Building Capacity for a New Generation:The Case for Youth Leadership in Africa

Building Capacity for a New Generation:The Case for Youth Leadership in Africa

The Oxford University Pan-

African Conference held on May 5

which brought together today's

leaders with tomorrow’s leaders

to discuss youth leadership,

globalisation and Sino-African

relations.

As a new generation of African

leaders emerges, and the

continent moves well into the 21 st

century, the full spectrum of

social, political, and economic

issues facing Africa requires new

and invigorated ways of thinking

about leadership and youth.

Today’s youth are being looked

upon to play a crucial and active

role in building African

communities, promoting

accountability, and developing new

visions. In so doing, building the

capacity for this generation is

perhaps one of the greatest

challenges, but also one of the

most important. It is the youth –

whether in government, civil

society, or business – that will

shape the continent’s future.

A wider vision

With the theme, “Building Capacity

for a New Generation: The Case

for Youth Leadership in Africa”,

the 2012 Oxford University Pan-

African Conference is poised to be

one of the largest ever gatherings

of African students in the United

Kingdom, and will highlight the

importance of nurturing a new

type of African youth leadership in

response to the rapidly evolving

challenges of this century. ( To

register for the conference visit:

www.oxfordafrica.eventbrite.com .)

There are no simple solutions, and

the conference is set to tackle a

number of hotly-debated issues.

Key themes include: challenges

and opportunities for the next

generation of African leaders,

investing in the youth as an

economic strategy, youth and

politics on the continent, Africa in

a globalised world, and the future

of Sino-African relations.

The conference is part of a wider

vision, “the Pan-Africa Project”,

which seeks to provide an annual

platform for all African students in

the UK to reflect on mutual

challenges and identify ways of

promoting quality leadership and

sustainable development in Africa.

Our 2011 conference, “Pan-

Africanism for a New Generation”,

brought together scholars,

activists and leaders, to

interrogate the meaning of Pan-

Africanism in the 21st century. The

concept of Pan-Africanism is

largely associated with the

independence struggles, having

served as a unifying force against

colonialism and as an important

part of the United States civil

rights movement. In the post-

colonial period, Pan-Africanism

has inspired a series of principles

and themes guiding several

policies and programmes across

the continent that seek to deal

with issues such as the adverse

impact of globalisation, security,

and climate change.

Challenges, opportunities, and the youth in Africa

There have been dramatic changes

across the African continent over

the last two decades, yet the 21 st

century has brought increasing

acknowledgement of the

multidimensional nature of both

the problems faced, and solutions

available, to African leaders.

While the next generation of

leaders will face major challenges,

there are also significant

opportunities to be harnessed in

supporting renewed visions for

Africa. Recognising these

opportunities and the crucial role

that leadership from within Africa

is to play in taking hold of these

opportunities, is vital if new

leaders are to be actively involved

in shaping the continent’s future.

A significant part of fostering the

required leadership is coming to

terms with the multidimensional

processes of investing in the youth

as an economic strategy. Investing

in the youth may be more than

just building leadership, but also

finding constructive ways of

facilitating youth contributions to

Africa’s present and future.

Nowhere is this clearer than youth

involvement in politics. Whilst

youth in Africa have often tended

to be characterised as a negative

force with regard to politics, they

continue to play a crucial role both

inside and outside of formal

politics across the continent.

Young leaders and organisations

of young people, are promoting

accountability, supporting better

governance, and aiding delivery

across varying contexts. It is

becoming increasingly important

to understand how youth can

affect the political process for

positive ends and how this

involvement can be supported.

Africa, globalisation, and

partnership

The awareness of Africa as part of

an increasingly interconnected

world must come into any debate

about contemporary African

leadership. The question of

extending youth leadership beyond

country and continent borders is

the first crucial issue that needs to

be addressed with regard to

globalisation processes.

There are divergent opinions on

Africa’s place within a globalised

world. While critics have seen

these processes as having been

harmful to African countries,

advocates see the potential for

globalisation to bring much

benefit to the continent.

The role of youth leadership is of

particular importance however if

processes of increasing

interconnectedness between

African countries and those

beyond Africa are to be harnessed

for the good of the continent. It

has also been noted that a major

driver of Africa’s prosperity will be

the emergence of pan-African

enterprises of scale. Individually,

most African economies are small

and cannot sustain the large-scale

enterprises that will enable

massive job creation and lift Africa

out of poverty. Such large-scale

enterprises can only be built by a

generation of African business

leaders who have relationships

across the continent.

The second issue is that of the

future of Sino-African relations,

which have been the subject to

much praise as well as criticism.

The way in which business

relations can be promoted for

African benefits will be vital to the

promotion of African economic

and political agency. Perhaps one

of the most important questions

as Sino-African relations develop

then, is how partnerships can be

built between Chinese and African

business that are equitable and

sustainable, and where the

outcomes of those partnerships

are mutually beneficial, dynamic,

and constantly evolving.

The conference

Organised by the Oxford

University Africa Society, the 2012

conference will bring together

hundreds of young and dynamic

academics, scholars,

entrepreneurs, activists, and

politicians from around the world

to unpack, discuss, and debate

these challenging and exciting

issues. It will provide the

opportunity to facilitate

discussions and the exchange of

ideas between young Africans who

are currently leading efforts on the

continent around female

empowerment, youth

development, and capacity

building.

We believe that there is no better

time than now, and no better

place than the University of

Oxford, to bring today's leaders

together with tomorrow’s leaders,

to engage in this crucial debate.

Speakers include: Sanusi Lamido

Sanusi, Governor, Central Bank of

Nigeria and Forbes Africa Person

of the Year 2011; Vera Songwe,

World Bank Country Director;

Arthur Mutambara, Deputy Prime

Minister, Zimbabwe; Hadeel

Ibrahim, Director of Strategy and

External Relations, Mo Ibrahim

Foundation; He Liehui, Chairman,

Touchroad International Holdings

Group, China; Gbenga Sesan,

Executive Director, Paradigm

Initiative, Nigeria; and many

others from across Africa and

worldwide.

Sponsors include, Google Africa,

Think Africa Press, Business

Connexions, and the Oxford

African Studies Centre.

To find out more and for registration

click here or visit:

www.oxfordafrica.eventbrite.com

The Oxford University Africa Society

is the umbrella body for all African

students at the University of Oxford.

It seeks to provide a legitimate and

strong voice within the university

community to African students and

others who are linked to the

continent by way of ancestry,

research, experience, or interest.

The society is a platform for

informed debates and stimulating

events, and strives to create a sense of community among members. The society is currently led by Idris Bello (Weidenfeld Scholar at Kellogg College) while Dr Abdul Raufu Mustapha (Dean of St Antony College, Oxford, and Kirk-Greene Fellow in African Studies) serves as the Proctor for the Society.