Europe-Africa Forum returns to Marseille on 7 May to promote sustainable development
The Europe-Africa Forum is back in Marseille on 7 May 2024, with the theme "Explore, Succeed, Invest". This third edition is being held on the eve of the arrival of the Olympic flame in France's second-largest city. It's an opportunity for the two continents to celebrate their cultural convergences and tune their violins for more innovative cooperation on sustainable development.
How can Africa and Europe work together to train a new generation of talent and leaders capable of meeting new expectations? This is one of the questions to be answered by the participants expected at the Europe-Africa Forum on 7 May 2024 in Marseille. At least 1,000 participants are expected in France’s second-largest city for this third edition of the forum, whose theme is “Explore, Succeed, Invest”.
“The 2024 event will highlight the challenges, opportunities and synergies between African and European nations, providing a unique platform for dialogue and the exchange of ideas. Africa is undergoing a major transformation, driven by its dynamic demographics and the vitality of its economic and cultural players. With its natural resources of energy and raw materials, Africa is ready to play a central role in global transitions. We are therefore seeking to catalyse these transformations”, says La Tribune who organizes this event, which is supported by the Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolitan area and the shipping company CMA-CGM.
On 7 May, the challenges of poverty, rapid urbanisation and the effects of climate change (floods and droughts) will be tackled in depth and with new approaches, the consequences of which are increasingly undermining the efforts of municipalities to achieve sustainability. Security will not be left out in the face of political instability and terrorism across the African continent.
Europe and Africa hand in hand
Speakers at the Palais du Pharo in Marseille include Nasser Kamel, Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Mariatou Kone, Ivory Coast’s Minister for Education and Literacy, Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen, Deputy Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and Martine Vassal, President of the Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolitan area.
Researchers and entrepreneurs will also have a prominent place at the Marseille event, as they shape the Europe and Africa of tomorrow through their ideas and innovative solutions. Such is the case of Myriam Fournier Kacimi, CEO of energy solutions platform SunGy. During her speech at the 2023 Forum, she highlighted concrete cooperation initiatives, in particular the European experience in training engineers (construction of photovoltaic solar power plants and manufacture of cables) and supplying equipment such as inverters.
