Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.
As African heads of state prepare to join Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Africa for the 6th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (December 4-5), a group of respected Chinese and African business and policy leaders is appealing for wildlife and environmental issues to be included on the diplomatic agenda of the upcoming summit. Chinese film star Wang Baoqiang and Tanzanian singer-songwriter Alikiba will also join the meeting.
The group is participating in a China–Africa Dialogue Series facilitated by the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) and the Aspen Institute. The effort aims to move leaders in government, civil society and private industry toward actively promoting investments and operations in Africa that are sustainable and include protection of Africa’s wildlife and wild lands. This work is made possible through funding from the World Bank.
The Dialogue Series first brought together African thought leaders in Nairobi and Kigali in 2014 to address Africa’s natural resource crisis in the wake of rapid economic development. A parallel group of Chinese private and public sector leaders was convened in Beijing and Tianjin in 2014, followed by an official dialogue in Beijing in 2015, to help establish a set of recommendations for African–Chinese cooperation around challenges of wildlife and wild lands protection.
The first listening session will focus on higher education’s current progress on climate action and the urgency and opportunity to further scale solutions across the sector.
In partnership with Breakthrough Energy, the Aspen Institute hosting a private roundtable conversation exploring how to empower the Department of Energy to achieve this mission in the context of the agency’s history, budget, mandates, authorities, and political environment.
The Future Leaders Climate Summit is a multi-day gathering of young leaders (ages 18-30) that aims to empower these individuals that will be shaping and driving our response to the climate crisis.