During last year's conference, the "Democratic Solidarity Africa (DSA)" project was launched. Following the successful model of the Democratic Solidarity Latin America project, this initiative addresses the long-standing need for stronger and more inclusive cooperation among African democracy advocates and stakeholders. The DSA will reconvene at this year’s conference, where the meeting will also serve as an opportunity to introduce new members to the network.
Among the new members, we are pleased to welcome Florindo Chivucute, founder of Friends of Angola, an organization dedicated to raising global awareness about the challenges facing that country as well as promoting democracy, human rights, and good governance, Anita Soina, a young Kenyan environmentalist and climate change activist from the Maasai community and Karen Mukwasi from Zimbabwe, co-founder of The Pada Platform, a nonprofit organization that works with young women and girls to foster digital inclusion and create safe online spaces. This year’s conference program will also address critical topics, such as Africa's role on the international stage, the importance of African datasets in telling the African story, the ongoing war in Sudan, strategies for maintaining free and open spaces in North and West Africa, and many others.