Africa Action: 2004 Baraza Report

Baraza Program 2004

List of Participants

Report from the Second Annual Baraza

Presentations on:

The State of Africa <

The State of U.S. Africa Policy <

(Mis)Representing Africa in the U.S. Media <

Baraza Photo Gallery

Baraza Brochure [pdf]

2nd Annual Baraza
“The U.S. & Africa: Questions that Need Answers”

December 3 & 4, 2004

Report

Africa Action held its second annual Baraza at George Washington University, Washington, DC on December 3 & 4, 2004. This year’s Baraza brought together 60 leading analysts and activists from the U.S. and Africa for two days of discussion on key trends and issues in U.S. Africa policy. Coming just one month after the U.S. Presidential elections, the Baraza provided an opportunity to review the state of U.S. Africa policy and to predict the trends and priorities likely to shape U.S. relations with Africa under a second Bush term. This year’s theme was "The U.S. & Africa: Questions that Need Answers."

Following the Baraza, Africa Action staff traveled to Atlanta and New York City with leading civil society leaders from Africa for a range of media and community events focused on analyzing the current state of U.S. policy toward Africa. For both the Baraza and the Tour, Africa Action hosted four leading African activists, each representing key sectors of civil society on the continent:

Rev. Dr. Molefe Tsele is General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches.

Matilda Moyo represented the Steering Committee of the Pan African Treatment Access Movement (PATAM), the continent-wide network advocating for access to essential medicines for all people living with HIV/AIDS.

Rt. Rev. Peter Njenga, retired Anglican Bishop of Kenya, is a long-time advocate for social and economic justice in Kenya and throughout Africa.

Muthoni Wanyeki is Executive Director of the African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) based in Kenya. Muthoni had also attended last year’s Baraza, where she was a lead presenter, helping to frame the 2-day conference and tour events.

The following is a short summary of the content of this year’s Baraza:

Thursday evening, December 2

Africa Action staff and board hosted our African guests for dinner at Zed’s Ethiopian Cuisine in Georgetown. This provided an opportunity for hosts and guests to get to know each other and to share what brought each person to the Baraza and to social justice work more broadly.

Friday, December 3

The second annual Baraza opened with a Welcome Note from Salih Booker, Executive Director of Africa Action. The Morning Plenary featured two speakers whose presentations framed the two days of discussion that lay ahead. Muthoni Wanyeki of FEMNET offered her remarks on “The State of Africa” (read presentation), highlighting in particular the issues of HIV/AIDS and conflict. Muthoni also emphasized some key elements of U.S. foreign policy under the Bush Administration – the erosion of secularism, the retreat from multilateralism, the “war on terror” – and talked about how they impact Africa. Ann-Louise Colgan of Africa Action gave a presentation on “The State of U.S. Africa Policy” (read presentation), which talked about the duplicity that characterizes the Bush Administration’s Africa policy. She discussed how Africa’s priorities are marginalized by U.S. concerns with oil and military relations, while at the same time the Bush White House is misleading the public by claiming it is taking action on AIDS and on development assistance as part of its compassionate conservative agenda.

These presentations were followed by a lively discussion of the motivators of U.S. Africa policy and of strategies that seek to strengthen Africa’s constituencies in the U.S. in order to influence the evolution of U.S. policies toward the continent.

Following a short break, we re-convened for two concurrent panels. “Who You Gonna Call?: When Intervention is Necessary in Africa” featured three speakers – Bill Fletcher, Jr of TransAfrica Forum, John Prendergast of the International Crisis Group and Emira Woods of Foreign Policy in Focus – and was moderated by Salih Booker of Africa Action. The panelists discussed the controversial issue of international intervention and some previous examples of such. Their remarks were followed by a vigorous discussion of whether U.S. intervention in Africa is ever justified or desirable, and of the other options available to the U.S. and the international community when it comes to addressing genocide and other crimes and against humanity. This panel helped to shape Africa Action’s position on the genocide in Darfur, as reflected in a statement released on December 10th.

“Washington’s Picks: The Trend toward Selectivity in U.S. Africa policy” featured three panelists – Imani Countess of the American Friends Service Committee, William Martin of SUNY-Binghamton and Edmond Keller of UCLA – and was moderated by Marie Clarke Brill of Africa Action. Discussions in this panel centered on whether selectivity was really a “new” trend in U.S. Africa policy, and on what its previous implications have been. There was also discussion about strategies to engage young people and others in the U.S. in shaping the course of U.S. Africa policy.

After lunch, we re-convened for two further concurrent panels. “The Answer to AIDS in Africa: How the Pandemic Can Be Defeated” featured two panelists – Matilda Moyo of the Pan African Treatment Access Movement and Adam Taylor of Global Justice – and was moderated by Ann-Louise Colgan from Africa Action. The panelists analyzed the politics of the HIV/AID crisis in Africa and the U.S. and international response. The group discussed the need for strategies to take into account the specific factors that fuel HIV/AIDS in each country and region, and talked about issues of funding, gender inequality and prevention and treatment programs.

“Follow the Money: US-Africa Economic Ties” featured Njoki Njehu of 50 Years is Enough, Marie Clarke Brill of Africa Action and Horace Campbell of Syracuse University, and the panel was moderated by Howard Wolpe of the Woodrow Wilson Center. The panelists discussed the range of U.S. economic relations with Africa, including trade & investment, debt and foreign aid. The discussion moved beyond U.S. Africa relations to talk about the role of corporations and the international financial institutions in Africa and the need for greater accountability on the part of these actors for their impact in African countries.

The day ended with a Closing Plenary. Rapporteurs from each of the concurrent panels – Petra Stankard, Andre Banks, Jakeya Caruthers and Healy Thompson – reported back on the key points from that panel. At the end of this session, Africa Action staff distributed Baraza Thank You gifts to all participants.

Saturday, December 4

The second day of the Baraza opened with a plenary session entitled, “How to Make Friends and Influence U.S. Foreign Policy: Historic Precedents & Current Strategies.” This panel featured Ronald Walters from the University of Maryland, Aram Hamparian from the Armenian National Committee of Africa, and Salih Booker of Africa Action. Joe Volk from the Friends Committee on National Legislation acted as moderator.

Ronald Walters talked about the need to connect the domestic struggle against racism with the struggle for justice in Africa policy, and the need for campaigning and political engagement to put Africa on the policymakers’ agenda. Aram Hamparian outlined some strategies to influence U.S. foreign policy, and emphasized the need to identify a constituency and then broaden it through good advocacy, communications and networking. Salih Booker talked about the lessons learned from the anti-apartheid struggle in the U.S., with which Africa Action’s predecessor organizations had been so engaged. He also emphasized the importance of joining framing and mobilizing efforts in order to aggregate power and influence policy. The larger discussion and debate explored coalition-building strategies and the notion of an “authentic voice” for constituencies in this country.

After a short break, we re-convened for two concurrent panels before lunch, both on “Africa’s Giants”. “The Future of U.S. Relations with Nigeria” included presentations from Leslie Fields, formerly of Friends of the Earth,2 and Ambassador Howard Jeter of Good Works International. Mobolaji Aluko of Howard University moderated this panel. The panelists’ remarks outlined the environmental, social, political and economic issues that Nigeria faces, and the challenges these pose to the U.S. The discussion centered on the importance of oil in the current definition of U.S. interests in Nigeria and the need for Nigerians to re-define their own agenda to reflect the needs and interests of Nigerians in the U.S. and at home.

The panel on “The Future of U.S. Relations with South Africa” featured three panelists – Rev. Dr. Molefe Tsele of the South African Council of Churches, Daniel Ngwepe of the Embassy of South Africa, and Jennifer Davis of the Washington Office on Africa – and was moderated by Jim Cason from AllAfrica.com. The panelists talked about the progress made in South Africa in the decade since the fall of apartheid, and about the challenges the country still faces. The group discussed the key elements of U.S. relations with South Africa, and South Africa’s importance as a political and economic power on the African continent.

After lunch, the afternoon plenary was entitled “Oogaboogajournalism: (Mis)representing Africa in the U.S. Media.” This panel featured Lynne Duke of The Washington Post, Hugh Hamilton of WBAI Radio (read presentation), Marie Nelson of ABC Nightline and Gumisai Mutume of Africa Renewal. Makani Themba Nixon of The Praxis Project moderated this panel discussion.

Lynne Duke spoke about her experiences working as a journalist in Africa and about the “Afrophobia” that shapes the perspective of many journalists before they even arrive on the continent. She highlighted the general absence of training for journalists in how to work in the developing world and in the historical dynamics that shape the realities of these environments and the news that they cover. Hugh Hamilton talked about the commercial consolidation of the media and the ways in which this reduces diversity and minority-ownership of media outlets. He also discussed how race defines the perspective of the U.S. media when it comes to Africa. Marie Nelson shared her experience as a journalist who has sought to increase and improve coverage of Africa from within a major network. She urged senior staff from advocacy organizations to meet with producers and media executives to make the case for better coverage. Gumisai Mutume talked about the negative stereotypes about Africa that pervade in this country and that bring the media to relegate the positive and highlight the negative in coverage about Africa. He also noted the difference in tone between news coverage on Africa and travel writing on Africa. (read presentation)

After this, we had a short session entitled “African Oracles: A Forecast for Africa in 2005,” where Rt. Rev. Peter Njenga, retired Anglican Bishop of Kenya and Matilda Moyo of the Pan African Treatment Access Movement offered their reflections on Africa’s challenges and on the keys to unlocking the continent’s great potential. Bishop Njenga helped us appreciate an important practice of a “Baraza” – the principle that each person has wisdom and therefore each must speak. Matilda talked about her work with a project called “Fast Forwarding to the Future” or “Triple F”, part of MWENGO in Zimbabwe (see http://www.mwengo.org/units/rd/fff.htm)

The Baraza ended with a Final Plenary. Rapporteurs Akenji Ndumu and Milkah Kihunah reported back from the morning panels on Nigeria and South Africa. Salih Booker closed the Baraza by requesting final comments from participants and by singling out, in particular, those who had not yet spoken. At the end of the Baraza, we celebrated the success of this event at a reception featuring African beverages and a variety of tasty snacks.

In the evaluation forms gathered by staff, the consensus among participants was that the 2004 Baraza had met its objectives of identifying key trends and priorities in U.S. Africa relations and facilitating a discussion on these issues among a diverse group of well-informed participants.

Below is the itinerary for the Tour that took place in New York City and Atlanta after the Baraza:

Atlanta Program

Sunday, December 5

Morning: Speak at services at two Atlanta Churches

Afternoon: Heritage Power Sunday

“U.S. and Africa – The Current Crossroads”
Hosted by the Religious Heritage of the African World

Evening: Dinner hosted by Joe Beasley of Rainbow PUSH

Monday, December 6

Morning: Concerned Black Clergy Meeting

Lunch: Lunch with the Womanist Department of ITC

Afternoon: Radio Free Georgia / CNN International interviews

Evening: “The Politics of AIDS in Africa”

Clark Atlanta University

New York Program

Sunday, December 5

Morning: Public Forum at Riverside Church

“Emerging Trends in Africa”
Arranged with Rev. Jim Fitzgerald