NETmundial 2014: The Birth of Multistakeholderism on World Stage

Brazilian President Rousseff Opening NETmundial

The NETmundial conference (www.netmundial.br) which was held in São Paulo on April 23-24, 2014 was a culmination of events brought about by revelations of former NSA contractor turned whistle blower Edward Snowden.  

This meeting which was organised by the Brazilian Government and ICANN sought to address two issues namely;

1.  Internet Governance Principles, and
2.  the Roadmap for the future evolution of the Internet Governance Ecosystem

Normally, these two issues would not appear to be contentious, neither would they be areas where governments/states seek to have a greater say. However, in light of the startling revelations about NSA mass surveillance on the American public plus a number of world leaders. It was inevitable that issues of internet governance had to crop up especially given the role internet currently plays in a globalised world.

Hence, with the issue of internet governance on the fore, the main question was how the world was going to address this issue. Was this issue going to be solved through a multilateral approach? In which case you have the tried and tested approach, where you would have world governments/states discussing issues on internet governance. In such a scenario a key constituent would have been locked out. Therefore, the less tried multistakeholder approach which is usually synonymous with civil society had to be tried.

In an audacious gamble the Brazilians choose to try the multistakeholder on issues of internet governance in a world conference where government’s delegations would also be present. The Gig as it were was aptly named - the Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance [some delegates went as far as calling it the ‘world cup’ before the world cup]. For those not in the know Brazil will be hosting the world cup from June this year].

The NETmundial conference organisers invited delegates from four main background categories, namely;

1.        Government
2.        Private Sector
3.        Academia
4.        Civil Society and
5.        Technical Community

In the run up to the conference there had been a call for submissions and under this there were 187 submissions made in time which formed the basis of NETmundial draft outcome document which had been updated as of March 14, 2014. This document was then made available for public comments. The document attracted over 1370 comments.

The submission made have been excellently analysed here

The Conference

I arrived in São Paulo a day before the conference kick-off and thus I missed the usual pre-conference roundtables and opening cocktails which normally give you a pulse of the meeting before kick-off and the expectations we all have before such events. However, I was able to chat with a number of folks before the conference kick off at my hotel and most of us were pessimistic about any outcome document given the diversity of delegate’s backgrounds.

Day 1 – Wednesday, April 23 2014

The first think that captured you when you arrived the meeting venue itself, the Grand Hyatt. The majestic building at the heart of São Paulo business district meant the Brazilians meant business!

The registration was very smooth and took very few minutes plus, the security was adequate.

The opening ceremony went on quite well with speeches from; Virgilio Almeida [NETmundial Chairman who has a striking resemblance to the former Brazilian President Lula], Wu Hongbo [UN Under-Secretary-General who made the announcement of the appointment of Janis Karklins as IGF chair], Nnenna Nwakanma from Civil Society who gave an excellent speech, Vint Cerf from the Private Sector, Tim Berners Lee [Academia] and Fadi Chehadé [Technical Community]

The Brazilian President H.E. Dilma Rousseff accented to the Marco Civil Act before giving her address and formally opening the meeting.

After tea break, there was a long session dedicated to ‘welcome remarks’ mostly from government representatives and other stakeholders present. Out of this session, of note was Michael Daniel Speech – special assistant to the president & cybersecurity coordinator [US], on USgovernment’s announcement earlier this year of its decision to relinquish the oversight responsibility on IANA exercised by the USA’s government.

As has been pointed out in other articles, this session could have been better used but it is understandable that when you have governments represented – such ‘welcome remarks’ sessions are inevitable.

The real business of NETmundial forum got cracking in the afternoon with setting of the goals session immediately after lunch and the first working session dealing with internet governance principals following.

The submissions were open to the floor under four categories; Governments, Civil Society, Academia and Private Sector.

For those not physically present there was the remote hubs participation – through video and online participation through a text stream.

Under the working session 1 – Principles part 1. Most of the submissions centered on human rights with South American CSO’s delegates pushing for a stronger wording of the human rights clause. Other principles had a number of submissions with cybersecurity strongly following esp. issues of internet surveillance. Culture and linguistic diversity also had a number of submissions.

 Day 2 – Thursday, April 24 2014

On Day 2, it was a continuation of the working sessions with working session 2 – Road Map part 1 taking place in the morning. This session was initially scheduled for Day 1 but took place on Day 2 due to time constraints on Day 1 and the fact that the executive committee had to retire for deliberations on Day 1 submissions.

Thereafter, there were two more working sessions; principles part II and road map part II.

The afternoon session was occupied with discourse on Beyond NETmundial – NETmundial and Internet Governance Ecosystem. The critical question asked during this sessions was how the NETmundial input would find its way to IGF and other high level forums that would influence a binding document in future. Also, issues emerging under this session were the transition/handover of US government oversight responsibilities plus the reforming of ICANN to deal with the new responsibilities envisioned.

Thereafter, it was a long wait for the final outcome document, initially scheduled to be announced during the closing sessions scheduled for 1700 Hrs but which took place from 2000 Hrs as a result of last minute negotiations.

The closing session was chaired by Virgilio Almeida – NETmundial chairman and it is at this point it was announced that a final document had been agreed upon by most of the stakeholders present. This document was read out by Adam Peake and Jeanette Hofmann who had been instrumental to achievement of this feat. This final document was aptly named the São Paulo Multi-stakeholder Statement by Virgilio Almeida (http://netmundial.br/netmundial-multistakeholder-statement/). 

The São Paulo Multi-stakeholder Statement

Going through the São Paulo Multi-stakeholder Statement one of the things that you notice from its preamble is that the document is a non-binding outcome document. Thus, we are still a long way in the journey for a binding Internet Governance Principles however this is a good starting point.

1.        Under the Internet Governance Principles

The document identifies a set of common principles and important values. Also, it goes further to state the internet is a ‘global resource’ which should be managed for the public interest.

The document goes further to enumerate nine key principles;

1.        Human rights & shared values,
2.       Protection of intermediaries,
3.        Culture & linguistic diversity,
4.        Unified & unfragmented space,
5.      Security, stability & resilience of the internet,
6.       Open & distributed architecture,
7.        Enabling environment for sustainable innovation & creativity,
8.       Internet governance process principles and
9.       Open standards

Under the above principles, of note is the comprehensive human rights & shared values principle which references human rights identified in this document to the human rights enumerated in the universal declaration of human rights.

Unified &unfragmented internet space. Prior to this meeting there were fears that the internet as we know it today would be under the threat of countries or regions coming up with their own ‘internets’. This going forward seems to be an issue that was resolved at NETmundial.

Security, stability & resilience of the internet. This principle had a quite a number of submission made during the plenary with issues of net neutrality and incorporation of states and Corporates being floated. However, the final document did not factor this in and this clause remains as had initially been formulated.

The internet governance process principles are very well articulated in this document and of note is this clause -

‘Open, participative, consensus driven governance: The development of international Internet-related public policies and Internet governance arrangements should enable the full and balanced participation of all stakeholders from around the globe, and made by consensus, to the extent possible’.

Under this clause the only issue I have is the definition of consensus.

2.       Roadmap for the future evolution of the internet governance

The roadmap for the future evolution of internet governance is very well articulated in the document and points out;

‘Internet governance framework is a distributed and coordinated ecosystem involving various organizations and fora’.

It also points out the Tunis Agenda as a model for multistakeholder-ism and calls upon the participatory nature for internet governance.

Under the roadmap the following issues are addressed at length;

        i.            Issues that deserve attention of all stakeholders in the future evolution of Internet governance.

       ii.            Issues dealing with institutional improvements.

      iii.            Issues dealing with specific Internet Governance topics

     iv.            Points to be further discussed beyond NETmundial:

       v.            Way Forward

Of note were the points meriting further discussion such as roles and responsibilities of stakeholders, jurisdiction issues, benchmarking systems and net neutrality

Politics of NETmundial plus Overall Winners and Losers

NETmundial had its fair share of political dynamics at play. For a political scientist one could not help noticing that in an election year President Rousseff had to portray a strong image esp. against US. With the enactment of Marco Civil Act during the opening ceremony of NETmundial, this was to shove up her support.

 The rejection of the final document by Cuba and Russia was by all means not a coincidence. On the final day of NETmundial the Russian president had been quoted as saying the internet is a CIA project!

India on the other hand is going through an election and thus perhaps this was at the back of the government delegates hence they needed time to consult with the new administration. China on the other hand did not raise any objections during the closing ceremony but it remains to be seen their next moves. China has been a strong proponent of multilateral approach to issues of internet governance.

Winners

1.        President Rousseff – Brazilian President
2.        Mr. Fadi Rousseff – President & CEO of ICANN
3.        ICANN - Organisation
4.        Brazil – Country [leader in South America]
5.       Internet Governance Forum – Institution [funding and lifespan]
6.        Africa
7.    European Union

Losers

1.        US Government [oversight responsibilities of IANA]
2.        Russian Government
3.        China
4.        Cuba

   The final outcome document can be accessed here

China, Japan and South Korea in East Africa...

In the recent past there have been a number of events cultural or otherwise in Nairobi by three Asian countries namely; China, Japan and South Korea. 

Whereas China has been very active in the recent past given the Africa onslaught clearly laid out in FOCAC. Other Asian countries seem to be following suit with Japan normally a quiet actor in Kenya staging a number of public events which we're choreographed to mark 50 years of diplomatic relationship with Kenya. One of this events which I attended was the Japanese Drum Festival particulars below;

Japanese Drum ‘Taiko’ Concert: To mark 50th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations, Sept. 17 & 18 2013 @ National TheatreDates: September 17 & 18, 2013
Venue: Kenya National Theatre
Time: Gates Open 5.30 pm for 6 pm
Entry: Free
Occasion: To mark Japan-Kenya 50th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations

During this occasion the new Japanese ambassador to Kenya gave his speech in presence of the Sports, Arts & Culture Cabinet Secretary Hassan Wario and outlined the mutual relations Japan has enjoyed with Kenya. In his speech the ambassador conveyed the sentiments of current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Embassy staff indicated a number of events at the cultural centre housed within the embassy and a concert at Carnivore. This marks a stack pattern of Japan activities in Nairobi and this can also be viewed also with the summit the Vice President William Ruto attended earlier in the year

South Korea on the other hand has an exhibition running at the National Museum and I was present during the opening where the South Korean Amb. was in attendance and from the government side was a director from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I was surprised to say the least to know that Kenya has a sizeable community of South Koreans living in Kenya. In fact their company Samsung has been making tremendous inroads in the smart phone market. Now days, Samsung phones have become a symbol for middle class Kenyan.

Details of the Exhibition

Eunju's Love & Harmony of Kenya

Opening: September 28, 2013 at 2 pm
Venue: National Museum
Exhibition: Runs Until October 24, 2013 Venue: Ecology Gallery, Nairobi National Museum Entry: Museum Rates Apply

The other notable observation was the appointment of Rufftone [Kenyan gospel musician] as South Korean public diplomat. Then, of course there is the GBS TV which is owned by the Koreans and has been airing Korean Pop Music targeted to young stars.  

Questions am Contending With...

• Is America checking China Influence in Africa by Using Japan & South Korea?
• Are we witnessing a resilient Japan under the stewardship of PM Abe [checking the influence of China in the continent]. I contend that Japan was seeking to Challenge China way earlier but the earthquake affected that. Now that the crisis back home is over then we should expect a more proactive actor in Africa.
• Will this overtures change Kenyan Foreign Policy

Great Read on America's Growing Military Footprint in Africa by Nick Turse and Tom Engelhardt

China might be doing some brisk business with Africa but Uncle Sam seems to be increasing the size and the scope of its Military. The Pivot to Africa: The Startling Size, Scope, and Growth of U.S. Military Operations on the African Continent  By Nick Turse offers some great insights.

Read AFRICOM’s Gigantic ‘Small Footprint’ here

Thanking Aly Khan Satchu for bringing it to our attention through his Newsletter.    

An Eye on the Horn of Africa: Commentary by Prof. Peter Kagwanja on the EastAfrican – Aug. 3-9 2013

Last week’s commentary by Prof. Peter Kagwanja* on The EastAfrican caught my eye because it paints a picture of the role of international actors in the region. Perhaps my take away from his commentary is that we may be witnessing the entry of Somalia as the new play ground of global actors.

The unveiling of Unisom is also taking place against the backdrop of the discovery of valuable mineral and energy resources. This is raising fears in America and the European Union over a ‘Chinese takeover’ on the region and thrusting Somalia into the forefront of the fierce scramble for Africa’s strategic resources. This, in turn, is fueling renewed militarism, now everywhere fashioning the geopolitics of the horn. - Prof. Peter Kagwanja

Considering the considerable interest Somalia has been getting be it the Western interests as the professors points out to the interests of China as feared out by the west plus the invasion of the Turks to the party as it were things are bound to get interesting. Given also Kenya has a military presence in Somalia and would want to reap the peace dividends it remains to be seen if the entry of Somalia will be through Kenya. The unfolding Foreign Policy under Uhuru administration seems t be going that route given the president has spoken of strengthening intra Africa trade plus the rise of new wave of pan-Africanism.

* Prof. Peter Kagwanja is the CEO of Africa Policy Institute

Thought Provoking Read: Africa's Big Brother Lives in Beijing by John Reed

John Reed in an investigative piece on Foreign Policy contends that China might actually be spying on Africa. One of the question he possess is Is Huawei wiring Africa for surveillance? 

"Generally, most of the employees operating these systems are Chinese and the arrangements usually include delegating maintenance and decisions about future updates to Huawei as well, thus ensuring the Chinese firm's control of the basic technological architecture's foundation, evolution, and operations,"  - Chris Demchak, co-director of the Center for Cyber Conflict Studies at the U.S. Naval War College

Looking at this from a Kenyan perspective and given the happening on the ground this might actually be true. If you look at Safaricom the biggest player in telecommunications you will notice that it has close relationship with Huawei. One of the goals of Safaricom Ltd is to offer it's services to anyone and that means getting in agreements with Huawei which offers affordable phones to the base of pyramids. This agreements between Huawei and Safaricom usually extend to other areas apart from the hand-set market.

Also, sometime back I happened to have gone to an official launch at Kenya Broadcasting Corporation headquarters and I noticed most of the equipments and renovations of the state broadcaster were installed by the Chinese. This was during Kibaki administration who found a win win situation with the Chinese government. 

When one also looks at the Chinese Consulate in Kenya one will notice that they have a substantially huge complex which is next to Hurlingham plus another office dealing with trrade matters along Ngong Road. Certainly if the all countries snoop on each other but Chinese seem to be on the look out for new trade deals for their companies.

Also, looking at the Chinese benevolence in providing the African Union with a state of the art new headquarters in Ethiopia. This is the same building John Kerry the American Secretary of State marvelled upon in his first visit to AU headquarters. 

The Chinese certainly seem to have done their homework on the continent and now they unlike Americans do not need an African Drone Programme! 

Dispatches from Addis Ababa: 4 Days of Conference Proceedings, Visit to the AU HQ and Ethiopian Nights

FES last week brought together young leaders from East and Central Africa for a four days conference in Addis Ababa. This conference incorporated presentations from guest speakers, deliberations from the participants and a visit to the African Union Headquarters. In we had dinners so as to socialize and get to know about each other’s countries in an informal setting.

Kenya was ably represented by a contingent of five [three gents and two ladies] who hail from various backgrounds. This was my first time in Addis and in the wake to the visit I had got different perspectives as to what to expect in Addis Ababa. Some of the things I had been told to expect turned out to be true while others we’re NOT. 

Better Understanding of East African Region

One of my main take-away from this conference is a better understanding of this region. I greatly appreciated presentations and talking to Rwandan delegation. This folks have a lot going on in their country. I also learnt of their two months initiative where they crowd source monies from the populace to fill in the gaps of donor money. I thought this is a pretty good nation building tool where you have folks from all social structure contributing money to build their nation. I also got to appreciate the leadership of HE Paul Kagame. The folks in Rwanda approach things in a different way as opposed to us!

The Southern Sudan delegation also caught my eye. The delegation was made up of US and British educated young lads. These guys also are NOT politicized as we are and are time conscious and have a western look. We talked at length with this delegation and I got an insider’s perspective into happening in Juba.

The other insights generated are how outsiders perceive Kenyans especially Ugandan’s. The Uganda delegation had this joke

 ‘I have finished my diner as fast as the swearing ceremony of Kenya’s president’

If you are an Investor Ethiopia is the place

In Addis Ababa you will not miss seeing rapid infrastructure development. Just to drive the point home from my hotel lobby I was able to spot more than ten building being out up. Also during our visit to the AU hq we saw the building of Sheraton Hotel next to the AU hq.

However, this said I experienced problems of changing my foreign currency. If you are visiting Ethiopia then it is best advised you change your currency at the airport. Otherwise you risk exchanging your cash in the black market which charges a premium of about 10%.

In terms of the media I had a look at the hotel newspaper and it seems very small and only does reportage with very few opinion pieces.

The town has a huge Chinese influx. The road from the airport is being constructed by the Chinese.

China Aid Plaque at AU Hq

The African Union Visit

AU Hq

There is lots happening at the African Union and as a citizenry we should ask for more reporting. I learned of the ‘I am African Project’ there plus in my opinion there are lots of opportunities which Kenya can tap into at the AU.

I am African Project

In the arts, I was able to see a quite a few paintings which had been donated by Northern African states namely Egyptian & Algerian government.

Art at the AU Hq

Ethiopian Nights

Ethiopians unlike Kenyan’s really appreciate their culture and you will notice despite the economic growth the country is experiencing it is still a melting pot of rich traditions. In fact most of the Ethiopians prefer to speak in their dialect and English I came to learn is taught from secondary level of education.

Ethiopian Nights

Bottom Line

Young leader and youth should be given more chances to interact so that the region can forge cohesion from an early age. If it could be possible to begin such initiatives from as back as high school it would be great. Also, more chances for citizens from Africa to visit the AU HQ’s are needed.

Prince of China: Raila’s Visit to the East

The Prime Minister meets with the Chinese VP HE Xi Jin ping
Source: PMPS

The Prime Minister’s visit to the East couldn't come at a better time than it did. Miguna Miguna [a former aide to the prime minister turned foe] had just released an explosive book (Peeling back the Mask-A Quest for Justice in Kenya). The usually calm and collected office of the primemister had been caught napping and needed some time to realign themselves and the FOCAC meeting in China offered that chance!

What was interesting to note was NOT the Miguna debacle unfolding [you could say still unfolding because the man is back into the country] BUT what ‘really’ transpired in China. The Prime minister through the office of the Prime Minster Press Service [PMPS] has its own account of what happened and was eager to paint a picture of the prime minister socializing with the Chinese elites and football stars [Drogba & Anelka]. Back here it is an open secret that the PM loves football and calls the shots in Gor Mahia FC. So the timings of these photo ops were NOT coincidental.

Anelka, Drogba & the PM
Source: PMPS

The Chinese might have known this and to play ball into the prime ministers court organized for these photo ops for the prime minister. However, what we the public we’re NOT told is if there we’re any backdoor negotiations that the Chinese had with the PM. Currently, the PM is the man to beat in the next year’s elections and the Chinese having some massive investments in this region would want to secure their investments should the PM ascend to the presidency. So what happened in China leaves more to be desired and the PM’s office has NOT been open on what really transpired in China.

The Prime Minister has been known to have leanings in the west while the president and his men are known to have a soft spot for the East. Therefore, months ahead we will witness a lot of activity in Kenya as different countries try to secure their interests in Kenya.

A toast to......
Source: PMPS

The Winds from Beijing

The Chinese community in Nairobi had a rare concert/Performance on September 8, 2011 at the University of Nairobi Taifa Hall.  The performance was aptly titled ‘The wind from Dunhuang’ and was performed under the auspices of Forum for China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) which China in cooperates a culture aspect of engagement with Africa.

So under this auspices China has a Chinese Culture in Focus 2011 calendar of events in which it organizes exhibitions, performances, concerts, operas, kite flying and Chinese book fairs in countries where it has a presence in Africa. Some of these countries are Mauritius, Tanzania, Seychelles, Gabon, Burundi, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Senegal, South Africa and Kenya.

The last two countries South Africa and Kenya experiencing a lot of contact and spotlight from Beijing now that Egypt the seat of FOCAC  is undergoing some turbulent times as a result of the Arab Spring/Uprising.

The Event

The event was set up at the Nairobi University grounds which houses the Confucius Institute and has been very cordial to China under Prof. Magoha’s tenure.

The performance was an evening event and by 7.30 the hall was half full of Chinese living in Kenya (Some of the with Jackets with the logo of Wu Yi a Chinese company constructing Thika road) and few students (some Chinese students) and other students at the University who out of curiosity wanted to see what was happening in the hall.

A table with red piece of cloth was set for the dignitaries at the front (Chinese ambassador to Kenya and other dignitaries accompanying the troupe on its tour of African countries).

The Performance

The performance started at 8pm and we were treated to some great performances on this evening. A dance: Raise your bridal veil kicked off the evening with Chinese drums playing in the background. Mind you the evening performances were done with a playback on the background. There after a female solo: A glass of good wine was performed by one of the MC’s.

Tibet

We were also given a folk dance number from Tibet: The Love Song of Kangding and boy that dance was perfectly executed. This showcased the liveness and kind of shyness of Tibetan girls and later we were treated to a male group dance-the happy Tibetans (Political undertones?)

Mongol

Showcasing the diversity of China we were treated to a play of Matouqin. A Mongol string musical instrument with two aptly titled performances; A thousand horses are galloping ahead and sing a spring song in pasture

Acrobatic Shows

Also on the menu from China was an acrobatic show which was good and a unique skill in Sichuan opera-Changing Faces which great.

Friends, Partners & Brothers

Just as we have a book by Elizabeth Gilbert with the philosophy of eat, pray and love. The philosophy or the mantra that Beijing is sending out to Africa was out there to be showcased.

The evening ended with these words ‘Friends Partner Brother’ in a banner. This is the message that Beijing is sending out to Africa.

Now I am looking forward to Embrace China-Performance and visit by Chinese Arts Troupe and Chinese Book Fair.

The Return of China to Africa

Dan Large’s book The Return of China to Africa is a worthwhile read to understand the China-Africa Geopolitics.

China in Kenya

On Wednesday April 20, 2011 HE Mr. Li Changchun a member of standing committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the People’s Republic of China gave a keynote address at the University of Nairobi. The key note address was titled; ‘Strengthening China-Africa Friendship & Co-operation to build a better tomorrow’.

As the name denotes the speech was intended for the whole of Africa. Considering that China has come up with a policy of engaging the whole of Africa under the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) initiative that predates early 2005.

So this was a major scoop for Kenya considering this kind of lectures would have perhaps been done in Egypt. Now that there is Uprising in the Arab world Kenya is now the reference point for China-Africa Co-operation.

Preparations

The run up to the Public lecture saw the University of Nairobi turned into a small ‘China Town’ of sorts. An exhibition was put up in record time from Monday April 18, 2011 to late Tuesday April 19, 2011. The exhibition: ‘As Others See US-China in the Eyes of African Artists’ was one of the best exhibitions put up by Chinese I have come to see to date.

It has around 30 paintings from 15 artists from all over Africa (Mainly the stations where China is HIGHLY present). Some of these countries and artists exhibited are Lesotho (Thakane Lerotholi), Ethiopia (Daniel Asfaw Tadesse), Zimbabwe (Tonely Ngwenya), Zambia (Gordon Shamulenge), Cape Verde (Bento Oliveira), Senegal (Amadou Camara Gueye), Tanzania (David Hezekia Mzuguno), Cameroon (Irene Mejane Epie), Tunisia (Mohammed Regaieg), Mauritius (Pascal Jean Francois Gaspard) and Kenya (a fine arts lecturer from KU).

D-Day

The public Lecture was commencing at 2.40pm and we had to be seated by 2pm. The security was tight but did not have the signature hullabaloo of the Americans. The Chinese perhaps a cognizant of this fact and do NOT like rubbing feathers in their hosts country. The University was awash with banners/posters going by ‘Warmly welcome HE Mr. Li Changchun to UON’ and ‘warmly welcome HE Mr. Li Changchun to CIUON’.

There were lots of Chinese in the Taifa hall auditorium taking photos with high end user camera’s (A sign of the high purchasing power of the Chinese in Africa).

At exactly 14.40hrs HE Li Changchun arrived to the hall accompanied by Hon. Helen Sambili (Minister for Higher Education, Science & Technology-Acting), Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, Chair of the University Council Prof. John Simba, The V.C. Prof. Magoha, PS Prof. Kiamba and the Chinese itinerary of HE Mr. Li.

The Principal CHSS Prof Mbeche made some opening remarks and welcomed HE Mr. Li to give the Keynote Speech.

Key Note Speech: Strengthening China-Africa Friendship & Co-operation to build a better tomorrow

HE Mr. Li began his speech by bowing to the audience and the high table. He then followed that his visit was meant to promote get together between the people of China and Africa. He extended the warm wishes of his people to the brotherly people of Kenya and Africa. He observed that Kenya was a friend in East Africa and a strong partner.

FOCAC

He noted that since the last presidents delegation in Beijing China had honored its end of commitments to Africa despite harsh economic times. In total China have over 500 projects in Africa worth around 30 billion.

He also mentioned that China and Africa have been able to maintain the strong bond because they have fought colonialism, advocated Independence. He noted that China was a country that respects countries despite their sizes (Large or small) and has been against bulling from western governments. China also advocates for equality and their relationship has provided tangible benefits to both parties.

HE Mr. Li noted that his country is looking for deep and pragmatic friendship from Africa and hinted that a pragmatic strategic relationship was on the works from Beijing.

He also suggested the following four points to Africa which they should cultivate with China;

1. Enhance Political Relationship with China

On this he encouraged and high level exchange between members of Kenyan Political Parties and Chinese Communist Party. On his visit to Kenya he mention of meeting the President, the Vice President and the Speaker of the National Assembly.

He invited the high level members in their respective parties to visit China and learn a thing or two from the Communist Party of China.

He also mentioned that his country China was looking to cultivate high level friendship among members of government, legislature and political parties.

2. Promote Economic being and reciprocity

China was joining Africa in mutual trade opportunities. Some of the areas China is looking to invest is Agriculture, Medical care etc. China was looking to promote development of Africa as a whole.

On his part Mr. Li shared with us that China was encouraging capable and trustworthy Chinese Companies to work in Africa. This he said will contribute to employment and economic well being to Africa.

China will also provide assistance to Africa in the following areas;

• Education
• Agriculture
• Healthcare
• Energy Conservation & Environmental Protection

During his last day in Kenya he will over see the signing of a concession loan worth 750,000 Chinese Ruan. Some of these monies will over see the construction of a referral hospital in Kenyatta University.

3. Encourage People to People Exchange

This he noted will foster and deepen friendship through cultural exchanges. He personally was going to encourage the interaction of Chinese youngsters, women, media, institutions of higher learning/academics etc with Africa.

He doubled the number of scholarship China had offered to Kenyan Students from 32 to 64 on this day.

On tourism he directed China TV, CCTV to produce more documentaries about Kenya especially the Rift Valley so that more Chinese tourists can come and visit the country. This he noted will contribute to lowering of the deficit that exist between Kenya-China.

4. Strengthen Communication (Consultation & Coordination)

This is to enable the developing country have one voice in the international community. He looked forward to more consultation especially from African Union, AU to come up with common stand points on the following issues;

• Sovereignty
• Security
• Territorial Integrity
• Food Security

Present Day China

He noted that the communist party will be celebrating its 90^th Anniversary. He noted under the 90 years the party had undergone revolution, contestation and reform (last 30years of reform & opening up).

Under the last 30 years he noted the party had adopted ‘Socialism with Chinese Characteristics’.

HE Mr. Li seemed to be a realist person in that he noted as much as people are talking about China being a super power there was a huge discrepancy in its GNP Vs Per Capita income. He briefly talked about the Delegates Coference in March and how china was adopting a new blue print for the next 5 years whose theme or backdrop is ‘scientific development’.

He noted that development of the world and that of China was interlinked and that no one should fear China as it is seeking a harmonious world of lasting peace and prosperity.

Youth

He correctly pointed out that most of the audience were young people and he quoted Mao Zedong ‘World belongs to you (youth) and us (old)’.

On a light note he said the youth present made him feel young and he was relishing the university years (40 years ago!).

He noted a lot of volunteers were coming to Africa and China was institutionalizing this and we should expect more Confucius Institutes in Africa.

Bottom Line

HE Mr. Li Changchun seemed to be genuine about his message he was delivering on behalf of his people. However, there was no Q&A which was removed at the last minute due to ‘time’ constraints.

NB: The lecture was given in Chinese with an interpreter translating it to English.

Li Changchun, a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China Central Committee's Political Bureau dances with students from Nairobi University, in Nairobi, Kenya, April 20, 2011. Li gave a speech at Nairobi University on Wednesday.(Xinhua/Zhao Yingquan)

China Africa Agricultural Forum

China next frontier in Africa after successively transforming the infrastructure of most African countries including Kenya now lies in Agriculture.

This frontier is now marked and defined with the recently held China-Africa Agricultural Forum which was held on August 11-12 2010 in Beijing, with the theme of opportunities and challenges for China-Africa agricultural cooperation in the new situation. Heads of parties and governments, agricultural ministers and entrepreneurs from nearly 20 African countries attended the forum with Kenya being represented by the Vice President Hon. Kalonzo Musyoka. The Chinese partners pointed out that the convening of the forum demonstrated the sincerity of China to help Africa achieve their independent development.

Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) which spell out the outcomes of contacts between China and Africa mostly from Chinese perspective gives a good indication on what Beinjing is up to i.e. China unveils proposals for agricultural cooperation with Africa 

At the closing ceremony, China and the African countries issued the Beijing Declaration of China-Africa Agricultural Forum, highlighting the problem of food security.

Recognizing that food security is a serious challenge for the world, the declaration said the international community in general, and developed countries in particular, should pay more attention to food security in Africa and honor their aid and debt-relief commitments.

"We call upon developed countries to make more effort to help African countries realize the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations," said the declaration.

Jointly organized by the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, the forum focused on opportunities and challenges in China-Africa agricultural cooperation and to show case the seriousness of this the China Daily had a story on China, Africa forge farming ties.

The vice President has of late has gone viral show casing his endeavors on facebook  and  mykalonzomusyoka website has kept everyone who cares updated on what he is up to.

So one has to wait to if the Chinese will carry on this as opposed to the Americans that have feed the future

Map of Africa

African Leaders

VP addressing the Forum

Acrobatic Performance by China's Hunan Province National Art Troupe

I got a rare chance to experience Chinese culture at same time celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year also known to them as Spring Festival yesterday 10/02/2010 at the K.I.C.C. Ball room.
The 14 of February will mark the most important festival for the Chinese people as they usher in 'The year of the Tiger'. In my case, it will be business as usual (read valentine and the mandatory mass attendance!). However, the Chinese will get to celebrate both as the Chinese ambassador to Kenya put it 'it will be a an ideal moment for the young men in China to celebrate their new year at same time for those with girlfriends to propose.'
You will be living in Mars if you have not noticed the many Chinese in town. We have three categories in my opinion. The workers assisting us in building our highways, the businessmen and we have the tourists. In fact huge hotels in town such as The New-Stanley have a Chinese Restaurant i.e. Tai-Chi restaurant. It is also a common occurrence to see Chinese Tourists taking snaps in front of Nairobi's Landmarks areas such as KICC and City's view site in community.
So the Embassy of the people's Republic of China did put up a very successful performance which was attended by among other the government officials led by the PS in Ministry of Culture, Diplomatic community (I did see the Japanese envoy and other whom I did not recognize), the Chinese community working in Kenya and many Kenyan's wishing to know the ways of our 'friends, partners, brothers'.
The thing I took notice is that China really views Africa as a strategic partner. The ying-Yang sign with one part China and the other Africa caught my attention and the well choreographed acrobatic performance that at times left me breathless. Plus, folk songs from Mao's birth place!
The national Troupe took the peoples hearts with short Swahili composition which shows that they had seriously planned for this occasion.
In sum I clearly enjoyed my evening thanks to the Chinese and look forward to the year of the Tiger!