Each team will be assigned a specific country to represent in a simulated UN General Assembly-style debate on a globally relevant topic. This year, these are 'Weighing the economic benefits vs the environmental impact of fracking' and 'State-sanctioned homophobia: Universal human rights vs state sovereignty'.
At these 'special sessions' modelled along the lines of the UN General Assembly, the provincial teams will be tasked with persuasively advancing the policies of China, Nigeria, Uganda, Saudi Arabia, France, the United States, Russia, Norway and India on these controversial issues. Debating teams from the rest of Africa and abroad have also been invited to compete.
The contestants participated in provincial workshops and debates throughout South Africa to select the best debating team in each province, based on the topic, 'The humanitarian crisis in Syria: What can and should be done?'
After the finals, participants will experience an overnight stay at Robben Island to explore the history of the island and South Africa's transition to democracy. Deputy Basic Education Minister Enver Surty will join the learners on Robben Island for the prize-giving luncheon.
Following the national finals, the best-performing South African provincial debating team and one learner from each of the remaining eight provinces will have the opportunity to travel to the US to participate in the international Model United Nations conference. The skills of the students will be assessed by a panel comprising representatives of the United Nations and academia.
SAMUN, an Education Africa project in partnership with the United Nations Information Centre in Pretoria, was established 16 years ago and reaches more than 500 schools annually in all nine provinces.
Education Africa's operations director, Linda Gould, explains, "The beauty of the SAMUN programme is that it brings together resourced and under-resourced learners as well as educators on a single platform. This fosters social cohesion and shared learning. The programme imparts valuable life skills to the learners - such as tolerance, dialogue, negotiation skills and empathy. They also gain an awareness of international relations and human rights."
Other partners in the SAMUN project include the Department of Basic Education, the South African Permanent Mission to the UN (New York), Robben Island and alumni of the SAMUN programme.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the debates at the Cape Town Metropolitan Council, Civic Centre, 12 Hertzog Boulevard, Cape Town. For more information, go to www.samun.org.
