AFRICAN UNION - AFRICAN DIASPORA RELATIONS GET A BOOST
FOUNDATION FOR DEMOCRACY IN AFRICA HOSTS CONFERENCE Howard University, Conference Venue ![]() ![]() Denham Ikemefuna ![]() The Foundation for Democracy in Africa conference will bring together civil society representatives from organizations representing the African Diaspora in the Western Hemisphere. They will discuss issues pertaining to the African Diaspora's relationship with the African Union. The conference fulfills a need to systematize the channels of communication and to define the issues of concern to Africans all over the world. MORE: SEE BELOW FDA PRESS RELEASE November 29, 2002 Posted to the web November 29, 2002 Washington, DC The Foundation for Democracy in Africa is convening a historic conference bringing together civil society representatives from organizations representing the African Diaspora in the Western Hemisphere to discuss an ongoing relationship with the new African Union. This meeting will held on December 17, 2002, at Howard University in Northwest Washington, D.C. "Unlike its predecessor, the Organization for African Unity, the African Union (AU) has determined that a major priority must be an ongoing connection to civil society," said Foundation President Fred Oladeinde. "Through the conference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa (CSSDCA), the AU has been reaching out to African civil society for months. Now the AU is trying to establish an ongoing link between itself and the African Diaspora through civil society organizations." Taking note of the continuing cultural ties between the continent and the descendants of Africa around the world, the AU has asked the Foundation for Democracy in Africa to organize the Western Hemisphere Diaspora Forum to allow the AU to present its goals for linking the Diaspora worldwide. This forum will not only examine the current ties that bind the Diaspora to Africa, but also will examine issues such as reversing the brain drain that has seen Africa lose a third of its skilled professionals in the last two decades. The replacement cost of Western technical assistance is an estimated US$4 billion a year. Meanwhile, African scientists and technicians are widely involved in high profile scientific research, which could be directly benefiting African nations in dealing with such crises as the HIV-AIDS pandemic. Moreover, African families living in America have the highest average family income in this country, at about US$67,500. As for native-born African-Americans, hundreds of billions of dollars in earnings flow through the Black community each year without having a significant impact on that community or being utilized for investment overseas. Still, remittances to African nations from countries such as the United States represent significant income. The most recent statistics show that Egypt receives nearly US$3.2 billion a year, Morocco receives about US$1.9 billion a year and Nigeria receives almost US$1.3 billion a year. Consequently, the African Union Western Hemisphere Diaspora Forum has three objectives: 1. To examine the enduring ties to Africa within the Western Hemisphere Diaspora communities, 2. To discuss possible capacity building projects by Diaspora civil society organizations in the Western Hemisphere Diaspora and 3. To devise a plan of ongoing collaboration with the African Union, including a plan of action and a hemisphere steering committee. The program will begin with a town hall meeting on December 17. A select group of organizations has been selected to continue discussions beyond the town hall meeting on December 18-19 to form an ongoing link to the African Union, create a steering committee of civil society organizations to liaise with the African Union on an ongoing basis and develop working groups on various issues listed to continue work on joint programs with the African Union. For further information, contact: Gregory Simpkins, tel: 202-331-1333. Email: comments@democracy-africa.org. |