Representations of Africa: Africa at Davos

As I mentioned in class today, the state of Africa was a hot button issue at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Embedded here are two videos from the WEF:

The first is The State of Africa; a round table discussion of the political and economic climate of Africa as a continent in light of recent democratic elections and the global economic crisis _{(runtime 1:04:32)}

The second is The Promise of Africa; highlights of a discussion from an earlier WEF about the progress and direction of humanitarian aid work in Africa. The talk paid special attention to questions of whether or not Africa itself was capable of operating autonomously once the aid had been delivered. _{(runtime: 8:16)}

The three questions that framed this panel were:

1) What are African governments doing to create the conditions for sustainable growth? Is governance improving?
2) Are G8 and other donor countries on track to meet commitments made at the Gleneagles and UN summits?
3) What concrete steps should be taken in the coming year to maintain momentum for the continent?