Programme & Presentations
2009 UNU/UNESCO International Conference on Africa & Globalization: Learning from the Past, Enabling a Better Future
28–29 September 2009
U Thant International Conference Hall, UNU Headquarters Building, Tokyo, Japan
Programme (148 KB PDF)
プログラム (224 KB PDF)
Monday, Sept. 28 • Day 1 (Skip to Day 2)
Master of Ceremonies: Obijiofor Aginam, Academic Programme Officer, UNU Institute for Sustainability and Peace (UNU-ISP)
Opening Session · 09:30–09:45
Tetsuro Fukuyama, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan
Fukuyama_full_text.pdf (34 KB PDF)
Masaharu Nakagawa, Senior Vice-Minister, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan
Nakagawa_full_text.pdf (144 KB PDF)
Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Matsuura_full_text.pdf (138 KB PDF)
Konrad Osterwalder, Rector, United Nations University (UNU)
Osterwalder_full_text.pdf (68 KB PDF)
Charting the Future of Africa (1): A Leadership Forum · 09:45–11:00
Former Heads of State are invited, together with eminent personalities from Africa, Europe and Japan, to participate in a high-level leadership forum. The forum will focus on charting the future of Africa, based on the lessons learned from past decades, the development experiences and accomplishments, and the impact of the recent financial crisis. Presentations will focus on how to empower the continent to propel and reinforce its own development efforts. Speakers will explore further what role the international community, and most specifically Japan, can and should play to support such efforts.
Co-Chairs: Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General, UNESCO, and Konrad Osterwalder, Rector, UNU
Keynote Speakers:
Olusegun Obasanjo, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria — “Globalization: Which Way for Africa?”
Obasanjo_full_text.pdf (60 KB PDF)
John Agyekum Kufuor, President of the Republic of Ghana
Alpha Oumar Konaré, President of the Republic of Mali and Chairperson of the African Union Commission
Sam Nujoma, Founding President of Namibia
António Ramalho Eanes, President of the Portuguese Republic — “Africa: The weight of the past and the value of culture in meeting the future”
Eanes_full_text.pdf (104 KB PDF)
Continuation of the Leadership Forum · 11:30–12:30
Charting the Future of Africa (2): Putting Vision into Practice · 14:00–15:30
Speakers will draw on their own experience and expertise to provide concrete proposals on the ways and means, as well as the obstacles, of implementing the vision espoused in the morning Leadership Forum. They will assess the types of responses needed — at the global, regional and national levels — to ensure that Africa can weather the global financial crisis while also laying the foundation for attaining the Internationally Agreed Development Goals (including the Millennium Development Goals). Speakers will further analyze the need to ensure that recovery scenarios focus on protecting and increasing funding for global public goods such as quality education; the role of science, technology and innovation; the environment; the quest for a green economy and green jobs; the contribution of culture to development; and the promotion of human rights and gender equality. Audience members will then be given an opportunity to ask questions.
Chair: Sadaharu Kataoka, President, Waseda Institute of International Strategy; Associate Professor, School of International Liberal Studies, Waseda University
Kataoka_comments.pdf (20 KB PDF)
Speakers:
Mongi Bousnina, former Director-General of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) — “L’Afrique face aux défis de la Mondialisation : nécessité d’un développement humain conséquent”
Bousnina_full_text.pdf (116 KB PDF)
N’Dri T. Assié-Lumumba, Professor, Africana Studies & Research Center, Cornell University; Fellow, World Academy of Art and Science — “African Renewal through Higher Education with a Public Mission”
Assie-Lumumba_full_text.pdf (100 KB PDF)
Assie-Lumumba_presentation_slides.pdf (12 KB PDF)
Augustin Kwasi Fosu, Deputy Director, UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) — “Charting the Future of Africa: The Importance of Policy Syndromes and Governance”
Fosu_full_text.pdf (176 KB PDF)
Fosu_presentation_slides.pdf (276 KB PDF)
Dominique Malaquais, Senior Researcher, Centre d’Etudes des Mondes Africains (CEMAf), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) — “African Practices of Global Engagement: An Arts and Culture Perspective”
Jinichi Matsumoto, Freelance journalist; former senior columnist and Africa Bureau Chief, The Asahi Shimbun — “Globalization Exploits Africa”
Matsumoto_full_text.pdf (164 KB PDF)
Charting the Future of Africa (3): Dialoguing with the Leaders · 16:00–17:30
Speakers from the previous two sessions will engage in an open discussion on the future of Africa, touching on the themes advanced in the presentations. This session seeks to provide a dynamic forum for a vigorous exchange of ideas and perspectives. Audience members will then be given an opportunity to ask questions.
Chair: Konrad Osterwalder, Rector, UNU
Reception · 18:00–20:00
Tuesday, September 29 • Day 2
Focus sessions: Africa and Governance and Africa and Sustainable Development
Master of Ceremonies: Obijiofor Aginam, Academic Programme Officer, UNU Institute for Sustainability and Peace (UNU-ISP)
Africa and Governance: Improving Socio-political Cohesion · 10:00–11:15
This session will focus on identifying new paths for strengthening Africa’s governance. Speakers will explore the roots of social and political strife and civil wars; consider how increasing inequality can fracture social cohesion and challenge governance; and examine how the contemporary character of globalization affects socio-political cohesion, and thereby a host of issues (including the effectiveness of development efforts and post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation). The participating leaders and experts will be invited to react to the presentations by the speakers, and audience members will be given an opportunity to ask questions.
Chair: Goolam Mohamedbhai, Secretary-General, Association of African Universities; Former President, International Association of Universities
Mohamedbhai_comments.pdf (40 KB PDF)
Speakers:
Clement Eme Adibe, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, DePaul University — “The Role of the International Community in Sustaining African Democracies through an Effective Management of Observable Pressure Points in Moments of Political Hiccups”
Adibe_presentation_slides.pdf (115 KB PDF)
Ernest Aryeetey, Director, Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana — “Social Cohesion and Economic Development in a Globalizing Africa”
Yasushi Katsuma, Director & Professor, International Studies Program, Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University — “Global Health Governance: Infectious Diseases as a Threat to Human Security in Africa”
Katsuma_full_text.pdf (120 KB PDF)
Katsuma_presentation_slides.pdf (2.8 MB PDF)
Obijiofor Aginam, Academic Programme Officer, UNU Institute for Sustainability and Peace (UNU-ISP) — “Africa and Globalization: Perspectives on Governance, Public Health Diplomacy, and Resource Conflicts”
Aginam_full_text.pdf (61 KB PDF)
With comments by:
John Agyekum Kufuor, President of the Republic of Ghana
Alpha Oumar Konaré, President of the Republic of Mali and Chairperson of the African Union Commission
Akilagpa Sawyerr, Former Secretary-General, Association of African Universities; Former Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Law, University of Ghana
Continuation of Africa and Governance Session · 11:45–13:00
Africa and Sustainable Development · 14:30–16:00
Speakers will present their views on issues that are core to Africa’s sustainable development. These include how “education for sustainable development” can enable communities and societies to develop adaptive capacities and policies to counter local and global threats (such as lack of access to medical care and quality education, and the challenges of poverty reduction and climate change), and how to enable Africa to become a key actor in the emerging global green economy. The participating leaders and experts will be invited to react to the presentations by the speakers, and audience members will be given the opportunity to ask questions.
Chair: Kazuhiko Takeuchi, Vice-Rector, UNU; Director, UNU Institute for Sustainability and Peace (UNU-ISP)
Speakers:
Lidia R. Arthur Brito, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering, Eduardo Mondlane University — “Africa at Crossroads : Education and STI as Premises for Development”
Brito_presentation_slides.pdf (3.2 MB PDF)
George Hara, DEFTA Partners/Alliance Forum Foundation; Special Commissioner on Tax Panel, Office of the Prime Minister (Japan) — “Nurturing a prosperous Africa in the 21st Century”
Hara_full_text.pdf (1 MB PDF)
Hara_presentation_slides.pdf (5.6 MB PDF)
Tatsuo Hayashi, Representative, Africa-Japan Forum; Special Visiting Professor, Ritsumeikan University — “Working hand in hand for a just world”
Hayashi_full_text.pdf (40 KB PDF)
Hayashi_presentation_slides.pdf (2.6 MB PDF)
With comments by:
Olusegun Obasanjo, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
N’Dri T. Assié-Lumumba, Professor, Africana Studies & Research Center, Cornell University; Fellow, World Academy of Art and Science
Clement Eme Adibe, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, DePaul University
Rishab Aiyer Ghosh, Senior Researcher, UNU-MERIT
Continuation of Africa and Sustainable Development Session · 16:30–17:00
Concluding Session: A Vision for Africa · 17:00–17:30
Summary and concluding remarks by:
Hans d’Orville, Assistant Director-General for Strategic Planning, UNESCO
dOrville_concluding_remarks.pdf (32 KB PDF)
Walid Mahmoud Abdelnasser, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Japan
Abdelnasser_concluding_remarks.pdf (36 KB PDF)
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