Building Capacity for a New Generation: The Case for Youth Leadership in Africa

The Oxford University Pan-
African Conference held on May 5
which brought together today's
leaders with tomorrow’s leaders
to discuss youth leadership,
globalisation and Sino-African
relations.

As a new generation of African
leaders emerges, and the

continent moves well into the 21 st
century, the full spectrum of
social, political, and economic
issues facing Africa requires new
and invigorated ways of thinking
about leadership and youth.

Today’s youth are being looked
upon to play a crucial and active
role in building African
communities, promoting
accountability, and developing new
visions. In so doing, building the
capacity for this generation is
perhaps one of the greatest
challenges, but also one of the
most important. It is the youth –
whether in government, civil
society, or business – that will
shape the continent’s future.

A wider vision

With the theme, “Building Capacity
for a New Generation: The Case
for Youth Leadership in Africa”,
the 2012 Oxford University Pan-
African Conference is poised to be
one of the largest ever gatherings
of African students in the United
Kingdom, and will highlight the
importance of nurturing a new
type of African youth leadership in
response to the rapidly evolving
challenges of this century. ( To
register for the conference visit:
www.oxfordafrica.eventbrite.com .)

There are no simple solutions, and
the conference is set to tackle a
number of hotly-debated issues.
Key themes include: challenges
and opportunities for the next
generation of African leaders,
investing in the youth as an
economic strategy, youth and
politics on the continent, Africa in
a globalised world, and the future
of Sino-African relations.

The conference is part of a wider
vision, “the Pan-Africa Project”,
which seeks to provide an annual
platform for all African students in
the UK to reflect on mutual
challenges and identify ways of
promoting quality leadership and
sustainable development in Africa.

Our 2011 conference, “Pan-
Africanism for a New Generation”,
brought together scholars,
activists and leaders, to
interrogate the meaning of Pan-
Africanism in the 21st century. The
concept of Pan-Africanism is
largely associated with the
independence struggles, having
served as a unifying force against
colonialism and as an important
part of the United States civil
rights movement. In the post-
colonial period, Pan-Africanism
has inspired a series of principles
and themes guiding several
policies and programmes across
the continent that seek to deal
with issues such as the adverse
impact of globalisation, security,
and climate change.

Challenges, opportunities, and the youth in Africa

There have been dramatic changes
across the African continent over
the last two decades, yet the 21 st
century has brought increasing
acknowledgement of the
multidimensional nature of both
the problems faced, and solutions
available, to African leaders.

While the next generation of
leaders will face major challenges,
there are also significant
opportunities to be harnessed in
supporting renewed visions for
Africa. Recognising these
opportunities and the crucial role
that leadership from within Africa
is to play in taking hold of these
opportunities, is vital if new
leaders are to be actively involved
in shaping the continent’s future.

A significant part of fostering the
required leadership is coming to
terms with the multidimensional
processes of investing in the youth
as an economic strategy. Investing
in the youth may be more than
just building leadership, but also
finding constructive ways of
facilitating youth contributions to
Africa’s present and future.
Nowhere is this clearer than youth
involvement in politics. Whilst
youth in Africa have often tended
to be characterised as a negative
force with regard to politics, they
continue to play a crucial role both
inside and outside of formal
politics across the continent.

Young leaders and organisations
of young people, are promoting
accountability, supporting better
governance, and aiding delivery
across varying contexts. It is
becoming increasingly important
to understand how youth can
affect the political process for
positive ends and how this
involvement can be supported.

Africa, globalisation, and
partnership

The awareness of Africa as part of
an increasingly interconnected
world must come into any debate
about contemporary African
leadership. The question of
extending youth leadership beyond
country and continent borders is
the first crucial issue that needs to
be addressed with regard to
globalisation processes.

There are divergent opinions on
Africa’s place within a globalised
world. While critics have seen
these processes as having been
harmful to African countries,
advocates see the potential for
globalisation to bring much
benefit to the continent.

The role of youth leadership is of
particular importance however if
processes of increasing
interconnectedness between
African countries and those
beyond Africa are to be harnessed
for the good of the continent. It
has also been noted that a major
driver of Africa’s prosperity will be
the emergence of pan-African
enterprises of scale. Individually,
most African economies are small
and cannot sustain the large-scale
enterprises that will enable
massive job creation and lift Africa
out of poverty. Such large-scale
enterprises can only be built by a
generation of African business
leaders who have relationships
across the continent.

The second issue is that of the
future of Sino-African relations,
which have been the subject to
much praise as well as criticism.
The way in which business
relations can be promoted for
African benefits will be vital to the
promotion of African economic
and political agency. Perhaps one
of the most important questions
as Sino-African relations develop
then, is how partnerships can be
built between Chinese and African
business that are equitable and
sustainable, and where the
outcomes of those partnerships
are mutually beneficial, dynamic,
and constantly evolving.

The conference

Organised by the Oxford
University Africa Society, the 2012
conference will bring together
hundreds of young and dynamic
academics, scholars,
entrepreneurs, activists, and
politicians from around the world
to unpack, discuss, and debate
these challenging and exciting
issues. It will provide the
opportunity to facilitate
discussions and the exchange of
ideas between young Africans who
are currently leading efforts on the
continent around female
empowerment, youth
development, and capacity
building.

We believe that there is no better
time than now, and no better
place than the University of
Oxford, to bring today's leaders
together with tomorrow’s leaders,
to engage in this crucial debate.

Speakers include: Sanusi Lamido
Sanusi, Governor, Central Bank of
Nigeria and Forbes Africa Person
of the Year 2011; Vera Songwe,
World Bank Country Director;
Arthur Mutambara, Deputy Prime
Minister, Zimbabwe; Hadeel
Ibrahim, Director of Strategy and
External Relations, Mo Ibrahim
Foundation; He Liehui, Chairman,
Touchroad International Holdings
Group, China; Gbenga Sesan,
Executive Director, Paradigm
Initiative, Nigeria; and many
others from across Africa and
worldwide.

Sponsors include, Google Africa,
Think Africa Press, Business
Connexions, and the Oxford
African Studies Centre.

To find out more and for registration
click here or visit:
www.oxfordafrica.eventbrite.com

The Oxford University Africa Society
is the umbrella body for all African
students at the University of Oxford.
It seeks to provide a legitimate and
strong voice within the university
community to African students and
others who are linked to the
continent by way of ancestry,
research, experience, or interest.
The society is a platform for
informed debates and stimulating
events, and strives to create a sense of community among members. The society is currently led by Idris Bello (Weidenfeld Scholar at Kellogg College) while Dr Abdul Raufu Mustapha (Dean of St Antony College, Oxford, and Kirk-Greene Fellow in African Studies) serves as the Proctor for the Society.