African Development And Global Engagements

The book takes a cursory look at the drivers and the directions of Africa’s developmental drive as a largely developing continent within the frameworks of the ever-dynamic global space, putting into perspective inherent challenges and opportunities of the 21st Century, and thereafter. Being the continent with most youthful population, Africa appears to still lack in requisite innovative interventions to transmute such demographic dividend into economic opportunities for the benefits of the larger population. Instead, there has been increasing trend in South-North migrations among both skilled and unskilled Africans across all age groups. Besides, impacts of climate change on the continent have also implied unstructured migratory trend within and beyond the bounds of the continent. Africa has continued to play a feeble role in various United Nations (UN)-enabled ‘Conference of Parties’ (COP) negotiations, such as the COP-26 in Glasgow, Scotland (2021). The management of recent Covid-19 epidemic across the world has presented a clear pointer to Africa that except development is internally-driven, no one is ready to exogenously drive sustainable good life for others. Ostensible ‘vaccine nationalism’ that has dotted the production and availability of various Covid-19 vaccine brands, which has ultimately left Africa as the ‘begging continent’ one more time calls for in-depth interrogation in contextualizing what the place of Africa has been, is and to be within the global interactive mode.

Millennium development goals (MDGs) and sustainable development goals (SDGs) have significant implications for global development, in particular for African countries. This book seeks to assist Africa’s policy makers and political leaders, MNCs and NGOs, plus its increasingly heterogeneous media landscape, to understand and better respond or negotiate the evolving development environment of the 21st century. In this collection of nuanced essays, the contributors interrogate the relationship between the MDGs and SDGs in key areas of African development to enhance our understanding and knowledge of the evolving nature of development. They address issues of governance, agriculture, south-south cooperation in a context of foreign aid, natural resource governance and sustainable development, export diversification and economic growth as well as emerging topics such as the internet of things or the sharing economy, climate change, conflict and non-traditional security. The varied, yet interlinked foci present a holistic overview of Africa’s development aspirations, and ability to transform the SDGs’ universal aspirations into local realities. This book will be of use to academics and students in Development Studies, Contemporary African Studies, Political Science, Policy Studies and Geography, and should also appeal to policy makers and development practitioners.

By taking the emerging multipolarity at the global level as its focus, by highlighting African agency in co-shaping this new world order, and by adopting a historically sensitive approach, this collection aims to analyse African engagements and asks on whose terms these engagements are being built.

The book draws upon the expertise and international research collaborations forged by the Worldwide Universities Network Global Africa Group to critically engage with the intersection, in theory and practice, of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Africa’s development agendas and needs. Further, it argues that – and demonstrates how – the SDGs should be understood as an aspirational blueprint for development with multiple meanings that are situated in dynamic and contested terrains. As the SDGs have substantial implications for development policy and resourcing at both the macro and micro levels, their relevance is not only context-specific but should also be assessed in terms of the aspirations and needs of ordinary citizens across the continent. Drawing on analyses and evidence from both the natural and social sciences, the book demonstrates that progress towards the SDGs must meet demands for improving human well-being under diverse and challenging socio-economic, political and environmental conditions. Examples include those from the mining industry, public health, employment and the media. In closing, it highlights how international collaboration in the form of research networks can enhance the production of critical knowledge on and engagement with the SDGs in Africa.

A wave of optimism has swept the African continent in the past decade. The pace and extent of social change in recent years, when measured in life expectancy, child and infant mortality rates, literacy, numeracy and the completion of higher education, is quite remarkable. The urban middle class is emerging and expanding in many African countries, while political democracy is developing and strengthening. These positive changes are generating economic growth and attracting foreign investment across the continent, especially in the resource sector. But Africa is still viewed by many as the “dark continent” dealing with serious problems — civil wars, ethnic division, corruption, HIV/AIDS, poverty, food security and the disastrous effects of climate change — and these issues may well impede the upward trajectory of Africa. Canada-Africa Relations: Looking Back, Looking Ahead — the 27th volume of the influential Canada Among Nations series — analyzes the ebb and flow of Canada’s engagement with Sub-Saharan Africa through different lenses over the past few decades and also looks to the future, highlighting the opportunities and the difficulties that exist for Canada and Sub-Saharan Africa. It is clear that a new Africa is emerging, and Canada must be prepared to change the nature of its relationship with the continent.

Examines Chinese engagement with African nations, focusing on (1) Chinese and African objectives in the political and economic spheres and how they work to achieve them, (2) African perceptions of Chinese engagement, (3) how China has adjusted its policies to accommodate African views, and (4) whether the United States and China are competing for influence, access, and resources in Africa and how they might cooperate in the region.

This guidebook is a collection of stories of African development projects that have transformed the lives of individuals and communities through collaborative partnerships. Through the study of these successful collaborations, readers will learn to: Engage in capacity-building for collective problem-solving at the community level. Work collaboratively for womens empowerment. Mobilize culturally diverse communities to plan, implement, and evaluate sustainable community development. Build meaningful collaborations among university and grassroots partners. Maximize volunteer skills and match them to community needs. The Womens Global Connection (WGC; www.womensglobalconnection.org) embarked on this journey of cross-cultural engagement and capacity-building with one intention, grounded on three pillars: Local ownership demanded individual and community involvement and buy-in. Social empowerment required that each of our endeavors resulted in the local communitys capacity to share the knowledge and replicate the training that was offered. The promise of sustainability curbed our efforts to engage only in projects that held the hope of long-term sustainability by the community itself. Years of collaboration among the womens cooperatives, WGC, a private Catholic university, and countless volunteers has demonstrated the unbounded potential of reaching across boundaries and barriers to build a more responsible sense of global citizenship in todays inequitable world society.