Japan’s first Model African Union General Assembly was held in Tokyo

Day:2024.10.28

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Japan's first “Model African Union (MAU)” General Assembly, organized by the MAU Executive Committee (a voluntary student organization) and co-organized by African Union Committee, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and Sophia University, was held on August 23rd at the Hotel New Otani as a thematic event of the TICAD Ministerial Meeting. About 100 Japanese and African students participated in-person, discussing green economy and climate change. The conference successfully adopted “Model African Union resolution” before its adjournment.

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(Front row from the left) Dr. Takashi IROHARA, Vice President for Academic A ffairs, Sophia University, HE Dr. Mohamed Salem Ould MERZOUG, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Mauritanians Abroad of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Mr. Masahiro KOMURA, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ms. Ahunna EZIAKONWA, Assistant Secretary-General and Director of Regional Bureau for Africa, UNDP, Mr. Naoki ANDO, Senior Vice President of JICA

At the General Assembly of MAU, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Masahiro KOMURA participated as a special guest, along with H.E. Mohamed Salem Ould MERZOUG, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Mauritanians Abroad of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Ms. Ahunna EZIAKONWA, UNDP Assistant Secretary-General and Director of Regional Bureau for Africa, Dr. Takashi IROHARA, Vice President of Sophia University and Mr. Naoki ANDO, JICA Senior Vice President.

Parliamentary Vice-Minister KOMURA, gave words of encouragement to the young generations, expressing his hope that the students from Japan and Africa will cooperate with each other and discuss innovative ideas for sustainable growth of African countries from new perspectives unique to the younger generation.

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About Model African Union

The MAU was organized with the aim of providing young generations from Africa and Japan with an opportunity to interact and think deeply about African countries and formulate policies in the scope of TICAD 9 scheduled in August 2025.

In a setting modeled after the African Union General Assembly, country representatives (Japanese university students) and their advisors (African exchange students from the country), with a total of over 140 participants, joined one of the three subcommittees (STCs, Specialized Technical Committees): (1) Education, science and technology, (2) The migration, refugees and internally displaced persons, and (3) The social and economic development of the African Union.

Each team spent a few months preparing a position paper to present their respective country's viewpoints to the General Assembly. After making final adjustments for each of the subcommittees at the preliminary session held at Sophia University, final discussions were made at MAU General Assembly held in Hotel Now Otani. At the of the day, the MAU General Assembly was closed with the adoption of a MAU Resolution that unifies the recommendations made by each STC.

Award Ceremony

After the adjournment of the General Assembly, an award ceremony was held for the three teams that contributed the most to the discussions in each STC, as well as for the best Position Paper from all countries.

  • Best Position Paper: Team Malawi

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  • Teams awarded from each STC: (from left) Team South Africa, Senegal and Nigeria

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