Strathmore’s School of Finance and Applied Economics, Law School and School of Management and Commerce students, had the opportunity to take part in the 6^th annual Rome Model Un-Summit edition held recently. The four well-deserved students; Kaveni Bakajika (LLB 3^th year), Murugi Kahara (BBS. Finance 4^th year), Lornah Mwangi (Bsc. Leadership Management 4^th year), and Katerina Msafari (BBS. Financial Economics) made resource of the four day summit, themed: “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.” The students were among thirteen Kenyan representatives who took part in the summit.

 

Rome Model-Un Summit is a simulated convention designed to give students a working environment and feel of the negotiations and debates which take place in the UN summits. The Model has ten committees, which include; UNESCO, FAO,  SC-Security Council, ECOSOC, GA-ECOFIN, GA-SOCHUM, UNEP, CEU, ICJ and UNICEF.

 

The students identified different committees based on their areas of interests, as well as the countries they would like to represent – they all had to choose a country that is not their own to represent. In the form of an essay which would be submitted to the UN’s Secretary General, they all had to study the chosen countries and assess the situations which revolved around the particular committee’s agenda. They also needed to state probable solutions to the problems they discovered the countries are facing.

Involvement

Murugi Kahara represented DRC in the ECOSOC- Economic and Social Council, whose theme revolved around: Sustainable development in the framework of the post-2015 agenda looking at the role of NGO’S and civil society. Katerina Msafari represented Rwanda in the General Assembly committee, her theme: Economic and Financial Committee focusing on adopting the Agriculture development to ensure food security and nutrition goals. Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger through gender equality and women empowerment in post 2015 was the key topic of discussion in the General Assembly Social, Humanitarian, and cultural committee where Lornah Mwangi represented Paraguay committee. Kaveni Bakajika attended the International Court of Justice summit; Germany vs. Italy where they tackled questions on Jurisdiction Immunities of the state.

Lessons Learnt and Benefits of attending the conference

“Nothing can measure up to the sanguinity displayed in debates and the ardent eye thrown to detail and facts”, Lornah tells. “There is no room given in stating inaccurate facts. You have to be sure of what you are addressing”, she explains.

 

Attending the conference offers a lot of benefits and exposure. Apart from the certification, the students get to network and exploit their negotiation, public speaking and debating skills, which also predisposes them to a number of career opportunities in the international sphere.

Challenges

Language barrier was the biggest challenge the students faced; consequently making locating various venues cumbersome as the site maps were written in Italian.

Advice to other students

The UN simulation model is a good outreach for students who are interested with social and diplomatic issues in their countries, and are eager to make an impact in the society. This provides them with an opportunity to take grasp of real life issues- an experience they should yearn for.

 

The application process is easy, as the organization’s website portal contains all the information necessary for the facilitation of the student’s attendance to the conference.