[The online debate to have input into the Government of Holland's
development assistance policies continues. Read on. YES Moderator]
SHAPING a NEW AFRICA @ Baobabconnections.org
We are in week 4 now of the SHAPING A NEW AFRICA debate, almost half way.
This weeks topic is economy, PRO POOR GROWTH.
Do Local African business and WTO go hand in hand? or is there a little
more to say about this? Join the discussion and make your voice heared at :
http://www.baobabconnections.org/forum.php?mag=10
Keep sending it to your friends and networks.
We look forward to seeing you online.
Greetings
The Baobabconnections team.
Position : PRO POOR GROWTH (24-30 November 2003)
The Africa policy paper does not recognise the fact that in many parts of
Africa, local entrepreneurs are already doing business successfully. What
matters is finding a synergy between the Western business style and the
African way of doing business, which also functions when states do not.
INTRODUCTION
Sustainable and economic growth are fundamental conditions for combating
poverty directly, through work and income generation and, indirectly, as
they form the economic and fiscal basis upon which investment in social
infrastructure can be financed. Growth itself, however, is not enough. In
so far as possible, growth must contribute to improvements in the position
of the poor, which should be the focus of enabling governmental policy on
poverty eradication. Much depends on the further development of the African
private sector, which must form the basis of a growing market economy.
The focus on economic development and growth in the Africa policy paper is
justified. But what matters is not the adoption of a Western form of
economic development in terms of growth in productivity, increasing market
share, innovation and protection from a state-guaranteed enabling
environment, but a truly African manner of entrepreneurship that actually
succeeds in doing business in the absence of an enabling environment,
nationally and internationally. The latter was again demonstrated by the
stalemate that was reached at the WTO summit in Cancun (September 2003),
which showed the muscle of a united front of developing countries, called
the G21, but which also left them with empty hands. Given these
extraordinary difficulties in establishing, maintaining and expanding a
business enterprise, new approaches will have to be identified by learning
from successful examples in Africa itself.
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go straight to the debate:
http://www.baobabconnections.org/forum.php?mag=10
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AN OVERVIEW OF THE EVENT: SHAPING A NEW AFRICA
Online debate for youth in Africa and The Netherlands
Seven topics, seven weeks, seven opportunities to influence Dutch policy on
Africa.
November 5th - December 19th 2003
Join our African debate at www.baobabconnections.org
Do you know that the Dutch government takes decisions that directly affect
Africa? Most of the time we only hear one side of the story. Not anymore!
Get in touch with Baobabconnections and find out what young people in
Africa and The Netherlands think about the Dutch policy towards Africa. Do
you agree with them?
JOIN OUR ONLINE DEBATE
Baobabconnections invites you to take part in an online debate on the New
Dutch Africa Memorandum. Starting on November 5th 2003, we will host an
international forum on our website where youth from Africa and The
Netherlands will share ideas and opinions on seven different topics,
concerning the Dutch Africa policy. Every week for a period of seven weeks
we will launch a new topic on our website and we invite everybody to take
part in our online discussion. The most creative and innovative responses
will be discussed with the Minister of Development Cooperation at the
Africa Conference in April 2004.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
Africa is in the process of reshaping itself, refinding and expressing its
strength. Africa is exploring the road towards African unity, preparing
itself for a stronger global political presence.
At the same time the current Dutch political debate on development in
Africa is increasingly dominated by gloom and doom. The image people have
of Africa is one of starvation, poverty and HIV/Aids. Many Dutch people can
only think that government policies and development efforts have failed
completely in Africa.
These two viewpoints are rather conflicting and stress the need to have
African and Dutch people share their views. SHAPING A NEW AFRICA wants to
establish such a dialogue and stimulate an open-minded debate on
alternative policies towards Africa.
Finally, through the use of the internet, Africans can have a say in
policies that directly influence The Continent. So it is time to let your
voice be heard and take part in this dialogue.
We need to do this together!
ABOUT BAOBABCONNECTIONS
Baobabconnections is a website on globalization where young people from
Africa and The Netherlands meet each other and share ideas. Currently we
have over a thousand members in 80 countries and our online community is a
truly global network. Baobabconnections organizes this online debate in
cooperation with NCDO, the Netherlands Institute for Southern Africa (NiZA)
and SAHAN Consultancy.
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