAIMUNER
How to Organize an MUN Conference
By Kefa Odindo Model United Nations, also known as MUN, is an educational simulation and/or academic activity in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. MUN involves and teaches researching, public speaking, debating, and writing skills, in addition to critical thinking, teamwork, and leadership abilities. Usually an extra-curricular activity, some schools also offer MUN as a class. SAIMUN on the other hand is more specific than the generalised MUN as it focuses majorly on the Sub Saharan region. Delegates from various countries converge to discuss issues affecting the African countries and hopefully develop resolutions towards the same.
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Being a USG is not a walk in the park
participated in 2010 through to 2012, she made it a personal agenda to continue even after she joined Kenyatta University. All through the years she has participated as a delegate and chaired at the Kenya MUN, except for this one, which she came in as USG-Training and chairing. This is a post she got through basically applying. Organising needs another kind of diligence and discipline from the individual. There are logistics like going through applications of various delegates, legally booking the venue and assuring that the foreign delegates are catered for during their stay in Kenya. The general team consisting of USGs, Committee chairs, press, protocols among other parties involved are sure to practice their respective roles for the perfect conference.
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Tracy Muringa receiving a rose from one of her admirers
This however is not a walk in the park. What it is in fact is a logistical nightmare, just as Tracy Muringa, USG- Training and Chairing, would put it. I had an opportunity to have a sit down with Tracy and have a chat on how she knew about MUN and the affairs involved. She first learnt about the program when she was still in high school, then she knew it as EAMUN (East African Model United Nations). Having
She insisted on mentioning that it is no walk in the park challenges range from raising funds during organising, dealing with stubborn delegates to even ending up spending own money. “One basically has to have the proper mental preparation for this job,� Tracy said. She later went on to mention that it is indeed her personal goal and at large the entire SAIMUN family that every delegate, High School or Campus, gets to leave the conference a new person, have a different perception towards world issues, changing how they view life. Tracy views every opportunity as a new experience.
Today’s social: Diplomatic Dinner at Turkish Embassy
Fun Page Stuff
PS.
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Today’s program: Thursday 22nd June 2017 9.00am - 12.00pm Comittee session 1
1.00 - 4.00pm
Committee session 2
5.30 - 7.30pm
Today’s weather:
Nairobi
Diolomatic Dinner
16˚C
Crack it! *yesterday’s answer: right
Which malformation did Marilyn Monroe have when she was born?
EDITORIAL Chief Editor Soila Kenya Assistant Editor Julie Ambani
*answer in tomorrow’s issue
SAIMUN Social Media
Sub-Saharan International Model United Nations - Saimun
@SAIMUN_17
@subsaharanmun
Writers Kefa Odindo Savita Toor Naomi Wanjiku Cynthia Makena Photographers Isabella Mongina Bill Akide Ali Mohsin Khimji Rehema Wangari Graphic Designers Soila Kenya