Since 2022, Africa Week conversations have questioned the concept of African agency in a multipolar world and how the continent navigates its place within the global political and economic system. This discourse was valuable in convening intergenerational exchange on this important topic, including discussions at ALC’s flagship African Public Square (APS). These considerations provide the basis for moving beyond the “why” and “what” of subjectivity to the “how.”
Against this backdrop, Africa Week 2026 asks what kind of resources – physical, human, institutional, and ideas – are needed to realize agency.
The current global situation emphasizes this urgency. Resource security has emerged as a concern against the backdrop of the current constrained situation shaped by long-standing structural inequalities in the global financial and debt regime, which skews Africa’s situation. A hierarchical international institutional infrastructure that has failed to eradicate global injustice. the destruction of continental and regional collective institutional structures that address peace, security, development and governance priorities; This is evidenced by the response to the Sudanese war and the return of military regimes in West Africa.
The events of the past year have deepened and strengthened a pattern of global disruption that has significant implications for Africa. Particularly relevant is the refusal by key actors in the Global North to commit to multilateralism against a backdrop of global economic and political instability. This challenge to multilateralism has come through attacks on the infrastructure of international institutions, including the United Nations, widespread funding cuts to development and humanitarian assistance from the economies of the Global North, and instability in global trade relations underpinned by the United States’ trade wars with the economies of Africa, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and especially China.
Despite the challenges, opportunities to provide resources to African agencies persist within the African context. The continent’s growing global interest in minerals and fuels, particularly green minerals, positions Africa as a key target for supply chain security. Economic and trade interactions are deepening with Middle Eastern economies and actors in the Global South, including China, while domestic private capital provides a substantial resource base estimated at US$4 trillion, according to a 2025 report by the African Finance Corporation. Africa is also experiencing higher-than-expected growth levels and is leveraging the continent’s revitalized institutional structures through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to enable higher-value intra-African and global trade. Emerging debates about technological sovereignty signal a move towards innovation. The continent’s vibrant and resourceful young population strengthens this situation by exercising political voice through social movements and driving innovation across technology, the creative economy, education and knowledge systems.
The 2026 Africa Week theme responds to:
Leveraging domestic capital and strategic partnerships to mobilize resources across dependencies is essential. The need for institutional and intellectual preparation to lead in a multipolar world. The urgency for collective action to navigate intra-African tensions, global negotiations and technological sovereignty.
We believe that the resourcing imperative cuts simultaneously across material, ideological, institutional, and people-based concerns across five priority areas:
Collective Agenda Articulating Africa’s (multiple) visions of change and transformation Avoiding tensions and hegemony within Africa Negotiating Africa – Global South/Global North relations Technological sovereignty Natural resources Being strategic about minerals/oil and strategic resources Balancing commitments to domestic and global markets Prioritizing sustainable industrial transformation and moving away from extractivism Focusing on Africa’s energy access and new technologies Resource sourcing across dependencies Mobilizing domestic state and private capital Rethinking the Global From Dependencies to Alliances Partnerships Articulating and Negotiating Interrelationships Education as a Strategic Infrastructure Balancing Africa’s Innovation, Collaboration, and Global Partnerships Aligning Education Systems with the Continent’s Diverse Priorities Articulating Interdisciplinary Value Creation The Next Generation of Africans and Their Preparedness Balancing Endowments, Resources, and Priorities Advancing the Leadership Agenda Steering the Whole Collective Opportunities: Harnessing Potential and Realizing Productivity
