The UNON Director General Opens The East African Model UN in Nairobi

UNON Director General Mr. Achim Steiner addressing the East African Model UN delegates

22 February 2011 –The East African Model United Nations (EAMUN) conference opened at UN office at Nairobi on 8 February 2011 with a total of 1000 delegates from about 64 schools participating.

The UNON Director General Mr, Achim Steiner officially opened the conference,highlighting the work of the UN amidst many challenges and opportunities. Mr. Steiner reiterated that for the UN to create a better world for all, it needed all the support from everyone, including governments, leaders, celebrities, non-governmental organizations and young people such as the ones participating in the Model UN.

The Director-General elaborated on the challenge faced by the UN in its endeavours to bring together the 192 Member States, given their varying ideas, religions and morals. "The UN has to listen, accommodate and tolerate everyone's views and then come to a mutual agreement when addressing global issues," he said. Mr. Steiner noted that the Organization had both successes and failures in its work but the failures were sometimes made to overshadow the achievements. After the address, the delegates unanimously agreed that Mr. Steiner had "opened their eyes and helped them understand the scale of what the UN is working towards."

"We are the future of the UN, our country and the world.  We need to think about what we stand for, what we believe in and what we want, for not only our generation but for the generations to come," the young delegates later commented.

During the course of the conference, the young delegates were addressed by various speakers who all reminded them how education was important for them to realize their vision of "building leadership for tomorrow."

As part of their service to the community, the EAMUN delegates presented a cheque to teachers and students of Wairuri Primary School for stationery and any other needs for the rural school.

On Saturday, 12 February, the delegates visited Kereita forest and planted 200 seedlings as part of their contribution to the preservation of the environment.

The EAMUN conference scheduled from 8-12 February is held annually at UNON and includes high school students from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Sweden, Tanzania and Uganda. This year marks the 29th anniversary of the EAMUN, which comes immediately after the Middle School Model UN Conference in January. The slogan for the conference is "Building Leadership for Tomorrow," highlighting the main aim of educating young people to be responsible future leaders.

There are three main Model UN conferences in Kenya, namely, the MSMUN for students aged from 11-14 years; the EAMUN for students from 14-19 years; and the Kenya Model UN for university students. Model UNs are an authentic simulation of the UN General Assembly, UN Security Council or other multilateral bodies, which introduce students into the world of diplomacy and negotiation..

Presentation of a check by the EAMUN to one of the schools