By Gift Briton

The 2023 Ibrahim Governance Weekend(IGW), a unique event that brings together leading voices from Africa and beyond to discuss key development issues facing the continent, has kicked off in Nairobi, Kenya.

Organized by Mo Ibrahim Foundation, the three-day event will feature Kenya’s president William Ruto, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Abdalla Hamdok, former Prime Minister of Sudan.

Under the theme: Global Africa, the panelists will talk about Africa’s voice and weight in the current multilateral systems, whether it is relevant and strong enough as well as providing solutions to make it better.

Speaking during a pre-event media briefing in Nairobi, Nathalie Delapalme, Executive Director of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation noted that the forum aims to provide a platform for a frank talk about Africa between not just African stakeholders but also partners of Africa in learning about Africa’s decisions, opinion and positions.

“We aim at making sure that the relevant narratives and discussion about African challenges are made properly so we are expecting a lot from the discussions about what is Africa’s right place in the world today,” she noted.

“We think that public opinion in general, especially in the developed countries and other parts of the world, need to be aware of Africa’s potential.”

For the IGW, the Africa- Europe Foundation (AEF), co-founded by Friends of Europe and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation,  will focus on a stronger Africa-Europe Partnership to catalyse cooperation from the redesign of financial systems to innovative partnership on ocean governance and blue economy, energy access and transitions, and reinforcing the potential of youth voice, agency, and leadership to challenge misperceptions.

This year’s forum will be the first physical meeting to be held since COVID-19 hit the world, following the 2022 hybrid forum in Egypt.