Millennium Promise (MP) partners with the African Renaissance and Diaspora Network to popularize the SDGs at local level
Dakar, April, 27, 2018
As part of its "Pathway to Solutions" initiative, a high-level delegation of political, economic and media leaders from the African Renaissance and Diaspora Network led by the network's President and CEO Dr Djibril Diallo, accompanied by Millennium Promise, conducted a study trip to Senegal and the Gambia from the April 23th to 27th of 2018.
Millennium Promise CEO Dr. Amadou Ibra Niang-member of the Leadership Council of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network-took part to the delegation's meetings particularly the workshop with the Ministry of Higher Education Research and Innovation on the Higher Education Reform in Senegal held on Monday, April 24, 2018 at Lagon 2.
That first meeting, chaired by the Minister Pr Mary Teuw Niane, brought together the chancellors of Senegal's universities, the directors of the higher institutes, the minister's advisers and various representatives of the young leaders' associations. This was an opportunity for MP to present to the Minister the various projects undertaken with the Alioune Diop University of Bambey including the SDG-based territorial information system which will serve to guide the planning of local authorities as well as the concept of the SDG incubator Centre to improve the employability of young graduates.Other meetings were held with local authorities particularly with the Association of Mayors of Senegal.
The second day of the mission in Senegal was marked by courtesy calls to national authorities such as former Prime Minister and current special Envoy to the President Mrs Aminata Toure; as well as the diplomatic community of Senegal, such as the Ambassador of Great Britain, his Excellency Mr. George Hodgson. Meetings were also held with the United Nations agencies, UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNWOMEN. The Resident Coordinator Ms. Priya welcomed the delegation to the UNDP office.
The mission to Senegal ended after a meeting with the Senegalese Press on Wednesday, April 25 at the United Nations Information Center. The main purpose of this meeting was to establish partnerships between the Senegalese press and the major press outlets represented in the network such as the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the National Association of Newspaper Publishers (NNPA) and the International Press Institute at Vienna, Austria (IPI). The groups have committed to producing a Memorandum of Understanding on a few key areas, including training, content sharing and participation in each group's conventions.
The mission continued on Thursday 26th and Friday 27th of April in Banjul where the delegation accompanied by the CEO of Millennium Promise held further meetings with the leaders of the country.
Therefore, the delegation held a series of meetings at the UN in The Gambia. The UN Resident Coordinator and the UNDP Resident Representative, Ade Mamonyane Lekoetje as well as other UN officials shared with the delegation their achievements in the area of Sustainable Development Goals particularly in terms of SDGs localization in Gambia.
The delegation met the Minister of Information and Telecommunications Demba Ali Jawo and the Permanent Secretary Amie Njie-Joof to discuss about the Ministry's role in the popularization of the SDGs.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports of The Gambia also received the delegation with the presence of the Permanent Secretary Daedalus Ceesay, Deputy Permanent Secretary Abtoulie Kah and other officials to discuss about Youth Policy and Sustainable Development Goals in The Gambia.
The delegation was subsequently received by Her Excellency Aja Fatoumata C.M. Jallow-Tambajang, Vice President of the Republic of The Gambia, who supported ARDN and the Rojalnu Youth Association for the popularization of SDGs at country level, an articulation of the SDGs with the national development plan (2018-2021) to accelerate the transformation of the living conditions of the populations, especially young people and women. The Vice President focused on education and youth employment, wealth creation at local level to lift rural people out of poverty. The Vice-President welcomed positively the idea of launching the Sustainable Territories Program aiming at localizing the SDGs at the level of the Gambian territorial communities.
About the mission
The mission is part of the "Pathway to Solutions" initiative which, as stated by Djibril Diallo. It aims to popularize the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The ARDN initiative to promote the Sustainable Development Goals was designed in partnership with the Office of the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Mrs Amina Mouhamed, the UN Senior Africans Group , the Sustainable Development Solutions Network of Columbia University that is led by Pr Jeffrey Sachs, the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).
The mission was named in honor of the late "Les Payne", an NABJ member and strong supporter of the cooperation between the diaspora and the African continent. Mr. Payne died a few weeks before the mission.
The delegation led by Dr. Djibril Diallo includes: Mr. Joe Davidson, columnist at The Washington Post and co-founder of NABJ; Mr. Cloves Campbell, publisher of Arizona Informant and former chairman of NNPA, Mrs. Floydetta McAfee, President of Summerland Studio, LLC; Mr. Frank Jackson, Assistant Vice Chancellor Prairie View A & M University; Mr. James Gomez, Director of International Affairs, Rainbow / PUSH Coalition; Mr. John Yearwood, President of Yearwood Media Group and Executive Board Chairman of the International Press Institute in Vienna, Austria.
Millennium Promise CEO Dr. Amadou ibra Niang accompanied the delegation to Senegal and The Gambia.
About ARDN
African Renaissance and Diaspora Network, Inc. (ARDN), is an internationally operating NGO headquartered in New York, with the status of a United States 501(c)(3) public charity. ARDN's mission is to accelerate the attainment of the African renaissance by advocating for and supporting United Nations programs, such as the Sustainable Development Goals. To this end, ARDN mobilizes the passion of government, educators, artists, intellectuals, the private sector, civil society and youth, using the power of art, sport and culture as vectors for creating a better world. ARDN serves as the Secretariat for the Global Alliance of Mayors and Leaders from Africa and of African Descent. ARDN is chaired by Constance B. Newman, a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, who has formerly served as Assistant Administrator to the United States Agency for International Development and as United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.


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