In her first year as CAS's second year student assistant, Darby O'Donnell discovered the National Model African Union online and thought it would be fun for OSU to participate.  Three years later, OSU boasts a strong student organization, Model African Union, which has heightened interest in African Studies and international diplomacy on campus and in the Columbus K-12 community.

The campus group focuses primarily on preparing for the Washington DC based national simulation, where over 300 delegates representing the continent’s 54 countries interact and compete. The Ohio State delegation of 10 students brought home three awards this year, “Outstanding Delegate” awards to Nick Macek (Central African Republic) and Darby O’Donnell (Tunisia), and the “Leadership in Committee Award,” also to Darby O’Donnell. The students completed three months of research and preparation prior to the conference, familiarizing themselves with African politics and the African Union. They became specialists in their countries’ history and social, political and economic issues by conducting individual and group research. Members crafted draft working papers prior to attending the conference, and consolidated these with other students to create comprehensive resolutions addressing topics like food security, human rights, corruption, refugees, HIV/AIDS, and education, and military crises.  Students meet with embassy staff, and their final resolutions are sent to the AU. The students share their knowledge with the Buckeye community through events and conferences.  We have also re-started discussions with IS to launch Model AU preparatory or readings course.

Another offshoot of this program is a potential pilot MAU visit to Addis Ababa, which was discussed by advisors at the DC summit.  AAU’s External Relations office has said they would be interested in hosting a small group of students and faculty.

Another spin-off activity of the MAU has been its equivalent at the local high school level, implemented through Columbus International High School, in collaboration with the Collegiate Council of World Affairs.  The second annual CIHS Model African Union took place on Nov 17^th, 2012.   It provided over 80 students from 8 schools an opportunity to step into the shoes of African Ambassadors, and engage with African issues in an innovative way. Students represented 25 African countries, and debated issues ranging from water resources to education. During the afternoon session, students resolved a simulated crisis between Sudan and South Sudan. The students worked together to produce resolutions addressing these topics while practicing their public speaking and diplomatic skills. Mr. Tarek Ben Youssef, Senior Political Officer of the African Union Mission to the United States, observed and coached the students throughout the day and in his later speech noted the relevance of multi-lateral diplomacy and the importance of activities such as this one.  This exercise of parliamentary procedure and research into African issues will give these young students a head start in knowledge & practice of international diplomacy.