Jambo Africa Online’s “African Diary” is a section which announces the major multilateral meetings which will be taken place on the continent convened by such institutions as the African Union (AU); AfCFTA Secretariat; Economic Commission on Africa; Regional Economic Communities Business Councils (such as COMESA); and pan African business chamber federations such as the Africa Business Council (AfBC) and the Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PACCI)…
55th session of the Economic Commission for Africa
Fostering recovery and transformation in Africa to reduce inequalities and vulnerabilities
15 March, 202321 March, 2023, Addis Ababa
The fifty-fifth session of the Economic Commission for Africa consists of a preparatory meeting of the Committee of Experts of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, followed by the ministerial segment of the Conference. In addition to considering the statutory matters of the Commission, the Conference is one of the premier forums on the continent for dialogue and exchanges of views among African ministers responsible for finance, planning and economic development and governors of central banks on issues pertinent to the development agenda of Africa.
Theme of the fifty-fifth session
The theme of the fifty-fifth session of the Commission will be “Fostering recovery and transformation in Africa to reduce inequalities and vulnerabilities”.
High rates of growth in the past two decades have resulted in reduced poverty levels in Africa, with the share of the population living in extreme poverty decreasing from 55 to 35 per cent between 2000 and 2019.
Nonetheless, a staggering 667 million people (39.2 per cent of the total population) still live in extreme poverty in 2022. Alarmingly, global shocks are turning millions of vulnerable people into the continent’s new poor, reversing decades of progress. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed an additional 55 million Africans below the poverty line, and the impact of the war in Ukraine is expected to further compound the challenge.
Even when growth rates were high in Africa, everyone did not benefit equally. For example, between 2004 and 2019, the top 10 per cent of wage earners received about 75 per cent of total income. High inequality, along with high levels of poverty, creates a vicious cycle in which structural bottlenecks persist, rendering the population in Africa perennially vulnerable to both economic and non-economic shocks. The ability of African countries to effectively tackle poverty and inequality is now severely constrained given declining economic growth, narrowing fiscal space, rising debt, commodity shocks and tightening global financial conditions. The risk of missing the poverty and inequality targets set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, of the African Union, is higher than it has ever been before.
The aim of the fifty-fifth session of the Commission is thus to renew focus and action on reducing poverty, inequality and other factors that leave the African population continuously vulnerable to these scourges.
Recovery efforts must be pro-poor and inclusive, with a view to fostering a new social contract that offers equal opportunity for all.
Considerable opportunities to reach these goals exist on the continent and beyond, including through activities carried out under the African Continental Free Trade Area, green investments, digital transformation and reforms to the global financial architecture.
Ninth session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development
The Ninth session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-9) will be convened in Niamey from 28 February to 2 March 2023. The Forum is organized jointly by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Government of Niger, in collaboration with the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank and other entities in the United Nations system.
The theme of the ninth session of the Regional Forum is “Accelerating the inclusive and green recovery from multiple crises and the integrated and full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063.” During the session, an in-depth review will be undertaken of progress made in the implementation of five selected Sustainable Development Goals, namely Goals 6 (clean water and sanitation); 7 (affordable and clean energy); 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure); 11 (sustainable cities and communities); and 17 (partnerships for the Goals) and the corresponding goals of Agenda 2063.
The Regional Forum will also serve as a platform for the sharing of experiences, good practices and lessons learned in efforts to implement the two agendas. In addition, participants will identify and build a consensus on policy options and actions, to be adopted in the form of key messages and a declaration, to drive actions towards accelerated, inclusive, and green recovery from the multiple crises alongside the full implementation of the two Agendas. The key messages and the declaration will also serve as the collective African input to the 2023 high-level political forum on sustainable development, to be held in New York from 10 to 20 July 2023; and Sustainable Developments Goals Summit at Heads of State and Government high level week in September 2023.
The Regional Forum will bring together ministers and other high-level policymakers and experts from Governments and intergovernmental organizations, the private sector, civil society organizations and other major groups, and international development partners.
The Regional Forum will be held in a hybrid format, allowing for both in-person and online participation. The details for both options will be made available as soon as they are finalized.
Energy Modelling Platform for Africa (EMP-A) – 2023
11 April, 202328 April, 2023
online and at the University of Namibia
The main objective of the EMP-A 2023 is to contribute to creating optimised investments for the energy transition in Africa to meet the continent’s growing demand for low-carbon, inclusive, and climate-resilient development pathways whilst accessing its large resource base. It is an excellent opportunity to acquire free training, access to discussion forums, and coaching skills in models and tools for energy planning needs.
To accommodate growing participation and resounding calls for more dedication sessions, all 5 tracks are currently being translated to French to increase accessibility.
EMP-A 2023 will take place from 11th April to 28th April 2023 and is a hybrid event (online and at the University of Namibia). In person training will occur from April 17th – April 28th.
Funding may be available for accommodation and flights to Namibia for successful applicants who apply before the 17th February.
The full concept note will be added here at the start of January.
You can apply to be trained in one of the following energy modelling tools:
- OSeMOSYS and FlexTool (Windows and MAC OS)
- CLEWs
- EBS and MAED
- OnSSET
- FinPlan
How to Apply
As part of the application, you will need to complete the Open University course for the tool you wish to be trained in.
For example: if you would like to apply for OSeMOSYS and FlexTool, you would need to complete the course on the Open University website for OSeMOSYS and FlexTool.
Once completed, you will receive a certificate from the Open University. The certificate must be attached to your application form.
All the courses are available free via the Open University (OU) [Links open in a new tab].
Please watch the following video [opens in new tab] to understand how to complete the Open University course.
For full application details, please see section below.
Application Period – 21st December 22 to 24th March 23
- 17th February – first deadline for application for participants wanting to travel to Namibia
- 1st March – first group of applicants get notified of success or failure, of travel funding or online acceptance
- 17th March – second application deadline for participants wanting to join online training
- 24th March – notification of success or failure for online applicants.
As above, please note that the certificate for your course must be attached with the application form.
Training Period
- Induction Session, 7th April, Online Information about how the event should be approached and the importance of modelling and its applications. Case Studies examples given
- 11th April until 14th April – Week 1 of training, Online Coaching sessions to be conducted, teaching further modelling knowledge to participants
- 17th April until 21st April – Week 2 of training, Hybrid In depth analysis to be conducted by participants, working on their country case studies
- 24th April tol 26th April – Week 3 of training, Hybrid Participants to prepare poster and presentation on their case study
- 27th April to 28th April – High Level and Roundtable Meetings, Hybrid High-Level Meeting on the 27th followed by Roundtable Meeting on the 28th
Application
Please follow the link to apply: https://share-eu1.hsforms.com/1lRVUa0QCQ9GBtQeRtkroUgexfzv
[opens in new tab]
Please note, for you application to be successful you will need to have completed the OU track in your chosen tool. If you are attending the course in person, you will need to bring your own computer that meets the course requirements.
If you have any questions about any part of the EMP-A please get in touch with Rudolf Yeganyan.