Model UN conference holds in PH to groom future diplomats

Maureen Ifeyinwa Egbuche (FTI Founder)

As late comers to the Model UN (MUN) conference series, Africa is yet to appreciate the gains from the experience. The gap is yawning one and so we cannot rest until we have created both the awareness and an enabling environment for our students to benefit from the opportunity.

For us at FTI, bringing the conference series home to Africa has been one of the major highlights of these 10 years gone by. TAFMUN has made the experience accessible to many more people, most of whom cannot afford the cost of international travel. Another highlight is the sponsorship of public secondary school students to the National High School Model UN (NHSMUN) conferences in New York, USA.

We started out selecting, coaching, and taking secondary school students to New York, USA, for the NHSMUN conference series, the very first non-government organisation in Nigeria to do so. Time was when all you needed to prove your academic mettle was a set of good grades. Not any more. You must have more to offer. The learning from MUN sets you apart on a pedestal of global relevance. Foreign university admissions recognise and attest to this.

You may recall the concerns that that led to the conference making its Nigerian debut in Lagos in 2015. We thus wish to commend the administration of Gov Nyesom Wike in Rivers State for a safer and more conducive Port Harcourt that has made it possible to bring this event to the Garden City in 2018 and now 2019.

TAFMUN is a time to step out of your comfort zone. We are confident that students who participate will become the policy shapers and world leaders of tomorrow in diverse fields. They would have learnt the importance of cooperation and negotiation in life and in their career fields.

Obi of Onitsha: The Igwe, Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe:

TAFMUN brings home to Africa, Nigeria and Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt the simulation of the UN’S proceedings by our secondary school and university students unto proffering solutions to real topical issues and problems of our world today. It is a wonderful opportunity for those who cannot afford the cost of international travel to New York to get a similar experience here at a comparatively insignificant cost.

For the government, this should be considered a vital part of the mandate. For the corporate bodies, it is a good aspect of corporate social responsibility by helping these brilliant youths to get to higher ambitions.

Deputy Governor; Represented by Director of Admin, Ben Roberts:

This body, FTI, is giving our youths a voice in the world. Considering cultism, militancy, yahoo-yahoo boys syndrome, the challenges facing the youths are enormous. There is need to encourage and reward those doing well.

The Rivers State government has evolved policies to address these issues. There are policies focused on girls and the girl-child. There initiatives that partner with NGOS and organisations to help the female child. Prostitution rate is getting too high.

The PH initiative is starting to train the youths. The students here are good prospects for future successes. We urge the visitors to do a tour of the state and find out that the state is safe, that PH is the safest city in Nigeria. Nabil Saleh: PHCCIMA President: The world is now a global village; no village is complete without the children or youths.

Skills are very key in the world of today. Negotiation is critical in achieving any good life today. This is where the event of today is very relevant because the school children have come together to begin training on diplomatic skills and art of negotiation.

The world today is pigmented by violence occasioned by intolerance which is a product of poor communication of desires and lack of negotiation abilities.

PHCCIMA is making its own contribution in the area of development and promotion of youth entrepreneurship, and this has value for the youth. NACCIMA has a youth wing and PHCCIMA supports them.

The experience here will help them. We urge parents to take advantage of this opportunity provided by the Fti-backed Model UN Conference system to build a sharper generation.

Igo Weli: SPDC:

The founder is a Shell product and she is simply wonderful. The quality shows.