From 17 – 19 June 2002, over three hundred scholars from the African continent held a meeting under the auspices of the Renaissance South Africa Outreach Programme in Pretoria. The meeting provided African scholars with a platform to deliberate on and inform the debate on the Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) in light of the forthcoming Summit of the AU. The objectives of the meeting were:
- To critically engage with the NEPAD process
- To explore the role and responsibility of the African scholarly community in realising the goals of NEPAD.
The meeting was addressed by the South African Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who welcomed participants, and the Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, Dr Ben Ngubane, who introduced the South African President, Mr Thabo Mbeki. The meeting represented a unique opportunity as it was informed by an interactive dialogue between President Mbeki and experts participating at the conference.
What follows is a summary of the substantive debates that emerged from the two and a half days of deliberation and consultation. This report is divided into three parts: a general overview, a critique of NEPAD, and recommendations.
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