The recently concluded 5th African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Youth Symposium did not only mark a new chapter in terms of APRM’s engagement with stakeholders, but it also embodies the spirit of renewal, creativity, and digital innovation that the network seeks to harness.
These are the views of CEO of the APRM continental Secretariat Ambassador Marie-Antoinette Rose-Quatre reflecting on the importance of the launch of the APRM Communicators’ Network.
The Communicator’s Network was officially unveiled during the two-day Youth Symposium that was held in Midrand, Gauteng province in South Africa a week ago.
“In an era where communication technologies and youth-led movements are redefining civic engagement across the continent, bringing together the APRM Communicators’ Network and the continent’s emerging generation of changemakers under one roof symbolizes our shared resolve to build an Africa that speaks for itself, listens to its citizens, and tells its own story with authenticity, confidence, and pride.
“Reclaiming and shaping the narrative space to defend our interests as Africans, first and foremost, must be regarded as a pan-African act of self-preservation.
“Through the promotion of the Mechanism’s brand, the APRM Communicators’ Network is expected to play a role in sharing, contributing to and writing accurate, original and upbeat stories about the continent. Global airwaves and editorial pages must no longer be saturated with stories of doom and gloom but of scientific ingenuity, athletic prowess and artistic excellence.
“Together, we will not only help realize Aspiration 3 of Agenda 2063 – an Africa of good governance, democracy, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law – but also Aspiration 5 – an Africa with a strong cultural identity, common heritage, shared values and ethics,” she said.
In June earlier this year, the APRM Continental Secretariat has unveiled a new Strategic Plan for the 2025 – 2028 period. Its four pillars will guide the APRM efforts of purveying good governance across the continent.
The fourth pillar of the Strategic Plan is particularly relevant to the Network’s mandate as it focuses on “communications, advocacy and outreach.” Ambassador Rose-Quatre urged members of the Communication Network to use their WhatsApp group more than sharing articles, press releases or official statements. The APRM family and Africa look to you to be maverick communications’ professionals, proposing ideas with irresistible appeal.
The Youth Symposium
Commenting about the wrapped-up 5th APRM Youth Symposium, Ambassador Rose-Quatre said: “We have heard the calls for youth inclusion, for dignity, for action. We have heard their desire for governance that is transparent, for economies that open doors, and for leadership that trusts its young people.
“Their voices will not stay in the walls [of the Pan African Parliament]. We will take their messages, their resolutions, hopes, challenges to every corner of our institutions including to governments [across Africa], to the private sector, to civil society, to the APRM National Governing Councils, APRM Focal Points, APRM Forum of Heads of States and Government, the African Union its institutions and beyond.
“[This is because their] ideas belong not in reports, but in the hands of those shaping policy. Working hand in hand with the youth, we surely can build the Africa we want.”
According to her, the two-day Symposium did not end in Midrand, as it will echo through the Africa Governance Report 2027…through the implementation of the APRM Strategic Plans, and through the APRM work with national parliaments.
