Africa’s fate, future occupy core of 2018 Atlantic Dialogues

Since its inception in 2012, the Atlantic Dialogues conference seeks to bring the South Atlantic to the forefront of global geopolitical debate.

It allows conversations on an equal footing, frankly addressing real issues with a fact-based debate. The conference is focused on an alternative discourse and solutions, with contrasting points of view from various panellists.

Rooted in Morocco, a country bordering both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, Atlantic Dialogues cultivate an African excellence, open-mindedness and a great diversity.

Emphasis is evidently on interests that the Atlantic dialogues conference has for West and North Africa, the issues can also be replicated for East and Southern Africa.

A Moroccan think tank, OCP Policy Centre, now referred to as Policy Centre for the New South, saddled with the responsibility of organising the conference, has on its agenda to promote sharing of expertise on economic issues and international relations among countries in the Atlantic sphere   particularly those in the South including South America that share challenges of developing countries.

The Policy Centre for the New South also seeks to rally nations to contribute to strategic decision-making through four research programmes that are critical to Africa. These include: agriculture, environment and food security, economic and social development, finance, conservation of raw materials, manufacturing, geopolitics and international relations.

Core parts of the debate among delegates included the effects of globalisation on Africa, how the continent can benefit from its demographic advantage, coping against the surge of protectionism by the developed nations and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the human dimension of the migration crisis affecting Africans, the effects of the declining power of the United States among other issues.

Participants for the 2018 conference were drawn from the southern Atlantic region and included experts in private and public sectors from East and southern African countries who were called upon to present innovation and ideas that can be put to bear on the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean countries.

Speaking during the opening conversation on the topic, “Populism and post-truth politics: the backlash against globalisation” former US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, who seemed not to be comfortable with the role her country is playing in recent time told the gathering that: “Americans don’t like the word multilateralism, there are too many syllables and an ‘ism’ at the end. In fact, it’s all about partnerships.

“The US is becoming part of the problem: we are clinging to ourselves and not recognizing the value of partnerships. In that way I am troubled and I may have to ask for political asylum!”

Albright, 81, and just coming from, launching her book” Fascism. A Warning acknowledged globalisation had been tilted against Africa, even as she encouraged the continent to take advantage of its emerging status and powerful potential to chart its own course.

“Africa was always seen as the loser in globalisation, but increasingly now the continent is on the path to becoming a winner despite the negative effects that held it back for so long.”

She told African leaders not to be discouraged by those who still show a tendency to sideline the continent, making a thinly-veiled attack on US President Donald Trump for his policy to assert American power at the expense of the exclusion of former allies.

“When someone goes to the United Nations and talks about national power, it undermines the spirit of the UN. When the US is not represented in such a conference of like-minded allies such as this, we are pulling away from the world and into ourselves.

“Africa should surge ahead and focus on where it matters, like its young population that is the largest in the world. If systems that work can be built for them to earn a living at home, many would not even want to migrate.”

She commended students from Morocco, Kenya and Nigeria who had earlier sat in a session with her at the King Mohammed VI Technical University in Rabat, noting they had given her the main point to address at the conference that young Africans just need empowerment through education, and the continent will change forever.

Former President of Cape Verde, Pedro Pires, who was also on the panel to do justice to the topic at hand said: “I come from a world of African liberation movements that is disappearing. Africa has been a loser in all the phases of globalisation. The continent needs to get organised to win this new phase. We cannot stand against globalisation, as we are globalised, whether we like it or not. We have to fight against the wrong effects of this trend: namely enormous differences and inequalities between states and inside the countries themselves.”

Talking on the topic “Human Dimension of the Migration Crisis,” Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Morocco, Mounia Boucetta, said: “We should have a global approach. Security is not enough. We have 7000 persons in three shifts controlling our borders, land and maritime. Still, smugglers and traffickers are not discouraged. We need to address cooperation as we do with Spain.

“From 2012 to 2017, more than 400 trafficking networks were dismantled. We need to find solutions on political stability and development. The global compact on migration is a unique opportunity to address the issue globally, and to give importance to the rights of migrants and development in countries of origin and of destination”.

The “Digital Age and the Modern Social Contract” was also another focal point at the conference. Panellists during this plenary had divergent views about the topic.

DRC Banker and activist, Eric Ntumba, as well as Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leader (2017) said: “Are we going to dish out tablets to our children in Africa with no teachers and expect them to become Mark Zuckerberg?”

Founder and director, On Think Tanks, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and research associate at Universidad del Pacífico (Peru), Enrique Mendizabal, in his own view pointed out that: “There was a big governmental project on computers for school that ended up with no pilot, no reflexion on availability of electricity, wifi, engagement with teachers, who did not understand how to use the computers, and the parents who refused to be responsible for computers when they break down technology takes place in a context, always”.

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Attorney, professor, Sciences Po Paris, Lex Paulson, while contributing to the discourse was of the opinion that: “In countries where people are not free, you can’t create a social contract with people who do not trust. Why would they enter into a social contract with a government which is excluding them? It requires to build power community by community away from the usual suspects, with community driven solutions. Simply reproducing existing structures of power will not work”.

In his closing remarks, Managing Director, Policy Centre for the New South, Karim El Aynoui, said: “The dialogues are a sort of collective therapy in a way, building dialogue and exchanging between generations.

“We have reached a balance, in terms of communities and generations. This is a place where the North meets the South in the South. This is important and we will continue in that spirit of open dialogue, chic and serious, formal and informal, but always tolerant and ready to listen to others.

“These are our values and Moroccan values, in a country where we like to receive people in our tent, a safe place. This is a space where we can discuss, try to find solutions, venture.

“Our duty as experts is to connect with our communities, we need to invite populations, that is what we are trying to do with the think tank, to connect with communities to build better policies together.”

He thanked the participants for what he described as their great contributions to Atlantic Dialogues 2018 and interaction on Spot Me a software application developed for interaction among participants, with the highest number of 2350 business cards exchanged by Ali Zahi Belhaj (Emerging Leader, Tunisia), a total number of 3281 exchanged messages and 1255 interactions during the Plenary Sessions.   “We hope we have reinforced the Atlantic Dialogues community, and we stay, as Policy Center for the New South, open to all ideas and projects you may like to share with us,” he said.