51吃瓜

Summary

The 2023 Academic Conference on Africa, hosted by the UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa and UN Academic Impact, provided a platform for African academics to initiate conversations on the status of development in Africa. The theme of the conference, “Redefining African Futures: The State, Resilience, and Pathways to Progress,” highlighted the need to look beyond the conventional narratives that have long dominated global discourses on Africa, and to instead elevate the voices of African scholars, whose insights and lived experiences are crucial to understanding and addressing the continent’s complex realities. 

As we approach the UN Summit of the Future, it has never been more vital to stir critical dialogue on the work to transform multilateralism to accelerate sustainable development and build durable peace and security, including in Africa. In this context, the importance of African scholarship to the global dialogue is central, as the continent seeks to reclaim its rightful place at the global leadership table. This includes highlighting scholarship from across Africa, where the impact of an outdated international mechanism to boost the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is strongly felt.

In line with the UN Secretary-General’s call that “We can't build a future for our grandchildren with a system built for our grandparents” in the lead-up to the Summit of the Future while presenting an outcome of the Academic Conference, the UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA) and the are launching a Special Issue of the focused on African scholarship related to the SDGs, multilateral cooperation, and the future of global governance. 

During this pre-launch event, we will highlight some of these critical voices to share the perspectives of African academics and build momentum toward the Summit’s exchanges, their implementation and outcomes.

Archived Video Recording