The Southeast Model African Union (SEMAU) was established by the Regents’ Advisory Council on Africa (RACA) in the 1990s. RACA is the forerunner of the University System Africa Council (USAC), which is one of the five USG’s regional councils operating under the auspices of the USG System Council on International Education (SCIE). The main purpose was to bring Africa as close to the students as possible by simulating the activities of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which is the headquarters of the African Union. Given the lack of adequate resources to enable many students to participate in study-abroad programs on Africa, the SEMAU simulation is, therefore, the closest most of our students will come to studying abroad in Africa. Students role-play as ambassadors of African countries, and they are charged with debating African issues and exploring solutions to those issues. The first SEMAU simulation conference was held in Macon in November, 1997 at what was then Macon State College, now Middle Georgia State University. Dr. Mary Mears, Professor of English, became the first SEMAU Conference Director, under the guidance of two Georgia Southern University Professors: Dr. Saba Jallow and Dr. Alfred Young. Professors Jallow and Young had served as faculty advisors at the National Model African Union Conference sponsored and hosted by Professor Michael Nwanze at Howard University, Washington, D.C. The Regents’ Advisory Council on Africa, now called University System Africa Council, selected Macon for its first SEMAU conference because of its central location. RACA members also agreed to hold subsequent SEMAU conferences, for at least five years, in Macon to have a sense of history and establish a tradition. Once that objective was achieved and SEMAU earned its name recognition and significance, RACA, now called USAC, decided that schools should be given the opportunity to submit bids in order to host SEMAU. Thus, USG institutions were able to host SEMAU by providing conference venues and subsidizing conference cost. Overall, this experiential model of learning has benefited thousands of students since the inception of SEMAU in 1997. The University System of Georgia professors who have served as SEMAU Directors include Professors Mary Mears (Macon State College now Middle Georgia State University); Mary Mears, Peter Makaya and Grace Adams Square (Middle Georgia State University); Saba Jallow and Alfred Young (Georgia Southern University); Nuru Akinyemi, Ikechukwu Ukeje and Lovett Elango (Kennesaw State University); James Kahiga (Georgia Perimeter College); Florence Wakoko-Studstill (Fort Valley State University); Florence Wakoko-Studstill and John Studstill (Columbus State University); Eustace Palmer, Charles Ubah and Funke Fontenot (Georgia College & State University); Chester Fontenot (Mercer University); Akinloye Ojo, Karim Traore, Sandra Whitney and Jean Kidula (University of Georgia); Ken Eke, Ife Williams, Emmanuel Naniuzey ,Otilia Iancu, and Emmanuel Nojang (Savannah State University); Angela R. Bratton and Augustine Hammond (Augusta State University, now Augusta University); Stephen Agyekum (Armstrong State University, co-hosted with Savannah State and Georgia Southern University); and Augustine Ayuk (Clayton State University). The Southeast Model African Union would not have been the highly successful “beyond the classroom” teaching and learning tool that it is without the commitment and dedication of USG faculty members and administrators, past and present. Faculty effort has been critical in nurturing the program and preparing students for the simulation exercise every year. However, the USG campus Presidents and supporting administrators have been primary in making the hosting of each SEMAU conference possible and successful.
