The event was co-hosted by Sophia University, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The first Model AU, held on August 23, 2024, involved approximately 140 university students from 32 African countries and Japan, representing African countries, in a policymaking exercise under the theme “Youth Solutions for a Greener Africa”.
The theme of the second Model AU was “Inayojumuisha*: Youth Co-Creation, Shaping Africa’s Future”. The conference will be held in Yokohama from August 20 to 22, 2025, in conjunction with the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9). It is expected to be a venue to further promote diversity, resilience, and mutual understanding, while creating a vision of unity and prosperity, recognizing that the voices of youth will play a central role in shaping the future of the African continent.
*The Swahili word for “inclusive.”
The kick-off event featured discussions between Japanese and African students, sharing of experiences and challenges from the first Model AU, and an overview of the second Model AU.
After the opening remarks by President Yoshiaki Terumichi, Akinori Murakami, Counselor, Africa Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gave the speech in which he expressed his hope that the 2nd Model AU would be a valuable opportunity for co-creation between Japan and Africa.
The first program was an overview of the first Model AU, with a panel discussion of students who participated in the first Model AU. In addition to Mr. Tetsuo Kondo, former UNDP Representative in Japan, who moderated the session, five students participated, including Manato Ichitaka, rising sophomore at the University of Tokyo, College of Arts and Sciences, who received the Best Delegate Award in the first Model AU, Michi Hosokawa, a third-year student at Sophia University’s Faculty of Economics, who served as a rapporteur, and five other participants, who shared their reflections and experiences of participating in the first Model AU.
During the session, the participants discussed the deep-rooted negative stereotypes that still exist about Africa and the need for collaboration between young people from Japan and Africa. He also encouraged the participants of the 2nd Model AU to “be well prepared, have a bird’s eye view, and have in-depth discussions within the limited time” and to “engage with as many people as possible, interact, and make an impact on society”.
This was followed by a video presentation of the previous meeting. Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant to the President and Director of the Africa Bureau of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), then took the stage and spoke about the need for a new generation of leaders and new diplomatic approaches to solving various global challenges and the importance of interdependence, including in the areas of resources and finance. She also expressed her hopes for TICAD 9 and her intention to continue to actively support international cooperation initiatives.
In the last program, Glorya Kamwezi, Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, and Taiga Nakajima, 2nd year, College of Liberal Arts, The University of Tokyo, gave an overview of the second Model AU, then Shusei Ono, 3rd year, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Law, Keio University, took the podium. Ono, representative of the Model AU Executive Committee and Model United Nations Japan, then took the podium to deliver a congratulatory message for the 2nd Model AU and to certify Glorya and Taiga as Executive Committee members.
Toshiyuki Nakamura, Special Assistant to the President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), delivered the closing remarks. He concluded the event by calling on the youth generation in each country to build new partnerships, create new value, and propose solutions to future issues that may arise in both developed and developing countries.
