NGN In conversation with...

At the table or on the menu? Africa’s strategic choices in a fragmented global order.

What could 'Katanomics' (a term coined by Bright Simons to describe misalignment between political incentives and policy objectives) mean for accountability, innovation and delivery, and how is Africa’s next generation already taking the lead?

Africa’s extraordinary wealth in biodiversity and ecosystem services constitutes a strategic asset for sustainable development both at regional and global levels. The continent is home to about 1/5 of the world’s land, almost 2/3 of its arable land, and around 1/6 of the world’s remaining forests, including the Congo Basin forests of Central Africa, which are now the world’s first tropical carbon sink. It is also home to six out of the world’s 66 large marine ecosystems, as well as the second-largest and longest rivers and aquatic areas in the world (the Nile and the Congo).

This session discussed Africa’s opportunity to fully realise the benefits of its rich biodiversity and explore ways of using it in a sustainable way to contribute to its human and economic development.

Realising Africa’s development agendas depends on addressing the continent’s unique energy gap. With 600 million people in Africa currently lacking access to electricity and more than 930 million lacking access to clean cooking fuels, Africa is the continent with the lowest rates of energy access globally.

Demographic growth and the continent’s development agendas means demand for energy will only increase. Although African countries have made considerable progress in renewables such as hydropower and geothermal, and have untapped potential in solar and wind energy, doubts remain as to whether renewables alone can meet the continent’s immediate energy needs.

This session discussed those unique challenges, exploring the extent of Africa’s energy deficit, the potential for renewables on the continent in addressing that deficit and the role that fossil fuels still have to play. It also explored other challenges such as financing energy investments within the context of global efforts to combat the climate crisis.

African countries face unique challenges in terms of public financing. Tax structures are often over dependent on sales taxes and resources rents, while the high level of informality creates challenges for tax systems. Illicit financial flows and capital flight deprive countries of valuable resources, while high levels of currency volatility hinder government financial planning. With limited domestic credit markets, many countries have turned to external debt to finance public spending but felt the squeeze of burdensome service payments during the pandemic.

The session explored how African governments can navigate these challenges, exploring issues such as domestic resource mobilisation, monetary sovereignty, resource dependency and sovereign wealth funds.

The Ibrahim Index of African Governance shows that Africa’s governance progress over the last decade has been unbalanced: on the one hand, economic opportunities and human development have been improving, but this has happened at the same time as alarming declines in areas such as rights, participation and rule of law.

The discussion explored whether there is a trade-off between political and social rights or job opportunities, and how young Africans’ hopes and concerns have changed in light of COVID-19. Are they confident in the continent’s current leadership and whom do they trust – political leaders, governments or private actors?

The discussion centred on the economic outlook for Africa in 2022.

Continental integration has been on the agenda ever since African countries gained political independence, but pursuing this vision has been challenging.

This session focussed on what young Africans think about the challenges of regional integration for the continent.

This session focussed on what young Africans think about the continent’s diverging governance landscape.

This session focussed on the global challenge of climate change and what it means for Africa. Th discussion explored the role of young African leaders in managing the impacts of climate change. What hopes and fears do young Africans have about how Africa can respond to the challenge of climate change? How are young Africans involved in shaping solutions? Are young African voices being heard on this topic? What opportunities does climate change present for the continent?

This intergenerational dialogue between Pascal Lamy and a selection of NGN members explored multilateralism in the post-COVID-19 world, what it means for Africa and how the continent can establish more equitable and constructive relationships with its international partners.

The focus of the session was on education and the learning crisis (globally and in Africa), exploring the impacts of COVID-19 on education globally and particularly on the African continent. The session was a forward-thinking dialogue about the Now Generation/youth’s role in building resilient educational systems.

This session focussed on how COVID-19 has affected women and girls in Africa. The conversation explored the impacts of COVID-19 on women’s and girls’ health, economic and social wellbeing. The session was a forward-thinking dialogue about the youth’s role in achieving a more gender-equal Africa and the world.

The focus of the session was on Africa's place in the world; the conversation explored Africa's agency (especially the Now Generations' agency) in a period of renewed great power competition.

The focus of the session was on the environment and natural resources with discussions centring around how governance is impacted by the new mega projects that involve mineral and natural resources in Africa.

The inaugural In conversation with… between Mo Ibrahim, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and a selection of Now Generation Network (NGN) members focussed on the key findings of the 2020 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) and drew from a recently conducted survey.