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Portugal: Eurafrican Forum to promote”trust” between Europe and Africa
4:25 CAT | 09 Jul 2018
Promoting economic and social development and promoting trust between Europe and Africa are the main objectives of the 1st Eurafrican Forum to be held on 10 July in Cascais, some 30 kilometres west of the Portuguese capital, according to the event’s organisers .
“There has always been some mistrust in the relationship between Europe and Africa. We want to create partnerships that lead to change and help create trust,” said the president of the Portuguese Diaspora Council, Felipe de Botton, which is organising the forum.
The event, which is “dedicated to Africa as a whole, not just Portuguese-speaking Africa, and Europe as a whole,” pays particular attention to new generations.
“By 2100, 40% of the world’s population will live in Africa and this population is very young. We want to see areas where we can cooperate to overcome the challenges of economic and social development so that young Africans can have a future in their country of origin,” said de Botton.
According to Botton, it will be possible to help create wealth and jobs and “minimise the negative consequences of migratory flows,” adding, “it is not worth pretending that this problem does not exist, we cannot talk about relations between Europe and Africa without mentioning migratory flows.”
To this end, “a climate of trust must be created between Europeans and Africans,” he continued, noting that this is a central theme of the forum.
In addition, issues such as sharing of resources and infrastructure between the two continents will be highlighted in order to create a “multiplying effect” and generate wealth, “the acceleration of the fourth industrial revolution in Africa and the promotion of “African diasporas.”
Botton noted that the choice of speakers deliberately focused on civil society.
“We will have activists, entrepreneurs, leaders of non-governmental organisations,” attending the forum, he said.
The event brings together African and European leaders, notably Mariéme Jamme, founder of I Am The Code; Sophia Bekele, president of CBS International and founder and CEO of DotConnectAfrica; Kola Karim, founder and president of the Shoreline Group; Hitesh Anadkat, president of First Merchant Bank; Saran Kaba Jones, founder and president of Face Africa and Manuel Mota, president of Mota-Engil Africa, among others.
The forum will be chaired by former Portuguese prime minister, former president of the European Commission and current non-executive chairman of Goldman Sachs, José Manuel Durão Barroso.
Source: Lusa
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