The 2016 Oxford Africa Conference will challenge and engage with the dominant narratives on Governance, Youth Leadership, and Business in Africa. For our theme, we took our cue from some of the most important developments on the continent in recent years.
Governance
The 2015 Mo Ibrahim Index pointed out the deterioration of governance structures across the continent since 2008. We want to look at the different ways different African government challenge this narrative of deterioration and, more importantly, map the way forward towards better governance across sectors in all African countries.
Youth Leadership
With over 200 million young people aged between 15 and 24 living on the African continent, the youth voice, how they lead and how they are led are more important than ever. The waves of youth protest, mobilization, and innovation pose the question whether there is a demographic dividend to be gained from Africa’s youthful population. We want to facilitate conversations about how to feed, educate, employ, and produce for Africa’s young, because they own the future of the continent.
Business
We will be looking at how businesses are dealing with the shaking up of the “Africa Rising” narrative – how they are facing up to the challenges in commodity markets, how they are innovating in energy to power business across the continent, and how are women and the youth faring in these businesses.
Suggested hastag for the conference: #OxAfricaCon