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The Role of South-South Cooperation in Promoting and Deepening Trade and Investment in Africa

Dr. Chukwuka Onyekwena participated at the workshop on “The Role of South-South Cooperation in Promoting and Deepening Trade and Investment in Africa – Promoting Conducive Policy and Legal Environments in Africa” during the 11th African Private Sector Forum. The event was organized by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the African Union Commission from 5-8 November 2019 in Antananarivo, Madagascar.
The workshop provided a platform for discussions on the relevance and the need for the adaptation of the existing instruments for investment in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

Dr. Onyekwena participated in the session on “South-South Investment:Public and Private Partnerships and Perspectives within the framework of the AfCFTA”. Discussions focused on identifying opportunities, challenges and risk management for South-South trade and investments in the Africa region within the framework of AfCFTA.

Other workshop sessions included:

South-South Investment and Trade for the SDGs: the discussion focused on regional and national trends with country perspectives and examples of practices and initiatives that worked and did not work, plus future needs and priorities for South-South investment.

Digital Economy and its contribution to South-South Investments and trade: discussions on how digitalization and the range of available digital technologies could facilitate the effective implementation of the AfCFTA. The session addressed risks so that AfCFTA delivers on its goals which include boosting intra-African trade, creating jobs and promoting structural transformation for the implementation of the SDGs.

Dr. Chukwuka Onyekwena participated at the workshop on “The Role of South-South Cooperation in Promoting and Deepening Trade and Investment in Africa – Promoting Conducive Policy and Legal Environments in Africa” on 5 November 2019, in Madagascar, organized by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the African Union Commission.

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11th African Policy Circle Meeting

The 11th meeting of the Africa Policy Circle (APC) held in Lilongwe, Malawi from October 10 to 11 2019, under the theme “Sustainable African Cities of the Future”. Specifically, this theme seeks to bring the urban transport agenda together with the urban development agenda to the forefront of sustainable development.

The meeting also provided a platform for participants to deliberate and propose actionable recommendations on sustainable urbanization around the key features of urban life in Africa. Precious Akanonu participated in this event and presented one of the policy briefs agreed at 10th APC Meeting on “Strengthening Resilience of Africa’s Urban Poor.

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SDG4 and the drive towards achieving Quality Education in Nigeria

As part of the 2019 Global Goals Week CSEA organised a dissemination event to present findings from a research project titled: “Exclusion in Education in Nigeria: The dimensions, drivers and implications for the SDGs”.

The event provided a platform for experts and stakeholders in the education sector to share knowledge, propose more actionable policy recommendations, and ensure that government implements them.

The research funded by the Southern Voice, as part of the State of the SDGs initiative, investigates three crucial questions:

  1. Exclusion in Education: Here, the study highlights the identified groups of people excluded in achieving quality education and the factors responsible for the learning gap.
  2. Understanding synergies and trade-offs in meeting SDG4 in Nigeria: the study examines the synergies between education and other relevant SDGs
  3. Global Systemic Issues: In this section, the role of global systemic issues in achieving quality education was highlighted. Specifically, the influence of arms proliferation, technology, and foreign aid in the attainment of SDG 4 in Nigeria.

Participants at the workshop agreed that there is the need for stakeholders in education to work on changing the narrative of social norms and other factors that are impeding girls and children from learning. Other key recommendations arising from the discussion sessions include: the need for collaboration between the private sector and government, improving schools' curriculum and also increasing funds allocated for the education sector in other to make learning outcomes more qualitative.

As education outcomes have great effects on all aspects of our lives, parents& leaders of local communities also have a major role to play towards improving enrollment in schools. Likewise, the state and local governments should strengthen efforts towards implementing educational policies.

(A full outcome document of the event would be uploaded soon)

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Strengthening SDG 17 through South-South and Triangular Cooperation

Dr. Chukwuka Onyekwena participated at the Consultation with Southern-based Think Tanks for the 2019 Human Development Report which was co-hosted by the United Nations Office for South­South Cooperation (UNOSSC) and the Human Development Report Office (HDRO). The consultation was organised specifically to: (i) hear stakeholder’s perspectives and experiences from Southern-based think tanks relating to inequality and related sub-themes, identify broad contours, and scope on the specific issues; and (ii) discuss key policy options and promote buy-in among the stakeholders. The meeting also aimed to gather the perspectives and experiences from Southern-based think tanks relating to inequality that will feed into the formulation of the 2019 Human Development Report.  Dr. Onyekwena discussed technology, which is likely to widen inequality especially in Africa, given the differential access to technology between countries. The consultation was held on 18 July 2019, at UN HQ in New York, USA. The 2019 Human Development Report (HDR 2019) is scheduled to be released towards the end of this year; the report will focus on understanding relevant dimensions of inequality to people’s wellbeing.

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South-South Global Thinkers Dialogue – Reflection on BAPA+40 Outcome Document.

The United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) organized a session bringing together think tank members from the South-South Global Thinkers initiative to discuss their reflection on the BAPA+40 outcome document. The session provided a platform for participants to: i)Share views and perspective on the BAPA+40 outcome document; and ii). exchange and propose research ideas and knowledge initiatives for the future that would be important for Southern Countries and development partners. Dr. Chukwuka Onyekwena joined other participants to give a presentation on BAPA+40, and also propose research ideas and knowledge initiatives that would be important for Southern Countries and development partners.This event was held on 17 July 2019, at UN HQ in New York, USA. 

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