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June 14, 1999
Contact: Sunni M.
Khalid, Director of Communications
PACIFIC WEST COAST REGIONAL SUMMIT A SUCCESS
San Francisco -- More than 1,000 people from nine Western states participated in the Pacific West Coast Regional Summit on Africa, which was held at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in downtown San Francisco, with related activities in Oakland. The two-day event was co-sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Northern California and the National Summit on Africa, which is headquartered in Washington, DC.
Leonard H. Robinson, Jr., president and CEO of the National Summit on Africa, hailed the San Francisco event, the third of five regional summits as an "unqualified success."
"The National Summit on Africa is first and foremost about citizen empowerment -- you, the people," Robinson told participants. "It is also about ensuring that the political will to support, assist, and defend Africa's interest will be galvanized. It is up to us to bring our collective voice to the ears of policymakers and government officials at all levels of society."
Robinson added that an expanded and reinvigorated Africa constituency must work to eliminate the double standard in U.S. foreign policy, specifically citing how the humanitarian crisis in Kosovo has garnered attention to the virtual exclusion of similar crises in Rwanda, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
"The powers that be rightly speculate that we do not pose an immediate political threat," said Robinson. "And those policy makers on the inside who did advocate appropriate intervention did not prevail because they lacked the external support... This level of persistent indifference, neglect and inaction vis-a-vis Africa should not be tolerated any longer. We have a responsibility to organize and act now, across the nation, in support of Africa-- not just a project hear, or a single-minded victory there, but on a consistent, reliable, effective and strategic basis."
Also addressing Summit were the Mayor of San Francisco, the Honorable Willie L. Brown, Jr. Allasane Outtara, deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund and the former Prime Minister of Cote d'Ivoire, U.S. Representative Barbara Lee (D - CA), U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi (D - CA), U.S. Department of State Special Envoy for Africa Howard Wolpe, and former U.S. Representative Ron Dellums. Each spoke of the need to raise Africa's profile on the foreign policy agenda and to strengthen the political, economic and cultural links between the continent and the United States.
Mr. Outtara told the regional summit that the IMF is working on two initiatives on Africa, the first on alleviating debt that undermines economic growth, and the second aimed at helping countries trying to recover from political turmoil. He welcomed a new partnership between the United States and Africa.
"Now is the time for the international community and regional groupings to intensify their efforts to secure lasting peace across the continent," added Mr. Outtara. "And now is the time for Africa itself to say 'enough.' For only with peace can Africa's citizens enjoy the benefits of sustained high-quality growth and join the global economy of the new millennium. Ultimately, Africa holds its destiny in its own hands."
Former Congressman Dellums called for a modern-day Marshall Plan to combat the impact of AIDS on the continent, which he said threatened to wipe out recent economic and social gains. "We can talk about trade," said Dellums, "but if there's no one there to trade with, if there's no one home, that becomes a hollow discussion."
The Pacific West Coast regional conference consisted of policy discussions on the Summit's five themes -- Democracy and Human Rights; Peace and Security; Economic Development, Trade and Investment and Job Creation; Sustainable Development, Quality of Life and the Environment; and Education and Culture. Policy recommendations for these themes were drafted and adopted into the Pacific West Coast Regional Plan of Action. Caucuses for the nine states were also held, where delegates to next year's National Summit on Africa were selected.
In addition, a wide range of parallel programs were conducted, including seminars and workshops on investment and producing clean water, as well as an African film festival.
Last year, the National Summit on Africa held regional summits in Atlanta and Chicago. Regional summits are scheduled for Baltimore on September 10 - 11, and Denver on September 24 - 25. The National Summit on Africa will be held February 17 - 20, 2000 at the Washington Convention Center.
CONTACT: Sunni M. Khalid (skhalid@africasummit.org)
Director of Communications
(202) 861-8644, #27
(800) 934-3418
May 14, 1999
Washington-The National Summit on Africa will hold its Pacific West Coast Regional Summit conference June 4-5, 1999 in San Francisco, California. The gathering is aimed at forming a closer relationship between the United States and Africa, as well as drafting a national policy plan of action to accomplish this goal in the 21st Century.
In partnership with the World Affairs Council of Northern California, the venues for the event will be San Francisco's Westin St. Francis Hotel, at Union Square. More than 1,000 people are expected to attend the summit from California, Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington state.
On the first day of the conference, San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr., the Honorary Chairman of the Pacific West Coast regional summit, will host a reception for participants at the newly-refurbished City Hall Rotunda.
The Pacific West Coast Regional summit will include policy discussion on The National Summit on Africa's five major themes include:
The deliberative process will debate each of the main themes, as well as propose amendments and recommendations for a Pacific West Coast Regional Policy Plan of Action. The document will later be merged with regional policy plans from across America. The national draft will be finalized at the National Summit on Africa Celebration on February 17-20, 2000 at the Washington (D.C.) Convention Center.
Invited speakers include outgoing South African President Nelson Mandela, Congresswomen Barbara Lee and Nancy Pelosi, former Michigan congressman and State Department special envoy Howard Wolpe, and former Congressman Ronald Dellums. A number of educational programs will also be held.
The San Francisco conference will be the Summit's third regional summit. The Southeast Regional Summit on Africa was held last May in Atlanta, Georgia. The event drew an estimated 4,000 people and included such luminaries as former President Jimmy Carter, former Atlanta Mayor and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Andrew Young, then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Cote D'Ivoire President Henri Konan-Bedie, and former Tanzanian founding father and President Julius Nyerere.
The Midwest Regional Summit occurred last September in Chicago, drawing about 1,000 participants, including former Ambassador and Special Assistant to President Clinton for African Affairs, Joseph Wilson IV. Additional summits are planned for September in Denver and Baltimore.
The National Summit on Africa is an unprecedented, nationwide effort aimed at creating a shared policy agenda to guide U.S. relations with the countries in Africa. Its goals are to better inform the American public about Africa; to expand and strengthen the Africa-focused constituency; and, finally, to draft a National Policy Plan of Action to guide policy-makers and the corporate community in their dealings with Africa in the 21st century.
For additional information, please contact Ms. Silvia Mazzone-Clementi at the World Affairs Council of Northern California at (415) 982-2541.