 Well, good morning everybody. My name is Michael Collins and as Director General of the Institute of International and European Affairs I'm absolutely delighted to welcome you to the latest in our series of IIEA webinars This is a public webinar and we're delighted to be joined by our IIEA members as well as the wider members of the public A very warm welcome to all of you, particularly if you're joining an IIEA webinar for the first time It is great to see the level of interest in today's event not only from here in Ireland, but internationally as well On behalf of the IIEA it is an extraordinarily great privilege to welcome President Michael D. Higgins here this morning We are honored that President Higgins is the patron of the Institute And that he is someone who shares a vision of Ireland as an active informed and ethical contributor to the world around us The president will speak to us this morning on the topic that he has been passionate about right throughout his political career And argues that this is a time for us in Europe to reassess our relations with Africa The president will address us for about 30 to 35 minutes, and then we will have time for your questions We'll try and take as many of these questions as we can and you will be able to submit these questions Are any questions that you have either now or throughout the course of the events using the Q&A function on Zoom? Which you should see on your screen a Reminder that this discussion is fully on the record both the president's speech and the subsequent discussion I just a little further reminder that you can join the discussion on Twitter using the handle at IIEA We're also live streaming the event on our YouTube channel So many thanks once again to the hundreds of you joining us through these mediums As someone now in the second term in office and who on his reelection in 2018 Had the distinction of securing the largest number of votes ever in an irish presidential election President Michael D. Higgins requires no further introduction It is therefore my high honor now to hand over to president Michael D. Higgins Uhtara on the Heron President Higgins the floor is yours Brahmāgata, Kohirika Kōrcha I am delighted to be with you all today even if it has to be in a virtual sense To address The important topic of how we might pursue the most fruitful relationships between Africa and the european union How europe might release itself from the narrative of the past and be a part of a narrative of hope Be engaging as equals with our planet's neighboring continent of the young This is indeed a topic on which I as president of Ireland have spoken on several occasions a topic about which I feel passionately For the quality of the european union's relationship with the continent of Africa and its people is a subject of such great importance A topic which carries hope in its transformative potential For so many yes for Africa But also all of us as we seek to address the issues of our time Including the dysfunctional balance of economy society Culture and most importantly ecology and the loss of biodiversity So may I first thank the institute for international european affairs for the invitation to address you And compliment the institute which has in recent years Becomes such a critical resource for sharing ideas and evidence that are helping to influence policy at european and global levels We have now the gift of new empirically based research published on Africa For europeans the issue is do we read it? Respond to it allow it to influence policy And our european union africa relationship and agreements For example, the subtitle carla slope is in george carorac gave to their recently published valuable work sustainable change in africa is Misperceptions new narratives and development in the 21st century I was struck by something most basic when I first read the book. It was how the mercashire projection I understand still used by google Has suggested to generations of europeans that the continent of africa is about the same size as greenland Greenland is in fact 14 times smaller mercata's 1569 Categoristic definition of the world became one of the most influential and widely circulated world map projections Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries the authors write The authors go on to point out That indeed the landmass of africa is the size of india china the united states and most of europe combined And that africa's blue or maritime economy is even bigger than its landmass Indeed the democratic republic of the congo is about half the size of the european union When it comes to the contents of africa We have so many misperceptions however to undo Misperception is perhaps misleading For indeed the distortion of african realities as a long spectrum That includes early on for example the racist language of david hume in his essay of national character in 1748 Two in the present the annual reports of certain extraction companies In contemporary times and of course if we are to undo misperceptions We must reconceptualize redo development theory and practice international trade architectures of debt and dependency It is significant too that anthropology is missing as a tool in the contemporary accounts That great intellectual and moral impulse to understand culture Seems to have been consigned with the decline of empire To the shelves of history in libraries Anthropology is a project that serves so well Empire yet of course it could yield valuable insights if utilized today for a different purpose Today africa is the continent of the young Accounting for 20 percent of the young people of the world a continent of over 1.3 billion people in 2018 It constitutes 16 percent of the world's human population It is therefore a continent on which the hopes of so much of our shared future rests It is on this continent we might perhaps see The playing out to fruition of our efforts at achieving the sustainable development goals of the united nations Our inadequate anticipation and response to climate change in short Achieving that connection between economy society ecology and culture that we so urgently need and cannot postpone Involving as it does the future of the planet itself as a habitable space At 21st For africans There is the need For reducing poverty for security in the basic necessities of life For delivering healthy living conditions for universal basic services Including education and healthcare For peace and reconciliation and an inter-conflict and for an enduring Sustainable future built on prosperity in the widest most fulfilling inclusive sense For the achievement of a fruitful dialogue between the european union and africa There are preliminary tasks to be accomplished at european level One of the most important being Abandoning any effect in amnesia as to the brutal colonization of previous times The detritus of imperial subjugations Which surface too often stirred by fingers of hands that are carrying the old intent For while europeans choose to forget Africans rightly remember We must transact that painful memory if we are as hannah arent might put it to stop the events of the past Crippling us in the present and obstructing us in the future I worry that we have not reached the point of critical sophistication That will enable us to do that For I recall the dismissive response. I received myself to a quotation I made in one of my papers some years ago from one of sanca mutus books. I think it was enlightenment against empire We do really need to be free and courageous in critiquing empire in the same way As we have been willing to set about critiquing the extremes and possible abuses of nationalism past and present Ireland's relationship with africa is quite a unique one Be it from the work of roger casement to contemporary non-governmental organizations and irish aid It has or like the historical relationship of former empires been largely one of identifying with the aspirations of Africans For lives of freedom from hunger access to education achievement of inclusive rights Including the full rights of women to participation in all aspects of life These are powerful foundations upon which to press upon the european union The need to develop a future relationship with the continent of africa Which will be one of african agency in a transformed africa Ireland brings to the african table its own experience not only the economic social political domination But also the experience of a suppressed culture forced exile and frankly of racism As huma gain push it in the specific case of the irish They having missed out on the civilization that he thought a roman occupation might have brought them Were thus left Uncivilized but above all else lesser Ireland welcomes the centrality of african agency in the new work Of the transformation of africa And sees it as having an immensely valuable contribution Having a global consequence as we redefine economics and its connection to ecology and culture Ireland has from missionaries to aid and development workers A special connection among african nations resulting from its contribution to education And we can as a result be looked on As a source of leadership in other areas So just arresting those unfair and imbalanced terms of trade but currently prevail which for example confine africa's benefit from its coffee trade to appall tree 10 percent And the appalling trade conditions imposed on coffee products, for example produced in africa that limit any gains in the value of finished products locking african products To the lower end of the value chain Not only as president of Ireland but through a lifetime in parliament I've often stressed that island needs to continue to deepen its diplomacy with the continent That will after all be the birthplace of over two billion people by 2050 a continent of such population That quite scandalously continues to be underrepresented on the security council of the united nations Free to offer its own version of african needs and possibilities Ireland's deepening of diplomatic representation in africa is currently underway And it is something i've been very glad to hear It is not only in addressing the underrepresentation of the people of africa that ireland can give the lead however At the united nations island can show leadership In calling for an urgent review and redesign of the architecture of the global financial institutions an architecture That has for so long now past purpose an architecture That has not succeeded in preventing our planet in ecological terms being brought to the brink Of survival itself That has failed to eliminate global poverty that has deepened inequality That has lost cohesion between and within the populations of north and south and has left a world Where conflict is endemic And that conflict is never short of ominous Produced in countries including some the european union countries that often speak of peace Given all of this and what africa now faces in conditions of pandemic offers such as As for example a suspension of six months interest and debt as proposed by the g7 Should be seen for what it is A grossly inadequate gesture Offered from a distance by those not sufficiently engaged with the human dimension of their proposals in a financialized global economy That issues any notion of a moral compass Last month ireland became the 27th non-regional member of the african development bank This is an important addition To the deepening ties that will inform ireland's relationship to africa and its people The african development bank and the african development fund It administers can play an important role in fostering sustainable and inclusive social and economic growth and prosperity Helping the african continent to achieve its potential in a sustainable way as the continent of promise and opportunity For africa is just that A continent where transformation is already underway In that we can be partners The african development bank is currently implementing a 10-year strategy to 2022 Focused on two objectives Inclusive growth and green growth for africa Aiming for prosperity that is more equally shared and meets the needs of present generations without compromising the well-being of future generations This also involves the taking into consideration Of the differing social economic and environmental aspects that arise in the sustainable development of country that have differences that must be recognized To achieve these objectives The bank has set five operational priorities Including infrastructure development regional economic integration private sector development governance and accountability And upscaling skills and technology training together with three areas of special emphasis namely fragile states gender and agriculture and food security A disbursement of six point six billion dollars a card in 2018 To successful projects in these priority areas There have already been many great achievements resulting from such funding for example 100 percent of new lending from the african development bank on energy projects in 2017 was on renewables That was up from 14 percent in 2015 And just last week a new solar farm on the outskirts of Mogadishu Should have caught into its owner as quadruple power generation for the Somalian capital whilst also cushing costs It has provided eight megawatts of clean electricity since march and is predicted to provide 100 by 2022 Technology has also given other benefits Contributing significantly to the enabling of democratic processes In line with the freedoms that characterize democracy today Today more Africans can access the internet use mobile phones and shared information with the world at large The total sub-saharan african population With internet access has almost tripled from seven percent in 2010 to nearly 22 percent in 2017 Likewise the number of mobile phone subscriptions in sub-saharan africa Has almost doubled to seven hundred and 64 million in the same period According to dana lep Rondes analysis the role of the african Investment development bank and the future of africa that was published by the center for strategic and international studies in october last year Our membership violence membership of the african development bank and its trust fund is an investment in africa's potential And our island's partnership with these important regional multilateral institutions will both advance our shared but redefined development priorities Membership and investment will open of course future opportunities for our science and technology in the region As well as support projects that spur food security sufficiency poverty reduction and sustainable economic development at different levels across africa africa The smart continent of the future with a civilization of sufficiency and inclusion Can be an exemplar i believe a leader in the better and inclusive use of technology As our world in all its different circumstances Continues to respond to the threat to individuals families communities Societies and economies It is difficult to overstate the toll that the covet 19 pandemic has taken The lives cut short the the space and time for the expression of grief curtail For those who have lost their loved ones Lack of access denial of liberty those experiencing severe illness or who are vulnerable Livelihoods made it livelihoods themselves so many made insecure or lost for millions of families Coronavirus being a global problem necessitates a global response Yet is so it is so plainly evident The society is different in their capacity to respond Such as those in africa who are in a profoundly exposed position in terms of resources for example The proportion of the population that is reliant on the informal economy That prevails And the consequent limitation that results on the measures that may be utilized in responding to covet 19 So while the pandemic is a global threat Our global vulnerability differs greatly These differences test Both our global solidarity and the architecture of our multilateralism now so much under stress covet 19 Is a reality in all countries of africa We should therefore remind ourselves that there is now an unprecedented opportunity For Europe to begin its journey towards a new contemporary and future shared ethical relationship And do so not only as good regionalism, but also as an exercise in multilateralism Forging a new approach in its relationship with africa this time based on solidarity One that will include a fundamental reexamination Of how unfair trade and existing debt structures are impeding not only the capacity to respond to covet 19 But also the necessary transformations Which are continent is getting underway with an african agency That seeks the new form of partnership with its most proximate neighbor the european union May i suggest that now is not a time for retreating behind borders in europe In the african countries where covet 19 has arrived in greatest numbers There are immense problems and inequalities in terms of health care provision The same is true tragically of latin and central america Given such an adequacy of equipment and personnel where it is most needed There is a real risk that the pandemic could be difficult to contain across africa and latin america And could result in mass facilities mass Fatalities and wider socioeconomic problems particularly in the possible event of a second wave of the virus The prospect of a future vaccine Does not come guaranteed despite multilateral requests As to whether it is widespread availability availability will be made possible in foreign post-nations There is need for a global response as to the freedom and capacity of access Of all to a vaccine that will have been after all probably developed with shared global research both state and private United nation secretary general gutierrez has correctly underscored how if covet 19 is to be countered Richard countries must assist those less resourced or potentially as he put it Face the nightmare of the disease spreading Like wildfire in the global south with millions of deaths and the prospect of the disease reemerging Where it was previously re previously suppressed The unresolved issues of hunger are now in 2020 All exacerbated According to recent research published by oxfam coronavirus could double chronic hunger hunger in africa double chronic hunger Both the virus and the restrictions imposed to carpet spread Are disrupting planting harvesting the movement of farm labor and the scale and distribution of projects across africa There are urgent calls for borders to remain open for essential agri-food trade In this context it is necessary to recognize How dangerously fragile often shallow at times Attempts contradictory the practice of multilateralism has become How some conflicts have been continued even as the united nations recently called for a ceasefire to enable citizens And their governments to respond to the challenges posed by the coronavirus in addition In addition to the threat posed by the covet 19 pandemic Many african countries particularly those in the east of the continent are now in the throes of a second wave of desert locals Many times worse than the plague that descended a number of months ago The locals present an extremely alarming and unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods according to the united nations A swarm of just half a square kilometer Can eat the same amount of food in one day as 35 000 people Yet we must be cognizant that once the covet 19 crisis is over All of the inherited and acquired structural impediments to africa's sustainable development remain Perhaps the largest of these impediments remains dish It is surely one of the gracious global failures the continuing failure To achieve the will of the members of the united nations So often expressed in relation to making dished and credit flows serve as instruments rather than stranglehold Be it in relation to the sustainable development goals climate change migration or pandemics Responding adequately to structural global inequalities can by inter alia recognizing african agency Provide africa with the prospect of carving out a path to recovery of its deep and diverse And a hopeful future not only for all its citizens But for us all for the achievement i repeat of a sustainable connection between economy society and ecology I use the word agency very deliberately as i agree With development economist entire representative of the commission of the african union carlos locas That it is through the creation of african agency The capacity to act autonomously and independently Which has been denied to africa at so many points during its colonial and post-colonial periods That africans will be unable to undertake the necessary structural reforms so as to create a brighter shared future There are some basics that it is necessary to repeat The health of the populations of the planet must take precedent Over any abstracted version of global debt in a financialized economy global economy Statistics illustrate for example In 2016 angola spent nearly six times as much Serving external death as it did on public health care 15 countries in sub-saharan africa Spent more paying creditors abroad than on doctors and clinics at home This is morally outrageous for us all furthermore sub-saharan africa Spends less than five percent of its total government expenditure on public health A consequence in part at least of the death written nature of its economists There is now surely an unanswerable case for a global campaign To achieve universal basic services and to eliminate the obstacles to that achievement And when it comes to trade and the economy Recent low commodity prices have of course led to decrease revenues with african exports having declined by approximately a third In recent months alone The chinese economic slowdown has impacted severely on african exports Given the high dependency of many african countries on the chinese market Furthermore many african countries collect relatively low levels of taxation revenue by international standards As i have already stated This is because the estimates indicating that as much as 89 percent of the people in some states and even regions Work in the informal economy Compounding the economic challenges facing the continent Sub-saharan africa remains one of the least industrialized regions in the world And the modern industry that is currently in place Struggles to keep pace with what are usually referenced as international productivity metrics If labor productivity has stagnated or declined in many african countries over the past 60 years only to recover Bordersly since 2000 And gross domestic product has tripled in the same period Serious wealth and income distribution questions are raised The 3 000 wealthiest in africa have the same amount as reserves as the central banks 400 billion euro Jobs distribute income And even if in some parts of our planet industrialization has been irresponsible in ecological and human terms Yet in africa There is an industrialization As lopez and karak point out that can be appropriate for africa on best use of resources natural and human And critical too is the transfer of science and technology on new terms In favor of sustainability throughout our planet The external shocks i refer to are Including china's slowdown and fall in commodity prices as well as the widespread drought in eastern southern africa Have led some industries to become a drag on their economies rather than being the engines of growth Are available for structural transformation This is all the more worrying because africa is still predominantly specialized in relatively low technology industries With a huge dependence on agriculture And and findings from some of the better work in the development economics field So just africa's long-term development Would entail a diversified move away from exporting raw materials and the attendant reliance and high commodity prices entry as it were into a more complex advanced Set of activities that yield a higher place and the value chain higher value goods and services for export thereby increasing the share of gdp derived from advanced manufacturing And improving competitiveness these are the other world markets What did your friends then Are the prospects for these developments Let me coach if i may from carlos lopez and george karak's book structural change in africa This is what they said Five decades of development planning have not yielded the seven percent Which is the minimum required to double average incomes in a decade Instead there are a range of highly unequal and vulnerable economies that remain entrenched in poverty The evolution of industrial policy in africa mirrors Mirrors the evolution of development planning These include the import substitution policies that took root after independence Then planning was enthusiastically driven in the 1960s through to the 1970s Then came the structural adjustment programs of the 1980s when planning waned and the stage was rolled back And then this was followed by poverty reduction strategies so-called papers in the 1990s Derived from that time when liberalization deregulation and privatization were entrenched as methods of economic management The weaknesses and understanding africa as well as its misrepresentation during these periods Has a great deal to do with the deficits in industrial production and the incidences indeed of deindustrialization And this is ironic since most governments implemented Various industrial policy strategies and interventions to promote industrial development As lobos and karak put it Manufacturing as a share of output and employment decreased or remain low over most of these periods As african countries prepare to take their rightful places in the future global economy They have a real opportunity to promote economic transformation Through the industrialization process by capitalizing on the continent's abundant natural resources Adding value to them while also supporting the development of infant industries The manufacturing sector in particular has been the engine of economic development for the majority of developed countries And very few countries have developed their economies without a strong manufacturing base So much so that the terms industrialized and developed are often used interchangeably when referring to such countries That is what lobos and karak have said As with many other global issues establishing the root causes of africans political and economic challenges is fundamental for understanding the dynamics of the african continent Which has indeed lobos and karak correctly identified It requires an understanding of how the issues of geography economy and demography Have influenced and will continue to influence african's development Returning if I may to the ethics of transformation and the meaningful Multilateralism It is critical to recall that between the 1870s and 1900 african suffered european Imperialist adventurism and aggression diplomatic pressures military invasions and eventual Conquest and colonization suppression of culture Despite many african society's brave resistance Foreign domination was successfully imposed And by the early 20th century Much of africa accepted the opium liberia had been colonized by european powers The european imperialist push into africa was motivated by factors that were not just economic But also political social culture and frankly racist The colonial drive followed the collapse of the collapse of the profitability of the slave trade Its abolition and suppression as well as the expansion of the european industrial revolution So an interplay of economic factors the imperatives of capitalist industrialization Including the demand for assured sources of raw materials the search for guaranteed markets and profitable investment outlets As well as political factors Including inter european power struggles and competition for preeminence together with social factors Such as rising unemployment in europe and poverty All led to this scramble for africa The colonization was characterized by frantic attempts by european commercial military and political agents To declare and establish a stake in different parts of the continent through inter imperialist commercial competition The declaration of exclusive claims to particular territories for trade The imposition of tariffs against other european traders and claims to sole control of waterways and commercial routes across and out of africa The arbitrary national boundaries that followed Have been largely responsible as a source for ethnic conflicts on the continent Due to the forced separation of ethnic groups across states and the forced assimilation of others within states Colonialism also replaced the pre-colonial governance structures with western ones Creating a system of kleptocracy in some nations through the formation of hierarchical ruling structures Economic rewards given to african elites created a dominant leading class at the expense of all africans and the continent's natural resources Despite the demise of colonialism Some elites have remained and maintained their relationships with former colonials as part of a shared corruption in so many parts of africa Such elites are being continually rewarded for draining their state's natural resources and thereby reinforcing inequality Colonialism furthermore Created single crop economies In societies that relied overwhelmingly on agriculture Thus sentencing african economies to the volatile whims of markets and market-based fluctuations and exposure to crop failure Forced integration of developing states into the international trading arena Augmented the already widespread inequality between developed and developing states But central to colonization was indirect rule and assimilation and a consistent theme Propagated by the imperialist was the portrayer Of the indigenous africans as uncivilized and uneducated This racist notion Widely promulgated legitimized at home and rationalize more accurately at home the ill treatment and exploitation of those Who are colonized including their relegation to the status of second-class citizens in their own countries As to the future then The basic physical conditions for economic transformation may be challenging and to different degrees in many but not all african countries Small but fragmented markets poor infrastructure remoteness Sometimes a scarcity of relevant natural resources They all play their part in the continued poor trade and wider economic performance of many african countries Yet even when these factors are taken into account However, there remains a large unexplained residual It is good that That a new generation of scholars that includes such as professors Lopez and Carrarach Are examining these structural features of the african economy That account for its past record and are serving to impose limitations on its future development I'm not so sure however May I mischievously suggest that they have sufficiently departed from the notorious modernization theory with all its linear assumptions ideological assumptions Yes, what is most important is their suggestion as to what is possible And that will include an appropriate form of industrialization that can be ecologically well-fitted and adjusted to local capacity Or if then if europe is sincere about its wish to be a partner in enabling africa To achieve an inclusive sustainable and prosperous future debt cancellation Must be an intrinsic element of a new authentic european led response It is my strong view that a temporary cancellation of debt interest would not suffice as any effective response Rather a much more radical approach is required to effectively relieve africa's debt burden By restructuring redefining and in some cases for going the bulk of outstanding debt Supporting such an approach would be a fitting demonstration of a genuine european solidarity with our neighbors to the south And it could help to consign to the category of Transacted memory Transacted painful memory so much of the horrendous consequences Of hundreds of years of colonial and post-colonial hubris exploitation and abuse And there is such strong evidence that our current development models are in disarray or producing dysfunctional consequences So a new model must come from a genuinely inclusive dialogue Enabling africa to become self-sufficient and to develop sustainably Will these will require giving agency to africans to build a sustainable future for all africans Why debt cancellation will help in this regard is by allowing strategic commodities That are held by the state to be used for the purpose of economic advancement For all rather than serving debt repayments Improving agency Also requires alterations to the forms of bureaucratic and governmental systems In place in some african nations so as to achieve inclusivity and accountability It will also necessitate that there is a willingness on the part of the state To work inclusively with civil society in its engagements with external partners African agency is not about the freedom to imitate failing paradigms Neither should african agency be solely seen as emanating form and being exerted solely by government elites Rather it can be a byproduct of independent civil society and progressive movements across africa at individual and societal levels Working with their own entrepreneurial versions of the state towards shared goals Agency also relates importantly to the multilateral level I've said it already the ongoing under-representation of african nations in international organizations including the united nations Surely is a major cause for concern and we should all be concerned at this under-representation An under-representation we continue to witness An un-historic unjust under-representation Of an africa which was then still ruled by colonial powers when the united nations came into existence and the security council established Africans must be allowed to have influence in council decisions affecting their own continent The increasing effect of climate change on international peace and security gives this proposal even greater urgency At 21st century african under-lightment dear friends is underway And may I suggest it can draw on sources deeper and richer than any limited european 18th century rationalism For example, it can drone a diversity of pre-imperialist sources of wisdom As well as the vigor and energy that comes from being the continent of the young on our planet And to enable such a transformation Requires us europeans to reconceptualize development models in relation to africa and indeed elsewhere To emphasize the need to seize the possibilities of transformational change to be partners Partners with a listening capacity as we offer our help in the efforts to build a sustainable future for the planet As a what is already underway in africa? We have examples available to us We can build on excellent initiatives already receiving assistance from the european union Such as the great green wall a project led by the african union Which aims to transform the lives of millions of people by creating a mosaic of green and productive landscapes across north africa Thus combating the effects of desertification The key structural changes that are required in relation to africa have been identified as i have said By african scholars such as carlos lopez, george karak and many others These include changing politics respecting africa's diversity embracing a deeper understanding of the policy and historical context Not defeated by it or its consequences move to sustainable industrialization Increasing agricultural productivity and diversity Building a new social contract Adjusting to climate change and inserting agency in the relationship with africa's key partners, especially china An effective european input Into an african 21st century enlightenment Requires an agreed and appropriate definition of what is meant by structural transformation As lopez and karak have written in the work i've already coached structural change in africa Misconceptions new narratives and development of the 21st century. It requires an under Standing that while africa seeks transformation It is not alone and that any such transformation must be grounded in eco social sustainable policies It requires to a proper understanding of the role of new forms of sustainable industrialization In any transformation as well as other key enablers such as an innovative development finance Whatever policy proposals that are made now and in the future must accept that it is past time That the residues of the imperialist mindset Succeeded as it was by the idea of progress modernization theory With a set no centric linearities Must be issued from informing assumptions in policies diplomacy and scholarship I so agree with the scholars i have quoted that such residues continued to permeate modern day misconceptions of africa Often propagated in ignorance by the media Misconceptions misreadings that are not only catastrophic as i opened with but also pervade work on risk perceptions Levels of conflict problems of political stability and other spheres of human existence such misconceptions Far too often portray a continent in continual crisis Despite that continent having made significant progress in recent years Such accounts usually form the basis of an unhelpful and inauthentic Narrative about africa that portrays a gap between perception and reality regarding its transformative potential I'm not for an instant discounting the need for institutional change Of course an overall commitment to good governance and state well-being is needed in many african states as a prerequisite And this cannot be used as an excuse for chirping europe's moral and ethical obligation To progressing and being partners in africa's overdue economic and wider social transformation We need now all of us to move beyond our prescriptive approach to dealing with african challenges An approach that often resulted in programs of age in the past that were externally imposed conceived and applied Without proper understanding of the crucial need for african agency They were offered i think and imposed indeed without due cognizance of history in the context Of africa as a diverse fast-changing continent Perhaps it is even an appropriate time To return to using old tools in our task. I've already said it such as anthropology I agree with lopez and karak that a paradigm shift In african union european union relations is now urgently needed Our challenge as europeans must therefore be to forge that new relationship with africa By arriving at a new place Founded on real multilateralism and solidarity So that we can be ethical partners in the necessary structural change That can deliver universal basic services and transformational prosperity in africa And an enduring sustainable future A sustainable development future for the continent of the young On which those of us who believe in global social justice and solidarity play so much collective hope Thank you all for listening and participating and i look forward to your questions Beban axlom thank you thank you president higgins For the say incredibly wide-ranging and indeed inspiring address where would you be grateful to you From to taking the time this morning to address us so comprehensively on an issue on which you you clearly Speak so passionately So there's so much to reflect on and i'm sure I speak for us all everybody joining us this morning When I say that it was indeed a passionate tour de force as we've come to expect indeed for president higgins With plenty of scope for further questions in our q&a session, which we will now Begin to embark on and there's lots of food for thought of this I'm not even going to begin to pick up on some of the points. I hope you will in the q&a The president will rejoin us very shortly But but in the meantime just to remind you That if you have a question that you'd like to put to the president Please send it to us now if you haven't already been sending them to us Using the question and answer function which you will See on your screen many of you are already familiar with the zoom Functioning but for those of you who are not you can ask a question through the q&a Function on on the screen and in the interest of getting to as many of these questions as as we can in the time available And we're hoping that the president can stay with us until just about 12 15 May I ask you please to try and keep your questions as brief as possible so that we can allow Allow for as many of these questions to be addressed as we possibly possibly can And also if you wouldn't mind, please do identify your organization or indeed your affiliation If you have one and when asking a question this obviously is important To provide a bit of background and context which the president Will be able to take into account when he's addressing his The these replies And I said earlier on we're joined by many hundreds of people not just from ireland But from around europe and indeed from around the world's attribute To the president president higgins To his advocacy and to his To his commitment That that so many people have taken the opportunity to join with us this morning And to link up with the ia for the president's address Finally, I just add a multiple reminder that this entire session And indeed the question and answers that that follow Are are indeed on the record. So you're free to use them Appropriately as you as you see as you see fit Before getting to your questions, I'm going to ask rory quinn The chairman of the board of the ia To who's with us on this webinar to join in welcoming president higgins And if you wish to do so, of course, uh, he's he's welcome to Offer an initial question, uh to the president as well. So, uh, rory the floor is yours and um to to to please take it away Thank you very much michael and thank you for your Elegant words. I have first and foremost a greeting from brendan halligan Who is the founding father of the institute for international european affairs who sends to you As michael d higgins a particular warm welcome You've always been a great supporter of the institute and indeed you have honored us by being a patron And brendan in particular who has not had good health in recent times once that message should be portrayed to you President, um, I would like to propose to you Uh, is it your belief that europe at this time has the leadership and the will to develop the new relationship with africa Which you have so eloquently articulated for us over the last some time Well, first of all, may I reciprocate the greetings to brendan halligan? I so hope he's well your question I think I would answer like this within the european discourse. I believe there is a very significant role for smaller countries and particularly countries with development strategies that were for example not tied to advantages through effectively being hidden exports So you have countries that are free of history such as ourselves Your countries in fact that have decent policies in relation to being Ones that were not tied to other bilateral advantage And then you have countries as well as that who have reputation in In a multilateral sense in the wider out of europe institutions But I see the discourse that I speak of in relation to getting to a new place Being a really great opportunity For these nations such as island and smaller countries and so forth to be forceful If you like it well first of all because the whole of europe we are all in in the european union That necessary task that I mentioned must be goshosh of the way I I've said it more than once There are your parts of europe that would like to forget But all of africa wants to remember We have to get past that I quoted and our enters i've often quoted so as to Remove the capacity of the past from cartailing anything we might do into the in the present And above all else our prospects for the future. Yes, I see the discourse being initiated and pushed forward by the smaller members Thank you president tiggins for that reply. Thank you rory indeed and I just couldn't come to questions now that have been coming in since you began your remarks and indeed Since you finished remarks and what better place to start indeed than with Dr. Carlos Lopez himself Who's online and following us? So his question to president is president You've been indeed an inspiration in the way you bring humanity to the political economy debate What do you think are the consequences of this new phase of global order for the continent with the largest reservoir of youth? Yes, I think there is a great change happening in the global order But again when you drill down into it, I think that there is a consciousness among the african countries for example of How you can deal with let us say for example the presence of china in africa And I think when one looks at it closely one sees the different countries have succeeded better Some have succeeded better than others in what you might call The costs of let us say embedded in investment and and and so forth But what I do think is very important there. I mean I think in the case of in the europe after european union You know, I think it was a japanese economist to invent the flying geese metaphor and I remember a conversation I once had I then I put the president she about what would a chinese hegemony and the world order mean He said immediately. No, we went on straight away To the to the idea of the lead goose and the other goose and the formation geese and the formation and so on I said, I know the origin of that. It was actually by a japanese writer originally, but quite frankly We can't we can't allow Old forms of we are too near uh Ancient versions of cold war politics that would be very destructive Europe is close to africa And europe must immediately see That african presence in europe is welcome Now if we are in fact actually to Construct this partnership it will as I said mean Creating different forms of dialogue like I had said that the small countries have a great advantage Many of the of the members of the european union have a relationship that is often predicated on bilateral advantage Just in the negotiations, but in relation to the in relation and into the global order It is a pessimistic time I think it is a pessimistic time in relation to the deepening of democracy The respect for rights of descent But also above all else for the increasing emphasis on and of course the debate we're having In one of the most powerful countries, which is a very important to base on the removal of race from forms of discrimination and exclusion Thank you president. Um, just another question here on anthropology if I may uh, So he's dara says i'm um very much enjoying this insightful hopeful and timely talk He says a question for the president. He says you mentioned that the potential contribution of anthropology Please can you expand on its role in generating important insights? Yes, I can I and I'll be very brief But I spent from 1968 to 71 on and off at the department of social anthropology sociology at Manchester university And I was really very interested in the work of people like jake lide mitchell and others Who'd written very important work looking at african migration and sum and it became so clear for example I i'd give an example of it. Maybe from Losuto migrants going to the mining sector in south africa People don't understand that if you increased The yield in real terms of their wages that they went home faster These were of course because they had in fact targets to just bride wealth and others and they were reaching it faster and so forth There's a very famous Asa, I think it's eliot berg the backward sloping supply function curve But my interest in anthropology today is is is very much this is that if you have artificial boundaries And you need to deal with competing ethnic ambitions and so forth You you could do so much work particularly. I think in relation to understanding migration intra within africa, but also understanding migration out of africa I have Spoken before and sent some messages to the united nations of what I think should be a global and regional response in relation to migration Anyway, there are we must deal with it. We must deal with what anthropology was so important because what it did was Unlike metrics which might have been derived from a fairly narrow or even discredited version of applied economics It was something in which you were listening In which you are taking the experience of the people at different generations into account But it may also I I think of people like how it's stein from michigan university and others I I have been a critic of others I've been a critic very very much of some of the work on on titles assessment For example granting titles so that people can have if you like a collateral to go to private banks While ignoring family structures and different structures of land tolday is disastrous that those areas are just Immediately suggest to me. We should be using anthropology in our development models Okay, thank you president I'm just going to take two questions together and they both relate to youth and the younger people and one is from our ambassador In south africa finola gilson and she says what role does the presidency in cultural expression and exchange To build new relations between young african young african and europeans, but secondly From probably our youngest participant today all of age 12 Mora karry she wants to know what can young people do and she also describes herself as a fan Yes, well the first of all is we must support culture At home and in europe and in africa This is a very vulnerable time for culture in ireland I think that's one of the most vulnerable groups are the cultural workers in all of the different areas of performance and I very much Look at how responding to covet for example Limited audiences and theaters some shows closed down It's a really difficult time with the question the ambassador asked and and I think and my young friend asks Is a very important one We must be open To expressions of the human spirit in its different magical forms. I think for example Our own relationship with the history of dance I think that uh, I think that I go to professor jake live nature with who with under whom I studied myself beautiful paper about kelela dance. I remember it but There is so much richness Both in color and sound and in movement and in expressions of the body and so on in on that continent that we We really can all gain from and I mean all all of us in europe. We must think that way Africa is not a problem. The continent of africa is not a location It is a wonderful great space where we can redo the things we've done wrong And that that's how I feel about all culture is incredibly important And it should we must really realize that a very very big isn't it a great weakness in the european union That it never privileged culture sufficiently. I say that as a former president of the council of culture ministers in 1996 Very good president. Um question here from brendan walch, uh about He says do you see a danger in speaking of africa as a whole? And as so often happens he says the continent consists of course And I think you reference this in your speech of 54 countries as well as a handful of breakaway states And I wonder if you reckon that part of the conversation could be lost or even specific countries such as small ones in terms of economy and populations such as togo benin Or namibia be left out of the discussion in place of larger countries and economies such as Ethiopia, Nigeria, Egypt or south africa I tend to dominate the conversation if we don't discuss the continent in more specific Oh, I think he's makes a very good point But that exclusion is being sponsored from abroad so often It is when you go to new york and you hear it who wants to hear from the strongest at the cost of the weakest Who wants to hear if you're like from the people who are the most the greatest potential in trade It both side forms of capital that are really interested in that I do agree with them remember I have made the case for anthropology But I have also Said in the course of my paper as well that there are differences that must be I actually said that they must be recognized And that is so I want to say another word about it as well There isn't a single version of waged work Which could be applied across the continent, but at the same time I want to say this Then in as a kind of a pan african consciousness The continent has been excluded from the security I think as well as that there are other forms of balance of time Balance of relationships and balances in culture because we must remember that in the case of colonization We should know ourselves in Ireland where our language was prohibited to be used Is there was a significant suppression of culture? Remember I mentioned old pre cannolian forms for example in law conflict resolution Conflict present prevention Africans for hundreds of years have been dealing with issues of issues between movements of cattle and so forth Yes, he is totally correct. We should in fact Look at the continent in its diversity and it's differing the vulnerabilities and capacities President you mentioned on a few occasions again there the Security Council of the United Nations and Of course, we're on the eve of a very significant vote this time next week In fact this day next week When Ireland is we'll be bidding for one of three seats on the on the Security Council And you talked you spoke in your speech about That at the Security Council Ireland can show Leadership that this is a place where we can show leadership on so many of the issues that you addressed in your speech What kind of leadership can Ireland you know You know subject to of course the election that are being reelected to be elected to the Security Council What kind of leadership can Ireland show? In that environment I think and I spoke in new york about this It can deliver authenticity May I give you an example of the absence of authenticity Of another country which I won't main which might be a candidate exciting an arms deal for 14.5 billion with Saudi Arabia There's a great difference between that Approach and the approach for example of Irish aid, which whatever there are many critics of this that or the other thing But it has never been tied aid So Ireland going to the Security Council Its best thing is to in fact actually deliver on what it has been saying to heads of state and which has got a great welcome I think for example the small island development states whom I have welcomed here I can think for example of the conversations I've had with Latin American countries and so forth and they understand it So Ireland has to be true to itself And I think that it will be I think all of this is for my conversations with the permanent representative and with many people in New york when I visited the united nations last year People just simply want Ireland to deliver Authenticity in relation to some of these principles That you've heard people like myself enunciate Thank you president Just we're coming close to the end here now And I have a question here from David Dunney who is of course one of our former ambassadors and somebody who's very close to the whole issue of development and he says A powerful critique. He's referring to your speech Of course a powerful critique of the inequitable treatment of Africa Africa needs strong multilateral Institutions and increased African participation in them But is the president confident that the political will can be mobilized mobilized to reform The international financial institutions in this direction I think it's a matter of urgency I spoke to the president of Costa Rica quite recently A wonderful country that has done a great deal in relation to economic and ecological balance that I have been speaking about But of course is suffering because of the effects of kovat and the its effect on tourism or whatever and Here is a totally unaccountable Said a dangerous Set of possibilities the role of the the racing agencies standard of born ventures moody's and thrusters them Downgrading your countries A country just at the very time when it's trying to come out of vulnerability It is essential that the racing agencies go off the table while we're responding to kovat and indeed With a bad record, they're not very valuable in relation to anything. We're speaking about in transformation of economics I do think that there is for someone at my having spent some time in universities in many ways We're going to have to redefine economics. We it is time for political economy It's time for social economy It's for a mixture between if you like ecological and social forms of economics The problem is is that economics 101 is such a miserable experience in relation to anything I've been speaking about in so many parts even for example I would note particularly hard stein and I have discussed this part of north america And elsewhere we must teach it differently. I agree with David done creating the political will I choose in fact actually to make the case But you must can't go into the into the more of the powerful In the permanence in the security council, for example, and assume that you can't win There are countries I I think for many countries who have made small gains now is the time for big games Thank you for that. We're going to just take one final question if I may It just in relation to From somebody who will be well known to you Peter mcloon who's also an IEA board member He said there's always an excellent presentation by by your president higgins and looking across The global landscaping inquires at present is the president optimistic That things can get better in our relationship with and support for africa And has your of the capacity I suppose echoing rory quinn's question has your of the capacity and commitment to meet The challenges that you so eloquently described and and maybe just one final question Maybe to link it from don mullen What is it about the africa african's Great green wall that inspires you and if you were to address the heads of state of the african union What would you say to them about this epic initiative? We leave it on those two questions president so Well, I'll take the second first in relation to great green wall with which are being associated Its importance is african involvement And inter afric interstate cooperation And it's such an imaginative process addressing desertification The sewing as well as that concept of renewal and growth and it's a most and the Vatican every would so many different countries have in fact Actually seen is wonderful wonderful Proposal of hope I would say In relation to the to the to the first question remind me dear chairman The what was the first question? It was peter matlona. I think He wants to know yeah about just again as always just he wants to know about the leadership issue I want to know whether you're optimistic that things can get better in our relationship with and support for africa Yes, I worry very very much is that I it's a separate set of papers I have given I I produce a book at the end of this year called recovering the european streash And I think there are problems in the european union and in many ways Particularly that young person who asked me questions so many of the young people They are ahead of the political voices of the strongest in particular The future of the european union is not going to be the outcome of a conversation Between france and germany if it was it wouldn't be much of a union It has to be a union that involves all europeans I can't allow myself to be pessimistic but what I do think is wonderful I am actually seeing the way in which huge support for example for environmental issues Shifted on to the ideas of sustainability and climate change and also the way in which they were able To move on to issues of race And I think that is so important It shows in fact that we have Generations of many generations. There are some very older people Who are quite disappointed that their hopes in relation to all of this Remember those of us who for example were involved in the original Opposition to apartheid and so forth There are many of us who have had hopes that haven't been realized But that doesn't mean that they're quenched But there are generations that I am certain That will succeed in a much shorter time period than we had ever imagined Thank you, uh, president indeed and one of that younger generation. I I I I gave her the wrong name. She's in fact She was ellie dixon Uh, the question was posed by mora kari But the the young 12 year old who asked the question about youth was was was eddie dixon So to be a bad session indeed if we misnamed we misnamed her So I apologize for that, uh, but just not to acknowledge her and to acknowledge you mr president again We're on just to say thank you. The time is against us. I'm afraid I think we could go on for a lot lot longer And it's a huge subject matter and a very sincere thank you to you for sharing This morning with us and to our wider audience and providing such an insightful and eloquent presentation on your vision for for europe and for africa And let's just hope that this is a relationship that can be developed and that the passion That you have president can help drive this agenda forward and bring it indeed to the new level to which you So clearly and all of us also aspire. So thank you president Girmina market. No, it's been a pleasure if all has an adventure. It was wonderful to share these ideas sharing ideas is essential for our future