THE 9th EDITION AFRICITIES SUMMIT
The africities summit finally came to an end, with over 7,000 delegates from Africa and other parts of the world including former Heads of State, ministers, governors, mayors, corporate heads, researchers and innovators attending the May 17th to 21st summit. It provided numerous opportunities to not only the inhabitants of Kisumu city but also to all the visiting delegates and exhibitors who might have been in search of a market to invest in. In addition to its economic impact on the host city, the summit’s main objective focused on the multifaceted development of the entire continent with delegates and African leaders pledging to adopt new action plans to strengthen and hasten development in Africa’s urban centers.
In the various discussions held by the leaders in attendance, there was emphasis on the need for African governments to promote sustainable urbanization as a requirement to reduce poverty, inequality, battle climate change and help local communities cope with the climate crisis. Our organization was tasked with handling sessions entailing sustainable development, safe spaces and the equal inclusion of men and women in decision making processes.
For our first session we delved into the importance of rural urban linkages for sustainable development which was in line with the africities summit theme which focused on the role of intermediary cities in the development of Africa. Intermediary cities act as a bridge between the rural and urban sectors facilitating various activities such as commerce, communication and the seeding of infrastructure into rather remote parts of the country. By merging the resources provided by both the rural and urban set ups together with proper planning, it is possible to achieve sustainable development.
Our second session focused on the numerous innovations and emerging solutions to the various drawbacks we are facing as a continent. Through the session, we were able to discuss and define means through which we can identify and implement the various innovative ideas that are generated by the many intelligent and motivated people out there, individuals who have had 1st hand experiences with these problems and took it upon themselves to find solutions for the overall wellbeing of the society. By working together and orienting our efforts towards achieving our goals, we can not only solve these problems but also usher ourselves into a new age of innovation and development.
The final session was on building safer and inclusive cities for women. We are in a time where everyone should be able to enjoy their freedoms and exercise their rights without feeling the fear of discrimination and violence for being who they are and this is particularly true for women. They are consistently exposed to violence just for being women, they are barred from receiving services and accessing opportunities which in reality is locking out the huge amount of potential they possess. In order to achieve sustainable cities, it is only right that we not only reduce but eliminate inequalities that may infringe on the rights of women who will also play integral parts in achieving the city we need.
All these culminated in the need to appeal to every demographic, innovative ideas and proper leadership to be able to bring into fruition the development we aim to achieve all of which were key points in the Africities summit in line with the UN and AU agendas. This would eventually lead us to building cities that foster inclusive growth, peace and cohesion.