EVALUATING
FISCAL & AGRI-FOOD POLICY
AFRICAN UNION
Consisting of 55 member states, the African Union was officially founded on July 9, 2002, as a subsequent entity of the Organisation of African Unity. Committed to promoting Pan-Africanism, the African Union plays a crucial role in fostering continental unity, enhancing the political and socioeconomic integration amongst its member states, as well as promoting peace across the continent. In this year’s committee at OxfordMUN 2025, delegates will be addressing the growing issues of currency reform and the GMO debate. From economic disparities to food security to sustainability, there are a myriad of factors that must be considered when addressing these socioeconomic issues. As a continent characterized by its fragmented economies and economic instability, the solution of a common currency has been proposed in many discussions as a means to unite Africa’s economy. On the contrary, the rise of GMO technology has called for essential dialogues surrounding the implications on food security and the livelihoods of local farmers. Delegates are called to keep a respectful perspective when tackling these topics and ensure that all arguments are well-informed and feasible.
TOPIC A: African Currency Reform
TOPIC B: The GMO Debate
HONORARY CHAIRS
Dr. Grace Adeniyi-Ogunyankin
Grace Adeniyi-Ogunyankin is the Queen’s National Scholar in Black Geographies and the Canada Research Chair in Youth and African Urban Futures at Queen’s University. She is jointly appointed, as an Associate Professor, to the Department of Geography and Planning and the Department of Gender Studies (where she currently serves as the Chair of the Graduate Program), and she is affiliated with the Black Studies Program. She is also the outgoing President of the Canadian Association of African Studies (2023-2024). The bulk of her research is concerned with how the African urban future is portrayed in popular culture and imagined by urban dwellers, and politicians/policy makers. To this end, she is interested in the politics of identity, place-making, spatial inequality, and everyday resistance. Her current ethnographic research explores the relationship between youth, labour and urban transformation in Ibadan and Lagos, Nigeria. She is intrigued by the role that intersections of neoliberal urban change, technology, global consumer culture and labour play in (re)configuring youth identity and providing opportunities for youth to orient themselves towards the future. Her research focus on popular culture explores the issues of race and representation and the use of Afrofuturism in geographic projects that address the colonial politics of difference.
Dr. Eric Kam
Dr. Eric Kam is a distinguished Canadian economist specializing in macroeconomics, monetary policy, and international monetary economics. A professor at the Toronto Metropolitan University, Dr. Kam serves at TMU’s Director of the International Economics and Finance undergraduate program.
A recipient of the President’s Award for Teaching Excellence, Dr. Kam is known for his research on the long-run impacts of monetary policy and his contributions to economic education. As an advocate for global economic discourse, he frequently engages in public discussions on economic development, policy-making, and financial systems.
COMMITTEE DAIS
DIRECTOR
Catrina McNamara
Catrina McNamara (she/her) is a second-year law student at Lincoln College, Oxford. She first got involved in MUN four years ago, participating in conferences, organising her school’s MUN conference, and having chaired both COP28 and the ICJ for Oxford Global’s conferences. Outside of her degree, she enjoys playing football and rowing for college. Having grown up living in the US, Denmark, and now the UK, she has a keen interest in international law and international relations and is looking forward to chairing at OxfordMUN Canada!
SENIOR AD
Aurelia He
JUNIOR AD
Nancy Wu
JUNIOR AD
Colin Niu