Greetings of peace, light and blessing from Africa
Representing URI, I took part in the seventh African Development Forum (ADF VII) which was held in Addis Ababa at the United Nations Conference Center from October 10-15th, 2010 under the theme of " Acting on Climate Change for Sustainable Development in Africa". The meeting was organized by the African Union. the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the African Development Bank. The meeting was attended by all stakeholders from across the African Continent governments, civil society, the private sector, the UN Agencies etc
The Seventh African Development Forum (ADF VII) was aimed at providing a multi-stakeholder platform to discuss and build consensus on climate change for sustainable development. The Forum offer an opportunity to exchange information, knowledge and experience on how best Africa can and should cope with climate change through effective action on policies, strategies, programmes and practices.
The overall objective of the Forum was to raise awareness and mobilize effective commitment and actions on the part of all stakeholders and partners at all levels to effectively mainstream climate change concerns into development policies, strategies, programmes and practices in Africa. ADF VII also aims to strengthen Africa’s participation in the international climate change negotiations with a view to ensuring adequate reflection of the continent’s concerns and priorities in a post-2012 international climate change regime.
In addition, ADF VII objective was also to strengthen the African common position in the ongoing international negotiations, by raising awareness and building consensus among all African stakeholders and with development partners on Africa’s concerns and expectations for a post-2012 global climate change agreement.
The forum meeting gave momentum to Africa’s Common Position on Climate Change in preparation for the international climate change negotiations in Cancun, Mexico; and to build and strengthen new strategic alliances and partnerships to further Africa’s climate change agenda.
In this forum URI Africa manage to make more partnership with different organizations in Africa working on the issue of environment and development.
The African Development Forum is an initiative led by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) to establish an African-driven development agenda that reflects a consensus among major partners and that leads to specific programmes for country implementation
While the economic performance of many African countries has improved over the last five years, this improvement remains fragile. There is need to deepen and sustain it, with emphasis on policy reforms and good governance, taking into account the intensely competitive global environment which requires a shift in planning and delivery of development to larger regional units. New forms of partnerships are needed- partnerships where Africa takes the lead in forming a new, shared vision of the continent, setting the development agenda and implementing it with appropriate support from the international community.
The aim of the African Development Forum is to present the key stakeholders in African development (governments, civil society, the private sector, researchers and academics, intergovernmental organisations and donors) with the results of current research and opinion on key development issues in order to formulate shared goals and priorities, draft action programmes and define the environment that will enable African countries to implement these programmes. The Forum will meet annually on a different development issue
May Peace Prevail on Earth
