On the eve of the
African Development Bank Annual Meetings in Abidjan, an independent Technology,
Entertainment and Design (TED) conference kicked off week on Sunday, May 24 at
the Sofitel Hotel Ivoire. The aim of the TEDx Abidjan event: to showcase
innovative solutions and approaches to address pressing and challenging issues
facing the African continent.
Drawn from sectors
such as education, business, telecommunications, writing, photography and
health, young people who have excelled and distinguished themselves in their
respective professions challenged their peers to seize the moment and help
place Africa on a growth trajectory. The TEDx dialogue, sponsored by the AfDB
and focused on the theme "We are changing the world", took place at
the venue of the Bank's 2015 Annual Meetings.
AfDB's Vice-President
and Secretary General, Cecilia Akintomide, attended the event alongside Albert
Toikeusse Mabri, Côte d'Ivoire's Minister of State, Planning and Development
and AfDB Governor. Akintomide said the positive energy from the young
presenters represented an ideal kick off to the Bank's 50th Annual Meetings.
"There could not
have been a better way to get the Annual General Meetings started than
this," she said. "What was great about this evening was being able to
reach out to young Africans, get them to know about the African Development
Bank, get them inspired and engaged about what is happening in their country and
the world and to show them how they can be a part a positive influence of
change in their communities, country, continent and the world."
From the field of
African literature, award-winning Ivorian-born writer Edwige Renée Dro called
for a new approach to capturing and disseminating African literature
"Africa has many
languages and a population of about 1 billion people. This is a large market
for our literature," he said. "The only way you get to target this
audience is not by writing and communicating in English, French or foreign
languages. You have to use languages that our people are familiar with. So I
think we have to translate these literature into African languages so that
people in our villages can read and understand."
For his part, Ashish
Thakkar, founder of Mara Group and Mara Foundation, with investments in more
than 22 African countries, said, "I have never seen so much excitement
about Africa." Now is the time for Africa," said Thakkar who settled
in Uganda as a teenager. He denounced the notion that "youth are the
leaders of tomorrow", arguing that "youth are the leaders of
today."
Mobile telephony is
one of the major innovations on the African continent with potential to
transform financial transactions in significant ways in future. The Chief
Executive Officer of MTN Côte d'Ivoire, Wim Vanhelleputte, spoke of his
company's vision to leverage telephony to transform finances in Côte d'Ivoire.
He argued that in the years to come, the Ivorian economy will move from a cash
economy to virtual cash economy where most transactions are done through mobile
money.
Sunday's event was
sponsored by the AfDB with the goal of encouraging young people across the
continent to be involved in development issues challenging their communities,
countries and regions.
Akintomide was further
impressed by the commitment of youth to be part of solutions to growing
challenges facing the continent. "There was a lot of hope, determination,
and confidence that they could make a difference on the continent. And I think
it is not just talk. The continent has come a long way."
Sunday's
event was the third edition organized by TEDx Abidjan.
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