Projects

The Institute hosts debates on Pan-African political,
socio-economic, and cultural issues.

Since its inception, the IPATC has established itself as one of the leading Institutes on Pan-African thought on the continent. It has particularly fostered its expertise in the area of Africa/European Union (EU) Migration in which it has engaged in research and policy development. In order to facilitate and shape the implementation of the 2018 United Nations (UN) Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration; IPATC, along with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) EU office in Brussels, and the Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) Group secretariat, convened a one-day policy dialogue in the Belgian capital in October 2018 two months before the UN Global Compact on Migration was agreed in Marrakesh. IPATC received funding from the German Federal Foreign Office for a 6-month project on “Implementation of the UN Global Compact: Conflict, Governance, and Migration in Africa/EU Relations” which was implemented through the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (IFA) between July and December 2019. In order further to consolidate the impact of this work, IPATC has been implementing a 9-month project (May-December 2020) funded by the German Foreign Office through IFA titled “Implementation of the UN Global Compact: Building a Community of Practice in Addressing Conflict, Governance, and Migration in Africa/EU Relations.”

IPATC’s project on Africa/EU Migration project has three main key goals:

  1. To enhance dialogue and engagement between African and European policymakers, experts, and civil society on the challenges of African migration to the EU;
  2. To offer concrete solutions to policymakers for the effective management of migration and protection of vulnerable African migrants; and
  3. To engage and inform African and European publics about issues of migration and implementing the 2018 UN Global Compact on Migration.

A fundamental purpose of this project has thus been to establish a CoP on implementing the 2018 UN Global Compact on Migration. The informal group consists of African and European government officials, EU and African regional bodies, policy experts, and civil society activists from both continents. This goal was partly achieved through organising a two-day policy dialogue in Johannesburg in October 2019 with African and European actors to assess ways of implementing the UN Global Compact. This 2019 policy dialogue was built on an October 2018 policy meeting in Brussels which the Institute had co-hosted with the then ACP Group secretariat and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) office, both in Belgium. This latter meeting helped shape the ACP’s policy positions in its negotiations of a new trade accord with the EU, while its policy brief helped to inform government delegates who participated in the Marrakesh meeting two months later at which the UN Global Compact was finalised.

The five key identifiable results of the project were:

  1. Creating an African and European network and Community of Practice (CoP) that is continuously shaping policy and enhancing dialogue in this critical area;
  2. Using the recommendations from these initiatives for policy development by African and European governments, as well as by regional bodies on both continents;
  3. Strengthening the weak policy development and research capacity of African governments and regional bodies;
  4. Bringing together policymakers, experts, and civil society from both continents to craft concrete solutions for implementing the 2018 UN Global Compact on Migration; and
  5. Sensitising general publics in Africa and Europe in understanding migration issues in order to contribute more effectively to these debates and reducing anti-xenophobic sentiments against African migrants in Europe.

The Africa/EU Migration project had five key policy outcomes:

  1. Building on the 2018 Brussels policy meeting, the Institute held the two-day October 2019 policy seminar on “Implementation of The United Nations (UN) Global Compact: Conflict, Governance & Migration in Africa/EU Relations”. This policy seminar was funded by the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (IFA). The primary goal of this policy seminar was to establish a policy group and community of practice on implementing the UN Global Compact on Migration. The policy seminar further sought to shape policy and public debates in Africa and Europe by highlighting the challenges and positive aspects of migration which are often missed in discussions around these issues.
  2. A network and community of practice was agreed among this group from the October 2019 two-day policy seminar to enhance continued dialogue, to share relevant information, and to promote public engagement in Africa and Europe;
  3. Two six-page policy briefs:
    Migration In The EU-ACP Partnership After 2020: Implementing The UN Global Compact
    The Impact Of COVID-19 On Africa/European Union (EU) Migration ;
  4. Publication of three newspaper articles (The Star, and Business Day)
    AU Urged To Put Greater Effort Into Tackling Migration
    Root Causes Of Migration
    Impact Of Virus On Africa/EU Migration; and
  5. Hosting of a two-hour public dialogue.
  6. In an effort to enhance the development of concrete and constructive policy approaches to managing Africa/EU migration amidst the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 crisis, IPATC collaborated with the Nordic Africa Institute (NAI) in Sweden, to hold two joint webinars:
    1. The Impact Of COVID-19 On Africa/European Union (EU) Migration
    2. The Impact Of COVID-19 On Africa/European Union (EU) Migration
  7. As part of IPATC’s Africa/EU Migration project, the Institute has partnered with the Sweden-based Nordic Africa Institute, one of Europe’s most important think tanks on Africa, to produce a 21-chapter book titled “Worlds Apart? Perspectives on Africa/EU Migration”, to be edited by IPATC and NAI Senior Researchers, Dr. Adeoye O. Akinola and Dr. Jesper Bjarnesen respectively. The book will be published in 2021.
  8. IPATC held a half-day policy dialogue on “Africa/EU Relations in the Era of COVID-19” in November 2020 at Johannesburg. The meeting assessed Africa/EU relations in historical and contemporary perspective; examined Africa/EU relations within the context of migration challenges amidst the COVID-19 pandemic; developed concrete and constructive policy approaches for managing Africa/EU migration within the broader bilateral relationship; and launched and disseminated the IPATC policy brief on “The Impact of COVID-19 on Africa/EU Migration” published in August 2020, as well as disseminated a previous IPATC policy brief from an October 2019 policy dialogue.

The University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation (IPATC) in South Africa received funding from the German Federal Foreign Office for a 6-month project on “Implementation of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact: Conflict, Governance, and Migration in Africa/EU Relations” which was implemented through the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (IFA) between July and December 2019. A two-day policy dialogue was held in October 2019 from which a 6-page policy brief was produced and launched at a public dialogue in the same month. In order to consolidate the impact of this work, IPATC has been implementing a 9-month project (May-December 2020) funded by the German Foreign Office through IFA on “Implementation of the UN Global Compact: Building a Community of Practice in Addressing Conflict, Governance, and Migration in Africa/EU Relations”.

The IPATC’s project on Africa/EU Migration project has three key goals:

  1. To enhance dialogue and engagement between African and European policymakers, experts, and civil society on the challenges of African migration to the EU;
  2. To offer concrete solutions to policymakers for the effective management of migration and protection of vulnerable African migrants; and
  3. To engage and inform African and European publics about issues of migration and implementing the 2018 UN Global Compact on Migration.

Monitoring and Evaluation of the Africa/EU Migration project

Between July – December 2019, IPATC consulted an external evaluator to establish indicators and baseline values for the implementation of the Policy Development on Migration in Africa/EU Relations Project. The team presents both baseline values and evaluation results of the project based on its Theory of Change (ToC) and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Framework. An analysis of the baseline indicators tracking the progress of the IPATC in meeting its objectives show a positive trend particularly for the Policy Conference and Public Dialogue in 2019. In 2020, IPATC also appointed an external evaluator to revise the Theory of Action, Theory of change and present the M&E framework.

The external evaluators used a Theory of Action and Theory of Change in framing the M&E framework. A Theory of Change is the causal (or cause-effect) logic that links research activities to the desired changes in the actors that a project or programme is aiming to change. The ToC was ideal because it explained how the activities, including the 12 and 26 June 2020 webinars6-page policy brief published in August 2020, and 13 November 2020 policy dialogue have contributed to changes in the formulation and implementation of policies on Africa/EU migration. Three specific tools were employed:

  1. Participant questionnaires were administered during the November 2020 policy dialogue, 12 and 26 June webinars and after the dissemination of the policy brief.
  2. Follow-up telephone interviews were conducted after the two webinars.
  3. Feedback were collected from members of the community of practice that received the 6-page policy brief.

Between May and November 2020, IPATC held six M&E workshops, led by the external evaluator. A monitoring and evaluation workshop on 17 July 2020, led by the external evaluator, and attended by five IPATC staff provided a nuanced understanding of monitoring and evaluation, and expanded IPATC staff’s grasp of key terminology; the Theory of Action and the Theory of Change; and its monitoring and evaluation frameworks. IPATC staff and the instructor further engaged on the vision and mission of the project, the desired outcomes, and how the current activities (the two webinarstwo newspaper articlesa policy brief, and a policy dialogue) align with IPATC’s intended outcomes. The staff and the instructor brainstormed on refining the Theory of Change and the existing indicators with the aim of achieving a more effective evaluation of the project. Another workshop was organised on 29 July 2020 to build on the M&E introductory workshop where the team had updated the Theory of Change framework based on comments and discussions emanating from the meeting on 17 July 2020, as well as from staff feed-back on 27 July 2020; she facilitated the meeting on 29 July 2020, with the team discussing and debating several aspects of the existing Theory of Change document.

On 6 and 7 August 2020, the team further revised the Theory of Change framework. The external evaluator introduced the team to her proposed Theory of Action, which was based on IPATC’s research activities and outputs such as public dialogues, policy briefs, and newspaper articles. After reviewing the written feedback from the team, the external evaluator incorporated them into the broad framework of the project, leading to revision of the new Theory of Change. On 28 August 2020, the team also reviewed all of IPATC’s projects and activities, and agreed on the most appropriate approach to measuring each activity. The team was guided to set specific targets for the activities and to identify the most realistic ways to measure the impact of aspects of the project such as hosting a policy seminar or public dialogue within a specific timeframe, like six months or one year. The team further identified the tools required to evaluate its key IPATC’s activities.

An M&E workshop, titled “Qualitative Data Analysis”, was held by Zoom on 30 September 2020: The IPATC team discussed and debated the current Theory of Change (ToC) and activities log-frames. The meeting provided a clear overview of the M&E process for IPATC’s migration work, and staff were given a chance to reflect in order to inform their day-to-day work. Following the meeting, the external evaluator developed a new evaluation instrument which correlates closely with the Theory of Change and activities log frames, thus making the monitoring and evaluation of the project more coherent, logical, and systematic.

The external evaluator is presently conducting a strategic review of the IFA-supported project on Africa/EU Migration within IPATC’s broad core projects in order to ensure the coherence and complementarity of the Institute’s work; ensure that Africa/EU Migration is mainstreamed throughout all of the Institute’s projects. The evaluator would also refine the Institute’s methodology, develop semi-structured interview guides, and construct an analysis and valuing framework structure to assess institutional performance against the project’s results chain. This report will enhance the efficiency of IPATC’s work on the migration project.

Overview: The African Union at 20: Progress, Problems and Prospects

The Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation (IPATC), based at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), and TrustAfrica are jointly organising a continental symposium on the theme: “The African Union at 20: Progress, Problems and Prospects” to be convened in October 2022. The symposium is part and parcel of the commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the African Union (AU) which was established and launched on the 9th July 2022 at Durban, South Africa. Like the Organization of African Unity (OAU) of 1963, the AU is a key institutional architecture and historical landmark for the advancement of Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance, and its primary mandate is continental unity and integration.

The continental development blueprint of the AU is aimed at creating socio-cultural and politico-economic transformation for the betterment of the lives and livelihoods of African people.

This initiative of IPATC, CODESRIA, and TrustAfrica is premised on six (6) main factors.

First, the transition from OAU to the AU in the late 1990s was an epoch-making development and there is, therefore, a need to review the result of the transition to date. Second, there is a need to discover through evidence-based research the real difference and similarities between OAU and AU. Third, this initiative will breathe life into the almost defunct Agenda 2063 as the long-term development blueprint of the AU. Fourthly, this project will also reignite intellectual imagination towards collective and PanAfricanist efforts towards integration following years of unilateralism and bilateralism reinforced by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fifth, this initiative will contribute to the decolonization of Africa’s international relations, so the continent is able to occupy its rightful place in the global community of nations within and outside the United Nations system. Sixth and finally, the AU is currently undergoing institutional reforms and it is imperative that we review this process so far.

 

The Goal of the Symposium

  1. The overall goal of the symposium is to create a platform for scholars, practitioners and civil society actors to critically reflect on the progress that the AU has registered, the problems it has encountered and its prospects in the short-term, medium-term and long-term horizon.

 

Key themes and topics for the symposium

  • Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance
  • AU Organs and Institutions
  • Governance, Democracy, and Elections
  • Africa’s Peace and Security Architecture
  • Socio-economic development and service delivery
  • Structural Transformation
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • People-to-People Integration
  • Climate Change
  • Information Communication and Technology
  • Africa’s International Relations
  • Research and Development
  • Key cross-cutting issues etc.

 

Key deliverables from the symposium

  1. To generate public debate through various types of media, including Radio, TV, Newspapers, and social media.
  2. To culminate in the publication of a special issue of a journal on the AU@20.
  3. The project will lead to a publication of an edited book volume on the AU@20.

 

Participation, Format and Language

The symposium will involve about 250 participants drawn from governments, policy practitioners, academia, civil society, the private sector, the African diaspora etc. It will be convened in a hybrid format involving both a physical meeting and a virtual platform.

The format of the symposium will include, inter alia, plenary and break-away sessions. One or more keynote speakers will be invited to set the tone for the deliberations throughout the duration of the symposium.

English and French will be used for abstracts and papers. The symposium will also be conducted in both English and French. All publications emanating from this initiative will be in both English and French.

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Overview: SADC @30:Past, Present and Future

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) was founded on 17 August 1992 in the Botswana city of Gaborone by states that are geographically located in southern Africa. The overriding raison d’être behind the formation of SADC was to create governance structures and systems that would address issues and phenomena that are transboundary in character. As a regional intergovernmental organisation can, SADC is used by member states to convene and deliberate on measures necessary to overcome problems of the Southern African region. Similarly, it can be used not only as an instrument for responding to regional crises but also as a tool to initiate and advance economic cooperation and regional integration broadly. From challenges of conflict, political crises, natural disasters, governance failures, political repression, migration, and collaboration, to poor levels of regional integration, inter alia, the issues that SADC focuses on are certainly too broad and diverse.

Proceeding of the SADC@30 Colloquium

SADC will be reaching 30 years of existence. In light of this milestone, the University of Johannesburg’s Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation (IPATC), in partnership with the African Association of Political Science (AAPS) and the South African Association of Political Studies (SAAPS), has organised a 2-days SADC colloquium title “SADC@30: Past, Present and Future that will be taking place on 25 and 26 August 2022 in Johannesburg (South Africa) at the Sandton Convention Centre.

The management of the colloquium is the responsibility of the IPATC. The overall coordinator of the colloquium is Prof. Siphamandla Zondi (head of the IPATC, University of Johannesburg). Prof. Zondi can be reached via his email: siphamandlaz@uj.ac.za. He is supported by a group of staff at the IPATC, including Dr Noluthando Phungula (a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the IPATC) – Dr Phungula’s email is: maphungul@gmail.com; and Mr Vusi Gumbi (Research Assistant at the IPATC) – Mr Gumbi’s email is vusig@uj.ac.za.

 

The Goal of the Colloquium

  1. To reflect on the life of the organisation, focusing on past achievements or shortcomings; present landmarks, challenges and opportunities; and what the future can look like.
  2. The SADC @30 Colloquium is looking forward to receiving and accepting papers from willing participants by the end of the colloquium.

 

Key themes and topics for the colloquium

  • Democracy, Human Rights and Political Processes
  • Borders, Migration and Climate Change
  • Regional Conflict, Security, and Terrorism
  • Political Economy and Socio-Economic Development
  • Regional Integration/Cooperation
  • Mediation, Diplomacy and International Relations
  • Civil Society and Elections
  • Governance and Leadership

 

Deliverables from the colloquium

  1. The project will generate public debate through various types of media, including Radio, TV, Newspapers, and social media.
  2. The project will culminate in the publication of a special issue of a journal on the SADC@30.
  3. The project will lead to a publication of an edited book volume on the SADC@30.

 

Participation, Format and Language

The symposium will involve about 60 participants drawn from governments, policy practitioners, academia, civil society, and the private sector, mainly from within the SADC region. It will be convened in a hybrid format involving both a physical meeting and a virtual platform.

 

The format of the colloquium will include, inter alia, plenary and break-away sessions. One or more keynote speakers will be invited to set the tone for the deliberations throughout the duration of the colloquium.

 

English will be used for abstracts and papers. The colloquium will also be conducted in both English. All publications emanating from this initiative will be in both.

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Overview: The African Union at 20: Progress, Problems and Prospects

The Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation (IPATC), based at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), and TrustAfrica are jointly organising a continental symposium on the theme: “The African Union at 20: Progress, Problems and Prospects” to be convened in October 2022. The symposium is part and parcel of the commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the African Union (AU) which was established and launched on the 9th July 2022 at Durban, South Africa. Like the Organization of African Unity (OAU) of 1963, the AU is a key institutional architecture and historical landmark for the advancement of Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance, and its primary mandate is continental unity and integration.

The continental development blueprint of the AU is aimed at creating socio-cultural and politico-economic transformation for the betterment of the lives and livelihoods of African people.

This initiative of IPATC, CODESRIA, and TrustAfrica is premised on six (6) main factors.

First, the transition from OAU to the AU in the late 1990s was an epoch-making development and there is, therefore, a need to review the result of the transition to date. Second, there is a need to discover through evidence-based research the real difference and similarities between OAU and AU. Third, this initiative will breathe life into the almost defunct Agenda 2063 as the long-term development blueprint of the AU. Fourthly, this project will also reignite intellectual imagination towards collective and PanAfricanist efforts towards integration following years of unilateralism and bilateralism reinforced by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fifth, this initiative will contribute to the decolonization of Africa’s international relations, so the continent is able to occupy its rightful place in the global community of nations within and outside the United Nations system. Sixth and finally, the AU is currently undergoing institutional reforms and it is imperative that we review this process so far.

 

The Goal of the Symposium

  1. The overall goal of the symposium is to create a platform for scholars, practitioners and civil society actors to critically reflect on the progress that the AU has registered, the problems it has encountered and its prospects in the short-term, medium-term and long-term horizon.

 

Key themes and topics for the symposium

  • Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance
  • AU Organs and Institutions
  • Governance, Democracy, and Elections
  • Africa’s Peace and Security Architecture
  • Socio-economic development and service delivery
  • Structural Transformation
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • People-to-People Integration
  • Climate Change
  • Information Communication and Technology
  • Africa’s International Relations
  • Research and Development
  • Key cross-cutting issues etc.

 

Key deliverables from the symposium

  1. To generate public debate through various types of media, including Radio, TV, Newspapers, and social media.
  2. To culminate in the publication of a special issue of a journal on the AU@20.
  3. The project will lead to a publication of an edited book volume on the AU@20.

 

Participation, Format and Language

The symposium will involve about 250 participants drawn from governments, policy practitioners, academia, civil society, the private sector, the African diaspora etc. It will be convened in a hybrid format involving both a physical meeting and a virtual platform.

The format of the symposium will include, inter alia, plenary and break-away sessions. One or more keynote speakers will be invited to set the tone for the deliberations throughout the duration of the symposium.

English and French will be used for abstracts and papers. The symposium will also be conducted in both English and French. All publications emanating from this initiative will be in both English and French.

Content Coming Soon.

Overview: The African Union at 20: Progress, Problems and Prospects

The Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation (IPATC), based at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), and TrustAfrica are jointly organising a continental symposium on the theme: “The African Union at 20: Progress, Problems and Prospects” to be convened in October 2022. The symposium is part and parcel of the commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the African Union (AU) which was established and launched on the 9th July 2022 at Durban, South Africa. Like the Organization of African Unity (OAU) of 1963, the AU is a key institutional architecture and historical landmark for the advancement of Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance, and its primary mandate is continental unity and integration.

The continental development blueprint of the AU is aimed at creating socio-cultural and politico-economic transformation for the betterment of the lives and livelihoods of African people.

This initiative of IPATC, CODESRIA, and TrustAfrica is premised on six (6) main factors.

First, the transition from OAU to the AU in the late 1990s was an epoch-making development and there is, therefore, a need to review the result of the transition to date. Second, there is a need to discover through evidence-based research the real difference and similarities between OAU and AU. Third, this initiative will breathe life into the almost defunct Agenda 2063 as the long-term development blueprint of the AU. Fourthly, this project will also reignite intellectual imagination towards collective and PanAfricanist efforts towards integration following years of unilateralism and bilateralism reinforced by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fifth, this initiative will contribute to the decolonization of Africa’s international relations, so the continent is able to occupy its rightful place in the global community of nations within and outside the United Nations system. Sixth and finally, the AU is currently undergoing institutional reforms and it is imperative that we review this process so far.

 

The Goal of the Symposium

  1. The overall goal of the symposium is to create a platform for scholars, practitioners and civil society actors to critically reflect on the progress that the AU has registered, the problems it has encountered and its prospects in the short-term, medium-term and long-term horizon.

 

Key themes and topics for the symposium

  • Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance
  • AU Organs and Institutions
  • Governance, Democracy, and Elections
  • Africa’s Peace and Security Architecture
  • Socio-economic development and service delivery
  • Structural Transformation
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • People-to-People Integration
  • Climate Change
  • Information Communication and Technology
  • Africa’s International Relations
  • Research and Development
  • Key cross-cutting issues etc.

 

Key deliverables from the symposium

  1. To generate public debate through various types of media, including Radio, TV, Newspapers, and social media.
  2. To culminate in the publication of a special issue of a journal on the AU@20.
  3. The project will lead to a publication of an edited book volume on the AU@20.

 

Participation, Format and Language

The symposium will involve about 250 participants drawn from governments, policy practitioners, academia, civil society, the private sector, the African diaspora etc. It will be convened in a hybrid format involving both a physical meeting and a virtual platform.

The format of the symposium will include, inter alia, plenary and break-away sessions. One or more keynote speakers will be invited to set the tone for the deliberations throughout the duration of the symposium.

English and French will be used for abstracts and papers. The symposium will also be conducted in both English and French. All publications emanating from this initiative will be in both English and French.

Content Coming Soon.

Overview: The African Union at 20: Progress, Problems and Prospects

The Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation (IPATC), based at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), and TrustAfrica are jointly organising a continental symposium on the theme: “The African Union at 20: Progress, Problems and Prospects” to be convened in October 2022. The symposium is part and parcel of the commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the African Union (AU) which was established and launched on the 9th July 2022 at Durban, South Africa. Like the Organization of African Unity (OAU) of 1963, the AU is a key institutional architecture and historical landmark for the advancement of Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance, and its primary mandate is continental unity and integration.

The continental development blueprint of the AU is aimed at creating socio-cultural and politico-economic transformation for the betterment of the lives and livelihoods of African people.

This initiative of IPATC, CODESRIA, and TrustAfrica is premised on six (6) main factors.

First, the transition from OAU to the AU in the late 1990s was an epoch-making development and there is, therefore, a need to review the result of the transition to date. Second, there is a need to discover through evidence-based research the real difference and similarities between OAU and AU. Third, this initiative will breathe life into the almost defunct Agenda 2063 as the long-term development blueprint of the AU. Fourthly, this project will also reignite intellectual imagination towards collective and PanAfricanist efforts towards integration following years of unilateralism and bilateralism reinforced by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fifth, this initiative will contribute to the decolonization of Africa’s international relations, so the continent is able to occupy its rightful place in the global community of nations within and outside the United Nations system. Sixth and finally, the AU is currently undergoing institutional reforms and it is imperative that we review this process so far.

 

The Goal of the Symposium

  1. The overall goal of the symposium is to create a platform for scholars, practitioners and civil society actors to critically reflect on the progress that the AU has registered, the problems it has encountered and its prospects in the short-term, medium-term and long-term horizon.

 

Key themes and topics for the symposium

  • Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance
  • AU Organs and Institutions
  • Governance, Democracy, and Elections
  • Africa’s Peace and Security Architecture
  • Socio-economic development and service delivery
  • Structural Transformation
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • People-to-People Integration
  • Climate Change
  • Information Communication and Technology
  • Africa’s International Relations
  • Research and Development
  • Key cross-cutting issues etc.

 

Key deliverables from the symposium

  1. To generate public debate through various types of media, including Radio, TV, Newspapers, and social media.
  2. To culminate in the publication of a special issue of a journal on the AU@20.
  3. The project will lead to a publication of an edited book volume on the AU@20.

 

Participation, Format and Language

The symposium will involve about 250 participants drawn from governments, policy practitioners, academia, civil society, the private sector, the African diaspora etc. It will be convened in a hybrid format involving both a physical meeting and a virtual platform.

The format of the symposium will include, inter alia, plenary and break-away sessions. One or more keynote speakers will be invited to set the tone for the deliberations throughout the duration of the symposium.

English and French will be used for abstracts and papers. The symposium will also be conducted in both English and French. All publications emanating from this initiative will be in both English and French.

Content Coming Soon.