Accra-Ghana, Dec. 18, GNA – The Africa Prosperity Network (APN) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat will host African heads of state and top business leaders, among others at the next Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD) in Ghana from January 25 – 27, 2024.
The three-day dialogue is on the theme: “Delivering Prosperity in Africa – Produce, Add Value, Trade,” and will be hosted by President Nana Akufo-Addo.
The APD 2024 Retreat will take place at the Peduase Presidential Lodge, Aburi Hills, in the Eastern Region.
Heads of international development institutions, foreign investors, social change-makers, and other Pan-African thought leaders will also attend.
Ahead of the high-profile conference in Ghana, the APN Secretariat, in collaboration with AfCFTA, will organise a media webinar tomorrow, December 19, to unpack and discuss issues pertinent to the realisation of the AfCFTA’s single market focus – collective ownership by the people of Africa.
Themed: “What Do You Know About the AfCFTA ― and Why Should the Media Care?”, the discussions will examine the media’s role in mobilising mass engagement and participation in the AfCFTA and the opportunities it brings, especially as it is of immense benefit for the growth of SMEs in Global Africa (the sixth region of Africa).
A release issued by the APN Communication Directorate in Accra said Tuesday’s webinar would feature some of Africa’s media heavyweights; Audrey Gadzekpo, Samuel Atta-Mensah, Elizabeth Ohene, Ferial Haffajee, Joel Kibazo, Charles Onyango-Obbo, Andrew Mwenda, Mariama Sy Ba, David Ndii, Noo Saro-Wiwa and Dele Momodu.
They will discuss ways of internalising and normalising the unfolding reality of facilitating the free movement of people, goods and services among Africa’s 1.4 billion population.
It is also to prompt both AfCFTA actors and influential media players to do more to persuade Africans to tap into the potential of intra-African trade.
A major question that will emerge will be: “What can AfCFTA and member states do to support the media to build public education about the new, open Africa, and how seriously do African journalists themselves take the task of spreading the message?”
The AfCFTA, APN’s principal partner, has been at the forefront of Africa’s new trade paradigm and brought a new lease of life to the continent’s efforts of building the world’s largest single market.
But the lingering question of how to realise the single market through actionable and bankable policy positions has been brought to the fore, the release said.
The media webinar is essentially to get participants to explore and strategise on information-dissemination services and how they can engage and inform people across Africa and the global audiences, to participate actively in the AfCFTA and capitalise on the opportunities it presents.
There will be a presidential dinner gala and the Africa Prosperity Champions Awards ceremony on the night of January 26 at the Kempinski Gold Coast City Hotel in Accra.
