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Africa and Globalization: Learning from the Past, Enabling a Better Future Was Organized by UNESCO and the United Nations University from 28-29 September 2009 United Nations Educational, Scientic and Cultural Organization For tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today. African Proverb 28-29 September 2009 TOKYO, JAPAN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE Africa & Globalization: Learning from the Past, Enabling a Better Future www.unu.edu www.unesco.org United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 28-29 September 2009 TOKYO, JAPAN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE Africa & Globalization: Learning from the Past, Enabling a Better Future www.unu.edu Th e “Globalization” series is directed by Hans d’Orville Assistant Director-General for Strategic Planning, UNESCO Edited by the Bureau of Strategic Planning, UNESCO Th e organization of this International Conference and production of this publication were generously supported with funds provided by the Government of Japan. Th e authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this book and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO / the United Nations University (UNU) and do not commit the Organizations. Th e designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO/UNU concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Published in 2009 by the United Nations Educational, Scientifi c and Cultural Organization 7 place de Fontenoy 75352 Paris 07 SP France Photographs by Front cover photo: © Niamh Burke/UNESCO Inside photos: © Jeremy Hedley/UNU and/or Curtis Christophersen/UNU Back cover photos: © Jeremy Hedley/UNU and/or Curtis Christophersen/UNU BPS-2009/WS/10 CLD 4396.9 TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD Koïchiro Matsuura, 8-9 Director-General, United Nations Educational, Scientifi c and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Paris, France INTRODUCTORY Tetsuro Fukuyama, 12-15 STATEMENTS State Secretary for Foreign Aff airs, Ministry of Foreign Aff airs, Tokyo, 10-28 Japan (MoFA) Masaharu Nakagawa, 16-18 Senior Vice-Minister, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan Koïchiro Matsuura, 20-25 Director-General, United Nations Educational, Scientifi c and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Paris, France Konrad Osterwalder, 26-28 Rector, United Nations University (UNU) Tokyo, Japan STATEMENTS Olusegun Obasanjo, 32-38 BY FORMER President of the Federal PRESIDENTS Republic of Nigeria ON CHARTING (1976–1979 and 1999–2007) THE FUTURE OF AFRICA John Agyekum Kufuor, 40-42 President of the Republic of Ghana 30-65 (2001–2009) Alpha Oumar Konaré, President of 44-49 the Republic of Mali (1992–2002), and Chairperson of the African Union Commission (2003–2008) Sam Nujoma, Founding 50-53 President of the Republic of Namibia (1990-1994, 1994 -1999, 1999-2005) António Ramalho Eanes, 54-65 President of the Portuguese Republic (1976–1986) CHARTING THE AFRICA AND THE Mongi Bousnina, 68-77 FUTURE OF CHALLENGES OF Professor of Geopolitics, AFRICA: PUTTING GLOBALIZATION: THE University of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia; VISION INTO NEED FOR SUBSTANTIAL former Director-General, PRACTICE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientifi c Organization 66-115 (ALECSO); former Minister of Culture, Tunisia AFRICAN RENEWAL N’Dri T. Assié-Lumumba, 78-89 THROUGH HIGHER Professor, Africana Studies EDUCATION WITH A & Research Center, Cornell PUBLIC MISSION University, Ithaca, New York; Fellow, World Academy of Art and Science CHARTING THE FUTURE Augustin K. Fosu, Deputy 90-107 OF AFRICA: AVOIDING Director, UNU World Institute for POLICY SYNDROMES AND Development Economics Research IMPROVING GOVERNANCE (WIDER), Helsinki, Finland AFRICAN PRACTICES OF Dominique Malaquais, 108-112 GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT, Senior Researcher, Centre d’Etudes AN ARTS AND CULTURE des Mondes Africains (CEMAf), PERSPECTIVE Centre National de la Recherche Scientifi que (CNRS), Paris, France GLOBALIZATION EXPLOITS Jinichi Matsumoto, 114-115 AFRICA Freelance Journalist, Tokyo, Japan; Former Senior Columnist, Member of the Editorial Board, and Africa Bureau Chief, Asahi Shimbun AFRICA AND THE ROLE OF THE Clement E. Adibe, 118-124 GOVERNANCE: INTERNATIONAL Associate Professor of Political IMPROVING COMMUNITY IN Science, DePaul University, SOCIO SUSTAINING AFRICAN Chicago, Illinois, USA POLITICAL DEMOCRACIES COHESION THROUGH AN EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF 116-152 OBSERVABLE PRESSURE POINTS IN MOMENTS OF POLITICAL HICCUPS SOCIAL COHESION Ernest Aryeetey, 126-127 AND ECONOMIC Director, Institute of Statistical, DEVELOPMENT IN A Social and Economic Research GLOBALIZING AFRICA (ISSER), University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana GLOBAL HEALTH Yasushi Katsuma, 128-138 GOVERNANCE: Director and Professor, INFECTIOUS DISEASES International Studies Program, AS A THREAT TO HUMAN Graduate School of Asia-Pacifi c SECURITY IN AFRICA Studies, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan AFRICA AND Obijiofor Aginam, 140-148 GLOBALIZATION: Academic Programme Offi cer, PERSPECTIVES ON UNU Institute for Sustainability GOVERNANCE, PUBLIC and Peace (UNU-ISP), HEALTH DIPLOMACY, AND Tokyo, Japan RESOURCE CONFLICTS COMMENTS ON John Agyekum Kufuor, 149-152 THE AFRICA AND President of the Republic of GOVERNANCE: Ghana, (2001–2009) and IMPROVING Alpha Oumar Konaré, SOCIO-POLITICAL President of the Republic of Mali COHESION SESSION (1992–2002) and Chairperson of the African Union Commission (2003–2008) AFRICA AND AFRICA AT CROSSROADS, Lidia R. Arthur Brito, 156-162 SUSTAINABLE AND EDUCATION AND Assistant Professor, Faculty of DEVELOPMENT STI AS PREMISES FOR Agronomy and Forest Engineering, DEVELOPMENT Eduardo Mondlane University, 154-180 Maputo, Mozambique NURTURING A George Hara, 164-174 PROSPEROUS AFRICA IN Group Chairman, DEFTA THE 21ST CENTURY Partners/Alliance Forum Foundation; Special Commissioner on Tax Panel, Offi ce of the Prime Minister; Tokyo, Japan WORKING HAND IN HAND Tatsuo Hayashi, 176-178 FOR A JUST WORLD Representative, Africa-Japan Forum; Special Visiting Professor, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan COMMENTS ON Olusegun Obasanjo, 179-180 THE AFRICA AND President of the Federal SUBSTAINABLE Republic of Nigeria DEVELOPMENT SESSION (1976–1979 and 1999–2007) CONCLUDING SUMMARY AND Hans d’Orville, 184-187 SESSION: A CONCLUDING REMARKS Assistant Director-General for VISION FOR Strategic Planning, UNESCO, AFRICA Paris, France 182-192 Walid Mahmoud Abdelnasser, 188-192 Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Japan ANNEXES RESOLUTION TABLED BY 197 PRESIDENT NUJOMA 194-213 & ENDORSED BY THE CONFERENCE PHOTO GALLERY 199-207 CONFERENCE 209-213 PROGRAMME FOREWORD The 2009 International Conference on Africa and Globalization: Learning from the Past, Enabling a Better Future was organized by UNESCO and the United Nations University from 28-29 September 2009. It provided an opportunity for some 30 leading personalities — governmental decision-makers, including several former heads of state, world-renowned experts and civil society representatives — to share their visions of Africa’s role and position in the future global system, while looking back on the lessons learned during the past 50 years since decolonization. Attention was focused on charting the future of Africa based on its development experiences and accomplishments, and the impact of the recent fi nancial crisis through a dedicated leadership forum with several former Presidents: Alpha Konaré, former Chair of the Commission for the African Union and former President of Mali; John Kufuor, former President of Ghana; Sam Nujoma, former President of Namibia; Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria; and Antonio Eanes, former President of Portugal. Eminent speakers from academia, the business community, government and civil society elaborated upon the vision espoused by the leaders, drawing on their own experience and expertise. The present publication presents the proceedings of this important Conference. The global economic crisis poses a serious threat to the achievement of Africa’s development goals. It is compounded by the food, energy, climate change and environmental crises. The effects of these multiples crises threaten to derail progress across the continent. International fi nancial institutions, such as the IMF and the World Bank, have estimated that as a result of the fi nancial and economic crisis, Africa’s expected growth rate for 2009 and 2010 needs to be revised downwards. There are also concerns that offi cial development assistance (ODA) will be reduced, which could further exacerbate poverty and deprivation on the continent and hamper development as a whole. The likely consequences may include higher unemployment and poverty, increases in infant mortality, fewer children going to school, reductions in health care and even a rise in violence. The crisis could have negative ramifi cations on public spending, thereby reducing the ability of governments to protect the poor and vulnerable from the economic downturn and other global shocks. Those that have risen out of poverty over the past decades, the near poor, will be at greater risk of falling back into poverty. The steps we take to address these challenges will have profound implications for Africa’s future. A strategic vision – one that focuses on how to better integrate Africa more fully into the global economy, and the multilateral system – is needed if we are to ensure that recovery scenarios that focus on “investing out of the crisis” are effective in the short-term and lay the foundation for achieving the Internationally
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