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HomeAfricaAfrica FactBook Stakeholders and Fundraising Conference Targets US$12 000

Africa FactBook Stakeholders and Fundraising Conference Targets US$12 000

The Book of African Records (BAR) and African Union Commission (AUC),together with the Research Council of Zimbabwe (RCZ) are hosting a high-level conference ,which is targeting to raise US$12 000 , of key stakeholders in the publishing of the Africa Fact-book meant to sensitiize on the importance and process of compiling the Africa Fact book

The African Fact-book also aims to map, understand and acknowledge existing initiatives and processes on the continent that can feed into the book.

The conference shall be held on the 5th of March 2018 in Harare and comes against the background of a need to consult extensively in order to create buy-in and support of key stakeholders in order to ensure that various resources and expertise, on the continent and beyond, are harnessed.

Invited stakeholders include, but are not limited to, official representatives of governments (mostly ambassadors), businesses, philanthropists, potential funders, academics and researchers, African regional economic communities, publishers, statisticians, inter-governmental agencies and
non-governmental organizations, among others. and at least 120 delegates are targeted.

BAR will be supported by the Institute of African Knowledge.

The Africa Fact book seeks to cover gaps in the continuum of knowledge management, particularly the absence of a comprehensive, reliable home-grown reference source on Africa by Africans.

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In essence, the Africa Fact book will serve as a reference source for useful facts about Africa and the African people for the purpose of information  dissemination, education, entertainment, reference, statistics and documentation.

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Africa is the second fastest developing region after Eastern Asia.1 The Continent’s vision for development is outlined in the Agenda 2063 and anchored in the globally agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

While these two development frameworks address development across all sectors including political, economic, social, technological and environmental, among others, they also acknowledge data and information as a key building block to the Continent’s development agenda.

The Agenda 2063 as well as the SDGs acknowledge the place of knowledge management throughout the continuum of generation, storage, dissemination and utilization. For Africa to develop, its Governments, researchers, thinkers, academics, business and populace in general need true, scientific and comprehensive information about the countries’ economies, geography, politics and social aspects, among other areas of development.

This information can be used for development planning, policy formulation and/or monitoring and evaluation of the African development agenda.
However, despite all its strides and potential for development, Africa still lacks an authentic and comprehensive home-grown source of dataand information.

In order to address this information gap, the African Union Commission (AUC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Book of African Records (BAR) in December 2016 which mandated the latter to publish the Africa Factbook.

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A follow up resolution of the Second Ordinary Session of the African Union’s Specialized Technical Committee on Communication and ICT (STC CICT-2) cemented the relationship between the AUC and the BAR. Article 1 of the committee session declaration reiterated the African Union’s commitment to the Book of African Records while article 25 is a resolution for ‘Member states to adopt the Africa Factbook as an educational tool, to enhance their knowledge of and pride in Africa.’

The conference shall facilitate dialogue on the process and benefits of compiling a home-grown reference source for Africa. Discussions will provide recommendations, networks and contacts for the purpose of funding, publishing, marketing, distribution and utilisation of the Africa Factbook across Africa and world-wide.

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Multi-award winning journalist/photojournalist with keen interests in politics, youth, child rights, women and development issues. Follow Lovejoy On Twitter @L_JayMut

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