African Union endorses Adesina for second term @AfDB - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Executive Council of the African Union (AU) has endorsed the candidacy of Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, for a second term as President of the African Development Bank, reports ITREALMS.

The decision was taken during the thirty-sixth Ordinary Session of the AU Executive Council, held during the AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 6-7 February 2020.

ITREALMS recalls that Adesina was elected to his first term as President by the Bank’s Board of Governors at its Annual Meetings in Abidjan on 28 May 2015. He is the eighth President of the African Development Bank Group and the first Nigerian in the post.

During his first term, the Bank’s shareholders approved a landmark $115 billion capital increase in late October. The increase in the capital base, from $93 billion to $208 billion, signaled strong support from the Board of Governors in the continent’s foremost financial institution.

Adesina is a renowned development economist who has held a number of high-profile international positions, including with the Rockefeller Foundation, and as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development from 2011 to 2015.

The African Union Executive Council comprises 55 ministers of foreign affairs representing the member states of the African Union.

In December 2019, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) also endorsed Adesina for a second term as Bank chief. The election will again take place at the Bank’s Annual Meetings in May in Abidjan.

Nenye Dom/Editor

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Experts seek leapfrogging on Shackles of Convention

ITRealms:

International experts will at a major education conference of the African Union in Ethopia next month, call for African leaders to leapfrog the shackles of convention, ITRealms reports.


The call ITRealms gathered is to be made at this year’s Africa’s leading conference on technology and learning, eLearning Africa, co-organized by the African Union (AU) and co-hosted by the Government of Ethiopia, in order to ensure that African economic growth is sustained by adequately trained young people.  


A major focus of the conference ITRealms learnt will be on the role technology-assisted learning can play in helping to develop the skills vital for the future of Africa, by equipping young Africans with entrepreneurial expertise, supporting capacity development in key sectors such as health, and assisting a new generation of entrepreneurs to develop innovative solutions in the education technology sector.


In a statement as gathered by ITRealms, co-organizer of the event and Chief Executive officer of ICWE GmbH, Rebecca Stromeyer, expressed enthusiasm on the success of the event noting that, she anticipates a challenging, interesting and important eLearning Africa series this year.


Also, an education expert and speaker at the event, Shai Reshef, has argued that, with the numbers of potential students in Africa vastly outpacing currently available facilities, there is a critical need for smarter online resources to empower young people and provide the engine for continuing economic growth, ITRealms reports.


ITRealms gathered that the eLearning Africa is the continent’s largest and most influential conference on technology-assisted learning and training, which brings together over 1,500 people from nearly 100 countries every year, providing a unique forum for dialogue, networking and the exchange of ideas.


This year’s conference as ITRealms learnt would feature world leading experts on education and technology, and keynote speakers as will include Mark Surman, Executive Director of the Mozilla Foundation, makers of Firefox and Shai Reshef, the founder and President of the University of the People.

Daniel Nsolibe/GEE


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AU Commissioner to address ICANN's opening session in Durban

Dr. Elham Ibrahim

Egyptian seasoned Electronics and Communications Engineer, who is currently serving as the African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, Dr. Elham Ibrahim, would address the welcoming session of ICANN47 on 15 July in Durban, South Africa, according ICANN sources.

Her participation in the opening session of ICANN47, reflects the partnership between the African Union and Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) that began at ICANN42 in Dakar, Senegal. 

This partnership, official say, has continued to grow and strengthen since it began in 2011, especially over the past year, noting that African Union has been one of the strongest supporters of ICANN's African strategy, and the results of this strategy's implementation will be shared during the Durban meeting.

ITRealms also gathered that Dr. Ibrahim has over 30 years of experience in electrical interconnection, energy strategy, network design and renewable energy. 

Prior to her position with the African Union, she served as the First Under Secretary of State in the Ministry of Electricity and Energy in Egypt, as well as the General Manager for training and promotion in Egypt's New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA).

"We are honored to have Dr. Ibrahim address the global ICANN community as it gathers in Africa," official ICANN statement made available to ITRealms read.

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