Afrikadag 2026 - Zaterdag 21 November

The current framework of cooperation between the EU and Africa is no longer serving. For African countries, relations remain asymmetric and extractivist, while European countries have grown tired of the donor-recipient model and are increasingly explicit about pursuing their strategic interests.

A new model of cooperation is needed, capable of bringing European and African capabilities around jointly defined priorities. In this panel, we will look at what this new model could look like in practice.  Speakers will assess the adequacy of existing instruments, such as Global Gateway and how they should evolve to deliver a mutually beneficial EU-Africa cooperation alliance. 

Interested in learning more? Much of what is discussed draws from these publications:

Progressive platform for international development

The Kenya Global Gateway case study of the Just Transition Scorecard 

Across Africa, younger generations and women are entering political life at a time when trust in political institutions is being challenged and established ideas about who leads — and how — are increasingly being questioned. 

We Shall Lead: Voices Shaping the Future of Africa brings together the lived experiences of political leaders across generations in Kenya, Uganda and Ghana, exploring the barriers they encounter, the choices they make and the different understandings of leadership they bring into political institutions.  

Using the documentary as a starting point rather than an endpoint, this session will bring together political actors and democracy practitioners to explore leadership from the ground up: what happens when younger and female voices seek to create change from within political institutions, what continues to prevent meaningful participation, and what political institutions can learn from the leadership already emerging around them. 

The conversation will also ask a question at the heart of the documentary: how can younger generations see themselves represented in political life — and believe that participation is worth it? 

Tijdens dit woordvoerdersdebat willen we het hebben over de inzet van het Nederlandse kabinet op de relatie met Afrika en op ontwikkelingssamenwerking: Hoe kunnen we een "betere" economische speler worden dan we vroeger zijn geweest en dan bijvoorbeeld China en Rusland nu zijn?

Centraal staat de balans tussen de handelsbelangen en mensenrechtenbelangen in internationale samenwerking. Zo speelt Afrika een belangrijke rol in het mogelijk maken van de energietransitie, én op het gebied van internationale veiligheid. Wat voor soort relatie tussen Nederland en Afrika hebben we nodig om hierin resultaten te halen? En wat betekent dit alles voor beleidskeuzes in Den Haag en in Brussel?

Locally led approaches to countering harmful narratives and promoting social cohesion

As disinformation increasingly shapes public debate and community relations worldwide, harmful gender narratives are contributing to polarisation, exclusion and mistrust. This session explores how local organisations and community leaders are responding through initiatives that strengthen critical thinking, promote positive and non-violent models of masculinity, and foster dialogue and social cohesion. The discussion will highlight practical, locally led approaches to building resilience against harmful narratives and creating more inclusive, peaceful communities. 

Every year, activists, NGOs, governments and donors fly to global summits to negotiate the future...

While many leaders are gathered at COP, women in communities across Africa are already responding to climate change, defending rights, building resilience and holding governments accountable to working towards a climate just and toxic-free future. What would global policy look like if their leadership shaped the agenda from the start? What perspectives can they offer on the work happening on the ground right now?

What does it take to build equal partnerships between Africa and the rest of the world?

In line with this year’s Africa Day theme, The Future Is Here, this session brings together young African and Dutch activists for an open dialogue on youth-driven advocacy. Through personal experiences, concrete achievements and lessons learned, they will explore how young people can hold policymakers accountable, strengthen each other’s advocacy efforts, and contribute to more equal partnerships. By bringing together perspectives from different contexts, the session highlights young people not just as advocates for the future, but as changemakers shaping the world today. 

Workers’ rights are under pressure globally.

This panel brings together union leaders to discuss the challenges and opportunities for young people in Africa. Decent work and living wages should be at the center of Africa’s future. How do unions in Africa try to organize specifically young people, and what can we learn from them?

What if we move away from the conventional overview of ‘the state of democracy in Africa?’

This session invites the audience to draw inspiration from existing ideas, practices and experiences from the African continent on what inclusive and participatory governance entails, while also reflecting on what these perspectives might mean for European and Dutch approaches to democracy and international cooperation. It places African voices at the center and raises the uncomfortable question of whether, in Europe, we are too quick to take a single model of democracy as our point of departure. 

The just transition is a defining issue in EU-Africa relations. It is a framework that offers both concrete actions to address the climate crisis and respond to pressing economic and social needs, while also providing a long-term model for more balanced and sustainable EU-Africa relations.

In this panel, experts and policymakers will discuss how the EU’s current green transition and Africa’s industrialisation are taking shape within the just transition framework, and what they could look like in the future, depending on the decisions made today.

Interested in learning more? Much of what is discussed draws from these policy briefs:

Governing the global just transition from fossil fuels to clean energy

A just transition in the Mediterranean