Outcome of the Launch of the Manifesto

“ I cannot recall a point in  human history,  when citizens from all works of life come together independently and formed a Symbolic Collective to deliver a structured and strategic long term vision, nor for their region, nor for their country but for their continent, for  Motherland. This is a remarkable testimony of dedication by young Africans determined to take ownership of their own destiny and shape the future of their society by fostering intergenerational dialogue. Those emerging leaders are clearly the hope of Africa and we are truly honoured and proud to see them Transforming our Hopes into Action. I am convinced that History will certainly remember this crucial moment as a milestone on the continent’s path to prosperity. It also demonstrates how small our planet has become and how big our citizens have grown.” Those were the words of one of the attendants subsequent to the Official Launch of Vision Africa MANIFESTO organized by Africa 2.0 in Addis Ababa.

Official launch of the Manifesto, 28^th of January 2012, Ethiopia

On the 28th of January 2012, Africa 2.0 took some of its champions, young emerging leaders from across the continent to the AU summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to launch the Vision Africa2.0 Manifesto. These young African leaders had taken time conducting major re­search and in-depth analysis on various case studies and success stories to put up the MANIFESTO together. Their drive, passion, intelligence, skills and spheres of network have been utilized to raise awareness among the African leaders and population to take action and ownership of this Vision for a New Africa.

 Africa 2.0 created 2 years ago, gathers a collective of hundreds of Young emerging leaders from Africa and the Diaspora counting more than 40 nationalities from the continent sharing common Visions and values. Africa 2.0 has gathered members from a broad spectrum ranging from private sector, civil society, government and media. The organization aims to leapfrog the development of the continent by mobilizing a critical mass of change agents, decision makers and determined actors to adopt and implement the Vision for the New Africa.

Africa 2.0 proposes a leapfrog approach to accelerate the development of the continent by constructing a growth model adapted to African realities and leveraging on the most innovative global best practices and African success stories. Structured around 4 major axis (uplifting Africans, inclusive growth, upgrade infrastructure and growth enabling environment), the proposed Vision is based on a bottom up approach relying on mobilization of key driving factors (the youth, women, the Diaspora and technology). Among the key success factors, Africa 2.0 has identified the necessity to establish knowledge based society where empowered citizens could draft a new Social contract mobilizing Government, Private Sector, Civil Society and Tribe Leaders to achieve the Vision for a New Africa.

The Official launch of the Vision Africa 2.0 Manifesto was an opportunity to bring together a high level panel that included President Obasanjo, The African Development Bank, The Africa Capacity Building Foundation, Oxfam international and a Government representative from the host country (Ethiopia).

The MANIFESTO was endorsed by all the panelists. In his keynote speech, H.E President Obasanjo (Keynote Speaker) stated "The Vision Africa 2.0 Manifesto comes at an appropriate time and should be used as a reference for decision makers acting in Africa.  I am impressed by the vision and commitment of Africa 2.0 in their mission to popularize and would like to push for domestication of the Manifesto at a continental  level".

 “The theory of change is in the hands of Africans, we fully support the initiative and believe in Africa 2.0 “.  Mr. Yousssef Ouedraogo, former Foreign Affairs Minister of Burkina Faso, representing Donald Kaberuka, President of African Development Bank.

“Africa is rich. It is endowed in natural resources. It has a young vibrant society with creative and innovative people. But it is poor in capacity and we need to address the many gaps. Innovation will be key, first and foremost in agriculture where we need to look at the whole supply chain to once and for all deal with the issue of famine and food security, to use agriculture to go beyond subsistence and into development.” Dr.Frannie Leautier, Executive Secretary of African Capacity Building foundation

“The Vision Africa 2.0 Manifesto is definitely something to aim for, a worthwhile endeavor for the future,  we have a lot of work to get to its implementation, we must be sustainable, have good organization”, Mr O. Akinsanya, Head of Institute Of Security Studies.

“Let us make our voice loud! Actions together and not just gather policies! Let us occupy political space let us be the leader of today and not of the future!”
Mr. Desire Assogbavi, Head of the Oxfam International liaison office with the AU.

The issues raised by public debates were taken to a momentous continental discussion on values of Unity of purpose and Unity of thought, change of perception of the world towards Africa and on sustainable growth on the African continent.

Soft launch of the Manifesto, 27^th of January 2012, Davos Switzerland

Time will tell whether, the new generation of Africans will come to consider the 27th of January 2012 as a watershed in the affairs of Africa in Davos. On this fateful day,Vision Africa 2.0 MANIFESTO was launched during the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in the storied Steigenberger Grand Hotel Belvedere overlooking the Congress Center.

This is the view of CEOs of leading investment funds, renowned entrepreneurs, and several thought leaders of global stature who graced the occasion to discover and discuss the Africa 2.0 MANIFESTO in Davos and ended the session with a round of applause. The greatest sign of endorsement was the unanimous decision by the attendants to form a Davos-Africa 2.0 working group aimed at raising awareness and mobilize international community around the MANIFESTO.

Africa 2.0 team delivered an overview of the 18-month process leading to the creation of the first draft of the Africa 2.0 Manifesto. The MANIFESTO was prepared by 350 Africa 2.0 young emerging leaders from over 40 African nationalities. The document proposes a comprehensive strategic Vision for a New Africa. The soft launch was to familiarize global leaders with the need for a grassroot-led, and youth-conscious, continental Vision.  While acknowledging the diversity of the present African experience, such Vision for a New Africa focuses nevertheless on the greater importance of addressing common challenges by capitalizing on cross-fertilization of knowledge in order to drive broad-based change for the majority of Africans.

The carefully selected cross-section of global leaders attending the launch were uniquely positioned to contribute to the harnessing of this momentum. The audience gathered influential men and women operating in both developed and emerging markets, from diverse lines of expertise, with strong insights into Africa’s current orientation and positioning.

The open forum that followed Africa 2.0’s presentation clearly vindicated the expectations of the team of young emerging African leaders going into the session. The global leaders commended this unique and ambitious initiative. The audience also provided constructive feedback on the design of a roadmap driving global awareness and adoption of the MANIFESTO across Africa and abroad.

A major point of interest arising from the interactions was the importance of clearly establishing the unique value proposition of the Africa 2.0 MANIFESTO against the backdrop of many attempted initiatives in Africa.

A consensus emerged behind a major differentiating feature of the Africa 2.0 manifesto process: its strong focus on grassroots engagement as a mechanism for enforcing accountability amongst national stakeholders.

The use of national building blocks, the enhancement of social media frameworks, the strong co-optation of Diaspora, and the increased leadership role assigned to African youth, and other change makers, distinguished Africa 2.0 and the MANIFESTO as a unique and promising initiative that could possibly become a key milestone in the history of the continent should it further echo among the grass-root on the continent and catch the attention of current African leaders.

Africa 2.0 acknowledged that the success of such initiative would only take place if each key stakeholder do their part in not only disseminating the MANIFESTO but also in engaging into a necessary social contract gathering Civil Society, Private Sector, Government etc committing to adopt and implement the Vision. Africa 2.0 envisages to build success stories first in pilot sectors or countries and is already gathering a “Coalition of the Willing” mobilizing committed parties to adopt and drive whole or part of the Vision at municipal, national or regional level to create emulation and trigger a viral effect across the continent.  Next step: June 2012 at the Africa 2.0 Leadership Symposium in Nigeria. The Gathering will focus amongst others on Agribusiness, Infrastructure and Capacity Building…

The Vision Africa 2.0 Manifesto will be available globally on our website soon