Dear Mr. Ambassador, Stella, and Grace :
Once again, many thanks for your wonderful briefing and your hospitality.
I am a columnist for a newspaper in Kansas City. I hadn't intended to write
about our visit today, but it was so outstanding, that I couldn't help
myself. The article I would like to run is below. Since I did not say
anything about this beforehand, I will not run this until I get your
permission to do so. Please respond back if it is okay.
Also, feel free to distribute this article as you see fit.
Again, many thanks. I look forward to hearing your feedback.
Sincerely,
Steven Youngblood
Park University
- As the ambassador entered the room, my students rose from their seats. All
were transfixed, even star-struck.
These students are Model United Nations team members from Park University. We
were in New York recently attending the National Model United Nations
conference, where we had the honor of representing Kenya.
One of the most educationally-attractive aspects of attending NMUN is the
opportunity for students to meet with diplomats from the country we're
representing. Last year, we had an informative visit to the offices of the UN
mission of Peru. This year, we were invited to Kenya's UN mission
headquarters.
Upon arrival, we were greeted by a pretty, beaming woman who I correctly
guessed was Grace, the embassy representative who had graciously set up our
visit. The meeting was staffed by Grace and four other Kenyan diplomats. As
we were introduced to the diplomats, I could tell that my students were a bit
in awe that so many important people were willing to take so much time (2.5
hours!) to meet with us.
After a few minutes, we were thrilled when Ambassador Zachary Muburi-Muita
entered the conference room. After all, before the meeting, we thought we'd
be lucky if we even caught a glimpse of the ambassador. As he entered, the
ambassador smiled broadly, asked for a little information about us, then gave
a brief, fascinating speech about Kenya and Kenyan foreign policy.
The ambassador began by telling the Park students that there is a greater
need now than ever before for understanding issues faced by countries around
the world. In Kenya, these issues include the country's very identity, since"we are still struggling to forge a nation out of communities of 42 ethnic
groups," according to the ambassador.
Mr.. Muburi-Muita went on to discuss climate change, and how its effects can
be felt more acutely in the developing world. For Kenya, global warming means
the southward encroachment of the Sahara desert. The ambassador also touched
on biofuels, saying that our choice is to "grow food for the stomach or for
the gas tank," and economics, noting that Africa has traditionally been "exploited and marginalized" by global trade policies.
The 11 students were mesmerized, and a bit intimidated. They always have six
million questions, but not this time-all the students could do was to spit
out some polite thank you's.
After the ambassador's speech, the diplomats briefed the students, cutting a
broad swath (economics, refugees, food policy) across Kenyan foreign policy.
The briefing by these diplomats and the ambassador was the most professional
and thorough that I've seen.
This briefing was outstanding for my students in both their roles-as Model UN
participants, and citizens of the world. As Model UNers, they used the
information as a guide for their presentations during the conference. As
world citizens, they learned the obstacles facing nations in the developing
world, and that Kenya's troubles (and those of the developing world in
general) do or will affect us all, no matter where we live.
We took several group pictures with the diplomats and the ambassador. In one
of these photos, the smiles look a little bigger than the others. While this
photo was being shot, I asked one of my students, a young man named Aza, if a
pink camera sitting on the table belonged to him. Without missing a beat, Aza
said that he does not have a pink camera, but does have pink underwear.
Thank goodness, everyone laughed, including the ambassador. The last thing we
needed was a diplomatic incident.
--by Steven Youngblood , Park University professor , from The Parkville
Luminary newspaper
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