Program

As the global landscape continues to evolve, multilateral cooperation faces increasing challenges. This session examines African and European perspectives on the current state and future of multilateral collaboration, as well as Africa’s role in it. Can we reimagine a multilateral system that is more inclusive, representative, and effective?

Speakers: Steven Collet (deputy Director-General for International Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Murithi Mutiga (Program Director, Africa of International Crisis Group), Noor Cornelissen (moderator)

The world order is changing. As power shifts away from a handful of global actors, Africa is emerging as a significant player with growing economic weight, a young and dynamic population, and a growing ambition to shape the international rules of the game.

Global health security is at the heart of this transformation. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the inseparable nature of health, diplomacy, security, and justice. At the same time, it revealed the risks of dependency and unequal partnerships. For Africa, achieving real agency in global health means moving beyond the role of recipient and securing ownership over the systems that protect its people.

This session highlights how health diplomacy can serve as a powerful lever for Africa to claim its place in shaping the global health agenda. From negotiations on the pandemic accord to the push for pharmaceutical sovereignty, African governments, institutions, and communities are at the forefront.

Session Focus

We will examine the role of health diplomacy in enhancing global health security, particularly at a time when geopolitical shifts are transforming international cooperation. Together we ask:

• How can health serve as a driver of stronger, fairer partnerships between Africa and Europe, especially as other donors withdraw from the field?
• What does African ownership in health diplomacy look like in practice—regionally and globally?
• How can global health security be advanced in ways that ensure equity, resilience, and justice?

In a rapidly shifting, multipolar world, local civil society is the backbone of inclusive progress. This panel session brings together frontline LGBTIQ+ voices from Africa with Dutch policymakers and COC Nederland to highlight what’s at stake as the Netherlands implements budget cuts to its civil society grants framework. Through real-world examples from the Power of Pride programme, we will highlight how continued Dutch support enables lasting change for communities that need it most, and outline what policymakers, donors, and civil society can do to ensure that human rights remain central to Dutch engagement worldwide.

In Africast Live, the Dutch podcast on history, geopolitics, and business in Africa, Jos Hummelen and Naomi Kajembe speak with Jan Pronk, former Minister for Development Cooperation and UN Special Envoy, about the current challenges in the Horn of Africa.

The Erasmus+ EU–Africa Youth Think Tank reflects on how to ensure that Africa remains a structural priority in European and Dutch policy, even when other global crises demand attention. Together with young thinkers, policymakers, and experts, we engage in discussions on strategic choices, multilateral cooperation, and how to build support for a forward-looking Africa strategy. More information to follow!

As global power shifts accelerate, Africa and Europe stand at a crossroads in redefining their role in an increasingly multipolar world. Yet, perceptions of the European Union’s normative stance, coupled with the persistence of extractive dynamics in certain economic and political engagements, continue to complicate efforts to establish a genuinely balanced partnership. At the same time, both continents have articulated strong commitments to revitalizing multilateralism as a means of addressing shared global challenges — ranging from climate change and economic volatility to pressing security concerns across both regions. With the upcoming EU–AU summit in Angola, the central question emerges: how can both continents move beyond inherited asymmetries to construct a partnership anchored in mutual trust, shared responsibility, and a commitment to sustainable development?

More information coming soon!

More info coming soon!

Tentative: more information will follow soon!

It is an understatement to say that the space for civil society is shrinking worldwide. Every year, the world map turns a little redder in the overviews of organisations such as Freedom House and Civicus, which monitor civil society space. This year, the Advisory Council on International Affairs published a report with the telling title “Shrinking civil society space: freedom and security under pressure”. This does not only concern countries in the global south. Fundamental freedoms are also under pressure in Europe and North America. Civicus now also describes the situation in the Netherlands as “narrowed” and points to the restriction of the right to demonstrate and the Transparency of Civil Society Organisations Act (WTMO) as problematic, among other things.

This session will focus on what it means in concrete terms for organisations and their employees on the African continent when space “shrinks”. But also how we could reclaim this space.

The focus of this session, organized by WECF, is on amplifying African ecofeminist voices and exploring how grassroots solutions led by women and girls shift the discourse from dependency and aid toward agency, equality, and tangible community impact through movement-building, the redistribution of funding, and strengthening solidarity.

The current global context is marked by increasing complexity, unpredictability, and volatility. Geopolitical tensions, economic disruptions, and overlapping global crises have exposed the vulnerabilities of existing development finance frameworks. These challenges underscore the urgent need to forge new, strategic partnerships for development financing, including through cooperation between African countries and the European Union.

This side event explored how to ensure that Global Gateway and similar strategies meet the full scope of their ambition, with a specific focus on perspectives and priorities from African countries.

More information about this session coming soon!

The Erasmus+ EU-Africa Youth Think Tank invites you to an interactive session on the future of economic partnership between Europe and Africa. How can we bring together Africa's young, growing population and Europe's technological strength in a fair and sustainable model? Young people will present their ideas and recommendations and challenge the audience and policy makers to reflect on shared prosperity and equal cooperation. More information coming soon!

During this political debate on the main stage, Members of Parliament reflect on 30 years of Afrikadag and look ahead: how can the relationship between the Netherlands and Africa be best shaped over the next thirty years? In a changing geopolitical world order, they discuss priorities and opportunities for cooperation, and what this requires from Dutch politics and the Dutch Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation agenda.

How can African mine workers influence European regulations on sustainable raw materials? Are these rules a blessing or just a paper reality? During this interactive session, we dive into the realities of mining in South Africa. Working conditions for miners are extremely harsh, dangerous, and unhealthy. Every year, dozens of workers lose their lives in accidents. Many suffer from health issues such as silicosis. We will discuss whether the new European sustainability rules can truly bring improvements, and what is needed to achieve this. You will hear stories from miners and local communities, and we will engage in conversation with experts, politicians, and business representatives.

Despite its formal commitment to multilateralism and to the Global Compact for Migration (which, however, is not binding and has not been ratified by all EU member states), the European Union and its member states consistently pursue cooperation on migration at the minilateral or bilateral level, often through non-legally binding agreements with the countries of origin and transit. The informality and flexibility of these agreements, their temporary nature, the conditionality they entail, and the increasingly securitarian approach – mostly aimed at limiting mobility – not only undermine the certainty of long-term commitments, but overlook the interests of the countries of origin, which are consistently in a position of inferiority. Finally, such cooperation operates outside the UN framework. This further contributes to the weakening of multilateralism and multilateral institutions, making migration governance increasingly fragile. What should the European Union, the African regional organisation, and states do to prevent the decline of multilateral cooperation in the field of migration?

More information coming soon!