SEATTLE — Through the implementation of Agenda 2063, Africa is ahead of the game in achieving the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In 2013, Agenda 2063 was adopted by Africa’s political leaders as a plan for bettering the course of the continent over the next 50 years. The purpose of the initiative — made up of eight goals — is to push Africa forward in terms of shared values, such as development and technological progress.
The intention of the Agenda’s long term nature is that it will allow the African Union the ability to keep track of changes over many years. However, there is also a large overlap between Agenda 2063 and the United Nation’s SDGs, which span the next 15 years. This should make Africa’s integration of the two initiatives much easier.
The Agenda was established at a pivotal moment in Africa’s history, during its 50th Anniversary Solemn Declaration, celebrating half a century since the establishment of the African Union.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the chairperson of the African Union Committee, said, in regards to the energy surrounding the proposal, that the act of commemorating the anniversary with such an ambitious project serves as a highlight to the pride felt by Africans towards their achievements of the past. However, it will not blind them to the pragmatic difficulties faced in increasing Pan-African solidarity.
As part of its implementation, Agenda 2063 will be comprised of rolling plans at the five, 10 and 15-year levels. It will oversee regional politics, institutional renewal and resource mobilization, all with the united goal of increasing pan-African pride and unity.
Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, the Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa, believes that this approach will allow for optimal integration of the plan with the SDGs, provided that the goals of each are not tackled in isolation, but rather as part of a collective whole.
Diamini-Zuma finished her speech with the following declaration: “Africans are proudly asserting their independent voice within the international community and setting the agenda, direction and pace of change in the region. Internationally, Africa is also once again cogently spoken of as a region of great untapped potential that is poised to play a more significant role in the global arena.”
– Sabrina Santos
Photo: Flickr