Africa is at a crossroads

Some of Africa's most important political leaders recently launched a major program for African recovery, which proposes a new relationship with the rest of the world. The New Partnership for Africa's Development was inaugurated at a special meeting of its implementing committee at Abuja, Nigeria, in October 2001. An earlier version of this plan (the New African Initiative) had been adopted by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) at its July 2001 meeting in Lusaka, Zambia. The launching of this plan for economic recovery and sociopolitical reform comes at a crucial time for Africa, for this year also sees the folding of the OAU into the African Union, the new pan-African structure that will promote economic and political integration.

Leaders of major industrialized countries, in common with UN organizations and the International Financial Institutions, have repeatedly called for measures to be taken to address the major obstacles that Africa currently faces, such as increasing debt, declining terms of trade, low levels of international aid and foreign investment, and the AIDS pandemic. At their meeting in Genoa in July 2001, G8 leaders agreed to place Africa and the New Partnership for African Development on the agenda of the next G8 Summit, which will take place in Alberta, Canada, on June 26-28, 2002.

Partnership Africa Canada believes there is now an excellent opportunity to help Canada and the world respond to Africa's new initiative. Partnership Africa Canada is collaborating with many organizations to facilitate a broad based consultation and mobilization process with civil society in Canada and Africa. Civil society organizations will be encouraged to undertake outreach and mobilization activities related to issues in the New Partnership for African Development, such as peace building, good governance and democratization, globalization and economic development, HIV/AIDS and food security. Over the coming year, it is our hope that civil society groups in Canada, Africa and internationally will mobilize public support, engage the media and key decision-makers in governments, and develop civil society perspectives and positions on issues related to African development and recovery.

A civil society planning conference was held in Ottawa on October 21 - 22, 2001, the first step in a yearlong process. Representatives from a variety of organizations participated. The consultation process will culminate in a civil society conference to coincide with the G8 meeting in Canada in June 2002 and will feed into a United Nations session on Africa in September 2002.

Documents from the civil society planning conferences and other materials related to Africa and the G8 are posted in the Resources section, identified by the keyword "G8".