On invitation from the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, TechHerNG’s Executive Director, Chioma Agwuegbo, is set to attend the 2021 Africa-France Summit in Paris and Montpellier.
Mr Benoît Verdeaux, Secretary-General of the Summit announced that the week long event is slated for the 4th of October 2020, through the 8th of October 2021 – and the event between leading figures in France and Africa, comes on the heels of President Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 visit to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, earlier in the year where he emphasized France’s intention to realign the Africa-France relationship in the future.
This summit brings together an estimated 3,000 influential figures across the continent from Business Executive, to Scientists, Students, Artists, Intellectuals, Athletes, and Activists.
The summit seeks to chart a new relationship hinged on five major themes: Doing business, innovating/feeding, providing care, protecting heritage and culture/citizen engagement/sports.
The conversations at this Summit will mark a significant shift in Africa-France relations, looking at its unique format that seeks to bypass institutional authorities, grant a central role to young people and civil society across both entities, and ensure the strong involvement of Africans in France.
The invitation of Ms Agwuegbo, a rights activist and social change advocate, underscores the urgency of platforming the voices of youth and civil society as the world builds back better from the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking on her expectations of the Summit, she said, “This Summit provides a strategic opportunity for conversations that flatten the barriers between France, Nigeria, and the rest of Africa, and hopefully can move swiftly beyond rhetoric to actions that profitably showcase innovation from the continent and increase spaces for women and girls to flourish safely within (and outside) digital spaces.”
Chioma Agwuegbo currently serves as the ED of TechHerNG, a social enterprise with a mission to bridge the knowledge gap between gender and technology and empower women for personal and social transformation. ??A member of Mo Ibrahim Foundation Now Generation Network, she serves on the Boards of PLAN International Nigeria and OXFAM International.
