Goin' Off the Rails on a Crazy Train: African Union of Railways, 2012
Despite railway transportation being mainstream in Africa for longer than the Trans-Siberian railroad, the African railway system is still extremely disjointed, to say the least. Now that many countries have gained independence, they have concurrently reclaimed control of their railway systems. But along the ride, they have faced a myriad of challenges including underinvestment, mismanagement, and maintenance issues.
Members of the African Union of Railways are at a crossroads in resolving the system. Since there are over 3,000 languages across the continent, the Union lacks congruence in communication. Is there a need for a common language, akin to seaspeak? The rails themselves are not universal in strength — is there a need to reconstruct the tracks? Or should the Union set weight-bearing limits instead to rectify the issue? And above all, which nation will be known as the “railroad hub” in this reconstruction, and benefit from the economic prosperity that will undoubtedly ensue?
Chair:
Jorge Domingo Garcia
Jorge is a member of the Class of 2025, majoring in International Politics with a concentration in International Security Studies, a minor in French, and a certificate in African Studies. He was born and raised in Madrid, the capital city of Spain, before moving to Washington DC for college. Having no prior experience, he discovered Model UN during his sophomore year at Georgetown when he first staffed NCSC. For the past two years, Jorge has also been a part of NCSC’s sister conference for high school students, NAIMUN, twice staffing the bilingual committee. On campus, Jorge is part of the board of Georgetown’s International Student Association (ISA), where he serves as Secretary and Global Expo Chair, organizing the university’s largest cultural event that brings together over 25 student organizations on campus to celebrate international diversity with food and performances from all around the world. Outside Model United Nations, Jorge enjoys learning new languages, traveling, and drinking coffee and pasta. He’s so excited to be your Chair for this fascinating committee and cannot wait to welcome everyone in it!
Crisis Manager:
Rachel Styslinger
Rachel is currently undecided in the School of Foreign Service class of 2027, but will probably study something relating to the intersection of economic policy and international politics. Her first experience with Model UN was as a Crisis Analyst at NCSC LI. From there she got sucked down the Georgetown Model UN rabbit hole and is now a member of the Georgetown Travel Model UN Team. On campus she is a member of Delta Phi Epsilon (the professional foreign service sorority), DC Schools Project (tutors newly arrived immigrant kids in English as a second language), and the Georgetown Club Rock Climbing Team (when she has time). Rachel is from Kensington, Maryland and spent her summer as the assistant director of a high ropes course at a sleep away camp. In her free time she likes to knit and crochet, read trashy romance novels, watch Below Deck, and take her dog, Jasper, for long walks. Rachel is super excited for the African Union of Railways because of the diversity of regions and topics it covers and is looking forward to reading the delegates’ creative crisis notes!
USG: Cynthia Gudaitis
This committee is in the Regionals Organ, and your Under-Secretary General is Cynthia Gudaitis. Committees in this organ are regional bodies with 18-25 delegates and full crisis elements.
If you have any questions about your committee, please reach out to c.gudaitis@modelun.org.