TheJourneyVolume1 - Book - Page 10
#NextGenUNDP
F O R E WORD
Stitching Together the
Africa Development Tapestry
O
ur Resident Representatives (RRs) were
confirmed and deployed in March 2019 by the
UNDP Administrator, Achim Steiner. They
represent the first cadre of #NextGenUNDP, at
a time when the organization made a bold leap forward in
playing its crucial role within the UN Secretary General’s
reform of the United Nations Development System. The
Regional Bureau for Africa (RBA) initiated Our Resident
Representatives – The Journey #NextGenUNDP, to
document the personal and professional trajectories of
this first cohort of RRs. We want to celebrate and amplify
the trials and triumphs that shape the tapestry of our new
brand of transformative leadership, unfolding on the path
of re-imagining development practice, especially in an age
of pandemics and a climate emergency.
A NEW GENERATION OF LEADERS
I am inspired by the heart warming and authentic stories
in this volume, which captures the experience of 27 or our
45 RRs in the Africa Bureau. It is insightful to see that the
boldness of character and the abiding spirit of optimism
exuded by our RRs is shaped by their personal and professional triumphs. From an unaccompanied teenager
seeking better life in a foreign land, to the only college
graduate from extended families, a child of globe-trotting parents who struggled with a sense of permanence
but embraced the imperative of solidarity, to a stutter
who became a voice for the voiceless. Our RRs have used
everything in their personal and professional toolbox to
ride and steer Africa’s tailwinds in their journeys so far.
They are cognizant of the headwinds but are not wearied
by them. In their own words, we see a new generation
of leaders who understand the value of keeping an open
mind while holding on to inner convictions. We see a clear
commitment to a development practice that’s about wealth
creation, focused on building ladders of opportunity that
give agency and dignity to Africa’s marginalized.
The #NextGenUNDP RRs are helping tell a new story
in Africa — that Africa can. They ground their faith in
the strengthening tailwinds of diverse, highly educated,
innovative, agile leaders who are breaking new grounds in
exploring, incubating, and branding technologically driven
development solutions to attain the Sustainable Development Goals and AU Agenda 2063.
Our RRs are also building networks with influential
leaders in governments, the private sector, non-traditional
stakeholders, academia, and many other key stakeholders,
to strengthen the critical mass of transformers.
I agree with our transformational RRs that Africa’s
rise is in sight. I am convinced that the strongest tailwind
that crystallizes Africa’s promise are its youth. They are
leapfrogging Africa’s technological advancement, widening
the civic space, and asking critical questions about
governance and shared prosperity. They are relentless in
their resolve to discard the mindset of Africa as a continent
in need of charity and embrace Africa as a continent with
the spine to stand as a respectable and enviable partner
in global progress. Those trapped in Africa’s past and
those overwhelmed by the strong headwinds of persistent
violent extremism, poverty, climate stresses, and some
reversal of progress on political transitions would dismiss
this bold optimism as dreams.
But in the experiences of our RRs who lead UNDP teams
at country level, we see evidence of a new disposition in
Africa. The prospect of a youth-led transformation of the
continent is where we are locating hope. With 42% of the
world’s youth expected to be Africans by 2030, our RRs
know that any development action that does not have the
interest of the youth at its core is not relevant.
The stories of the #NextGenUNDP RRs, as beautifully
told in this volume, are embracing the rise of youth to
propel Africa’s Promise. The encounter between youth and
UNDP’ transformational leaders is evident in all countries.
They are sharing their own personal triumphs and
celebrating the triumphs of our youth. Stitching together
the threads of the encounters is crystallizing Africa’s development tapestry - this is the beauty. I borrow a phrase
from Maya Angelou which states that: “The youth are the
rock on whom Africa stands to face its distant destiny.”
INCREDIBLE JOURNEY
The world is expecting us to leverage our individual
strengths and institutional capacities as One UN, to
boost the agility of the continent to recover and build
back better. We made a global promise to leave no one
behind and although it is certainly harder now that our
collective vulnerabilities have increased, yet the process of
developing this plan has shown us that we still have the
critical resources needed to support countries to repair
structural fragilities, address systemic inequalities and
ultimately also Build Forward Better, especially during
these unprecedented times of the Covid 19 pandemic.
As RBA Director, I have had the extraordinary privilege
and unique opportunity to learn from the diverse and deep
experiences of our #NextGen RRs and to witness their
incredible journey through complex and thorny terrains.
Their tenacity, grit, humility and courage are a great
source of inspiration and encouragement. I am proud of
what they have been able to accomplish with our country
office teams, and encourage them to continue learning,
growing and adapting to change, never letting go of the
lessons from their beginnings.
A H U N N A E Z I A KO N WA
A S S I S TA N T S E C R E TA R Y- G E N E R A L , A S S I S TA N T A D M I N I S T R AT O R
AND DIRECTOR OF THE REGIONAL BUREAU FOR AFRICA (RBA)
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