Conference: Africa Towards Sustainable Development – Eurafrica, Chinafrica, or… Africa?

Jean Monnet Network

This international conference is organised jointly by the EU-EAC Jean Monnet Network and the UN University for Peace under the thematic umbrella ‘Jean Monnet – 30 Years of Excellence in European studies’. The Jean Monnet Network ‘The European Union, Africa and China in the Global Age – Sustainable Development through Tripartite Cooperation and Regional Integration: The Case of the East African Community (EU-EAC)’ is a research and training project supported by the European Commission, which brings together academic partners and institutions from the East African countries, Europe and China. It aims at improving EU-Africa cooperation and contributing to building sustainable societies in Africa in coordination with the European Union and China.

Rationale:
The EU-EAC Jean Monnet Network plans a series of three international conferences to be held in Africa (Addis Ababa), China (Beijing) and Europe (Brussels). These conferences will also be organised under the thematic umbrella ‘Jean Monnet – 30 Years of Excellence in European Studies’, alongside other events planned by the Jean Monnet Community around the world, to celebrate 30 years of Jean Monnet Actions, and reflect on the present and future of European integration.

The core theme of the three conferences is a possible future tripartite African / European / Chinese approach towards boosting economic and industrial development in Africa, and creating a favourable cooperative framework for sustainable development in Africa.

Each of the conferences will adopt a specific (African, Chinese or European) focus dependent on the conference location. The Addis Ababa Conference, planned in the political capital of Africa, will consider the potential for establishing a joint developmental cooperation with Europeans and Chinese specifically from an African perspective. It will investigate the feasibility of a trilateral economic partnership in which European, African and Chinese areas of strength complement each other. It will provide a forum for debate from an African perspective on the historical, cultural, economic, trade and business relations that Africa entertains with the European Union and China. It will devote specific attention to the needs of African economies whilst considering European and Chinese positions and strategies.

• History of Africa-EU and Africa-China relations in a comparative perspective
• What role for Europe and China in Africa today?
• The EU and China in the face of African regional and continental integration.
• The African Union – A partner for the EU and/or China?
• The education challenge in Africa: Erasmus, Confucius, or Mandela?
• The African Youth between past and future – Looking northwards or eastwards?
• Youth, demography and development – A trilateral approach?
• Africa from development aid to large-scale investments: how can the EU and China contribute more effectively to African industrialization?
• Comparative trade patterns Africa - EU and Africa – China.
• Africa as a potential economic bloc in the 21^st Century.
• Will China’s Belt and Road Initiative promote economic integration in Africa?
• The TFTA and the growth potential of a rising intra-African trade.
• Conflict management in Africa – A role for Europe and/or China?
• Water management in Africa.
• Minerals, rare earth and geopolitical interests.
• Sustainable development policies in Africa.
• Migrations and demography: A European obsession?
• Institution-building in Africa – Contributions from Europe and China?
• Democracy, fundamental rights and law: African, European and Chinese perspectives.
• Security issues and conflict resolution in Africa: EU and Chinese responses.
• Other foreign actors in Africa: the US, Japan, India, Russia, Turkey, Brazil…

Lunches and coffee breaks provided.
No conference fee.

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