• Friday, March 29, 2024
businessday logo

BusinessDay

Ibrahim governance confab to seek solutions to Africa’s developmental challenges

Mo Ibrahim

Decision-makers from across Africa who will gather at this year’s Ibrahim Governance Weekend (IGW) will be charting a new course on issues around leadership and public governance on the continent.

The flagship annual event of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation (MIF) billed for April 5-7 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, will particularly seek ways out of problems holding many African countries back in the cycle of global development.

The Foundation has concluded plans to honour the legacy of Kofi Atta Annan, the late Ghanaian diplomat and seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, with the IGW.

To lead discussions are leaders in public and private sectors such as Akinwumi Adesina, president, African Development Bank; Abdourahmane Cissé, Cote d’Ivoire’s minister of Oil, Energy and Renewable Energies, and Aliko Dangote, African business magnate. Others include Hailemariam Desalegn, immediate past Ethiopian Prime Minister, as well as Ibrahim Mayaki, Oumar Seydi, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Alex Soros.

The annual Ibrahim Leadership Ceremony will dedicate April 5 to the celebration of Kofi Annan, looking back at his leadership style. Also on April 5, the Now Generation Forum (NGF), gathering young people from all over the continent, will see African youths debate issues that lay bare analysis, expectations and potential solutions. Three NGF representatives will then participate in the April 6 High-level Forum.

On April 6, focus will shift to the key topic of African migrations.

“Migration, whether referring to economic migrants or refugees and related issues, is currently too often the subject of an emotional or politically-driven debate, especially outside the continent, that overlooks both the real dynamics and the African viewpoint,” MIF said in a statement made available to BusinessDay.

“The Ibrahim Forum will feature an African-led conversation about the challenges and opportunities of migrations from and within the continent, and its key relationship with youth expectations, jobs and mobility,” it said.

The IGW will equally feature Africa-focused retreats by allies including EU/Africa High-Level Group, the International Crisis Group (IGW), Open Government Partnership (OGP), The Africa Report (TAR) debates, The B-Team, African Philanthropy Forum, Africa 2.0, the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET), and the Kofi Annan Commission on Elections and Democracy in the Digital Age.
IGW will conclude with a public concert at Treichville Palais de la Culture on Sunday, April 7, with performances from Serge Beynaud, Safarel Obiang, Youssou N’Dour and Fally Ipupa.