THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
The 2021 G-PAD Forum, taking place on 25-26 November and which was initially planned to be a hybrid event, will now hold only virtually.
The organisers of the annual conference, Lead Africa International, a global non-governmental organization dealing with development issues, announced the change of format on Thursday, explaining that the rising coronavirus infection figures and the need to protect participants and stay within the remit of Germany’s regulations necessitated its decision.
Lead Africa however assures that the quality of the event would not suffer because of the decision, pointing to the huge success of the 2020 edition, which was held virtually.
G-PAD Forum was created by Lead Africa “to promote shared knowledge of development policies that impact Africans and people of African descent and facilitate effective global partnerships towards achieving sustainable development in Africa”.
The theme of 2021 G-PAD Forum is Transformative Partnerships for Sustainable Development in Africa and the event will deliberate on strategies for mutually beneficial co-operation between Africa and its global partners to promote self-sufficiency and reduce aid dependency in Africa.
Among the speakers who will speak at the 2-day event are Prof Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba, renowned Kenyan intellectual and founder of the PLO Lumumba Foundation; Khaled Sheriff, Vice President at the Africa Development Bank; and Mrs Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, Botswana’s Second Ambassador to Germany.
Other scheduled speakers are Mr Philipp Keil, Executive Director, SEZ – Foundation for Development Cooperation, Baden-Württemberg; Engr Ifeanyi F. Ogochuckwu, Chief Technology Strategist, Debbie Mishael Group, South Africa; Taiwo Oyedele, Partner at PriceWaterhouseCoopers; Timi Olanrewaju, Founder/Executive Director, Lead Africa International e.V.; Brighton Kaoma, Global Director at UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network – Youth; and Kenny Folarin, a strategic leadership expert.
The Forum, which brings together national governments, the international community, civil society, the private sector and other actors, is aligned with Goal 17 of the SDGs which seeks to strengthen global partnerships to support and achieve the targets of the 2030 Agenda.
Another group of participants expected to play an active part in the deliberations during the 3-day conference are representatives of the African diaspora – young professionals, academics and students.
Femi Awoniyi
Register for G-PAD 2021, taking place by Zoom on 25-26 November, by clicking HERE
