Committees

The Specialised Technical Committee on Education is created solely for the purpose of the African Leadership Academy Model African Union. It is not an existing committee in the African Union (AU). This committee is simulating a specialized institution of the AU tasked with the responsibility of improving the standard of quality education on the African continent through increased technological education.

Topic: Accelerating Growth through Increased Technological Education

In the wake of the fourth industrial revolution, there has been an upsurge in the incorporation of cyber systems across the economy. Automation has become a pivotal factor in development, as it leads to increased production with less input. Therefore, many countries have embraced state of the art technology and yielded its benefits. In Africa, the youth bulge offers an advantage to develop economies faster than ever before. For African countries to achieve significant economic growth, they should therefore focus on training their youth with necessary skills in technology. In addition to providing students with quality education, they ought to provide them with an education relevant to this day and age. This will not only enable Africa to develop a firm foundation in technology, but also ensure fast-paced growth.

Investing in technology not only entails incorporation of it into education, but also ensuring technological development in all parts of Africa. This could be achieved through human resources, including technological exchange programs in which qualified experts can be deployed to work as teachers and technology instructors in the countries with less professionals in that field. Additionally, these programs can serve as opportunities to learn teaching methods that incorporate technology. In addition to that, African countries should ensure a strong grasp of the necessary content in schools, which could be achieved through collaborative programs and competitions in technological research. Thus in order for Africa’s economy to grow, we need to embrace technology, which is directly dependent on integration.

At ALAMAU 2020, this committee will focus on encouraging collaboration between African governments themselves as well as between states, the private sector and civil society, in order to normalize the use of technology for learning and innovation.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is a committee of the African Union concerned with the social and economic development of African States. Its mission is to help reduce poverty, improve living conditions and mobilize resources for the continent’s economic and social growth.

Topic: Creating A Single Air Transportation Market in Africa

Economic growth on the African continent varies greatly across borders; neighbouring a nation with a 10% growth rate, we may find another where growth is practically non-existent. Hence integration is the next step for leveraging African growth: be it through intra-continental trade, the integration of economic structures, or the difficulty of moving people, the ease of doing business is a major factor that will define the next phase of African growth. One of the main stimulators of this growth is a cheaper, more efficient, and more convenient air travel.

The Yamoussoukro agreement of 1999; “Open Skies for Africa” with its call for “The Full liberalization of intra-African air transport services in terms of access, capacity, frequency, and tariffs”, was a bold move towards an integrated aviation industry on the continent. It failed, however, to be properly ratified by many African nations, namely Morocco and South Africa – two of the biggest African aviation markets. New calls for integration were raised in 2015 with the Declaration for the Establishment of a Single African Air Transport Market, officially launched by Paul Kagame in the 30th African Union Summit in 2018. Since then, it has been ratified by 23 member states, including Egypt and South Africa.  The deregulation of access to the aviation markets of member nations, as well as the dismantling of monopolies by state companies will decrease the costs of operations, thus making air travel within the continent cheaper and more convenient. And with the convenience of air travel being one important stimulator of intra-continental ease of doing business, integration in the aviation industry contributes towards integration in the African economy.

At ALAMAU 2020, this committee will consider how to implement a single air transportation market. This is a great step towards the integration we want to achieve, as it will make for cheaper, more convenient, and more affordable air travel which could in turn make doing business in Africa more attractive to investors both locally and beyond.

The Executive Council of the African Union (AU) is one of the central organs of the AU composed of authorities accredited by the governments of the member states. It is responsible for coordinating and harmonizing policies, activities and initiatives of the AU on matters of common interest to Member States. In doing so, it monitors the implementation of policies, decisions and agreements adopted by the Assembly. Importantly, the Executive Council determines issues to be submitted to the Assembly for discussion and decision.

Topic:  Unlocking Africa’s Manufacturing Capacity 

Up to thirty percent of the world’s mineral resources are concentrated in Africa, which is home to five out of the thirty top oil-producing countries worldwide; Nigeria, Angola, Algeria, Libya and Egypt. Alongside smaller producers, these help generate 57% of the continent’s export earnings, solely from oil. In addition, uranium; a fine metallic chemical that is required for military purposes and civilian use, is abundant on the continent. In fact, the largest uranium project in Africa is the ‘Ezulweni Project’ in Randfontein, South Africa. Diamonds are also abundant in Botswana, Congo and Angola, and gold reserve mines are concentrated mainly in Benin, Burkina Faso, Djibouti and Mali, which are worth $1.5 trillion dollars. With such valuable assets, Africa could be the leading force in the world for trade and industry of natural resources. Nevertheless, Africa remains one of the poorest continent globally, with almost fifty percent of its population living under $1.25 a day.

In 2014, Africa’s contribution to the world’s added manufacturing value was only a stagnant two percent and it only produced 0.8% of the world’s manufactured goods. This affected the economies of several nations, as the price of raw commodities dropped significantly: Angola, for instance, had its revenue almost halved from selling its natural resources- mainly oil – as it dropped from $60 billion in 2014 to $34 billion in 2015. Asia on the other hand, where certain nations have scarce natural resources compared to those in Africa, is a leader in mass scale industrialization. It is certain that Africa has a lot to learn to become less dependent on raw materials and fully release its manufacturing potential. South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria all have a manufacturing value exceeding 15% compared to the rest of the countries on the continent, which combined only contribute around 10% to the added manufactured value.

Mineral resources and other raw materials often expand across borders of different countries, such as petroleum fields shared by Tunisia, Algeria and Libya. The issue that arises is that certain countries have larger facilities to process the extracted resources. Due to a lack of proper infrastructure, other countries become limited in how they manage their raw goods, and sell their natural resources for cheaper prices compared to the price in which they import the manufactured goods from their own resources. At ALAMAU 2020, this committee will work out how to strengthen the continent’s industrial sector through manufacturing to advance integration between countries and achieve mutual prosperity.

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is the technical arm of the African Union. It was adopted in 2002 by the African Union to coordinate the impact of Africa’s development in the 21st century. NEPAD’s main objective is to eradicate poverty and place African countries on the path towards sustainable growth and development as individual nations and as a collective. The organization also aims to halt the marginalization of Africa in the globalization process, accelerate the empowerment of women and fully integrate Africa into the global economy.

Topic:  Fostering Resilient Agricultural Practices to Handle Natural Disasters

A number of African nations rely on their agricultural sector to generate national revenue. This sector is nevertheless facing stiff competition from rapidly developing economies around the world and is dealing with the advent of global warming that has accelerated the number of natural disasters in the last fifty years. Being hit by droughts, floods, and other natural phenomena could not only cause affected nations to lose an important source of income, but could cause famine and malnutrition. As a result, they risk facing a chain reaction, even if the natural disaster itself is temporary. It is therefore vital that African countries collaborate to develop long-lasting infrastructure to reduce the effects of natural disasters. Ways to address these could include, but are not limited to, efficient early warning systems, better forecast systems, more efficient use of arable land and a sufficient amount of storage areas.

In order to promote sustainable farming and ensure Africa is able to support itself, members of the African Union (AU) came together in 2014 to sign the Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods. Certain countries in the continent have also started to take action in this regard. For instance, Côte d’Ivoire has invested 37.7 billion CFA francs to build the African Centre of Excellence in collaboration with the World Food Programme, aimed at driving collaborative research between nations in the region, including in the field of sustainable agriculture. Similarly, Ghana has implemented the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) Strategy, which has placed sustainable agriculture at the centre of its economic policies.

Despite these actions however, there is still a long way to go. Hence at ALAMAU 2020, this committee will focus on measures to ensure African nations become self-sufficient and resilient in handling natural disasters.

The Peace and Security Council (PSC) is an organ of the African Union (AU) with the fundamental mandate to ensure the promotion of peace, security and stability across the continent.

Topic: Topic: Fostering Ethno-Religious Integration for the Prevention of Conflict

To facilitate colonization, many African countries were created by forcefully merging already existing communities. This was done without efforts to integrate members of the various groups, such that a new national identity was imposed. Colonial rulers also fractured relationships between ethnic groups that were given particular privileges to over others. Tensions exist today as a hangover of colonization, which have worsened due to miseducation and biases that are passed down from one generation to another. This has different manifestations and is a contributing factor to various issues, including political instability. For example, some African elections are simply ethnic headcounts rather than an assessment of the competence of a candidate and party. Another clear manifestation is the various conflicts motivated by tribal differences. One of the most prominent examples of this is the Hutu-Tutsi conflict in Rwanda and Burundi which was directly caused by decades of resentment between the aforementioned tribes. Additionally, the series of riots from 1999-2002 in Kaduna, Nigeria, between the majority Muslim Hausa and the majority Christian Igbos claimed more than a thousand lives in total. Unquestionably, the lack of ethno-religious integration and resulting fractures have led to the instability and ineffectiveness of political structures and efforts of the government aimed at development.

Ethnic and religious tensions will inevitably have negative consequences for all African countries, including through violence, unsustainable migration or economic and political consequences such as the costs associated with peacekeeping if preventative measures are not put in place. This committee will therefore discuss the creation of sustainable solutions to foster effective ethno-religious integration. The aim of this is to ensure that existing tensions dissipate and that the rapidly increasing youth population do not develop the same destructive biases of the older generation.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) was founded by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 1958 as its African branch. UNECA seeks to promote African cooperation and integration to develop the continent. Its work is organized around seven main topics including social development, macroeconomic policy, regional integration and trade, and natural resources management.

Topic: Eradicating Youth Unemployment through Entrepreneurship and Skills Development

Africa is home to six of the world’s ten fastest growing economies, setting it up for productive resource utilization. Among Africa’s endowments is its current and projected human resource capacity. Africa has a staggering population of 1.3 billion people, 60% of whom are under the age of 24. The African Development Bank also reports that Africa not only holds 15% of the world’s population, but is set to have the largest workforce on earth by 2040. African governments are not doing nearly enough to utilize this human resource advantage. This is evident in two major challenges. Firstly, 60 percent of Africa’s unemployed population is formed by youth, a concerning statistic considering Africa is the world’s youngest continent. Secondly, the continent faces the brain drain challenge. The African Union (AU) reports that 70000 skilled professionals emigrate for ‘greener pastures’ every year. Africa will not always have this demographic advantage. Moreover, the consequence of not equipping a high, fast growing population will turn into a disadvantage as dependency ratios and over population soar. As such, there is an urgent need for our governments to equip Africans with more access to education and skills relevant to their functionality and competitiveness in today’s world. However, considering 10 to 12 million youth join the working population annually and only 3 million jobs are provided in this time frame, there is a greater need to provide job opportunities and entrepreneurial incentives for the working population on the continent.

Ghana has been making strides in providing viable employment opportunities for its people, evident in that 97.8% of Ghanaians of working qualification are employed. Between 1961 and 2017, the government has passed bills into law that ensure free education up to the secondary school level for all Ghanaians. Thereafter, Ghana has made steps towards retaining employees and providing them more qualitative job opportunities. The Ghanaian government has also encouraged strong job incentives like wage increases and advanced training for employees in its private and public firms to prevent brain drain and keep indigenous talent within the country.

A successful advance in integration on the continent will have economic integration as its focal point. Key to economic integration is the sharing of skilled human resources across the borders. If the African market is made more accessible and profitable for vital human resources, the challenge of brain drain can be kept in check such that rather than emigrating, young professionals can work within the continent. This would be accompanied by the transfer of skills across these nations relevant for the development of entrepreneurship ventures. This committee will be considering the reasons for poor capitalisation of human resources on the continent, as well as potential solutions that can be implemented on a continental scale.

The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) is a platform for African states to discuss and decide on the way forward for challenges facing the continent. In particular, the Committee on Health, Labour and Social Affairs within the PAP facilitates and advises on matters relating to health and social affairs.

Topic: Enhancing Medical Tourism to Propel Pan-African Development

Each year, thousands of people globally travel to countries outside of their homes for specialised health care. Key reasons for this are that their home countries are not trusted with specialist facilities in a certain field, that there is cheaper health care elsewhere, or that there is better quality healthcare in the countries the patients travel to. This is referred to as ‘medical tourism’. By the end of 2015, about 175,000 Africans travelled to India, 50,000 went to Thailand and 53,000 to Malaysia to acquire medical treatment. In that process, they spent over one billion United States Dollars (USD). Other countries with a significant number of African medical tourists are the United States of America, Dubai and Singapore. In fact, the global Medical Tourism industry is worth over twenty billion USD. A little less than 10% of African Medical tourists travel to other African countries, with South Africa, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Mauritius leading the way.

Enhancing the Medical Tourism industry in Africa is particularly important because, as it stands, Africa has about 17% of the world’s overall population and thus carries a large portion of the world’s “disease burden.” Africa is also home to the largest number of the world’s undeveloped nations with poor healthcare systems. An increase in medical tourism within the continent could generate revenue for the healthcare system which can, in turn, be used to improve the facilities that attract medical tourists; establishing parts of the continent as hubs of high-quality specialised health. This could ultimately play a part in Africa’s bid to increase access to health care in a revolutionary manner.

African countries have failed numerous times to establish themselves as hubs for innovative ways of growth. By tapping into the potential that lies in the Medical Tourism Industry, African policy makers could expand Africa’s prospects of offering a necessary service. At ALAMAU 2020, this committee will consider how to cultivate specialised health care on the continent that could be offered at select central points. By effect, the effects may be used to ensure that Africans have access to quality health care.

The African Commission on Science and Technology is created exclusively for the purpose of the African Leadership Academy Model African Union. It is not an existing committee in the African Union (AU), however it is replicating the Science and Technology Division that amongst other issues, is focused on the development of an African Space policy and strategy.

Topic: Advancing Africa’s Outer Space Strategy

Since just prior to the beginning of the century, African countries including Algeria, Ethiopia, South Africa and Nigeria among others, made considerable effort in developing space programs and agencies. The benefits of advancing space programs on the continent have demonstrated a number of socioeconomic benefits, including the observation of weather phenomena for agricultural purposes and disaster prevention, to the monitoring of terrorist group activities in particular regions. Countries such as Egypt and South Africa use satellite technology to bolster their military capabilities and others use the opportunity to review natural resources, such as Nigeria with its oil-rich Delta.

Twenty years into the new century the socio-economic benefits of space technology are only in their genesis. It is estimated that only 44% percent of sub-Saharan Africa live within 25km of a fibre optic node. Satellite technology has the ability to provide millions of African citizens with internet connectivity, into a more integrated Africa. Although this kind of coverage is dependent on healthy relations between nations, there is already continental collaboration. The South Africa National space agency (SANSA) is working with the Zambia Remote Sensing Centre on research projects that use satellite earth observation data for natural phenomena such as drought, soil and vegetation monitoring. These kinds of collaborations make the vision of a continental space agency ever closer and the applications of space technology broader and more accurate.

As of 2013 the sum total of investment in space programs continentally was 153 million Euros, with 64% coming from South African coffers. This committee will look at ways to utilise and invest in this program in a more holistic manner across the continent, which in turn could rapidly accelerate progress in a variety of humanitarian, ecological and even political problems.

The Ad Hoc Committee on Political Instability is not an actual organ of the African Union; it is an ALAMAU-created committee set up to best suit the topic discussed.

Topic: Bolstering Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Fragile States

For decades, Africa has invested in ending conflicts. Numerous efforts have gone into negotiations for peaceful resolutions of conflicts and the implementation of peace agreements, as witnessed in Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Somalia, among others. While these efforts have largely yielded positive results, the socio-political and economic returns of the stability are yet to be witnessed in many of them. The sustainability of the peace agreements remain uncertain, even as citizens strive to recover what was lost during the conflicts.

A glance at the status of countries transitioning from war to peace affirms that peace agreements are complemented by sustained post-conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding efforts. This is necessitated by the need to form a solid foundation to prevent a relapse into violence and pave the way for growth and regeneration. This in turn is rooted in the need to prevent the effects of conflict, which spreads beyond borders, affecting countries beyond regional neighbors. Stabilization of all countries, which pave way for socio-economic and political development, is thus a prerequisite for any form of integration on the African continent.  At ALAMAU 2020, this committee will therefore seek to develop a policy framework that ensures activities in affected countries do not stop at stabilisation, but rather seek to achieve long-term sustainable development.

Inaugurated in 2017, the African Youth Commission (AYC) is a Pan-African youth network founded and led by youth leaders to offer a platform to youth and youth organisations on the continent and diaspora. It strives to support their agenda, promote the involvement of young people in the implementation of the Africa 2063 Agenda and the UN Agenda 2030 for sustainable development, promote the ratification and implementation of the African Youth Charter and contribute to advancing the AU Shared Values.

Topic: Increasing Youth Involvement in Political Leadership

70% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa is under the age of 30 and by 2030, 375 million people in Africa will have reached working age. Nevertheless, the majority of youth on the continent do not have access to influential leadership positions. Currently, the majority of the leaders making decisions are 55 years or older. This prominent age gap represents a problematic power dynamic, as the people who have authority are making decisions that will have an effect on the youth. In particular, corruption, nepotism and dependency on external actors has hindered the potential for accountable and effective leadership. In many African countries, politicians manipulate the law and implement policies to ensure the sustainability of their regime. As such, a lack of representation leads to vulnerability of the youth in sectors that affect their future.

Although some argue that experience is key to engaging in leadership roles, opportunities helps build experience and create effective leaders who cultivate an understanding of the significance of their roles. Integration of the youth into key leadership positions has led to institutions such as the African Union (AU) to develop the African Union Youth Envoy whose aim is to find numerous ways to engage the African youth. Additionally, specific countries have been leading the way in this regard. Article 55 in the Kenyan Constitution requires the government to guarantee that the youth have access to, and representation in, social and other spheres of life. This challenge will be addressed in MAU 2020, for the youth to find reasonable and justifiable ways to increase their involvement in political roles and in creating the type of world they want to see tomorrow.

At ALAMAU, the Press Corps is the group of journalists, representing various news agencies, which is responsible for informing the ALAMAU community of the happenings of the conference. These will range from reporting on the debates and resolutions passed during committee sessions to the events of the conference. The Press Corps will also be responsible for conducting press conferences, and conducting interviews with members of the ALAMAU community, this includes the organizing team, delegates, advisors and guests.

Each delegate will be assigned to a news agency to simulate before the conference. Each agency will be reporting from a unique committee. Delegates are expected to produce comprehensive reports from their respective committees and they are also free to produce reports from other committees while still reporting on their assigned committee.