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Statement on the SA-AU-Caribbean Diaspora Conference Kingston
- Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will lead a South African
delegation to the South Africa, the African Union and the Caribbean Diaspora Conference
scheduled for Kingston Jamaica from 16-18 March 2005. The Conference, which
will be co-hosted by South Africa, the AU and the Jamaican Government, will convene
under the theme "Towards Unity and United Action by Africans and the African
Diaspora in the Caribbean for a Better World". Conference is expected
to be attended by more than 250 participants including Ministers, Parliamentarians,
the private sector, academics, civil society, NGOs, media and cultural organisations. The
SA-AU-Caribbean Diaspora Conference is convened with a view to: - Creating
linkages between Africa and the Diaspora while initiating dialogue on common challenges
- Strengthening
partnerships and co-operation between the peoples of the two regions
- Establishment
of mechanisms for building stronger political and economic relations between Africa
and the Caribbean
- Identification of new opportunities for future collaboration
that can be of mutual benefit in the political, economic and socio-cultural spheres
- Development
of a common agenda for confronting common problems that afflict Africa and the
Caribbean
- And to give concrete meaning to decisions of the African Union
on the African Diaspora
Accordingly, the Conference will in pursuit
of these objectives discuss the following issues: - Pan Africanism revisited
- International
Affairs, Peace and Security
- The UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Report
on Threats, Challenges and Change
- Democracy and Good Governance
- Regional
Developments and Integration
- Economic Co-operation and Trade links
- Historical,
Socio-Cultural and Regional commonalities
- South-South Co-operation and
Solidarity
- And Knowledge Sharing.
In this regard, it is hoped
that the Diaspora Conference will emerge with the following outcomes: - concrete
proposals on economic and trade links in specific areas and embarking on collaborative
programmes on common areas of interest;
- commitment to solidarity and mutual
support in international for a;
- the institutionalisation of the African
- Caribbean co-operation and collaboration among government and civil society;
and
- the development of a common agenda for collaboration with the a view
to furthering the objectives of the African Union
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME South
Africa, African Union, Caribbean Diaspora Conference, 16 - 18 March 2005 16
March 2005 Venue: Jamaica Conference Centre, Kingston, Jamaica Chair:
Senator Delano Franklyn, Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and Foreign Trade, Jamaica 08h20-08h30 Opening Remarks: Chair 08h30-10h00
Opening Ceremony Statement by the Honourable Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini--Zuma,
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of South Africa (RSA) Statement by
the Honourable Mr. K.D. Knight, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade,
Jamaica Statement by His Excellency Mr. Patrick Mazimhaka, Deputy Chairperson:
African Union (AU) Official Opening Address by the Most Honourable P.J.
Patterson, Prime Minister of Jamaica Closing Remarks: Chair Keynote
Address Chair: His Excellency Mr. Patrick Mazimhaka: Deputy Chairperson,
AU Commission Topic: Pan Africanism Revisited 10h30-11h30 Keynote
address by the Honourable Dr. Pallo Jordan Minister of Arts and Culture, RSA Topic:
Pan Africanism in the 21st Century: Its Relevance and Responses to Globalization. 11h30-13h00
Panel Discussion Panelists: Professor Patte Diagne, Universite Cheick Anta
Diop, Senegal Professor Rupert Lewis, Professor, Department of Government,
Faculty of Arts & Education, UWI, Mona Campus, Jamaica. Discussion 14h30-18h00
PARALLEL WORKING GROUPS Working Group 1: International Affairs, Peace and
Security The discussion will explore contemporary issues in international
affairs focusing on asymmetrical power relations. The discussion should also analyze
the inequality produced by uneven impact of globalization. Participants should
be invited to develop a broader framework on issues of peace and security. Chair:
Dr Jessica Byron, Department of Government, Faculty of Social Sciences, UWI, Mona
Campus, Jamaica. (tbc) Panelists: Professor Margaret Vogt, Director, Bureau
of the Chairperson of the AU Commission Mr. Ndumiso Ntshinga, Deputy Director
General, Department of Foreign Affairs, RSA Honourable Minister Eumelio Caballero
Rodriguez, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cuba. Discussion Working
Group 2: The Report of the United Nations High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges
and Change The discussion will focus of various aspects and implications
of this report from the African and Caribbean perspectives Chair: African
Union Panelists: Ambassador D. Kumalo, South Africa¡¦s Ambassador
to the UN
Ambassador Cheick Sidi Diarra, Mali¡¦s Ambassador to
the UN.
Ambassador Raymond Wolfe, Under Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and Foreign Trade, Jamaica Discussion
17 March 2005
08h00-13h00
PARALLEL WORKING GROUPS Working Group 3: Democracy and Good Governance The
discussions will focus on the evolution of democracy in Africa and the Caribbean,
drawing from the experiences of the earliest and latest democracies. Discussion
will also focus on race, class, ethnicity and gender and their implications for
effective nation building. Chair: Ms. Julia Joiner: AU Commissioner for
Political Affairs. Panelists: Ms. Nomboniso Gasa, Independent Consultant,
South Africa
Dr. Glenda Simms, Executive Director, Bureau of Women's Affairs,
Office of the Prime Minister, Jamaica
Dr. Amany Asfour, President, Egyptian
Business Women's Association Discussion Working Group 4: Regional
Development and Integration The discussion will analyze the effort of the
African Union and the Caribbean states in building regional integration. The presentation
will also investigate the role of NEPAD towards the attainment of an effective
Continental integration. Chair: Dr. Thami Mazwai, Chairperson, South African
Chapter of the African Renaissance (SACAR), RSA Panelists: Dr Denis Benn,
Michael Manley Professor of Public Policy, UWI, Mona, Jamaica
Professor Allioune
Sall, Executive Director, African Futures
Mr. Victor Mathale, RSA Discussion 14h30-18h00
PARALLEL WORKING GROUPS Working Group 5: Economic Cooperation and Trade
links The discussion will interrogate challenges relating to economic co-operation
between South Africa/Africa and the Caribbean in the context of various other
initiatives within and between the two regions and other economies. This discussion
could include debt cancellation, reparations, the MDG agenda, as well as cooperation
between Africa and the Caribbean in the democratization of the international financial
and trade architecture. Chair: Ms. Elizabeth Tankeu ¡V AU Commissioner:
Cooperation and Trade Links. Panelists: Mr. Thami Sokutu, Businessman, RSA
Ms. Aisha Salemi Elhaji, Manager: Research and Studies, Libya Arab Bank
Ambassador
Richard Bernal, Director General, Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM) Discussion Working
Group 6: Historical, Socio-Cultural and Religious Commonalities This discussion
will address the nature and evolution of the social, cultural and religious relations
and artistic heritages in South Africa, Africa and the Caribbean with a view to
identifying areas of convergence and divergence as well as lessons from history. Chair:
Professor Vinesh Y. Hookomsing, Vice Chancellor, University of Mauritius Panelists:
Advocate Christina Qunta, RSA
Professor Maureen Warner-Lewis, Professor Emeritus,
Faculty of Humanities & Education, UWI, Mona Campus, Jamaica
Professor
Adebayo Olukoshi, Executive Secretary, Council for the Development of Social Science
Research in Africa (CODESRIA) Discussion
18 March 2005
08h00-12h00
PARALLEL WORKING GROUPS Working Group 7: South-South Co-Operation and Solidarity The
discussion will look at the challenges relating to issues of development and poverty
with specific focus on crime, HIV/Aids, transnational crime and narcotic trafficking,
as well as environmental problems Chair: Dr. Teboho Maitse, Commission on
Gender Equality, South Africa, RSA Panelists: Prof. Bernard Magubane, Director,
South African Democracy Education Trust (SADET), RSA
Dr. Pamela Mbabazi, Dean,
Faculty of Development Studies, Nabarara University, Uganda
Ms. Alison Anderson,
Chief Executive Officer, Child Development Services, Ministry of Health, Jamaica
Discussion Working Group 8: Knowledge Sharing This discussion
will address the nature of contemporary challenges related to the production,
distribution and sharing of knowledge and information between South Africa/Africa
and the Caribbean in the context of global trends and challenges. The should identify
how the two regions ought to respond to the challenges and what strategies should
be developed to address contemporary and future challenges with a view to enhancing
the mutual interests of both regions. The following aspects should be considered: (a)
the nature of the challenges posed by the production and distribution and utilisation
of indigenous knowledge and information within and between the two regions. (b)
the challenges posed by the production, distribution and utilisation of academic
and scientific knowledge and information within both regions and between the two
regions. (c) the challenges posed by the production, distribution of technical
knowledge information and innovations with the aim of enhancing productivity,
competitiveness and inclusive and equitable growth and development in light of
the current global order and the opportunities and constraints that it poses. (d)
The challenges posed by the monopolization of processes of global cultural exchange
on the intellectual property of the people of Africa and the Caribbean. Chair:
Caribbean Panelists: Professor Ade Abiodun, African Union Ms Baleka
Mbete, Speaker of the National Assembly, South African Parliament, South Africa
Dr.
Hopeton Dunn, Jamaica South Africa Friendship Association (JASAYA) (tbc) Discussion 12h00-13h00:
Lecture Chair: Professor Abdoulaye Bathily, Deputy Speaker of Parliament,
Senegal Topic: Towards an African Century: Closer collaboration between
Africa and the Caribbean in the conduct of International Relations: Speaker:
The Honourable Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines 14h30-16h00:
Way Forward Chair: Dr. Frene Ginwala, Former Speaker of the National Assembly,
South African Parliament, RSA Presenter: Dr. Eddy Maloka, Rapporteur-General
Adoption of the Declaration 16h30-17h30: CLOSING CEREMONY Closing
Statement by the Honourable Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Minister of Foreign Affairs,
RSA Closing Statement by the: His Excellency Mr. Patrick Mazimhaka, Deputy
Chairperson of the AU Closure: The Honourable K.D. Knight, Minister of Foreign
Affairs and Foreign Trade, Jamaica Issued by Ronnie Mamoepa at 082 990 4853 Department
of Foreign Affairs
P/Bag X152
Pretoria
0001 9 March 2005
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