Press
Release
Contact:
Don Rojas
Phone:
410-844-1031
Email:
donjbrojas@gmail.com
African and Caribbean
Leaders to Speak at IBW Symposium in Washington, DC
Democracy,
Development, Reparations on the Agenda
Washington,
DC, October 9, 2013 – Dr.
Ralph Gonsalves, current Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and
Hon. Pedro Pires, former President of the Republic of Cape Verde will deliver
keynote addresses to an international symposium on The Future of Democracy
& Development in Africa and the Caribbean at the Metropolitan AME
Church, one of Washington DC’s most historic African-American institutions
(1518 M Street, NW).
Members of the US Congressional
Black Caucus, ambassadors from the African and Caribbean diplomatic corps,
along with prominent academics, policy experts, journalists and activists will
participate in the October 17-18 symposium organized by the Institute
of the Black World 21st Century (IBW), a research, policy
and advocacy group focused on issues that impact Black countries and Black
communities around the world.
PM Gonsalves will speak at the
Opening Session on October 17 at 7 pm and as a leading proponent of the growing
reparations movement in the Caribbean region, he is expected to draw
connections between future socio-economic development and the current demands
of CARICOM (the 15-nation Caribbean community of states) for reparations from
European countries. This session is free
and open to the public.
CARICOM leaders at their summit meeting
in Trinidad & Tobago in July agreed to the formation of a region-wide
Reparations Commission to seek compensation from Europe “for native genocide
and enslavement of Africans” during 300-plus years of colonization.” Gonsalves
will assume the chairmanship of CARICOM in January 2014.
On October 18, President Pires
will speak on the historical experience, evolution and development of the
Republic of Cape Verde emphasizing its successes in democratic governance and
its unique model of including the diaspora in the country’s governing
processes. This session is By Invitation
Only.
For his efforts in good governance when he was president
from 1995-2006, Pires was named as the third man to receive the “Ibrahim
Prize,” a $5 million award given by Sudanese-born telecommunications executive
Mo Ibrahim to African leaders who “raise the bar for good governance and
leadership.”
During the symposium, the
Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW) will present its
Pan-African Service Award to Prime Minister Gonsalves and its Legacy Award to
President Pires.
“We are deeply honored to have
Prime Minister Gonsalves and President Pires, two esteemed statesmen from
Africa and the Caribbean, speak at our symposium,” said Dr. Ron Daniels,
President of the IBW. “Their speeches, along with contributions from our other
distinguished panelists, will advance IBW’s international work in promoting a
process of shaping a progressive 21st Century vision and practice of
non-exploitative, people-oriented, community building and nation building.”
Daniels hopes that the gathering
will produce a consensus on a framework and process for on-going and in-depth
deliberations on key issues addressed in the symposium, with IBW functioning as
the deliberative vehicle. The Institute plans to publish the proceedings as a
resource to inform and engage broader audiences in the conclusions and
recommendations coming out of the symposium.
“We are delighted to be hosting
this important international gathering,” said Rev. Ronald Braxton, senior
pastor of the Metropolitan AME Church, which is celebrating its 175th
anniversary this year.
“It is fitting that these
deliberations be held here given that several of our members are former US
diplomats who have served in Africa and the Caribbean, that Presidents Obama
and Clinton have worshiped in our sanctuary in the past and that the church
hall where the symposium will be held is named in honor of the great 19th
Century abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass, who often gave speeches at
this church.”
The symposium’s opening session
will be streamed live and later archived for on-demand retrieval on IBW’s Web
site—http://www.ibw21.org.