The particular emphasis of the OpenForum will be on the roles of India, Brazil and China, in particular, as drivers of growth on the continent, but increasingly as important actors in the political and social affairs of African countries. Layered on top of this will be an interest in how inequality – across money, power and s*x – affects young people. In the shadow of the North African and Arab Sp
ring revolutions, the Africa Foundations will be looking at who is being left behind as the race for resources plays itself out in Africa, and who – equally importantly – is being pushed aside. The OpenForum represents the first event of its kind and will bring together a select group of around 500 activists, academics, businesspeople and policy-makers. In addition to African thinkers and leaders, the OpenForum will include key civil society and state actors from Brazil, Russia, India and China. In an era in which funding for strategic conversations among activists and policy actors is diminishing, the OpenForum will allow this range of participants – a mixture of prominent figures, as well as younger and newer voices – to take a critical look at
the factors that will influence the African democracy and governance agenda over the next decade. In particular, the OpenForum will provide a space to talk and exchange ideas about the economic, social and political implications of the emerging world order and its impact on the core mandate of the four Open Society African Foundations – the advancement of human rights and good governance, and the promotion of open societies. While the OpenForum will provide an unapologetic space for reflection and thinking, it will be designed to have a few important outcomes that will guide the programming of the Africa Foundations over the next few years. Linked to the OpenForum will be a grant fund, which will be dedicated to enabling ideas seeded at the OpenForum to be taken forward in the months that follow. In addition, given the importance of the BRICS, the OpenForum will provide an important opportunity for the Africa Foundations to agree on a programme of work around economic policy, human rights and environmental monitoring related to the conduct of state and non-state actors from BRICS countries in Africa. Beyond the on-going questions related to deepening economic inequality and the adoption of policy models that are overly prescriptive, the Africa Foundations are seeking input on a new set of phenomena that threaten human rights on the continent. These include, but are not limited to concerns that fall under each of the three pillars of the meeting.
