Can Africa Leverage A Legacy To Overcome Dependency In The 21st Century?
As we approach the first anniversary since Africa joined the ranks of countries and continents to have hosted football’s most coveted sporting extravaganza – the FIFA World Cup, I would like to believe I am not alone in insisting that Africa and South Africa still have work to do to ensuring the real legacy of the tournament is experienced by future generations.
I am among those who will always look back with pride at having played a role in the delivery of the infrastructure ahead of and during the World Cup. The global branding and signage company ICON DISPLAY, whose South Africa operation I lead, was awarded the task of ensuring fans and visitors could easily navigate their way around the host cities, stadia and event sites with ease. Like others, we had to meet a specific deadline delivering the job to perfection. Collectively, the opportunity presented to big and small business, the local Government and African people by the 2010 FIFA World Cup is one we might never see again in our lifetime. As such, it begs the question how have we, and will we, leverage the massive investment by our Government into the development of stadia, transport, telecommunications, hosting, legacy, culture and much more.
Without question, our collective successes in 2010 set the tone for a new look at what is possible in Africa. But this must result in important commitments on the how value created during the World Cup can continue to be captured and circulated for generations to come. It also highlights further opportunities for Africa and South Africa to respond and trade itself out of poverty.
It is ultimately about strategically leveraging Africa’s competitive edge not only as a direct result of these trends, but also by unlocking opportunities for innovation in 21st century Africa. It is about identifying new ways of using our own natural resources such as gold, coal, cocoa and solar energy. Gold for instance can be used to drive wealth preservation by developing micro-finance schemes, a method already piloted in China and India by the World Gold Council.
Finally, Africa’s business leaders, political leaders and civil society alike, having successfully hosted the World Cup have no choice but to urgently prioritize ways to leverage the investments made in 2010. It is critical that we sustain the momentum drawing on ideas like ‘shared value’ espoused by E. Porter and R. Kramer, with policies and operating practices that enhance the competitiveness of a company while simultaneously advancing the economic and social conditions in the communities in which it operates. Africa has the opportunity to lead the world in demonstrating and resetting the boundaries of capitalism. It can continue to showcase success, leveraging the success of the World Cup, by focusing its resources toward unearthing unique ways to serve its needs, regain credibility, efficiency, create differentiation and expand markets – and ultimately addressing fundamental issues of our eroded and distorted value system.
In Conclusion let’s respond to the call of others including US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton on her visit in 2009 that ‘Africa to trade with itself out of poverty’.
Please join me in welcoming Matthew McAllister to the ONE Blog. Matthew, a longtime ONE member and senior at the University of Colorado at Boulder, is interning with the ONE New Media team this summer, and will be contributing to the ONE Blog from time to time. Welcome, Matthew! -Chris
The World Cup is well underway, and it’s obviously garnered a great deal of media and press around each day’s winners and losers. But there’s also been a lot of speculation on what this moment means for South Africa, and the African continent. I’ve compiled some of the more interesting and more insightful articles I’ve come across. Let me know what other articles struck you in the comments:
MSNBC: South Africa protesters march for US AIDS funding
Protestors wearing shirts stating, “HIV-Positive” rallied to ask for more development money for HIV/AIDS initiatives. Those in attendance specifically asked for a $2.3 Billion dollar increase to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, PEPFAR.
New York Times: South African hopes die amid a more lasting victory
Rob Hughes watches South Africa’s final game from the streets of Soweto, the site of the youth uprising during apartheid, and sees just how much has changed over the years.
All Africa: World Cup to Earn Country Sh150 Billion
A look at the financial gain South African could potentially receive as a result of hosting the World Cup.
OC Register: South Africa’s Cup money well spent?
A critical look at the wisdom behind South Africa’s enormous spending on the World Cup and who the real benefactors will be.
We’re right in the middle of World Cup fever. And Save the Children—along with ONE and many other partners—is using this moment to help make sure 72 million children around the world get the education that they deserve.
To help spread the word, 1GOAL Ambassador and musician Shakira issued a YouTube challenge last month asking people from all corners of the globe to record themselves doing the World Cup “Waka Waka – This Time for Africa” dance and show their support for universal education. Save the Children just posted their video, which highlights staff and friends dancing in the streets of Dakar, Senegal and rural Bangladesh. Take a look—and make sure to share the 1GOAL message with your family and friends.
Today the beautiful game is in all its glory. All eyes are on Africa — the continent is hosting the World Cup for the very first time. And to mark the launch of the world’s biggest sporting event, Yahoo!’s Penalty Shootout game is turning (RED) and helping generate monies to help eliminate AIDS in Africa.
Play. Score. And for every goal Yahoo! will contribute $1, up to $100,000 USD, to the Global Fund, the recipient of (RED) monies. Your goal counts as many times as you can score!
It’s for one day only – TODAY – and you can play the game here.
The greatest football tournament in the world gets underway tomorrow. I can’t wait. I only wish my team (England) was on slightly better form, but I’m still hopeful! There is also something positive we can do to create a lasting legacy that could see millions more kids receive an education…
South African President Jacob Zuma has just announced that he will hold a global leadership summit during the World Cup. The aim? Push leaders to give the 72 million children still out of school an education by 2015. Something that’s not hard to support. So ONE is teaming up with 1GOAL, bringing together footballers and fans, to give world leaders the extra kick needed to make it happen.
Make sure to write your own personal message with the petition as 1GOAL will be delivering these ‘yellow cards’ to world leaders on 7 July.
Since 2000, 42 million more children are in school thanks to effective aid and other policies. As the world turns its attention to Africa for the first football World Cup held on the continent, let’s enjoy the game and help give every child a basic education.
ONE co-founder Bono’s most recent column for the New Year Times, on 10 ideas for the next 10 years, was published today. I wanted to share it because it calls attention to a few ideas that are in our area of work, including the rotavirus vaccine and the upcoming World Cup in Africa.
Below is an excerpt. You can read the full column here.
Happy New Year!
-Kathy McKiernan
Taking the Fight to Rotavirus
The thing is, they exist, these vaccines. They’re not a mere hope, like an AIDS vaccine. And one of the brightest bits of news in 2009 is that rotavirus vaccines have been shown to work not only in nations with low child mortality, but in the poorest countries, where diarrhea (not a killer in our house) caused by rotavirus infections takes the lives of 500,000 children a year. The World Health Organization just this summer issued a strong recommendation that rotavirus vaccinations be part of every nation’s immunization program. From this vantage point, I like the look of the next decade.
The World Cup Kicks Off the African Decade
It’s getting easier to describe to Americans the impact of the World Cup — especially the impact it will have in Africa, where the tournament is to be held this summer. A few years ago, Ivory Coast was splitting apart and in the midst of civil war when its national team qualified for the 2006 jamboree. The response was so ecstatic that the war was largely put on hold as something more important than deathly combat took place, i.e. a soccer match. The team became a symbol of how the different tribes could — and did — get on after the tournament was over.
This time round, for the 2010 World Cup, naysayers thought South Africa could not build the stadiums in time. Those critics should be red-faced now. South Africa’s impressive preparations underline the changes on the continent, where over the last few years, 5 percent economic growth was the average. Signs point to a further decade of growth to come. Canny investors will put more capital there. This in turn has the potential to shore up fragile young democracies across the continent.
It would be fitting if Nelson Mandela, who has done more than anyone for Africa’s rising, would kick off the opening ceremonies. If he shows up, the world will weep with joy.
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. More than 11 million people, mostly nomadic pastoralists and farmers in south-central Somalia, north-eastern Kenya, and south-eastern Ethiopia, are severely lacking access to food.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, world leaders are failing to keep their 2009 promises to tackle the causes of chronic hunger and support farmers in the world's poorest countries.
The World Cup is well underway, and it’s obviously garnered a great deal of media and press around each day’s winners and losers. But there’s also been a lot of speculation on what this moment means for South Africa, and the African continent. I’ve compiled some of the more interesting and more insightful articles I’ve come across. Let me know what other articles struck you in the comments:
