The following is a report on the proceedings in the 3rd and 4th committee sessions in the second full day of conference on the topic ‘ Fostering Collaboration between higher education institutions in the African Continent’.
In line with what Helen Keller once said “Alone we can do so little ; together we can do so much” , The committee moved into today’s debate in the same spirit kicking off the session with the aim to all achieve their common goal; to draft a resolution. A brief roll call was taken to indicate the delegates and observers that were present and those that were present and voting.
A motion was then proposed by the delegate of Egypt for an 8 minute moderated Caucus (1 minute per speaker) to discuss Solutions to aid institutions of Higher Education to contribute to High Quality Research. The solutions included:
- Ethiopia: Suggested introduction of a Common Research Fund between member states, improving infrastructure so as to increase Research on the Pan- African e-universities and proposing an appropriate source of funds which was business tycoons.
- Angola: Supported Chad in proposing the creation of internal networks instead of focussing immediately on external networks which would help discover talent within and proposed the improvement of tech and science to improve Research.
- Nigeria: Highlighted the initiation of Government Programmes to enhance private and public partnerships and suggested the improvement of the Infrastructure.
The General speaker’s list was populated throughout the committee sessions and allowed the delegates to share their stance on the topic at hand.Some of the highlighted speeches through the sessions today in the general speaker’s list ( GSL) majorly highlighted the current issues and how the countries are either solving the issues in relation to improving the Quality of Research or what they propose to be done. For example the Delegate of The Gambia proposed aid from other countries to support in introducing other trades such as mining other than the primary source of revenue which is agriculture so as to improve research. The G.S.L was also used as a tool by the delegates to encourage voting for proposed resolutions; however, the delegate of Nigeria seized the chance to throw off the other block.
The House then moved into a series of unmoderated caucus’ to Draft Resolutions for the issues at hand. It was clear that the delegates did not entirely use substantive or factual reasons to form blocks considering the harmonious collaboration between the delegates of Egypt and Ethiopia. Even with current conflict between these two countries, the success brought about by these two delegates working together considering all other delegates present in the block can be an example to the member states to set their differences aside in an attempt to promote Growth and development in Africa.
Through the guidance of the chairs, the collaboration between various delegates and observer nations, the contribution of all the solutions by the member states involved and implementing of teamwork, the committee was able to come up with two resolutions to from two different blocks which took different approaches towards proposing solutions to aid higher institutions to improve the quality of research.
The resolutions were read and debated in the 4th session after lunch where both blocks presented their solutions to the problem. The first block’s resolution tackled the issue by considering the necessary funds , creating awareness, accountability and practicality and while the second block sought to solve the issue through considering encouraging girls which not only increases literacy levels but also diversifies the Research making it of higher Quality.
Through a democratic vote in the committee and after redoing the process not once but twice the delegates not only learned various voting producers but also came up with a commendable resolution ; with the first one passing and division of Question 2 clauses of the second resolutions.
What has a beginning truly has an end and with fears and lack of confidence from the first session came courage and quality speakers in the last one . The committee went into a reflection and feedback session where ‘ I’ve grown and I’m impressed by each and every one of you’ was a constant in everyone’s speeches and suddenly the delegates realised that they ‘are’ because every other delegate , chair, advisor and observer ‘is’.
Now that is the true Africa, young minds debating, coming up with solutions to benefit their continent while forming collaborations and networks that last a lifetime. The committee sessions came to an end paving the way for an unforgettable Cultural experience ,where not only were the Africans able to express their culture but also their western supporting countries. The smiles, colours and the energy of everyone supporting the diverse cultures just showed exactly what ALAMAU stands for. With that, I was impressed to see the growth of the delegates and their willingness to show who they are and where they come from.
I have been your reporter, Nia Nzou. Thank you for tuning in.