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Saint Lucia – [October 29, 2024]

The Pan-African Council extends its heartfelt congratulations to the organizers of the inaugural AI Global South Summit. This groundbreaking event, held in the stunning backdrop of Saint Lucia, successfully explored the transformative potential of AI and emerging technologies in fostering innovation and collaboration at the intersection of culture, technology, work futures, and education.

We are honored to have been an institutional partner of such a visionary initiative. The Summit’s focus on leveraging technology to empower the Global South (i.e. the youthful and energetic Global Majority) aligns perfectly with our organization’s mission to foster innovation and sustainable development across the African continent and beyond.

We look forward to the next edition of the AI Global South Summit, where we can continue to collaborate and scale up our efforts to harness the power of AI for the benefit of our communities. Let’s work together to build a future where technology serves as a catalyst for cultural preservation, socioeconomic prosperity, and social justice.

Congratulations once again on a remarkable achievement!

About the AI Global South Summit

The AI Global South Summit Foundation is committed to fostering innovation and collaboration at the intersection of culture, technology, work futures, and education. Our mission is to bring together diverse voices—experts, practitioners, industry leaders, educators, and cultural custodians—to explore how AI and emerging technologies can be leveraged to preserve and promote cultural heritage across the Global South, while addressing the transformative impacts of these technologies on work and education.

By facilitating knowledge exchange and collaboration, the summit aims to create opportunities for sustainable growth in the creative sectors, ensuring the protection of both tangible and intangible cultural assets—from languages and traditions to music and art. Additionally, we seek to explore how AI can shape future workforces and educational models, empowering communities to harness these technologies to build vibrant, resilient, and culturally rich futures. Through these efforts, we strive to equip individuals with the tools and insights necessary to thrive in our changing digital landscape.

About the Pan-African Council

The Pan-African Council (PAC) is the premier global leadership and strategic development organization committed to advancing and uniting Africa and her Diaspora through international cooperation in the political, economic, and social spheres.

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PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nairobi, Kenya – [August 19, 2024] – The Pan-African Council and Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) are thrilled to announce the upcoming East Africa Diaspora Investment Symposium, a dynamic platform designed to catalyze investment and economic growth in the region. The event will take place on Friday, September 27th, 2024, at the DTB Centre Conference Hall in Nairobi, Kenya.

Under the theme “Empowering the African Diaspora to Accelerate Trade, Investment, and Economic Growth in East Africa,” the symposium will bring together influential stakeholders from the African diaspora, private sector, and government to explore lucrative investment opportunities across various sectors, including agribusiness, tourism, real estate, manufacturing, technology, and logistics.

Kenya, as a thriving economic hub, serves as an ideal gateway to the East African market. The symposium will provide invaluable insights into the region’s investment landscape, offering attendees the chance to connect with potential partners, access expert advice, and gain a comprehensive understanding of the business environment.

“We are excited to partner with Diamond Trust Bank on this groundbreaking initiative,” said Fabien Anthony, Chairman of the Pan-African Council. “The African diaspora possesses immense potential to drive economic development in the region, and this symposium is a crucial step in unlocking that potential.”

Through engaging panel discussions, keynote speeches, and networking opportunities, the event will address critical topics such as market entry strategies, immigration, banking services, regulatory frameworks, financing options, and talent development. Attendees will gain practical knowledge and actionable insights to facilitate their investment endeavors in East Africa. “DTB is committed to supporting the growth and prosperity of the African continent,” said Shelmith Gichuki, Diaspora Banking Relationship Manager at Diamond Trust Bank. “By partnering with the Pan-African Council, we aim to create a conducive environment for diaspora investment and contribute to the economic transformation of East Africa.”

The East Africa Diaspora Investment Symposium is open to investors, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and policymakers seeking to explore opportunities in the region.

About Diamond Trust Bank

Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) is a leading regional bank, listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). As an affiliate of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), DTB has operated in East Africa for over seventy-five years. DTB’s focus has expanded to not only serve SME’s but also the agricultural, education and fintech sectors. The bank is also heavily investing in digital banking infrastructure to enable it strategically to increase its market penetration and offer cutting edge solutions.

About the Pan-African Council

The Pan-African Council (PAC) is the premier global leadership and strategic development organization committed to advancing and uniting Africa and her Diaspora through international cooperation in the political, economic, and social spheres.

Event Registration

To learn more and register for the symposium, please visit www.panafricancouncil.org/nairobi2024

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Media Contact:

Tatiana Mensah
media@panafricancouncil.org

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS  —

The AfriCaribean Diaspora Alliance has partnered with the Pan-African Council for a transformative symposium, “Accelerating Trade, Investment, and Job Growth in Africa and the Caribbean Through Sports Business Ecosystem” – to be held on the sidelines of the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum 2024 (ACTIF2024) – that is poised to shape the future of the African and Caribbean regions through a synergy of sports, culture, and business.

The symposium is an official side event at the AfriCaribbean Trade & Investment Forum (ACTIF2024), hosted by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Government of The Bahamas. Thousands of African, Caribbean, and global leaders from government, business, finance, sports, and other key sectors, will gather for ACTIF2024, which is being held under the theme, “Owning Our Destiny: Economic Prosperity on the Platform of Global Africa”.

Across Africa and the Caribbean, sports and creative industries have emerged as a powerful engine of growth and catalysts for building a thriving business ecosystem, fostering creativity, unlocking investments, and creating jobs for youth.

About

Through highly-interactive panel discussions and networking, the symposium aims to spur the sports business ecosystem in Africa, the Caribbean, and the broader Diaspora, fueling sustainable growth, job creation, and economic prosperity. Panel themes range from market insights and investment opportunities to infrastructure development, sports technology, and case studies on the sports business ecosystem. The half-day symposium will spark compelling dialogues and present a pipeline of investable projects in the regions.

African and Caribbean government officials, private sector leaders, sports figures, and tech innovators will present insights and case studies of how the sports business ecosystem is driving new businesses, tourism, job growth, and lucrative business and investment opportunities.

About AfriCaribbean Diaspora Alliance

The AfriCaribbean Diaspora Alliance is an alliance dedicated to building an economically vibrant and interconnected regional partnership that promotes trade, investment, and shared prosperity between Africa, the Caribbean, and the Diaspora.

To learn more and register for the symposium, please visit www.africaribbeanalliance.com.

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Media Contact:

Tatiana Mensah
media@panafricancouncil.org

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Africa and the Caribbean unite to build a common future.

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BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS — This past September 1-3, 2022, prominent business, political and cultural leaders from across Africa and the Caribbean gathered in Barbados for the inaugural AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF2022), a meeting initiated by Afreximbank, Export Barbados, and Invest Barbados with the support of the African Union, the AfCFTA Secretariat, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Caribbean Export Development Agency, the Africa Business Council, and the International Trade Centre.

The Pan-African Council joined a number of sponsors supporting the Forum’s central theme: “One People. One Destiny. Uniting and Reimagining Our Future”. The event boasted more than 1500 delegates from 90 countries of the world, including government officials, development partners, trade support institutions, investors and private sector leaders from both regions. On that account, ACTIF2022 aimed to help strengthen relations between the private sectors of the two regions to advance trade and investment.

The Hon. Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, set the tone of the Forum by delivering a gripping keynote address to an enthusiastic crowd highlighting that “Africa has been separated from the Caribbean region, not only by the Atlantic Ocean, but by centuries of few interactions, despite our shared common descent and history. Barbados, at this time, looks to Africa in pursuit of new relationships and partners with the aim of deepening engagement and cooperation with like-minded nations both bilaterally and multilaterally”.

She insisted that although African and Caribbean peoples have worked together for more than a century in the various Pan-African congresses, our political union, though essential were not sufficient “for the journey that must be made to reverse the underdevelopment of Africa and the underdevelopment of the Caribbean”. In the spirit of South-South cooperation – a concept and practice of cooperation and solidarity among regions of the global south historically disadvantaged by the world system – the Forum stressed the importance of deeper economic ties in order to fortify.

Topping the day’s agenda at ACTIF2022 are the business-to-business engagements and panel discussions on several topics, including:

• promoting trade and tourism while improving air links between the regions;
• accelerating industrialisation and manufacturing;
• developing special economic zones (SEZs) and industrial parks;
• improving infrastructure, financing and trade logistics, including regional integration;
• cooperating on health, climate change, and the energy transition;
• fomenting the conditions to accelerate private sector investment; and
• improving food security, agricultural productivity, and expanding agribusiness opportunities.

H.E. Professor Benedict Oramah, Afreximbank President and Chairman of the Board, pointed out that “both regions must forge a common front to harness several opportunities available, including the $27 trillion dollar North American markets”. Simultaneously, Secretary General of CARICOM, Dr. Carla Barnett, highlighted that the potential to do business with Africa was “tremendous” considering that the market represented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTFA) was set to reach US $6.7 trillion in value by 2035.

Fully capitalising on these prospects will entail clear objectives and targets, namely: mobilising the required resources and capabilities; establishing appropriate frameworks, institutions, and business processes; strengthening and streamlining infrastructure such as air and maritime distribution and transportation channels; mobilising all relevant stakeholders including the vast pool of bi-continental and Diaspora talent; and continuously identifying opportunities and creating awareness.

Accordingly, the strong linkages between Africa and the Caribbean based on a shared history, culture, concerns, and common sense of identity underpin the political and individual will for cooperation to fulfil the promises of the Forum. This natural congruence between the two regions have set a new bar in the battle for a more just and sustainable international social and economic order.

As a first step towards this new era of cooperation, ACTIF2022 will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the most historic events to inspire a new sense of hope, purpose, and dynamism among Caribbean and African peoples.

Africa and the Caribbean join forces in what is poised to be an exceptional and historic event to fortify political and economic ties between the two regions.

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The AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum 2022 (#ACTIF_2022), slated for Bridgetown, Barbados, from September 1–3, 2022, is designed to build new trade and investment relationships between Africa and the Caribbean. The Pan-African Council is proud to sponsor a platform that will fortify the inextricable link between the two regions; our shared history, identity, and philosophy bind us to a new, positive chapter of bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

Africa’s trade and investment outlook is promising. As the fastest growing continent in the world, the Brookings Institution projects that annual spending by African consumers and businesses will reach US$6.66 trillion by 2030, a 65% increase from 2015 figures. Given the continent’s economic potential, now is the time to increase trade and investment in Africa.

ACTIF 2022 will be held under the theme “One People, One Destiny: Uniting and Reimagining Our Future”. The Forum aims to foster the development of strategic partnerships between the business communities of Africa and the Caribbean, to bolster bilateral cooperation and increase engagement in trade, investment, technology transfer, innovation, tourism, culture, and other sectors.

For more information about the Forum, kindly visit: www.actif2022.com

The Pan-African Council (PAC) – Caribbean Region is launching its webinar series Caribbean Futures: A Youth Centred Approach on March 4th, 2021 @ 2:00pm EST. The series launch is in partnership with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and York University’s Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies (LA&PS).

The COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the recent spotlight on anti-Black racism has created a paradigm shift in the global discourse of neoliberal policies, which in turn has positioned the Caribbean in a familiar situation of alienation, where the region must reach internally to conceptualize solutions to address its current crises. As such, Caribbean Futures: A Centred Approach series acts as a bridge to foster intergenerational dialogue between Caribbean leaders and youth in thinking of Caribbean futures.

The overall goal of the webinar is to host a series of 8 conversations, in the hope that they that will lead to practical actions spearheaded by Caribbean youth in partnership with scholars, activists, political and community leaders. The dialogues and proposed action plans will address the following themes: anti-Black systemic racism; Education in the Caribbean; Access to Capital; Climate Justice; Food Sovereignty; Arts and Culture and the Tourism Industry. Part of the overall goal of the project is for participants to leave with the necessary tools and resources to disrupt the cycles of discrimination and exploitation that limit the progress and development of the Caribbean and its people.

Webinar attendance is free, register today!
www.panafricancouncil.org/carib2021