Building on Its Own Terms: Africa at a Crossroads

It is common to underestimate the extent of the changes that have taken place in Africa in terms of improved health conditions and life expectancy, access to higher education, cultural influence, and vibrancy in many areas of everyday life. However, external observers tend to focus on the accumulating problems: the gap in per capita income, as measured by the gross domestic product in purchasing power parity, is widening between the continent and the rest of the world. The population explosion results in a large number of young people who may end up unemployed – even though it is in Africa that the working-age population is growing the fastest. Development is hindered by a lack of infrastructure, governance issues, instability, conflicts, not to mention the continent’s significant vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters. This roundtable is not intended to offer lessons on development to Africa, but to bring together perspectives from foreign actors involved in Africa and from Africans whose initiatives demonstrate the continent’s dynamism. It also aims to avoid a gloomy and reductionist narrative and to discuss “Africa” as if the continent were not characterized by extreme diversity. Finally, it seeks to debate how international integration, through foreign investments, international trade, and aid, can contribute to development as envisioned by Africans.