Mandipa Ndlovu and TechHerNG announce the commencement of the Re-Launching Africa Series, a cache of conversations involving 21 young Africans from 15 African countries leading in their fields to identify, and analyse, opportunities and challenges for infrastructure development and technological advancement in Africa in light of disruptions by COVID-19.
COVID-19 has provided a crucial moment to restructure the continent’s developmental trajectory. Technology and innovation in all its forms – coupled with increased access and consumption – can help realise Africa’s much needed developmental about-turn. The Re-launching Africa Series live consultations will, therefore, focus on giving young Africans a platform to proffer their own narratives and solutions to our challenges.
Speaking on the vision for the Emphasising Tech, Prioritising Progression Series, independent research analyst Mandipa Ndlovu said, “We thought about the gaping holes in research but also the voices of youth in charting their future. This Series not only delivers on that but mainstreams the voice of leading field expert youth on 7 crucial topic areas that intersect with technological advancement into policy on Africa.
It also helps to formulate policy recommendations from African youth regarding technological advancement in the aftermath of COVID-19”.
Conversationalists for the series include Aya Chebbi, the African Union Youth Envoy; Aïda Ndiaye, Public Policy Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa at Facebook; serial entrepreneur and Founder of Jobberman and WhoGohost, Opeyemi Awoyemi; Akuja De Garang MBE, Project Leader of Girls Education South Sudan (GESS); South African engineer, and co-founder of WomEng, Naadiya Moosajee, Higher Education Investor Gossy Ukanwoke; Moussa Kondo, Director of Accountability Lab Mali; Josephine Appiah-Nyamekye Sanny, AfroBarometer’s Communications Coordinator for Anglophone West Africa; and a host of others.
On the spread of conversations beyond Nigeria, Founder of TechHerNG, Chioma Agwuegbo, said the idea was to “raise awareness of the systematically flawed governance and its intersection with the continent’s response to COVID19 via the voices of its largest demographic, thereby promoting active citizenry”.
Conversations will be transcribed and written as an in-depth research report to be shared widely amongst international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), donor agencies, governments, corporate entities, as well as academic and multilateral institutions, working at bettering access on the African continent.
The conversations will be held on select Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays beginning from Monday 1 June 2020 to Wednesday 15 July 2020 live on @TechHerNG’s Instagram at 6pm West African Time.
For more information, please contact Chioma Agwuegbo via techherng at gmail dot com.
