Welcome to our special ‘Forecasting Africa’s Future’ issue.
ALA seeks to power lasting peace and shared prosperity in Africa. This is at the heart of our efforts to identify, develop and connect future leaders. But how will these leaders shape the future, and what could that future look like? As we celebrate Africa Day, we shift our focus to the continent.
While Africa’s growth is undeniable, the forecast for our future prospects is dismal: as Fred Swaniker outlines in his recent Skoll 2018 talk, the clock is ticking towards 2035, when Africa will contain the world’s largest workforce.
Most of these workers will be young, and unemployed.
We have about 6 000 days to make a significant impact on these statistics.
Can we?
ALA symbolises the kind of “moon shot” that can significantly change our future trajectory. As we challenge our students to be the change they seek in Africa, we strive to increase the tools and resources available to them to forecast the future.
We are deeply proud to announce the launch of the Pardee Centre for African Futures, a research hub that entrenches ALA as one of Africa’s foremost learning institutions. Built on the International Futures model developed at the University of Denver, African Futures has already been factored into our curriculum, with new course modules designed to leverage the benefits of this powerful research tool.
Africa Day, an annual highlight on the global calendar, is also a critical moment on ALA's calendar every year, with campus activities on the day forming part of the summative experience of our first year African Studies course. Each Africa Day, we take pride in our identity as Africans, and celebrate the future for Africa we will create together. We hope you will enjoy reading about how students interpreted this unifying occasion.
The Anzisha Effect is nother resourceful new portal aimed at empowering those working with young entrepreneurs who will shape the future. This is an extension of the Anzisha Prize program, and one of our major investments toward building the job creators required over the next 6000 days. We asked Editor Sihle Magubane to detail the aims and benefits of this exciting platform.
We hope you enjoy this informative issue, and look forward to your feedback. Please take a few seconds to respond to our newsletter survey below; we aim, as always to serve with excellence, and your input will shape the future of this newsletter!
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