The Daily SAIMUNER #7

THE DAILY

No. 7

SAIMUNER Tuesday, July 3rd 2018

www.saimun.net

Leadership & Branding: Opening Ceremony

By Linda Ngari

He emphasized that the Kenyan nation can go along way once “we get rid of the two dragons of corruption and tribalism.”

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Hon. Sakaja Johnson at the SAIMUN opening ceremony

Nairobi Senator, Hon. Johnson Sakaja urged young people to utilize opportunities around them, for the greater benefit of their countries.

Speaking at the second ever Sub-Saharan Model United Nations (SAIMUN18) opening ceremony, Hon. Sakaja cited that there is a new wave of leadership that is coming up, “Leadership that is driven by encouragement, and not by insults, that is not about blame games but about solutions, not pre-occupied by the past but is busy about the future- a leadership that can only be driven by this generation.”

The senator moreover addressed the SAIMUN18 theme- Humanity at a crossroads: Global Action for Sustainable Development, through Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

He mentioned the promotion of youth activities, which he does outside his senatorial mandate.

The senator, who also serves as chair of the Labour Committee, decried the necessity for good pay of employees such as the security guards, who are often paid below minimum wage; as well as the lack of a contingency plan in the cases of doctors striking, leading to loss of lives.

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SAIMUN delegates at the opening ceremony

Mr. Phillip Ogolla, who became a Digital Humanitarian after his encounter with the Westgate mall attack, was also a speaker at the opening ceremony emphasized on using the social media space for good.

Mr Ogolla used the digital space to mobilize for blood, lobby for medical assistance and inform the public on what was going on.

“A digital humanitarian is someone who is responsible online, someone who is on social media for social good, who will stop and think twice before sharing anything, someone who will actually be responsible online- gauging what they can actually do in the case of a disaster- do you share graphic images?” asked Mr. Ogolla.

He moreover advised the youth to use social media to build their portfolios.

“Just story telling. The beauty about the digital space is that is gives you a platform to showcase you talent. Start telling stories. Show the positive side of digital. Not always about the negative bits.

Start packaging your online personality,” he said

2 COMMITTEES

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UNSC marred by significant loopholes.

By Linda Ngari

During the lebirations of the United Nations Security Counncil committe, the chair called it to a halt

During the deliberations of the United Nations Security Council committee, the chair called it to a halt.

This was after discovering that the debates turned out to be one-sided.

The delegates began deliberating on their topicThe future of stateless communities: Focus being the issue of the Rohingya persecution in Myanmarbut were stopped by the chair, Ms. Mary Joy terming the deliberations “boring”.

This was brought about by a couple of pertinent issues: 1. Lack of proper representation: There were no delegates from key countries that are directly affected by the assigned topic.

Myanmar, Bangladesh and China, were said to be key states. However, no delegate was assigned any of these countries.

“We did have a bit of deliberations, those deliberations are what made us realize that there are countries that need to be represented for us to move forward; because it was one-sided,” said Ms. Mary Joy. “If China and Russia, and Myanmar aren’t here, it just defeats the point. It’s like we are a room who agree on everything, we just disagree on technicalities. It’s very pointless…We need opposition,” said delegate Nassir Abdirashid.

2. Unprepared chair: I was asked to be chair on Sunday. I didn’t know the topic, I knew nothing.

Ms. Mary Joy Said she was informed on the previous day that she will be chairing the council.

This is because most of the assigned chairs dropped out last minute. According to Ms. Mary Joy All the international chairs, as well as some local chairs dropped out at the last minute. It was therefore a matter of selecting a new set of chairs based on their experience.

“The problem is that those who were there from the get go in terms of what the topic is, why they chose that topic, are not the ones chairing. So

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UNSC Committe at the SAIMUN 2018

there’s that disconnect,” she said.

3. Overlooked issues: “There are 2 high school students representing one country. There are countries like Monaco that are not in the actual Security Council,” Ms. Mary Joy. According to a high school delegate from Makini School, they were given only 6 countries to choose from: Haiti, Liechtenstein, Monaco, El Salvador, Slovenia and Palau.

4. Boring deliberations Only a few of the delegates in the Security Council committee were actively participating in the deliberations.

“I was really hoping people here will be like top notch. Like everybody has ego…here not many people have ego,” said delegate Nassir Abdirashid, referring to the lack of enthusiasm by most delegates of the committee.

Hoping that the next seating would be more productive, Ms. Mary Joy said she will present the issues to the relevant authority, hoping that they will allow her to make necessary changes, such as delegating the key states directly involved in the topic assigned (Myanmar, Bangladesh, China), and scrapping off some of the states that may not have any input to the topic.

CONFERENCE NEWS

THE DAILY SAIMUNER

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Chair Interview: Catherine Mumo SOCHUM Chair

By Ayomide Alajogun For me, I believe that being a chair was a great opportunity, knowing that I’m not the most qualified or the most experienced.

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Catherine Mumo chairing at her committee

Matthew Kielstra once said (USG Chairing 2015) finding a good chair is like finding the love of your life, it is hard to describe but you know it when you see it. This is the case of the Honourable Chair for the Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee (SOCHUM). This interview reveals what the Chair has in the hat for all delegates at the 2018 SAIMUN Conference.

A good chair must be familiar with the rules of procedure. She must be able to take charge and must command presence in the committee. The chair must need good moderation skills, must be a good speaker, must be comported, so when the delegates are shouting, she doesnt go ahead and shout with themThe chair must have an “iron fist” so to say, so as to be able to take a hold of her committee.

What is your name?

My name is Catherine Mumo.

What do you do?

I am a student of International Relations in Strathmore University, Nairobi.

How did you get involved in MUN? My high school did not have any MUN experience so I would say that the high schools that are involved are lucky to have such an experience at their age, and as a student of International Relations, it is important for me to know how the UN operates. So, for starters, in 2016 I joined the MUN club. I continued in 2017 with the SAIMUN conference. The KMUN conference introduced me to the debate kind of MUN. It was after that i got the opportunity for SAIMUN What chairing experience have you had before applying for the post of the “Honourable Chair”?

I got to chair for the first time in a mini simulation in my class. Apart from that, there were mock debates as a kind of test or interview. The first was at Riara University and the second was at United States International University. It was from there I got to the position of chairing for the Sub-Saharan International Model United Nations.

What attributes do you think qualifies a person as a good Chair?

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Catherine Mumo chairing at her committee

I also believe that anyone who wants to be a good chair must be willing to leave her comfort zone, because when I started doing MUN, I just loved being on my own and watched other people participate but I got tired of that style and decided to go all out of my shell and that has really helped me. A person who wants to be a good chair must be brave enough to take the bold step.

Do you have any new ideas about chairing?

I believe that the purpose for this conference is to learn. Therefore, the chair’s responsiblility is to help the delegate participate as much as possible, make all the mistakes they can so they can learn at the end of it all.

4 DID YOU KNOW

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Did you know series: Disobidience day employment in South Africa where he refused to sit in a third-class coach as requested by the railroad officials despite having paid for a firstclass ticket.

By Cynthia Makena

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Happy Days 365

Disobedience day is a day that encourages the breaking from normal day to day activities and finding non-violent ways to protest issues, laws or push forward a cause. The original founders of the holiday are unknown, what we can speculate about them is that they were simply tired of spending their entire lives playing by the rules and needed one day where they could act on their impulses.

The day also takes time to recognise people in history who used civil disobedience to change the injustices of the world. One such leader is Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi’s first act of civil disobedience can be traced back to his first

This was the beginning of his fight against injustices through nonviolent means, such as; labour strikes and organised, massive marches.

He was inspired by Henry David Thoreau, a 19th century American Writer of the essay ‘Civil Disobedience’. Where he states, “Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The Obedient must be slaves.”

He was a true believer of civil disobedience and resented blind obedience.

So, how do we celebrate this holiday? The day is nothing like the cinematic depiction of the film, “The Purge” and should not be taken as an excuse to go around breaking rules. Instead, today look for a way to break from the norms of your life activities. Think of out-of-the-box solutions to your problems and most importantly take time to celebrate the people who broke the rules so that you could attain the freedom you have today.

Remember if your caught, blame it on the day.

Urban Gourmet Burgers at Village Market

By Linda Ngari

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Social event Urban Gormet

Social event Urban Gormet

Delegates headed to the Village Market Urban Gourmet Burgers restaurant for the Monday Social.

The event not only provided a great relaxing and unwinding moment, but also came along with a great throwdown. Thanks to the Urban Gourmet Burgers Monday offer of a buy one get one free burger that the delegates could treat themselves to.

As if that is not enough, the offer came with a side of French fries, salad and veggies for each burger.

“I really liked the burgers and the fries. It was all really nice,” remarked Eve Kyalo.

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Social event Urban Gormet

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COMMITTEES

Lake Chad Under Crisis: What to solve first?

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would be best to begin. The exercise led them to ask hard questions like; should we negotiate with the Boko Haram or base a violent attack and if we do who would attack them.

By Cynthia Makena

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Crisis Committe talks

Lake Chad is a lake shared by Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad. Currently the lake is undergoing various challenges. Poor living conditions and the growing number of refugees from the north of Nigeria due to Boko Haram attacks are few examples of the man issues the region around the basin faces.

The crisis committee was tasked by their chair, Fred Muthusi, to find a solution for the crisis if the lake was poisoned by the Boko Haram as a terrorist attack to the problem. With so many issues tackling one region and four different states it became difficult for the delegates to know where

Before the committee could reach a solution, the situation worsened with the lake drying up almost completely due to global warming. A lake that is the main source of water for the people of the state of Chad. As the team begun to deliberate on how to provide water to the state three refugee camps were attacked by Boko Haram.

The exercise was a trial for the committee and a means for the chair to know his team and train them on the best way to deliberate while making great use of their time. He encourages his delegates to study while stating, “I am looking for lively delegates, lively not being loud but intelligent and stimulating.” The round table technique helped the chair to set well understood standards and expectations despite the fact that the team failed to give a solution to the crisis they were given.

The first Committee session in UNEP

By Ayomide Alajogun

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) started its committee session after the conference was declared open. the commitee comprised of 158 delegates, representing 135 countries as at the close of the session yesterday.

The dias introduced the sessions, rehearsing the rules of procedure to the delegates.

The topic, “Introducing Wind Farms As A Source of Sustainable Energy in Sub-Saharan Africa” topicwas brought on the floor for discussion, but most of the delegates appeared not to be in touch with the topic, because compared to other committees, it had a few number of people raising motions. Some of the delegates also moved motions for unmoderated caucauses, but the Chair said that only moderated caucauses were allowed so as to monitor the delegates and set the ball in motion for the subsequent unmoderated caucuses which were to start on Day 2. The dias kept on

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SOCHUM Committe

reminding the delegates on the rules of procedure, as most of them were not responding.

The UNEP first commitee session was quite cold.

However, day 2 promises ot be better seeing that most of the delegates have been intimated as to what would obtain.

6 COMMITTEES

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SOCHUM: Beginning with the problem to the solution

By Cynthia Makena

various delegates of these grievances.

However, there are some of the delegates who felt that the motion was a waste of time as it was clear that the causes of war in Africa were known and the time would have been better spent on another motion. This of course comprised of the minority of the delegates as the motion had been passed through a majority vote.

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SOCHUM Committe

The SOCHUM committee were able to highlight the various causes of war in the African continent despite the limited time they had.

The committee has been tackled this SAIMUN 2018 conference with the agenda of the protection of children in conflict zones. Specifically on how to prevent the emergence of children combatants.

In 1977, the Geneva Conventions entered a law prohibiting the military recruitment of children.

More than 60 years later and the issue of children combatants is a persistent problem. So, this year the delegates are tasked to ask themselves, is the Geneva Conventions enough? And what should change?

In 2017, the United Nations Identified 14 countries that had children combats, of which 7 were African countries. The discussion therefore, cared for only half of the countries affected by such malice actions. While, countries like Afghanistan, Yemen and Colombia despite the need to gain solutions for all states involved.

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SOCHUM Committe

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SOCHUM Committe

The committee decided to begin by taking a closer look at the problem; ‘The causes of war in Africa.’ Affected countries such as, South Sudan and Eritrea and nonaffected countries such as China and Slovkia agreed that Political, Social and Economic grievances are the reasons why there is conflict in Africa. Corruption, ethnic differences and bad governance are some examples given by

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SOCHUM Committe

THE DAILY SAIMUNER

UNHCR Kickoff session

COMMITTEES

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By Michael Omondi For the first time in Kenyan history, a law has been passed in Parliament that guides how student governments in both private and public universities are constituted. The most outstanding of all the new guidelines put in place in The University Amendment Act of 2016 appears in Section 18.

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UNHCR Committee

The committee members assembled at around two thirty and were called to order at three o’clock. The topic of the day was realizing quality education for refugees. the committee chair took his time to fine tune on some aspects of the delegates debate which he felt was lacking. The delegate of Brunei kick started the debate by reminding the committee of not only the importance but also the urgency quality of education in any given society.

She vehemently reiterated that refugees should not be denied access to education but should instead be helped to access it.

This was a position reiterated by the members of other delegations. Kenya stated even though education is an inherent and inalienable right, it is also important to take cognizance of the fact that developing countries have a problem funding education for its own populace and it therefore needs support from states endowed with massive resources. New Zealand expressed that it was committed and dedicated to discuss the issue holistically while USA did not hesitate in reminding everyone how critical education was as it is one of the rights of any child.

To tackle the above mentioned challenges it was suggested that refugees be integrated into the system of their host countries so that they can experience the benefits from this SDG. There was also a joint consensus that host states offer funding and scholarship as some of the refugees are skilled and can suffice as human resource. The solutions mentioned appeared to be tenable to the delegates and one could not help but notice that there was a sense of harmony especially towards the solutions.

In conclusion, the delegates not only stressed on the importance of education to any give country but also to refugees. This they said is a way of changing the world for the better.

It reads in part, ‘For purposes of conducting the election of the members of the student council, the students’ association shall constitute itself into electoral colleges based on either academic departments, schools or faculties as may be appropriate. The students of each electoral college shall then elect three representatives who shall elect the members of the student council.’

This might seem like a good move. It might contribute to a higher level of national politics when these university leaders get into government.

However, in the long run, we may regret this decision.

Most people do not realize that university student governments have moulded several politicians to date in this country. These include well-known names in the current political scene. Siaya Senator James Orengo, nominated MP Johnson Sakaja and Budalangi MP Ababu Namwamba all served as executive members of the Student Organization of Nairobi University (SONU) during their campus days. Homa Bay Women’s Representative Gladys Wanga was a former Secretary General at the Kenyatta University Students’ Association (KUSA), the first woman to hold the position while Senator Martha Wangari served as first female SONU Vice Chairperson.

Student politics allows future leaders to hone their skills and get one leg into national politics. Senator Wangari herself has admitted that she was ushered into politics during her university days. “In third year, I was elected vice chairperson in charge of academics in the SONU. This gave me exposure. I was later recruited into the Kibaki Tena secretariat under the Vijana na Kibaki.”

University student governments are like test labs for those interested in jumping into national politics. Electoral colleges will effectively deny them the chance of running campaigns and building good public relations skills which are all

Fun Page Stuff

Tomorrow’s social: Global Village event at Micheal Joseph Centre Look out for: Tuesday 3rd July 2018 9:00 am-12:00 pm Committee session 1:00 pm-2:00 pm Today’s weather: Lunch Nairobi 2:00 pm-4:00 pm Committee session

16˚C

Gossip Girl xoxo Dear SAIMUNER’s

EDITORIAL

This is a special letter of invitation to all those who would like to send a letter to me. So, you know someone with a little crush or with a dirty secret?

Editors Soila Kenya Julie Ambani Linda Ngari Eunice Magwambo

Write me, let me know.

Writers Cecily mwangi KURIA KASUMBA Cynthia Makena Ayomide Alajogun Michael Omondi

All my Love, Gossip Girl.

SAIMUN Social Media

Sub-Saharan International Model United Nations - Saimun

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Photographers Ayub Mungai Klein Nettoh Carol Karanu Isabelle Mongina Christopher Saruni