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Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) and Fondazione Giangiacomo Fetltrinelli are pleased to announce a series of lectures on “A Growing Africa – To and Fro”.

A complex bundle of different themes has to be put today more than ever into focus in order to seize the socio-economic dynamism of Africa. Amongst these, it is important to examine all the social strata which characterize the African social structures and the central role played by a new leadership training to point development in Africa towards the 2030 Agenda. Moreover, it is crucial to deepen the role played by the business initiatives coherent with the local community structures, that consequently should encourage the protection of the natural resources and the environment.

The series of lectures aims to offer a completely new perspective to the public debate to understand this phenomenon and to give a voice to the protagonists of the African change.

FEEM promotes the event within the “Pathways to Sustainability in Africa” cross-cutting research theme that aims at catalyzing ideas on African challenges. FEEM’s activities on this theme include study and research, partnerships, networking, and knowledge dissemination initiatives through national and international events on Africa and in Africa, in collaboration with national, European and African universities, institutions and research centers. All the activities are focused on solutions to implement the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Africa.

1st Lecture (visit the event web page!)
November 10, 2017 – h. 6:30 p.m. 
Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli
Viale Pasubio 5, Milan 
The first lecture on “Economic Development and Cultural Variables in Africa” is promoted in collaboration with E4Impact Foundation (an initiative by ALTIS, the Postgraduate School Business & Society of the Catholic University of Milan).
The event is focused on the coexistence between advanced models of development and small local businesses. A contradictory situation in which foreign capital, infrastructures, skilled employment and niches in innovation cohexist with broad sections of underdevelopment.
The lecturer Prof. Matteo Aria will address the theme of the informal economy as a potential solution to these economic imbalances allowing the survival of large segments of the population. Prof. Mario Molteni, Catholic University of Milan and CEO of E4Impact Foundation, Sulley Amin, E4Impact Alumnus and Founder of Zaacoal (a social enterprise based in Accra-Ghana of which business is to convert city waste into clean burning fuels) and, as moderator, Martino Ghielmi, editor of the blog vadoinafrica.com will intervene in the event.

2nd Lecture (visit the event web page!)
November 21, 2017 h. 6:00 p.m.
Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, Milan
Viale Pasubio 5, Milan  
The second lecture on “Leadership, Innovation and Human Capital for a Sustainable Development” will be delivered by George N. Njenga, Founder and Dean of the Strathmore Business School in Nairobi, Kenya. The event intends to address some of the most relevant challenges of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa. Moreover, the lecture will be focused on the need for a new skilled leadership to promote a sustainable and inclusive growth in Sub-Saharan Africa.

3rd Lecture (visit the event web page!)
November 28, 2017 – h. 6:00 p.m.
Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli
Viale Pasubio 5, Milan
The third lecture on “Sustainable Growth and Decent Work in Africa within the Planetary Boundaries” will be delivered by Elias Ayuk, Director of the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) and Member of the FEEM’s Scientific Advisor Board.
Available evidence clearly shows that the African continent grew impressively over the past decade. In spite of this, there is increasing concern about the quality of the growth, which needs to be sustainable. The main challenges for African countries that have made sustainable growth a strategic focus of their sustainable development policy include environmental constraints (soil erosion, drought and water pollution, water stress, land degradation, high energy dependence, vulnerability to climate change, pollution) and the limited benefits of economic growth and policies of social development in terms of jobs creation and reduction of social disparities.