By Gifty Amofa
Accra, May 10, GNA – The Africa Soft Power Group’s (ASP) flagship Africa Soft Power Summit is set to take place in Kigali, Rwanda from May 23 to 27, 2023.
The summit represents the highest-level convening of the African creative, knowledge and digital sectors as well as women’s leadership, bringing together public and private sector organisations as well as pioneering individuals from the fields of business, finance, law, media, technology, sports, art, entertainment, academia, philanthropy, politics and more.
In a press release copied to the Ghana News Agency, the inaugural RAW Women’s Leadership Conference would be held on May 24, 2023.
Powered by ASP’s non-profit arm African Women on Board (AWB), the RAW which is real, Africa-hosted, and women-led, would seek to push the reset button on gender discourse and ask the question: If the Diversity, Equality, & Inclusion (DEI) movement had been invented today, how might we approach it differently?
This would be followed by the Creative & Innovative Industries Conference (CII) will be held between May 25 – 26, 2023.
The CII Conference would also examine how the African creative sectors can deliver growth and return on the continent and how these industries can be used to better tell the modern African story on the world stage, changing perspectives, shifting global dialogues and strengthening relationships with the diaspora community along the way.
The Africa Soft Power Gala and Awards which is aimed at providing a veritable feast of African creative and innovative output in action, in real-time would be held on 25 May.
“The ASP Gala will demonstrate the latest African art, fashion, film, entertainment, media, and tech, bringing the presentations and themes of the wider summit agenda to life before delegates’ very eyes.”
“Across five days, three key events, and a range of networking activities, we’ll see the spotlight shone on creative endeavour, and its commercial viability, not only on the continent but around the world.” Nkiru Balonwu, the founder & creative director for Africa Soft Power said.
“During a packed-out week, the creative and digital economies of tomorrow will meet with the financial and business powerhouses of today, together forming clear pathways to future economic success for our women, young people, and the wider global community.
The introduction of the inaugural RAW Women’s Conference is a particularly welcome addition to this year’s proceedings, and we are confident those who join us from around the world – can examine new solutions to some of the key public and private sector issues of the day,” it added.
For Templars, a leading Pan-African law firm and key partner of the event, the RAW Women’s Leadership Conference holds particular significance:
“Particularly in the areas of female leadership, and wider equality and inclusion, Africa and its creative sectors can be a pioneering force in ushering in real change. The Africa soft Power Summit, and the RAW Women’s Leadership Conference it incorporates, are pioneering platforms on which to discuss and strategize these changes, and we are proud to play our part,” it added.
With May 5, having been established by UNESCO as African World Heritage Day, and May 25, recognized as Africa Day by the African Union, the Africa Soft Power Summit also aims to celebrate ‘Africa Month’, bringing modern African ideas and innovation to the world stage.
“Around the three main summit events, there will be a whole host of accompanying activities, from drinks, receptions and trips out to the NBA Africa playoffs, to breakout sessions and roundtables, as well as an array of cultural outings in Kigali, one of Africa’s most welcoming of cities.”
The Africa Soft Power Group (ASP) encompasses three organisations dedicated to leveraging Africa’s creative and innovative sectors to generate economic growth on the continent and around the world.
These include; Africa Soft Power, African Women on Board (AWB), and ASP Global.
GNA