Ibrahim Governance Weekend Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 01 April 2019:

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation (MIF) will hold its flagship annual event, the Ibrahim Governance Weekend (IGW) from 4-7 April 2019, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (Sofitel Hôtel Ivoire).

This year, the weekend will focus on the key topic of African migrations. It will feature an African-led conversation about the challenges and opportunities of migrations from and within the continent, and its key relationship with youth expectations, jobs and mobility.

Findings from the report will inform discussion around the theme of African migrations during the 2019 Ibrahim Governance Weekend.

MIF Events Schedule:

Thursday, 4 April

Media Briefing (10:00-11:00 GMT) – Open to all, pre-registration required. Registration will open at 08.00 GMT. 

Friday, 5 April

Now Generation Forum (09:00-13:00 GMT)

The event will precede the Ibrahim Forum, convening African emerging leaders and young professionals to gather their perspectives and recommendations about Africa’s youth: jobs or migration?

Leadership Ceremony (19:30-21:00 GMT) Featuring a celebration of the life of Kofi Annan

The annual Ibrahim Leadership Ceremony will celebrate the life and legacy of Kofi Annan, looking forward at ways to pursue his leadership. The evening will feature keynotes by H.E. Alassane Ouattara, Mo Ibrahim, Nane Annan, and other prominent leaders and live music from renowned African artists including Fally Ipupa.

There will be a video news release of highlights which will be syndicated via Reuters World News Express.

Saturday, 6 April

Ibrahim Forum (09:00-17:00 GMT). The discussion will be organised around three sessions:

Session 1: Setting the picture right on African migrations 

Chair:

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Chairperson of the High-Level Panel on International Migration in Africa, former President of Liberia, Ibrahim Prize Laureate

Panellists:

• Stefano Manservisi, European Commission (EC) Director-General for International Cooperation and Development
• Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)
• Alex Soros, Deputy Chair of the Open Society Foundations (OSF)
• Mamadou Toure, Founder of Africa 2.0, Chairman and CEO of Ubuntu Capital
• A Representative of the Now Generation Forum

Session 2: The African youth bulge confronted by a jobless growth

Chair:

• Valerie Amos, Director of SOAS (University of London), former UK Secretary of State for International Development

Panellists:

• Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB)
• Abdourahmane Cissé, Minister of Oil, Energy, and Renewable energies, Côte d’Ivoire
• Hailemariam Desalegn, former Prime Minister of Ethiopia
• Roberta Gatti, Chief Economist, Human Development Practice Group, The World Bank
• A Representative of the Now Generation Forum

The 2019 Ibrahim Forum Report is now available to download here:

African Youth: Jobs or Migration?

Session 3: The way forward: bolstering mobility, updating skills, sharing responsibilities 

Chair: 

• Ngaire Woods, Dean of Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University

Panellists:

• Aliko Dangote, Chairman and Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Chairman of the Aliko Dangote Foundation
• Arancha González, CEO of the International Trade Centre (ITC)
• Amadou Hott, Vice-President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) for Power, Energy, Climate Change and Green Growth
• Albert Muchanga, African Union (AU) Commissioner for Trade and Industry
• Oumar Seydi, Africa Director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)
• A Representative of the Now Generation Forum

Between sessions, Mo Ibrahim will also hold one-on-one ‘Conversations with‘:

–    Amina J. Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary General
–    H.E. Alassane Ouattara, President of Côte d’Ivoire

Sunday, 7 April  
Live concert  (doors open at 16:30, concert starts 19:00)
Live music concert featuring various African artists including Serge Beynaud, Safarel Obiang, Youssou N’Dour, Fally Ipupa.

H.E. Alassane Ouattara, Mo Ibrahim, Mo Ibrahim Foundation Board Members, Prize Committee Members, Ibrahim Laureates and prominent guests will be in attendance.

Additional information: 

Parallel events open to media during IGW

Detailed information on all guest organisations events and registration  can be found on the website.

Friday, 5 April

Open Government Partnership Workshop

11:00–13:00, Préau Marquee, Sofitel Hôtel Ivoire

Why Young People and Women Matter in Africa: This event will look to bring together key voices of youth and women leaders, along with other policy leaders from the continent, to collectively identify policy gaps and potential mechanisms, including with examples from across different countries, that can promote participation of underrepresented voices in policy and economic decision-making.

The Africa Report (TAR) Debates

14:00-17:30, Salle des Fêtes, Sofitel Hôtel Ivoire

The continent’s brightest talents and sharpest intellects will clash in their 7th TAR debate. The debate will argue: “The new tech era: job-killer or job-creator?”

The B Team

14:30-16:00, Balafon, Sofitel Hôtel Ivoire

Responsible Tax Workshop: Join The B Team to discuss the merits of the Responsible Tax Principles and explore how increasing corporate tax compliance can be achieved alongside growing the economy.

The B Team/Open Government Partnership

16:15-17:45, Balafon, Sofitel Hôtel Ivoire

Civic Rights Workshop: Join us to explore how laws that limit a citizen’s ability to speak out and civil society’s ability to operate, are a serious threat to both the African youth population’s ability to flourish, and to economic growth more broadly.

Sunday, 7 April

Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET)

09:00-13:00, Balafon, Sofitel Hôtel Ivoire

Migration and jobs: De-bunking the myths. Our panel discussion, chaired by INET’s President Rob Johnson will feature two panels of distinguished speakers. Following on from the Saturday Forum debates, our discussions will permit a deeper interrogation of the evidence concerning the socio-dynamics and economics of migration patterns in and from Africa, and experience with building a jobs-rich economy.

African Philanthropy Forum (APF) Thematic Regional Meeting

10:00-13:00, Ivoire Business, Sofitel Hôtel Ivoire

African Youth and Migration: Philanthropists Taking the Lead. This meeting will provide a platform for philanthropists and critical stakeholders to examine the root causes of mass illegal immigration, proffer actionable solutions to curb the issue and highlight the potential ripple effect of providing opportunities for Africa’s youth in an effort to reverse the migration trend.

The B Team/The Elders

10:00-11:30, Daoukro, Sofitel Hôtel Ivoire

Gender and Climate Change Workshop: What are the connections between gender, social inequalities, energy and climate change? What can governments, civil society and business do to ensure that a just transition to clean energy meaningfully consider and integrate gender into planning and employment for the clean energy sector? Join The B Team and The Elders to explore these questions, and the viable solutions for embedding gender into government and business planning processes for a just transition.

UCoin/Africa 2.0

10:00-13:00, Préau Marque, Sofitel Hôtel Ivoire

Leveraging blockchain technologies for greater growth and governance in Africa: Ubuntu Coin & Africa 2.0 kindly invite you to an active conversation preceded by a masterclass on blockchain. Come prepared to be enriched with the tools to understand, apply, and scale adoption of this revolutionary technology. Join us as we deep-dive into how to unlock blockchain’s true potential in Africa: to catalyse sustainable growth and empowerment of Africans everywhere.

Grow with Google

10:30-12:30, Salle des Fêtes, Sofitel Hôtel Ivoire

At this workshop, Google will share their experience working on the continent over the last few years to help close the unemployment gap and discuss ways to enable the digital economy to be a viable alternative to migration, whilst exploring potential partnership opportunities to further scale their work across Africa.

The 2019 Ibrahim Forum Report is now available to download here:

African Youth: Jobs or Migration?

Media registration

Registration and media accreditation is already open for 2019 IGW here: https://registration.mif.services/register/media

For more information,  please contact Zainab Umar, umar.z@moibrahimfoundation.org ,+44 (0) 207 535 5087 or media team, mifmedia@portland-communications.com.

All the events will also be available to view via live webcast, details of which will be provided nearer to the IGW.

We encourage you to follow the live feed and discussions on Twitter by using #MIFAbidjan, #AfricanMigrations or following @Mo_IbrahimFdn