An African participants perspective on the Conference on civil society and Joint Africa-EU Strategy

This short article represents my views as one of the participants from Africa at this conference.

A joint EU- Africa strategy is a phenomenon that one would never have imagined a decade ago. More still a conference attended by a range of people from the two continents with the common purpose of shaping the joint strategy would be an unheard of thing even in the recent past.

Interactions between the two continents have always been shaped by the wielding of power and supremacy by European states and recently by Europe as a unified and powerful block of states. Since the slave trade era, through the raw material driven scramble for Africa to the recent EDF support programs, Europe has always sat with itself to formulate its strategies on Africa. It has also always implemented such strategies, with scanty contribution by Africa.

In pursuing the Joint Africa-EU Strategy we should constantly remind ourselves that while an insensitively prosperous Europe presents an uncertain future for its self and Africa, in the same token an indigent Africa that is helplessly sinking in self pity and heaps blame on its northern neighbour equally presents an uncertain future for both continents.