African Renaissance and Diaspora Network
Here is a representational list of some of our achievements
2010: ARDN served as coordinator of the US delegation to the Third World Festival of Black Arts and Culture, the largest global gathering of luminaries of African descent, including artists, writers, filmmakers, intellectuals, government officials, and scientists. About 80 US delegates were appointed as “United States of Africa” Goodwill Ambassadors, and three African-American women received the African Renaissance Award which honoured Outstanding Women of Africa and its Diaspora.
2011: ARDN led a US delegation to Senegal and facilitated the signing of two partnership agreements with the Government of Senegal and US based participating organizations. The first memorialized cooperation between mayors from Senegal and the US in seven areas of development: energy, youth, education, HIV/AIDS, agriculture, culture and twinning of cities. The second created a framework for cooperation between Universities in Senegal and the US in the areas of academia, research, development and exchanges.
2012: ARDN, through its youth arm, the Pan-African Youth Leadership Network, co-organized the Third Pan-African Youth Leadership Summit in Burkina Faso with a United Nations system organization, convening over 250 young people from Africa and the Diaspora. The Ouagadougou Declaration, the Summit’s primary outcome document, has served as a springboard for several Youth Leaders to implement sustainable development projects in their communities.
2013: ARDN, with the support of a United Nations system organization, coordinated the Africa dimension of the Third World Summit of Mayors and Leaders from Africa and of African Descent, which was organized by the Government of the Republic of Colombia. The Summit convened over 2,850 delegates from over 80 countries, including Heads of State, mayors, governors, legislators, business leaders, academics and artists. In addition to agreements between businesses, municipalities and communities valued at USD 1.8 million, the Summit resulted in the formal creation of an Africa-Diaspora international alliance, the Global Alliance of Mayors and Leaders from Africa and of African Descent (the “Global Alliance”).
2014: The Pan-African Youth Leadership Network co-organized the Fourth Pan-African Youth Leadership Summit in Senegal in cooperation with two United Nations system organizations. The Summit resulted in the formation of two partnerships: first, a partnership between youth of Africa and the Diaspora; and second, a partnership between the Pan-African Youth Leadership Network and the Millennium Villages Project.
2014: ARDN supported the steering of a global HIV/AIDS awareness, advocacy and prevention campaign of a United Nations system organization, organized around the occasion of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The campaign utilized the passion and power of sport and culture towards raising global awareness of HIV, encouraging young people to commit to HIV prevention, and emphasize the importance of antiretroviral treatment. The campaign also utilized the HIV/AIDS response as an entry-point to addressing the wider sustainable human development goals of the United Nations.
2015: ARDN, in partnership with the Global Alliance and the Government of Ghana, organized the Fourth World Summit of Mayors. The Summit convened high-level officials from government and intergovernmental organizations, and leaders in the fields of academia, business, civil society, media and culture, from Africa, Latin America and the United States of America to discuss and share sustainable human development strategies, and develop effective partnerships between municipalities and other stakeholders. It was convened within the framework of the International Decade for People of African Descent (United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/237), and included thematic topics such as empowerment of girls and women, youth employment, health, education and infrastructure.
2016: ARDN provided strategic support to events centered around the 2016 High Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on HIV/AIDS. ARDN’s work included facilitating the discussion of and commitment by municipal leaders towards achieving United Nations HIV/AIDS related objectives in the years 2020 and 2030, and supporting the organization of a discussion on the accessibility of HIV/AIDS medicines in Africa.