Foreword
Today's global issues, from HIV/ AIDS to global warming, and from
trade policies to the failure of international peace-keeping, have
their most immediate and devastating consequences in Africa. Yet
global policymakers rarely take adequate account of African
realities, or benefit from the full participation of African
voices. The resulting inappropriate or simplistic agendas have
often been imposed on Africa, with minimal consultation.
Changing this pattern, through consultation among diverse African
partners and through projecting African voices into the global
arena, has been a central priority for the Economic Commission for
Africa (ECA). The Africa Policy Information Center (APIC, now a
part of Africa Action), has in recent years been a crucial conduit
for making African policy perspectives accessible to diverse
constituencies in the United States and around the world.
Last year, from January to May, the two organizations co-sponsored
"International Policies, African Realities: An Electronic
Roundtable," which brought more than 500 people together, with
African panelists and participants from Africa and around the
world, in a structured on-line discussion on a range of African
issues.
We are now releasing this new publication based on the Roundtable
because we think it contains valuable lessons for the ongoing
process of making effective and innovative use of new communication
technologies to advance African shaping of continental and global
policies. It contains selected extracts from the Roundtable
proceedings brought together by moderators Dr. AbdouMaliq Simone
and Karin Santi, as well as reflections on lessons learned from the
moderators and Africa Action senior research fellow William Minter.
In recent years, on-line discussions have helped expand the range
of participation and multiply the impact of Africa-wide meetings:
notably the 40th anniversary meeting of the ECA in 1998 focused on
women in development, and the ECA's annual African Development
Forums highlighting information technology (1999) and HIV/ AIDS
(2000). The ECA/ APIC Roundtable showed that, despite Africa's lag
in internet connectivity, there is already a critical mass of
Africans--in almost every African country--who are sufficiently
well connected to participate actively in international electronic
debates.
But we are still only beginning to harness the full potential of
technologies already available to use to advance Africa's agendas.
In order for Africa to confront the enormous challenges it faces in
the years ahead, Africans must not only communicate with each other
across the national borders and vast distances of the continent. We
must also find ever more effective ways to put forward Africa's
distinctive voices and change the world's priorities on global
issues that affect our future.
We must do that for Africa, and for our common humanity.
K. Y. Amoako
Executive Secretary
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
Salih Booker
Executive Director
Africa Action
Preface
This book contains selected extracts from an extensive period of
dialogue among some 500 persons in an electronic roundtable that
took place from January to May 2000. The roundtable was conducted
by the Africa Policy Information Center, Washington, D. C. and the
Economic Commission for Africa and entitled, "International
Policies, African Realities." The primary aim of this roundtable
was to generate broad discussion on the various ways Africa is
actively remaking its socioeconomic life. While taking into
consideration unequal power relations in the global arena, the
roundtable sought to enhance the visibility and use of the dynamic
ways African countries actually contribute to the shaping of that
global arena.
The Africa Policy Information Center (APIC), now part of Africa
Action, is a non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.
C. that has emphasized work in information dissemination as an
instrument of progressive policy change and the mobilization of U.
S. civil society organizations in advocacy for Africa. The Economic
Commission for Africa (ECA), based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is a
large multilateral organization concerned with monitoring social
and economic development on the continent and elaborating policy
frameworks to address existing realities.
The roundtable represents a unique partnership in the history of
both organizations and, itself, demonstrates how electronic media
can occasion collaborations otherwise likely to be inconceivable.
APIC has a wealth of experience gathering, analyzing, synthesizing
and disseminating information about Africa. ECA has substantial
reach and access to a broad plurality of dimensions and
institutions affecting African life. As such, this partnership
reflects the extent to which organizations of varying histories,
locations, and capacities can and will need to join forces in order
to construct creative and viable virtual spaces.
The objective of the roundtable was to provide an electronic space
for Africans, North Americans and others to discuss what policy
perspectives and understandings of African reality should shape
international engagement with Africa. It was initiated as part of
APIC's program of public education funded by the Carnegie
Corporation of New York and the Ford Foundation.
The roundtable was organized around four discrete themes, with
discussion open on each theme for a one-month period. The themes
were: Economy and Development, Democracy and Human Rights, Peace
and Security, and Education and Culture. Extracts from the first
three dialogues are included in this book. Each thematic discussion
began with contributions from a panel of experts who each made an
initial presentation, and then discussed the theme amongst
themselves. The roundtable was then opened for general discussion
among all of those who registered their participation. A large
portion of the extracts here are derived from prepared remarks by
panelists and respondents.
While the Roundtable was open to participants from all regions, a
special effort was made to encourage participation from those on
the African continent. The majority of panelists were Africans
residing on the continent. The discussions were moderated and
summarized on a regular basis. Panelist presentations and summaries
were translated from English to French, and from French to English.
It is also important to emphasize that the bulk of African
participation was "commissioned" participation. Select Africans
were specifically invited to participate, and in the case of
panelists, paid a token honorarium for their participation.
By the conclusion of the Roundtable, a total of 549 participants
had signed up for the Roundtable. More than one-fifth, counting
only from the two-letter country codes on e-mail addresses, were
resident in African countries. The actual percentage resident in
African countries was much greater, including participants using
un.org, hotmail.com and other addresses lacking country codes.
The number of messages a day, including panelists' presentations,
and remarks by respondents and participants, averaged approximately
2 per day.
Bellanet, an international organization based in Ottawa, Canada,
provided the computer hosting, using Lyris listserv software, which
allowed participants to join the discussion by e-mail or from the
web. The full archive of Roundtable contributions is available for
public access on the web (
http://www.africapolicy.org/rtable).
Roundtable co-chairs were Dr. K. Y. Amoako, Executive Secretary of
the ECA, Dr. Julius Ihonvbere, the Ford Foundation, and Ms. Adwoa
Dunn- Mouton, APIC. The principal moderator was Dr. AbdouMaliq
Simone, assisted by Ms. Karin Santi (APIC) and Ms. Mercy Wambui
(ECA) as co- moderators. Technical support to the moderators was
provided by APIC and by Bellanet.
Dr. Simone and Ms. Santi selected and arranged the extracts from
the roundtable presented in this book, and contributions the
concluding reflections. Comments on practical lessons learned were
provided by APIC senior research fellow William Minter.
Acknowledgements
Africa Action wishes to acknowledge the Carnegie Corporation of New
York and The Ford Foundation for their generous support of Africa Action's role in the
Roundtable.
The Economic Commission for Africa and Africa Action
wish to thank Bellanet for provision of computer hosting and
technical advice for the Roundtable.