AFRIC- Berlin foresight session on Africa’s transformation

‘’More than anything, African people need their sovereignty to be respected. It is the foundation on which sustainable and equitable development can be built.’’, underlined Dr. Laurence NDONG at the first edition of Africa foresight session in Berlin, Germany. A whole lot of high level personalities from all walks of life have gathered at the Hilton hotel Berlin to talk about Africa and its myriad problems. Accentuating on Africa Vision 2040 that focuses on development, the participants noted that it was high time African leaders, stakeholders and NGOs contribute their own quota to the total transformation of the African continent.

Under the auspices of the Association for Free Research and International Cooperation AFRIC, the foresight session, the first of its kind to be organized by the non-governmental and apolitical association, has an objective to define a clear image for Africa’s future and to strategize on how they can contribute to the development of the African Continent. The two-day event which kicked started on July 29 and culminates on July 30, 2019, is holding under the theme: Africa 2040; vision of the future, and has focused on Education and culture, monetary policy and investment, energy, agriculture among other important aspects.

One of the participants, Vaiva Adomaityte - global change expert, CEO and founder of ADMIS consultancy limited underlined that social development, economic transformation, financial prosperity, investment and especially foreign direct investments among others are all factors that need to be addressed properly by African presidents, businessmen and foreign partners if real growth is envisage for the continent by the year 2040. According to Adomaityte, going a step forward is to clearly comprehend the development areas, identify the partners to work with and to exploit that approach for ‘’Africa going forward’’.

‘’It’s absolutely very significant to have financial decision making and having an autonomy to make this decision is very crucial for any country or bloc to have full control over its financial decision. Having a centralized approach when it comes to financial decision making with the unity of several countries working together………’’emphasized Mrs Adomaityte.

Egyptian Ambassador to Germany H.E. Dr. Badr Abdelatty, cautioned that for Africa’s vision 2063 to fully materialize, it is imperative to promote international cooperation and open the continent to real investment that would positively affect growth and transformation. That notwithstanding, ambassador Badr Abdelatty has challenged Africa to tackle radicalization, corruption, bad governance, terrorism and other vices that stand as impediment to investment and growth on the continent.

As per AFRIC’s project Coordinator Clifton Ellis, the world is evolving and there is a total shift from western economies, hence, the wind of change now blows across Africa. The greater challenge according to Clifton is for Africa to make proper use of diverse opportunities to spur its transformation.

The Association for Free Research and International Cooperation

The Association for Free Research and International Cooperation with its acronym as AFRIC, is a clique of independent researchers, experts, Journalists and activists. AFRIC has shown interest in helping African leaders instil the principle of democracy in their respective nations. This non-governmental and apolitical organization has carried out a series of research studies in African countries like the Central African Republic, Mali, Libya, Ivory Coast, Sudan, Zambia and Madagascar. Aside these research works, AFRIC has overseen election observation missions in African countries like Zimbabwe, Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of South Africa. Thus, commending African nations as they have attained a noteworthy level of political democracy. For more information on AFRIC visit afric.online.