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BERLIN CONFERENCE:
Creating a Better
Africa
|
First Meeting of the Berlin
Conference
GETTING STARTED
In 1884, German chancellor Otto von Bismarck called together
14 of the major western powers of the world to negotiate questions and end
confusion over the control of Africa;
but not one delegate from the continent of Africa was invited! For the
purpose of this simulation, many African nations and kingdoms will
be represented.
At the time of the conference, 80% of Africa remained under traditional and
local control. What ultimately resulted was a hodgepodge of geometric boundaries
that divided Africa into fifty irregular countries. By the time independence
returned to Africa in 1950, the realm had acquired a legacy of political
fragmentation that could neither be eliminated nor made to operate
satisfactorily. Now, it is YOUR chance to turn back the clock and
establish a system of boundaries and countries (20-25 for this simulation) that
will improve the future of the African continent.
Because an effective resolution to the reorganization of Africa is of paramount
importance, you have received the following letter, which asks you to help to
develop a new border system.
OTTO VON BISMARCK, CHANCELLOR of
GERMANY
Chairman of the Conference
BERLIN GERMANY
Committee Delegate:
The Conference Commission requests your
immediate presence in Germany as a
delegate to the Berlin Conference. You
and three fellow experts in the areas of
economics, geography, ethics, military
history, and international negotiations,
have been appointed by your government
to represent them in the process. Each
nation present will be allowed to
participate in a half-day review and
deliberation to determine the fate of
the African Continent.
Your timely presence in Berlin by 15
November 1884 will allow your country to
be heard. As Chairman of the Berlin
Conference, I assure you that your task
will be difficult, but of supreme
importance to the future of Africa,
Europe, and the entire world.
Otto von Bismarck
OTTO VON BISMARCK
CHANCELLOR of GERMANY
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TASK
You are a member
of a delegation representing your nation at the Berlin Conference. Your
delegation must create a new boundary system for the entire continent of Africa.
To complete this task, you will create a document containing your nation's
position on the adjustment of the African boundaries and a resolution to the
issue. You will also create an original map depicting your new Africa.
Each delegate will have specific responsibilities for researching information
within the group:
Delegate
Responsibilities & Areas of Attention |
Economist
Arable land
Physical landscape
Access to water
Mineral wealth
Trade |
Anthropologist
Language
Religion
Ethnicity
Tribes/kingdoms
History |
Political Scientist
Balance of power
Government types
Border structure (e.g.
shape)
Neighboring states
Foreign interests |
Speaker
All areas (must work with
& assist other delegates)
Designated speaker for
the Berlin Conference |
Your first responsibility is to research your assigned
country; there are several links
provided on this site to get you started.
This will allow you to represent your assigned nation intelligently, and to act
“in character” even when specific information about a topic may not be available
(e.g. what type of government exists in your country? What types of
problems have occurred in your country's past that could have been prevented?).
Secondly, you must familiarize yourself
with the continent of Africa through
resources, maps,
and data, not just information on your assigned country. You must then
establish criteria by which you will prioritize the delimitation of the
boundaries of Africa. There are many priorities you may consider -
language, religion, access to major oceans, seas, or rivers (prevent landlocked
states as much as possible), cultures/established tribal kingdoms, population
(density & total), mineral access & arable land, physical landscape, etc...
As you can see, you have quite a responsibility on your hands.
POSITION PAPERS AND RESOLUTIONS
When you have gathered enough data and maps, and have
established the underlying criteria and philosophies guiding your country's
decisions, you are then ready to construct your position paper and proposed
resolution. Your position paper will contain your country's underlying
criteria and philosophies in dealing with the establishment of the borders of
Africa. It needs to be only one to two paragraphs long, and does not
propose any specific solutions to the problem.
Your resolution will immediately follow the position
paper, and is essentially one long sentence. It begins with the Subject (e.g.
The Boers on the Issue of Establishing a New African Border System), then uses what
are known as Preambulatory Clauses to describe the resolution’s intent and
motivation before moving on to describe the specific action which will be taken
by the Berlin Conference in the Operative Clauses, which offer specific
solutions to the problem (some
samples are provided in this site).
The correct format must be used to
demonstrate organized thinking and professionalism. Remember to represent
to goals and desires of your respective nation to the best of your ability.
A map containing all new
countries must be created using a computer program, to be attached to the
position paper and resolution. Use the
blank map of
Africa provided in this website. In addition to the position paper,
resolution and map, each project must contain a section describing the amount of
work each individual had contributed.
TO SUMMARIZE
The basic steps you
and your fellow delegates must complete: |
|
· Designate the
duties of all delegates in your group - economist, anthropologist, political
scientist, and speaker. |
|
· Research the
essentials of the Berlin Conference, your respective nation, and the general
goals and inclinations of ALL other delegations. |
|
· Analyze maps and
data to familiarize yourself with the African continent. |
|
· Establish a
hierarchy of priorities by which you will create an original boundary system
for Africa (e.g., kingdoms, access to water and minerals, language,
religion, etc.). |
|
· Create a position
paper articulating your nation's goals and priorities with respect to the
issue of establishing the boundaries of Africa. |
|
· Compose
a resolution creating a minimum of 20-25 countries, maximizing equality
between all nations and minimizing the potential problems between all new
countries. |
|
· Construct a
detailed map of all new countries created by your delegation's position
paper and resolution. |
|
· Include a section
describing the amount of work each individual had contributed to the overall
project. |
|
· Submit your
position paper, resolution, and map to your instructor (make at least one
additional copy for your delegation). |
|
· Participate in the
Model Berlin Conference. |
Back to top
RESOURCES
In addition to your textbook, encyclopedias, and other books available to you, the following internet sources will help you to complete this task.
Back to top
EVALUATION
The following rubric may be used to evaluate your contribution to this task.
Categories:
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Exceptional
|
Superior
|
Acceptable
|
Unsatisfactory
|
Group Interaction
|
Excellent communication skills; group work builds upon individual effort; responsibility shared evenly; students clearly perform roles |
Good listening/speaking skills; positive discussions and feedback; most students participate |
Some ability to work together; group discusses and creates solutions; some students participate |
Infrequent discussions; one person does all of the work; little or no participation by others |
Creativity
|
Both
position paper and resolution are interesting and engaging; shows insight; clever solutions to task |
Interesting; some aspects of the project display insight |
Completes the task but without regard for uniqueness or flair |
Sketchy, incomplete, unfocused presentation |
Content
|
Focused, historically accurate, detailed |
Well thought out, historically accurate, addresses major points |
Addresses most of the task, only minor errors, historically accurate |
Incomplete task, historical errors |
Presentation
|
Aesthetically pleasing, clear understanding
of all concepts, typed with proper
formatting, no grammatical or spelling errors |
Good
looking project, can discuss all topics, few written errors,
good formatting |
Good delivery of the information, knows most topics, neatly written, some written errors |
Unpracticed, reads information, illegible and/or many errors
|
Position
Papers and Resolutions
|
Takes a stand and supports it with specifics,
well organized, thoughtful and interesting
to read, follows the format perfectly
without grammatical errors |
Opinion is clear but supported with only a few examples, organized,
may contain a few grammatical errors |
Either no opinion or no specific examples, wanders but makes some good points, at least one page in length |
No opinion, no details from either treaty, less than one page in length,
may have many grammatical errors |
EDUCATIONAL
OBJECTIVES:
This simulation will recreate the Berlin Conference
of 1884-1885, and will allow students the opportunity to practice their research,
negotiation, and conflict resolution skills in an historical setting. The
major purposes of this simulation are:
-
to introduce students to the
fascinating realities and complexities of international relations through
simulations of international organizations
-
to demonstrate the potential and
limitations of the United Nations in the resolution of global conflicts and
problems.
-
to allow the students to
participate in “living” historical situations and recognize the fact
that they, too, are a part of history.
-
and, of course, to meet, work
with, and socialize with other students in both cooperative and competitive
situations.
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