| South
Africa, African Union, Caribbean Diaspora Conference 16 -18 March 2005 Kingston,
Jamaica
Background The Department of
Foreign Affairs, the African Union and the Caribbean are in a tripartite partnership
to host South Africa, African Union, and Caribbean Diaspora Conference in Kingston,
Jamaica 16-18 March 2005. The decision to host this conference was taken
in 2004, after the President's visit to the Caribbean in 2003. In his speech at
the University of the West Indies, President Thabo Mbeki made the observations
that 'We have also spoken of the need for us as Africans to ensure that the 21st
century becomes an African century. In reality, I stand here today to talk
about what we might do together to accomplish these goals, understanding that
when we speak of a rebirth that must encompass all Africans, both in Africa and
the African Diaspora." President Mbeki then made his own claration call that
" Perhaps the time has come for the African intelligentsia in the Americas,
the Caribbean, Europe and Africa to come together again, this time to make the
statement - the problem of Africans in the 21st century is the problem of poverty,
underdevelopment and marginalisation -and together search for ways and means by
which to confront this problem".
During the 2003 African Union Maputo
Summit, President Mbeki, urged delegates to explore and develop an elaboration
of a practical programme of action to take this matter of the African Diaspora
forward. Nature of the Conference South Africa,
African Union, Caribbean Diaspora Conference attendance is by invitation only.
It can only accommodate 250 participants. - 120 participants from the
Caribbean
- 80 participants from South Africa
- 30 participants from
the African Union
- 20 special guests
The
Theme of the Conference is:
Towards Unity and United Action of Africans
and the African Diaspora in the Caribbean for a Better World.
Objectives
of the Conference
- To create linkages between Africa and the Diaspora
and initiate a dialogue on common challenges;
- To strengthen partnerships
and co-operation between the peoples of the two regions;
- To establish
mechanisms for building stronger political and economic relations between Africa
and the Caribbean;
- To identify new opportunities for future collaboration
that can be of mutual benefit in the political, economic and socio-cultural spheres;
- To
develop a common agenda for confronting common problems between Africa and the
Caribbean;
- To support the implementation of the African Union decisions
on the African Diaspora.
Intended Outcomes
- Concrete
proposals on economic\trade links in specific fields
- Commitment to signing
of bilateral agreements and embarking on collaborative programmes on common areas
of interest.
- Agreements on canvassing mutual positions and solidarity
in multilateral fora such as the UN, NAM etc
- The beginnings of institutionalised
South Africa-Caribbean co-operation and collaboration amongst governments, non-governmental
organisations, institutions, scholars, academicians, cultural activists, women
and youth
- Proposals on sustainable cultural collaboration that contributes
to cementing a common identity especially critical for the youth of both regions.
Formulating achievable
Programmes of Action for the united action of South
Africans and the Caribbean Diaspora to solve the problems that confront them.
Format
With the conference abstract forming the basis for the format and agenda for the
Conference. The joint meeting agreed that the conference should take the following
form. - The Foreign Ministers of South Africa, Jamaica and the Deputy
Chairperson of the AU will be responsible for the opening ceremony. An opening
address will be made by the RT. Honourable PJ Patterson, Prime Minister of Jamaica,
pending his availability
- Dr Pallo Jordan, Minister of Art and
Culture, South Africa will address a Key Note on Pan Africanism in the 21st Century:
Its relevance and response to globalisation, to be followed by a panel discussing
the topic: "Pan Africanism Re-visited".
- The conference is divided
into eight (8) working groups dealing with topics and issues related to the subject
of the group. The working groups are as follows:
- International Affairs
and Foreign Policy
- The Report of the UN High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges
and Changes
- International Affairs and Foreign Policy
- Democracy
and Good Governance
- Regional Development & Integration
- Economic
Co-operation & Trade Links
- Historical, Socio-cultural and Religious
Commonalities
- South - South Cupertino and Solidarity
- Knowledge
Sharing
Presentations on the specific topics will be made at
parallel workshops where critical debate will take place. Recommendations and
resolutions will then be taken to plenary. Partipation Participation
in the conference is drawn from South Africa, the AU and the Caribbean. Participation
should be from identified groups: - Academics,
- Politicians,
- Non-Governmental Organisations,
- Business,
- Grassroots
people
The three partners agreed that the invitations would be distributed
from three points.
|
