US-Africa Leaders Summit – Washington DC

Photos Credit: White House – Website for the 2014 U.S.-African Leaders Summit

President Obama welcomed African leaders from across the continent early August for a three-day summit. It was the first such event held in the US to help strengthen political and economic ties with African countries.

John Kerry, US Secretary of State, welcomed the attendees. In his speech he stressed the commitment of the United States to countries in Africa and discussed several important issues such as economic opportunities and growth, human rights, climate changes and the importance of supporting and expanding the role of civil society.

Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Sarah Sewall introduces the panelists for the OGP Discussion

The Summit program was composed of forums and parallel discussion tracks that are deemed essential to developing a vibrant economy and society in Africa. The Civil Society Forum was one of the signature events of this Summit and was one of the Summit’s primary platforms for engaging stakeholders such as senior representatives of governments, civil society, African diaspora, and private sector and key international organization.

TAYP as a Tunisia diaspora organization was invited to attend the forum of Open Government Partnership OGP at State Department’s National Academy of Sciences Auditorium. His Excellency Mr. Mongi Hamdi, Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and members of his staff as well as His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Ezine Chlaifa, The Ambassador of Tunisia in the United States represented the Tunisian government at this Forum.

The OGP forum included an interactive panel discussion as well as audience response session. The panel discussion centered around four major themes i) Benefits of opens government, ii) role of civil society and iii) ideas for future action. The Panel included the Deputy Minister and President’s Lead for OGP Dlodlo, South Africa, as well as civil society leaders: Amira Yahyaoui from Tunisia, Rakesh Rajani from Tanzania and Mukelani Dimba from South Africa.