The Ambassadorial Leadership Forum
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
AILL recognizes that Africa suffers a new trauma each year: bungled elections; poor leadership; civil strife; domestic insurgencies; transnational and international crimes; famine and drought; and communicable diseases. Owing to the propensity of spillover effects of these myriad events, regional and international security becomes an issue to grapple with.[1] Diplomats are known since time immemorial for the leadership role they play in conflict resolution. This therefore, provides a justification for an Ambassadorial Leadership Forum (ALF) to discuss these issues and salvage the lifeline of Africa. The ALF will be launched for the first time in the country in 2015.
AILL proposes a periodic ALF that brings together members of the diplomatic corps to share their experiences and views in a bid to achieve knowledge and learn from a wide spectrum of leadership under the auspices of AILL. As such, the proposed ALF will be an open nonpartisan platform for the diplomatic community to expand the leadership knowledge and its potential in Africa. AILL will also consider the proposed ALF as a dissemination forum where African Institute for Leaders and Leadership Yearbook (AILLY) will be disseminated to members of the diplomatic corps and other invited guests. Diplomats, in its holistic sense, are strategically placed to facilitate an effective collective action necessary for the broadening and deepening an understanding of leaders and leadership. The ALF is, thus, in consonance with, among others, the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Intercourse: the 1949 Geneva Diplomatic Conventions and the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
PROJECT PROPOSED ACTIVITIES
AILL will conduct research on reflections of diplomats on specific leadership issues of their choice on leaders and leadership in Africa; The project will engage research consultants to conduct research on reflections of diplomats on specific leadership issues of their choice on leaders and leadership in Africa and document in the Ambassadorial Leadership Monograph Series.
AILL will publish annual Ambassadorial Leadership Forum Monograph Series (ALFMS) which contains reflections of diplomats on specific leadership issues of their choice;
The project will document yearly publication Ambassadorial Leadership Forum Monograph Series;
- The launching of the ALFMS
The project will launch the ALFMS to provide a locus for detailed and rigorous debates and discussions on African leadership. This forum is essential in providing balanced and non-biased analyses critical to the objective of AILL.
- Summative evaluation of the project.
AILL will institute a supervisory mechanism and internal monitoring system during the entire implementation of the project. A summative evaluation of the project will be undertaken to ascertain if the overall goal of the project was achieved. After the full implementation of the project, AILL will hire a consultant to evaluate the impact of the project in so far as the realization of its overall goal and specific objectives is concerned.
PROJECT TALKING POINTS
The ALF seeks to be engaged in continental dialogues, seminars, symposia, and meetings. Some of the areas the ALF seeks to delve in include:
- Diplomacy in Africa
- Diplomatic Performance in Africa
- Sports, Culture, and Public Diplomacy
- Conflict Resolution in Africa
- Confronting Wartime Sexual Violence Against Women
- Combating Child Labor and the Problem of Child soldiers
- Africa in the Global Energy Security/Politics
- Regional Aspects of Security in Africa, and Africa’s Security Policy
- Africa in International Affairs; AU, UN, and WTO among others
- African Regional Parliaments
- Civil Society in Regional Integration
- Democracy and Governance
- Constitutionalism in Africa
- International and regional Migration
- Climate Change Governance
Noteworthy, the Ambassadorial Leadership Forum (ALF) gives the diplomats an opportunity to engage among themselves on presentation of topical issues of their interest. In certain instances, the Institute will identify topics and request diplomats to contribute
PROJECT RESULTS
The project results shall include:
- The project through the publication and launch of the ALFMS will provide a forum for detailed, rigorous, balanced and non-biased critical debates and discussions on African leadership. Equally important, out of this forum, a community of expertise with more influence on policy will be established.
- The project aims at enabling discussions on leadership issues affecting the continent. As such, an ambassadorial leadership forum is central in the promotion of human rights and practice of good governance.
- The project will also provide an avenue for peer-reviewing essential for reordering the leadership of Africa through the exchange of ideas, expertise and experience. This provides an opportunity to exchange practical experience on leadership.
PROJECT GOALS
Project Overall Goal
- The main objective for the proposed Ambassadorial Leadership Forum (ALF) is to provide a forum for detailed and rigorous debates and discussions on African leadership.
- Specific Goals
The specific objectives of the project will be:
- To publish the Ambassadorial Leadership Monograph Series (ALMS);
- To offer a platform for the exchange of ideas, expertise and experience on leadership in Africa;
- To provide an avenue to encourage leaders into a debate on African leadership and engage them in policy discussions;
- To provide avenue for the diplomatic corps to discuss difficulties that confront them in their efforts at deepening and broadening democracy in Africa;