President Obama meets with more than 100 young African leaders from 45 countries to broaden and deepen an understanding of their vision for the future of sub-Saharan Africa, senior administration officials say.
The President’s Forum with Young African Leaders “is our opportunity to reach out and connect with the people who are actually leading that change,” said Judith McHale, above, the under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs.
The Full Story
Leaders’ Forum Seeks to Broaden, Deepen U.S.-African Engagement
By Merle David Kellerhals Jr.
Staff Writer
Washington — President Obama will meet with approximately 115 young African leaders from a cross section of African life to broaden and deepen an understanding of their vision for the future of sub-Saharan Africa, says a senior presidential adviser.
For Africa this is a significant year as 17 nations celebrate their 50th year of independence, said Michelle Gavin, senior director for African affairs on the National Security Council. It provides a moment to reflect on what is happening in Africa and what its future leaders believe the next 50 years will bring, she said at a State Department press briefing August 2.
The President’s Forum with Young African Leaders begins August 3 and runs through August 5. It will bring young civil society and business leaders from 45 sub-Saharan nations together with senior U.S. government officials as well as business and civil society officials for intense discussions, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said. The forum comes as U.S. and African economic and trade ministers meet for the annual African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) meeting in Washington and also in Kansas City, Missouri.
Gavin said the leaders’ forum will focus on economic opportunity, good governance and youth empowerment.
“Obviously in a region where you have that vast a youthful population, economic opportunity and ensuring that there’s a path for all of this potential to be realized is critical,” Gavin said. Good governance and youth empowerment will help make sure that their voices are heard and that they have the tools to realize their vision, she said.
When these young leaders meet at the White House with President Obama on August 3, they will not be there to listen to a speech; they are going to be there for a give-and-take discussion and exchange of ideas, Gavin said. Forum delegates will also meet with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other senior government officials.
Gavin noted that the participants already are extremely accomplished leaders. “It’s much more about learning from them and engaging in exchange, broadening and deepening our networks,” she said.
Judith McHale, the under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, said the delegates to the forum were nominated through U.S. missions in Africa and were selected because of their involvement in the economic and political lives of their countries.
“They’re all people who’ve held positions or hold positions that allow them the opportunity to implement a lot of the new ideas and changes that we are seeing across Africa,” McHale told reporters. “There’s a sort of generational shift of almost seismic proportions taking place across the continent of Africa, and this is our opportunity to reach out and connect with the people who are actually leading that change.”
This initiative, AGOA and the African Women’s Entrepreneurship Exchange Program are part of a broader effort by the United States to deepen its partnership with the nations of sub-Saharan Africa, McHale said. The U.S. government is more of a catalyst and convener for these discussions. They are being treated as a learning opportunity.
Part of the importance of the forum and the way that it has been structured is to bring together civil society leaders and engage with them not just by country, but by the region as a whole, said Maria Otero, the under secretary of state for democracy and global affairs. The format also serves as a catalyst for transformational change, she said.
“Secretary Clinton has always pointed out the importance that civil society plays in improving the quality of democratic governance, of creating broad-based prosperity,” Otero said.
In his speech in Ghana last year, Obama told African audiences of the need to advance entrepreneurship, education and the use of technology to help integrate Africa more fully into the global economy. Africa’s share of world trade is less than 2 percent, and Africa’s tremendous wealth in natural resources has not translated into greater prosperity for its people, he said.
The Obama administration is dedicating significant resources to address some of these challenges. The $3.5 billion food security initiative called Feed the Future helps 12 African focus countries to modernize their farm sectors. And the United States is working with African partners to maximize economic development and trade through the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
“These steps are about more than growth numbers on a balance sheet. They’re about whether a young person with an education can get a job that supports a family; a farmer can transfer their goods to market; an entrepreneur with a good idea can start a business,” Obama said. “It’s about the dignity of work; it’s about the opportunity that must exist for Africans in the 21st century.”
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)