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The African Renaissance

Thabo Mbeki

"Whatever the setbacks of the moment, nothing can stop us now! Whatever the difficulties, Africa shall be at peace! However improbable it may sound to the skeptics, Africa will prosper!"

The concept of an "African Renaissance" came into public discourse following then-South African Deputy President Thabo Mbeki's "I am an African" speech of 1996, cited above. The idea quickly captured the public imagination so that now, especially in South Africa but throughout Africa and the Diaspora, it continues to be vigorously debated, celebrated and critiqued in both popular and academic media, in conferences and in government chambers.

"When we speak of an African Renaissance," President Mbeki said on another occasion, "we speak of the rebirth and renewal of our continent. This idea is not new . . . what is new about it today is that the conditions exist for the process to be enhanced, throughout the continent, leading to the transformation of the idea from a dream dreamt by visionaries to a practical program of action for revolutionaries . . . . Africa's time has come!"

As Jacob Zuma, Deputy President of South Africa, has said "the concept of the African Renaissance is not only a matter that is so close to our hearts but is also a matter of life and death without which the pain and suffering of Africa will continue."

For some, the very extent and complexity of Africa's current "pain and suffering" seem to ridicule the notion of a renaissance. Such skepticism often rests on the assumption of a fundamental incapability of Africans to build flourishing societies.

Champions of an African Renaissance, however, point out the necessity of revisiting the continent's history. Such a review illuminates not only the "various phenomena that have led to this dark period of our continent," but also a prior history of thriving civilization, often more advanced than that of its contemporary Europe: highly developed forms of administration that were systematically destroyed to secure profit for those in distant lands. "We speak of a continent which, while it led in the very evolution of human life and was a leading centre of learning, technology and the arts in ancient times, has experienced various traumatic epochs; each one of which has pushed her peoples deeper into poverty and backwardness," says Mbeki: "My people are not a peculiar species of humanity!"

The African Renaissance is more than rhetoric. The vision that it inspires and articulates is manifest in the very rationale and activities of bodies such as the African Union. Many of Mr. Mbeki's remarks above are drawn from his speech at the launching of the African Renaissance Institute in Pretoria, South Africa in 1999. The institute was established to pursue the most effective way of mobilizing and networking Africa's human resource, intellectual wealth and enterprise. It draws from the experience of some 4,860 technical and professional fellows throughout Africa and is also active in helping to resolve Africa's conflicts, in particular in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan. Africans are changing their future.

With thanks to Ambassador Kapembe Nsingo, founding Chairman and C.E.O. of the African Renaissance Institute.

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