Daniel J K Zimyana, representing The Tree House Club Trust, and Tamuka Hove, representing Butete Technology Trust, played a prominent role in the continent-wide African Union Youth Leaders Model United Nations Conference in Addis Ababa on August 24-30, 2021. Participants voted Tamuka Best Position Paper Award and Daniel Most Outstanding Delegate Award for YLMUN Ethiopia 2021.
The two were sponsored by FairGo4Kids, Zimbabwe Information Center (ZIC), Zimbabwe Peacebuilding Initiative (ZimPI), Mr. Geoffry Webb, Mr. Muchadei Masunda, and Mr. Hanibal Ndlovu.
After the official opening, Tamuka Hove and Daniel Zinyama were given the honor of speaking on the initiatives they are working on and the needs of the African youth.
Tamuka spoke on a resolution of the previous Victoria Falls conference and the initiatives to implement it. This is to focus on educating the youth with documentaries on key points in history, namely the Herbert Chitepo documentary and African Illumination.
Daniel spoke on the project to develop an agricultural industry for pan African development in all sectors, focusing on the role youth play in influencing the development process with the right institutional support.
They stated the ZimPI theme, which is to lobby for the United Nations Day Supporting the Boy Child to partner that of the long-standing and successful Day of the Girl Child for true gender equality. They stressed that “we strive for inclusive gender equality as we fight for fairness, justice, peace, and balance in the family, the smallest economic unit in the world”.
The four-day conference focused on the African and global responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 11 different questions discussed in four parliamentary sessions, with 15-20 speakers per session. Each speaker was given 5 minutes to present, followed by 4-5 minutes for questions. Forty participants attended the full-day session.
Tamuka and Daniel were given a resolution on international cooperation for increased vaccination outcomes.
The two resolved that all member states should secure funding for research and development in the herbal medical and pharmaceutical sector of all African herbs, using the Madagascar CVO+ COVID-19 Cure as a stepping stone to the development of an African Center for Disease Control. Tamuka gave his presentation on the pandemic in Mauritius, while Daniel analysed the pandemic in Madagascar.
The third day ended with an awards and cultural night. Next day, those who were awarded were invited to discuss the collaboration of the YLMUN and their organizations, creating programs towards all African nations’ growth. This was hosted by the president of YLMUN. This meeting decided that Daniel and Tamuka will be Chairperson and Co-Chairperson of the next round of conferences in Ghana, South Africa and Victoria Falls.
Key Meetings
Earlier in the opening day of the conference, Daniel and Tamuka met with Mr. Rongai Chizema, Chief Technical Advisor and Head of Implementation and Coordination Unit (ICU) within the Department of Trade and Industry at the African Union Commission. The three prepared a presentation to Mr. Hambani Masheleni at the African Union Offices. They discussed the structures that make up the African Union and the work that has to be done to attract funding from the African Union for the projects that Daniel and Tamuka and their organisations are initiating.
They went to the headquarters of the Citizens and Diaspora Directorate (CIDO), which is the department responsible for leading the AU’s engagement with non-state actors through Diaspora and Civil Society Engagement. It works closely with the AU Mission Offices to engage with the diaspora, and engages with civil society through the work of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC). They wanted to find out on behalf of the ZimPI Network what is required for civil society organizations to become observers of the African Union.
At lunchtime the next day, Daniel and Tamuka visited Mr. Hambani Masheleni, Ag. Head, Education and ESTI, African Union Commission Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (AUC/ESTI) department. They discussed the projects Butete Technologies Trust and The Tree House Club Trust are doing under the wing of the ZimPI Network, with the support of its women's clubs, and asked for assistance to connect with youth around Africa to collaborate in projects aligned to the success of the African Union Agenda 2063. They proposed that BTT and TTHC have an MOU with the AU committees for a formal partnership in working together towards a better Africa. They promised to integrate their organizations into the Women, Gender, and Youth Development Directorate (WGYDD) and the Citizens and Diaspora Organizations Directorate (CIDO). Mr Masheleni invited them to come back to Addis Ababa to present their programs in full to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
As a result of the meetings with Mr. Chizema and Mr. Masheleni, Daniel and Tamuka are compiling all the projects that Butete Technologies, the Tree House Club, and the ZimPI network are working on, to formally integrate into the respective AU organs. They are invited to present progress reports on African Illumination at the next three summits.
They also want to pursue a project in collaboration with Flinders University in Adelaide, on Peacebuilding as a foundation for sustainable development, as part of contributing to President Mnangagwa’s Peace Call 2021, for Zimbabwe to become a Middle Income Country by 2030.
