Harare, 18 Dec. 2017 (ACBF) – The African Union (AU), in partnership with the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) are joining forces with the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Partners to establish an African Partnerships Coordination Platform (APCP) that will help the continent to engage its partners more effectively and with harmonized voices and agendas in order to optimize Africa’s gains in global partnerships. A three-day brainstorming meeting to that effect will be jointly hosted by ACBF and the AUC from 18 to 20 December in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Attending the meeting will be a wide range of the African Union’s focal points and other African players on partnerships and international Cooperation. These include the AU Commission and itsRegional Offices, Organs and Specialized Agencies; the eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs); ECOSOCC and other relevant agencies. Their motive is to give birth to a new interactive network of partnership experts and to determine its management and program of work.
Five sessions have been programmed for the exercise: the first will discuss a common approach to optimize partnerships for the attainment of the objectives of Agenda 2063; the second session will review the successes and challenges seen in the engagement between the AU and its African partners; the third session will be dedicated to gauging policy coordination strategies among these partners; the fourth session will highlight best global and continent practices in the development of policies and programs around cooperation with focus on the experiences of the RECs; and the fifth session will establish a roadmap for collaboration among all stakeholders especially in the coming year.
The African Partnerships Coordination Platform (APCP) is expected to extend the benefits of partnerships beyond sourcing financial support for Africa’s development to enhancing skills development, pushing for technology transfer, sharing experience/knowledge and developing sound investment plans.
The AU, ACBF RECs and partners are increasingly coordinating their efforts in accompanying African States to develop sound socioeconomic policies alongside the development of strong institutional and human capacity. This includes the capacity for Africa to negotiate smartly with its global partners – which justifies the forthcoming Harare meeting.
-ENDS-
For more information, please contact:
Abel Akara Ticha – Senior Communication Officer
The African Capacity Building Foundation
Harare, Zimbabwe
+263 7+263-4 304663, 304622, 332002, 332014; Ext. 279
Email: A.Ticha@acbf-pact.org
ABOUT the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Having spearheaded and robustly coordinated capacity development programs worth over 700 million US dollars across 45 countries and 8 regional economic communities (RECs) in Africa since 1991, ACBF has gathered the requisite experience that makes it the go-to institution for expert knowledge and human resources to advise and support African countries, regional economic communities and institutions on decisive steps to take to develop the practical skills urgently required for the continent’s economic transformation.
Evidence from our cutting-edge work (constituting hundreds of knowledge publications) and the work of several partners show that Africa's development efforts are being hobbled by severe capacity deficits often in the form of shortage of critical skills, deficits in leadership, inhibiting mindsets and weak institutions. The continent’s practical skills shortage is acute in key areas such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Agriculture.
At ACBF, we will continue using our unmatched track record in managing financial facilities for development, our vast knowledge gathering experience thanks to the exceptional skills mix of our core staff as well as our strong strategic partnerships and networks to help countries and institutions identify their capacity needs, advise them on how to plug these capacity weaknesses and on where to find the knowledge and resources to develop the requisite capacity resources, effectively use them and retain them to achieve their short and long-term development objectives.
ACBF’s vision is an Africa capable of achieving its own development.
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