{"id":9352,"date":"2022-09-08T10:28:46","date_gmt":"2022-09-08T09:28:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.foretiafoundation.org\/events\/defending-democracy-and-freedom-in-sub-saharan-africa-strongmen-and-the-closing-civic-space\/"},"modified":"2022-09-08T10:28:46","modified_gmt":"2022-09-08T09:28:46","slug":"defending-democracy-and-freedom-in-sub-saharan-africa-strongmen-and-the-closing-civic-space","status":"publish","type":"mec-events","link":"https:\/\/www.foretiafoundation.org\/staging\/event\/defending-democracy-and-freedom-in-sub-saharan-africa-strongmen-and-the-closing-civic-space\/","title":{"rendered":"Defending Democracy and Freedom in Sub-Saharan Africa \u2013 Strongmen and the Closing Civic Space"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

\"\"<\/p>\n

Defending Democracy and Freedom in Sub-Saharan Africa \u2013 Strongmen and the Closing Civic Space<\/strong>
\nDate:<\/strong> Thursday, April 22, – Time:<\/strong> 10am EST (3pm GMT)<\/p>\n

\n

1. Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over the last 15 years, there has been a notable \u201cbacksliding\u201d on democracy worldwide. The recent publication by Freedom House this year revealed only eight (8) countries (includes several smaller countries) rated as \u201cfree\u201d and full democracies in Africa in 2021. This notable regression has clearly resulted in growing concerns about the future of democracy, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The backsliding on democratic norms, prior to COVID-19, was championed by out-of-touch elites in autocratic regimes using all means possible to perpetuate their rule.<\/p>\n

Across sub-Saharan Africa, the last four years have seen accelerated declines in democratic gains, partly attributable to policies of the Trump administration. There have been constitutional changes to perpetuate incumbent rule (Cote D\u2019Ivoire and Guinea), a recent coup d\u2019\u00e9tat in Mali, worsening conflict in Cameroon, Ethiopia, and the Central African Republic amongst others. There are indications that Macky Sall of Senegal is following a familiar playbook to extend his rule. Many regimes have used the COVID-19 pandemic to further repress their citizens.<\/p>\n

Within this difficult terrain, what can be done to defend democracy and civil liberties in Africa? What can we anticipate from the Biden administration\u2019s proposed Summit on Democracy? What lessons have been learned on protecting civic space across the continent? These are some of the questions to discuss in this one-hour panel discussion.<\/p>\n

2. Date and Venue<\/strong><\/p>\n

April 22, 2021 at 10am EST (3pm GMT). The event will be held on ZOOM and streamed live<\/p>\n

3. Panelists \/Speakers<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Jon Temin<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/span><\/div>

Director \u2013 Africa Program, Freedom House<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Ms Kemi Okenyodo<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/span><\/div>

Executive Director \u2013 Partners West Africa Nigeria<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Mr. Francis Tazoacha<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Francis-Tazoacha\"<\/span><\/div>

Director of Peace and Security at Nkafu Policy Institute<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Dr Denis Foretia <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Dr<\/span><\/div>

(<\/strong>Moderator<\/em>)<\/strong>
\nExecutive Chairman \u2013 Nkafu Policy Institute and Co-Chair \u2013 Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

4. Participants<\/strong><\/p>\n

The event will bring together public policy experts, policy makers at the national, continental and international levels, and leaders of civil society organizations. It will be open to the general public with a session for Q&A.<\/p>\n<\/div>

REGISTER HERE<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":9200,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"mec_category":[342],"mec_speaker":[],"class_list":["post-9352","mec-events","type-mec-events","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","mec_category-events"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDefending Democracy and Freedom in Sub-Saharan Africa \u2013 Strongmen and the Closing Civic Space - Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation | Catalyzing Africa's Economic Transformation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foretiafoundation.org\/staging\/event\/defending-democracy-and-freedom-in-sub-saharan-africa-strongmen-and-the-closing-civic-space\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Defending Democracy and Freedom in Sub-Saharan Africa \u2013 Strongmen and the Closing Civic Space - 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