I. Introduction

The Ford Foundation's Special Initiative for Africa (SIA) held its second agenda-setting workshop on regional integration in Africa from November 25 to 28, 2002 in Addis Ababa. The Ford Foundation succeeded in attracting a truly diverse cross-section of African civil society to the workshop. More than forty participants from all sub-regions of the continent attended the workshop, representing research organizations, universities, women's organizations, youth organizations, trade union, inter-governmental institutions, political parties, media organizations, and funding agencies. Nearly half the participants were women. Six Ford Foundation staff from the Africa field offices and New York also attended. Simultaneous French-English translation ensured full participation by those from francophone West Africa and the Great Lakes region. Muslim colleagues attending the workshop participated fully despite the hardship of fasting as the workshop took place during Ramadan. Together, the participants sought to elaborate strategies to make the processes, treaties, and institutions of regional integration in Africa more people-centered. (A list of participants is annexed.)

That regional integration in Africa must be more "people-centered" was the centerpiece of the workshop. This was interpreted in two ways. First, integration should aim to benefit ordinary people across the continent, not just for government and business leaders. Second and intrinsically linked, the process of integration must be inclusive and decision makers must involve ordinary people in developing integration policies. Indeed, some participants expressed that the major weakness of regional integration schemes and processes to date are the lack of public participation in such efforts.

Africa is well on its way to wards regional integration in the economic, political, and security spheres, yet the record of regional and sub-regional institutions leaves room for a great deal of improvement. This presents both challenges and opportunities for African civil society organizations. Thus, the aim of this workshop was to promote concerted and collaborative approaches among African organizations to make regional integration more effective, accessible, and beneficial for Africans. Participants were divided into three small groups and asked to consider solutions to five key questions from national, sub-regional, and continental perspectives.

Deliberations were lively and productive. Issues discussed include the history of regional integration in Africa; the benefits of integration for African people; the role of civil society; specific regional institutions including the AU, NEPAD, and various regional economic communities; and key issues including the role of regional integration in stemming the HIV/AIDS pandemic and how best to promote the role of women in regional integration. Participants shared experiences, success stories, and concerns. They also made detailed, concrete recommendations covering the need to highlight and build on successful approaches; the need to cultivate new leadership, especially among women and youth; the need to improve reform and enforcement of the regional treaty system; and the need to support African cultural foundations including harmonization of African languages and protection of local knowledge systems.

II. Regional integration in Africa

As the participants in each of the three small groups introduced themselves and outlined their background, priorities and expectations, several important themes became clear. One was the sheer diversity of the African continent and its problems. The participants made the most of the diversity and wealth of experience which they collectively possessed and, ultimately, greatly enhanced workshop discussions.

Participants largely agreed that regional integration had become a part of the African landscape and that, as a whole, this was a beneficial development. They then went on to discuss how regional integration can be made more people-centered and, thus more appropriate for Africans. Specific attention was paid to the role of civil society in promoting regional integration, and improving the process.

A. Historical Context

From the outset, participants were fully cognizant of the already rich though troubled history of regional integration in Africa. Indeed, some of the regional integration arrangements trace their origin to the colonial period. Such, for instance, is the case of the East African Community (comprising Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda), which collapsed in 1977. In Francophone West Africa, the French colonial rulers laid the foundation for regional integration with common currency, customs union, and allied common institutions.

Nonetheless, it was largely in the post-independence era that the idea of African integration came into its own, beginning with the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963. The 1970s and 1980s in particular saw the emergence of a plethora of sub-regional organizations throughout the continent. A number of these organizations were modified or expanded in the 1990s. The most prominent are the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU, concerned with Francophone West Africa), the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Preferential Trade Area or PTA (transformed into the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa or COMESA), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). As their names indicate, these organizations have had varying but overlapping objectives. Some aimed at establishing a free trade area. Others aspired to monetary union. Still others aimed to establish an all-encompassing economic community. One of them, ECOWAS, has even managed to set up a military wing (ECOMOG) that could intervene in member states to settle armed conflicts. One participant, reflecting on a long experience with regional integration in Africa, noted that there were opposing processes at work. While there are clear trends towards regional integration, at the same time there are important instances of regional integration going into reverse. One case in point is the original East African Community, which collapsed in the 1970s, partly because of the vested interests of certain groups. Similarly, the breakup of Senegambia occurred because of the benefits accruing to state functionaries in Gambia on account of that country's sovereign status.

Within the last two to three years, African integration has progressed to new levels. Not only is economic integration growing more sophisticated, but regional and sub-regional institutions are also increasingly addressing the political and security dimensions of integration. The recently established African Union (which replaces the OAU) has pledged not to admit any government that comes to power through unconstitutional means. In 2001 all African governments banded together to establish NEPAD, which aims at building a global partnership for promoting democratic development in Africa. NEPAD has also created an innovative inter-governmental peer-review mechanism that seeks to enforce common standards for democratic governance. In addition, the annual African Development Forum (established in 1999) provides the first-ever opportunity for governments, civil society organizations, and the private sector to jointly formulate strategies for addressing critical issues such as HIV/AIDS, debt, poverty, conflicts, human rights, refugee protection and information technology. Other joint efforts include inter-governmental mechanisms for resolving conflicts and protecting human rights, and plans for establishing a continental parliament and court. What's more, African integration is increasingly becoming an African-driven process, though integration in Europe, Asia, and the Americas has continued to wield substantial influence.

B. Benefits of Integration

As a threshold question, participants critically analyzed whether and why they supported the trend to accelerate regional integration at this point in time. On one level, they recognized the need to keep apace with world developments including the demands and challenges of the international trade system. But they were not inclined to accept recent developments such as NEPAD simply because they were imposed on Africa; they are prepared to seize the opportunity to engage NEPAD and other existing regional institutions and make them their own.

There was general agreement that integration, if done correctly, could greatly benefit African people. Some participants emphasized the importance of economic, fiscal, and trade integration. Economic incentives, for example, such as growth, investment, expansion of markets, employment, and most of all development may be crucial to the success of integration policies. In the view of some, the integration process was driven by values and economic instruments were mechanisms or means by which values were pursued or realised. There is also significantly more experience and best practices with respect to economic integration on which civil society and governments can build. In addition to official efforts at regional integration, participants cited the example of itinerant women traders in West Africa as integration in action.

Yet others emphasized the benefits of integration beyond economics, in the spheres of governance, human rights, development of infrastructure, communications, gender equality, history and culture, and dealing with HIV/AIDS, among others. One participant noted that Africa accounts for less than 2% of the world market and, though effective integration might improve this, the potential of economic integration should not be over estimated. The question of the desirability of integration was also raised in one group, and it was agreed that integration that deepens democracy was desirable, while integration that undermined existing national level democracy and deepened the democratic deficit, was much less so.

As a whole, the group also saw the need to exploit the potential of regional integration to help Africans to achieve a stronger international negotiating voice for Africa, overcome colonial divisions, revitalize cultural dynamism, and promote African agency and self-sufficiency. Fostering African dignity was also cited as a benefit of successful, people-centered integration. In the words of one participant, "Africa has a lot to give the world."

There was broad recognition that the benefits of integration may not always be immediately tangible. While some participants expressed concern that some states or sectors benefit more from regional integration than others, others qualified that this may be the case only in short term. One participant gave the example of Lesotho and South Africa, with Lesotho having more to gain from regional integration, citing fear that unless all parties have adequate incentive to integrate, there is a danger that they may not wish to participate. Others affirmed that the question of benefits was simply a matter of time; it was possible to distinguish between short, medium, and long-term benefits. For these benefits to come into existence in the long term, however, states would have to take policy harmonization seriously.

The importance of states was a recurring theme throughout the workshop. Regional integration does not displace states or render them less important. Rather, it is an opportunity to enable states to develop their capacities to deliver services more effectively. Building the capacities of states is a prerequisite for effective regional integration. Another dimension to this is the issue of enforcement: it is one thing for activists to win a victory in principle (e.g. South Africa's Treatment Action Campaign's victory in the courts) and another for the government actually to change its policy or adhere to the decision. Hence, the need to examine the nature of state power in Africa was highlighted. It was pursued, not as a separate agenda item, but rather as a cross-cutting theme during deliberations.

Participants agreed that in assessing the benefits of regional integration, it is essential to look beyond states as potential beneficiaries; ultimately, regional integration should aim to improve the conditions of common people. At present, there is already substantial movement of people across borders in many areas despite the attempt of states to limit this. In addition, inter-marriages between different ethnic groups and across borders may also foster integration. This is to show that some degree of cohesion already exists within the African peoples. Therefore, it was seen as necessary not only to focus on the formal institutions (like the AU or sub-regional organizations), but also to consider informal institutions like the family and educational institutions.

C. Civil Society and Integration

Participants, by way of their very participation in the workshop, expressed a fundamental belief that civil society must engage the process of regional integration to ensure that it is as people-centered as possible. Some participants went so far as to conjecture that it would be futile to focus only on governments in discussing obstacles to integration, because a major reason why these regional organizations in Africa failed to meet their objectives was due to the lack of political will by African heads of states and governments. In this regard, there was broad agreement that, in identifying key actors in integration, one must look beyond the usual suspects of states and inter-state organizations. Though regional organizations and states remain extremely vital and much discussion was devoted to the importance of the state in particular, participants felt that the role of civil society and other formal and informal sectors had been overlooked.

With respect to civil society participants noted that, rather than working only with like-minded non-governmental organizations, it is essential to involve a broader range of civil society actors in discussions of integration - including trade unions, the private sector, youth, women, anti-corruption organizations, and traditional leaders. There is room to ensure fuller participation of women's organizations and associations to levy the problems of half the continent's population. The same was also said concerning trade unions. Although much of Africa is still rural, trade unions play a vital role in promoting the interests of the expanding urban working sectors, and their potential in regional integration has yet to be tapped.

In addition to recognition of the role that civil society organizations are to play in regional integration, there was also discussion of the limitations of civil society's ability to engage regional integration processes. Of primary importance is the fact that many civil society organizations in Africa continue to operate at the national level only. Further, there is an important information gap in that civil society organizations are not always familiar with developments in regional integration including relevant protocols and agreements. Other problems including lack of capacity, at-times unhelpful pressure from external donors, politicization or perceived politicization of civil society organizations, and the existing gulf between civil society and government decision makers were also raised. CSOs can, at times, be divided or even divisive. In different contexts, the same CSO may act very differently. A case in point is some Sudanese CSOs from north and south, which can be polarized around some specific issues such as religious identity. Donor funding constraints were recognized as a factor that can impede effective regional cooperation by CSOs. States respond to CSOs in many different ways, ranging from repressing them or ignoring their existence, to trying to co-opt them. And in some cases, CSOs lack connectedness with grassroots organisations. NGOs, like the state, have to learn to connect with communities and people on the ground so as to give true meaning to the idea of people-centeredness.

The above-mentioned difficulties at the national level may substantially impede organizations' ability to act effectively at the regional level. Thus, participants recommended the need to help CSOs solve their domestic problems first, rather than simply raise unrealistic expectations for their activities with respect to regional integration. Proposals for national-level action included convening discussion forums to alleviate obstacles to regional integration. Civil society organizations need to work in collaboration with governments and the people at large, and should not be competing with political parties for power. Conversely, there is room to educate government officials and political leaders on the role of civil society to help break down misconceptions. Codes of conduct and ethics need to be given particular attention by civil society organizations as well.

It is also important to recognize that the fundamental challenges facing civil society in one country might be wholly different from those in another. Thus, for example, Egyptian civil society organizations are struggling to define themselves in a landscape dominated simultaneously by a powerful militarized state, a society increasingly under the sway of organized political Islam, and foreign donors with their own agenda. In Nigeria, the simultaneous struggles for democracy, human rights and social stability define the parameters of civil society activism. In Southern Africa, the multiple threats of HIV/AIDS and its consequences are overshadowing the efforts to achieve all other social agendas.

Participants also critically analyzed the potential for creation of a regional civil society. In one group, discussion of how to create and strengthen regional civil society began with some definitional challenges being put on the table. For example, the need to broaden definitions of integration to include non-market relationships such as associations between civil society organizations was emphasized. There was agreement that regionalization of civil society must be done in a democratic fashion. The value of CSOs operating regionally was discussed as well. There are positive examples of how organizations gain greater scope for action and greater protection operating regionally, the Media Foundation for West Africa being a case in point. One important strategy is to seek to generate regional solidarity among CSOs. Another is that a CSO can utilize niches of relative freedom in certain countries in order to expose and act on abuses in another country where there is less freedom. Participants in another group likewise suggested that networking on a regional level would even help CSOs begin to overcome some of the obstacles they face domestically.

There was recognition that civil society organizations in general, and NGOs in particular, could be better about strategically networking and collaborating to further their goals with respect to regional integration more effectively, and made concrete recommendations in this regard. On the whole, participants felt there is a lack of research on regional integration from the point of view of civil society organizations and the little research that has been undertaken is often inaccessible. One recommendation was to map the space for regional civil society including creating a typology of CSOs and the contexts in which they operate in different countries, specifically referring to the strategies utilized by governments and the amount of space provided for CSOs to operate. Participants also recommended that civil society should be more involved with the AU's ECOSOCC, as elaborated in the AU case study below. Participants also strongly endorsed regular convening of regional civil society forums to discuss regional integration. Forums would also play a crucial role to help organizations network across borders, share information about national and regional developments, mobilize people to support integration, and develop common platforms for action and advocacy strategy. The forums should involve a range of actors including community and traditional leaders to ensure that they are fostering people-centered integration.

III. Towards People-Centered Integration

That regional integration in Africa must be more "people-centered" was the centerpiece of the workshop. This was interpreted in two ways. First, integration should aim to benefit ordinary people across the continent, not just for government and business leaders. Second and intrinsically linked, the process of integration must be inclusive and decision makers must involve ordinary people in developing integration policies. Indeed, some participants expressed that the major weakness of regional integration schemes and processes to date are the lack of public participation in such efforts. They felt that this void in terms of popular legitimacy of regional integration schemes essentially represents the Achilles Heel of regional integration efforts in Africa and, for as long as this lacuna exists, regional integration will be weak. There is therefore a need to integrate popular, or people-centered concerns into national and regional governance and decision-making processes of regional integration. The voiceless need a voice.

Participants deliberated on how best to elaborate strategies of research, communications, and advocacy to make regional integration more people-centered. There was broad agreement that civil society organizations, many of which have earned the trust of common African people, must play a crucial role in informing constituents and in bringing their concerns to the fore of regional policy-making. They analyzed the issues from a general perspective and also examined specific cases, detailed below.

Units of integration are not leaders and politicians only, but all African people - including women, youth, traditional leaders, the poor, etc... The importance of language and culture were also emphasized, with cross-cultural exchanges and harmonizing of local languages as means of ensuring that culture is celebrated rather than destroyed in integration processes. In addition, they underscored the importance of opening and strengthening channels of communication between formal and informal sectors, for example by encouraging civil society groups to give feedback to their members on development of integration as an essential means to increase their members' engagement in the process. Exclusion of traditional leaders and the failure to take advantage of endogenous knowledge systems were also cited as important gaps. In addition, participants stressed the need for Africans to take responsibility for their development, to prevent NEPAD from becoming effectively a "new partnership for Africa's dependency," also referred to as "knee-pads" to facilitate begging.

A large number of participants cited the difficulty of having effective representation and accountability at the supranational level, when these were not strong features of either national or sub-national representation in many African countries. The top-down creation of NEPAD was a case in point. Like other regional institutions that were created and continue to operate in a top-down fashion, NEPAD is facing a severe crisis of popular opposition. For these institutions to succeed, people need to feel a sense of ownership towards them and their policies.

One participant cautioned not to view the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) as an alternative to pressing for strengthening democratic processes at national (and sub-national) levels, but rather as a complement to it. The tough stand taken by South African parliamentarians with respect to the Zimbabwean election was seen as an encouraging precedent for this-a case of a genuine and tough review by peers. Participants also stressed the need to make regional institutions more accountable to national parliaments and to involve local governments in the integration process.

A. Communications

Lack of knowledge about regional integration remains a major obstacle at all levels, from senior levels to common people. Numerous participants who count themselves as important actors in regional integration expressed that they learned things about the integration process in Africa from others at the workshops that they should have known before. Still others pointed out that non-accessibility of regional organizations, treaties, and protocols to common Africans was an important gap which they hoped to address. They cited this lack of information as an explanation for why women were not more vocally critical of NEPAD, for example. Some said they felt the information deficit was particularly acute for African women. For example, women in Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast have had a thriving cross-border trade for years without formal knowledge of existing treaties between the two countries and among ECOWAS members promoting trade and free movement of peoples. In countries torn about by armed conflict, knowledge levels are even lower.

Specific attention was paid to the important roles that information and communication technologies (ICTs) could play in various regional initiatives and programs, including the SIA as well as the implementation of the AU and NEPAD. Use of ICTs may bring many advantages to institutions including CSOs, in terms of the more efficient and effective generation, transmission, and storage and accessing of data of all kinds. ICTs can be indispensable for dynamizing, training and networking. One recommendation was creation of an internet site for African civil society organizations similar to the global One World. A web platform relevant to institutions working in Africa could also be extremely useful, but a feasibility study would have to precede development of such a network as there are numerous and complex issues that would first need to be resolved. With regard to ICTs, one participant said that there is much that Africa can learn from the experience of other developing regions such as South Asia. In Africa, thus far, technology has been introduced without adequate analysis of its applicability to existing needs, while in India technology was adopted within existing economic and technological frameworks.

One participant explained her experience managing communication systems for a regional network of women's associations. She set forth the difficulties in reaching the target audiences and in effectively stimulating them to take action. While civil society organizations including many workshop participants have substantial experience in this domain, there was broad agreement on the need to elaborate more effective strategies and on the need for more resources to make them succeed.

In addition to exploiting new electronic communications media, participants underscored that existing regional media such as regional magazines and newspapers could be better utilized. In particular, the importance of utilizing community radio to the fullest was underscored, as radio is the only medium available to many Africans. And CSOs have yet to fully take advantage of strategies such as cultural exchanges, for example music and art. Participants also identified the importance of developing appropriate curricula for all levels, especially university, in terms of information communication and also in terms of stimulating additional research.

B. Research

There was also broad agreement on the need for additional research to further regional integration in Africa as an important way of putting the idea of people-centeredness on the agenda. Research should be more than mere collection of information; it should be geared to improving the lives of peoples and to meeting the challenges of regional integration. Several participants cited the fact that civil society critiques of NEPAD were common, but concrete proposals of well-researched/studied alternatives were fewer. Research findings and results have to be simplified, translated into understandable languages, and disseminated to constituencies such as students and youth, for example journals and the creation of websites. They must also be effectively communicated to policy-makers in order to ensure that findings and recommendations are implemented.

Critical areas of research would include topics on regional governance, challenges and obstacles to regional integration, and the effects and impacts of regional integration on areas such as citizenship and identity. As discussed below, participants of one group underscored the importance of research to ensure protection of endogenous knowledge systems. Likewise, as discussed, further research to harmonize languages to facilitate communications and integration was also seen as key. They also cited the need for more African research to promote conflict resolution. Some participants also cited a need for studies on the state and nature of regional integration in Africa. Such research should also seek to determine cost-benefit analysis of regional integration for average Africans. It was also recommended that Africa could benefit from better research on how to attract investment and to promote trade. In this regard, the respective chambers of commerce in Nigeria and Zimbabwe, as in other states, could each benefit from increased research, and it would also be beneficial for them to communicate with each other.

As for methodology, target groups specifically affected by regional integration such as manufacturers, producers and traders could be sources of research funding and fieldwork. African scholars and universities needed to be engaged more effectively. One recommendation was to support establishment of public policy research organizations and networks to facilitate Africa's leading thinkers to develop theoretical foundations and provide quality research and analysis concerning African society and economy.

Participants discussed the Assessment Report on Integration in Africa (ARIA), conducted by ECA, as an example of useful research on regional integration. This study, conducted for the first time in 2002 but intended to be an annual event, is a flagship publication for the ECA, utilizing the ECA's expertise in monitoring economic indicators. The ARIA focuses on:

The overall response of the group to the ARIA project was positive. It was recognized that this is the only formal measurement of economic integration that exists, and ECA is therefore to be congratulated on taking this initiative. However, group members also identified a number of issues that could enhance the ARIA, as well as noting some wider criticisms of the methodology and the underlying assumptions-for example the desirability of using convergence and stability criteria essentially derived from the Breton Woods Institutions. The main suggested additional substantive elements included developing indicators to count the informal sector including small-scale cross-border trade, women traders, and pastoralists who frequently bestride Africa's borders. Participants also recommended incorporating non-economic processes of integration in the ARIA, including the integration of civil society activities.

In addition, the group suggested consulting with civil society, other research institutions, and informal groups in design and implementation of the ARIA research methodologies. They also requested ECA to disseminate the ARIA results more widely among civil society actors.

C. Advocacy

There can be little doubt that effective advocacy is essential for realization of people-centered regional integration. Participants discussed the example of the process leading to creation of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights, whereby tireless advocacy over the course of years was necessary just to establish the commission and NGOs must continuously struggle to ensure that the commission does all it can to promote and protect human rights on the continent.

One participant noted that, with creation of NEPAD and the critical reaction of civil society thereto, we are faced with an important opportunity to build a "community of advocacy" around the peer review issue and NEPAD. Participants discussed concrete recommendations to take advantage of this historic opportunity.

One recommendation was to institutionalize tracking of enforcement of regional treaties and protocols. It was underscored that simply tracking was not enough, but that information must then be analyzed and disseminated to press governments to do more to respect its international obligations. For example, one could commission a study of the barriers to enforcement of protocols on free movement of peoples in West Africa, then publicize the findings, making sure to bring that information to key policy-makers to pressure them to do more to dismantle the barriers identified.

However, there is a need for capacity-building to fully exploit these opportunities. Some CSOs could benefit from training in advocacy skills such as negotiation, bargaining, and diplomacy. Lack of information must also be addressed. For example, most sub-regional and regional organisations and secretariats have fixed calendars and schedules. Therefore, without access to such calendars and time frames, CSOs cannot effectively schedule their lobbying to influence these organizations. Some participants also recognized that many CSOs lack a sufficient knowledge base on issues such as monetary union and regional trade. One group concluded that, in terms of advocacy, lobbying, campaigning and the consequent process of creating a mass "constituency" or "social base," CSOs should pay particular attention to issues of "representativity," "internal democracy" and "corporate governance" within their own organisations and ultimately in terms of their relations to the "popular" sectors they "represent."

CSO's and NGOs in particular need to network more strategically and more effectively; this should be done on the basis of issues and themes, at national, regional and continental levels so as to push particular policies, and advocate for changes in terms of the policies of their governments. In this regard, convening of regular forums of civil society organizations was another key recommendation, to promote networking, information-sharing, and joint advocacy. Similarly, the development of clubs and associations devoted to promoting regional integration among a wider group of Africans was recommended.

Participants also highlighted the need to mobilize the Diaspora not only to provide investment and skilled or professional human resources, but also to facilitate the transfer of people, goods, services, and technology to Africa. In this regard, participants also raised the need to address issues raised by the right to return. They also cited the importance of promoting promote Africa's interests abroad, to build bridges between Africa and government, civil society and other agencies in the rest of the world.

IV. Case Studies

A. African Union

One group had a wide ranging and lively discussion on the African Union (AU) and its institutions. The overall conclusion of the debate was the importance of greater and more effective engagement with the AU by CSOs.

The AU and its associated institutions, such as the Pan-African Parliament and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOCC) have been established and are in the process of becoming realities. There has been widespread skepticism about the capacity of the AU and Africa in general to implement its commitments to these continental institutions and standards. However, there are some encouraging signs that demonstrate that the OAU and now the AU do have a genuine and positive impact on governance in Africa. A case in point is the OAU's 1997 decision to exclude heads of state who take power by force; and the stronger measure in the Constitutive Act of the AU that debars all those who took power by 'unconstitutional means.' Though there were still great inconsistencies in interpretation, this was a step forward from previous OAU approaches of recognizing any fait accompli. In the same way, the AU Constitutive Act reflected a flawed process, and criticism was necessary, but this did not necessarily imply a flawed outcome. Rather, there was room for engagement with the new AU institutions, which presented opportunities which simply had not been there under the OAU, and it was important that these be recognized and exploited. These opportunities included AU organs including the Pan-African Parliament, the African Court of Human Rights, and the ECOSOCC.

Although agreement has been reached on some issues with regard to the composition of the various bodies and the appointment process for their members, important issues remain outstanding, and lobbying and other input from NGOs and civil society bodies is therefore important. For example, there is agreement on gender parity amongst the 10 Commissioners, but not on other selection criteria, such as equity in sub-regional representation. Similarly, the process of electing and/or appointing Members of the Pan-African Parliament is still to be decided. The structure and mandate of ECOSOCC are also still to be agreed. The accreditation and access of NGOs to this body are likely to be very contentious issues, but the importance of African organizations becoming engaged and moving beyond their alienation from official inter-state processes was underlined again, however well-founded this attitude might have been previously. There is more possibility for pressure to have an impact in the AU than was the case in the OAU, and the challenges and opportunities for engagement must be taken up. The issue is to strengthen the institutions through a rules-based approach, which is critical to moving away from the 'big man' syndrome in African politics.

Many participants expressed that they had not been aware of all of the above facts about the AU, indicating that basic information had not been widely disseminated across Africa. This underscored the extreme importance of information flows.

There was debate on a number of issues including:

Two issues were of particular concern when analyzing the AU. The first related to the representation of women. The second issue (not unrelated) raised by a large number of participants related to the difficulties of having effective representation and accountability at the supranational level, when these were not strong features of either national or sub-national representation in many African countries.

Finally, the group discussed the need for parallel civil society forums at the time of AU Assemblies. Africa is apparently the last major region where the regional body has come to support such a forum. This is now in its embryonic stages, but the participating organizations are still invited by the AU which gives members states too much discretion over which national organizations may attend. The forum is being slowly distanced from the AU, for example its last meeting was held in Accra. An important development which will contribute to a rules-based approach to the vexed issue of which civil societies are 'legitimate' and appropriate to participate in such forums is the establishment of a Code of Conduct for CSOs. There may well be scope for the SIA to contribute to the elaboration of this type of regulatory framework for CSOs.

B. NEPAD

A separate discussion was held on NEPAD's African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). There have been high hopes that the APRM may become a very important means for promoting good governance, democratic accountability and citizens' participation in Africa. At the same time, there have been misconceptions about the APRM, and recent developments (notably the NEPAD Heads of State Implementing Committee (HSIC) meeting in Abuja in early November) have reinforced a particular trend in the management of NEPAD.

As envisaged by those who assisted in the design of President Thabo Mbeki's Millennium African Renaissance Plan, the APRM would serve to strengthen the capacity of weak states to promote and implement inclusive development strategies rather than those dedicated solely to short-term maximization of income. In this scenario, the APRM was intended to complement the 'top down' pressures from Heads of State with 'bottom-up' pressure from a wide range of CSOs within countries which supported improved governance. The process would not only support democratic governance but would be a democratic exercise in itself. However, the HSIC decision to focus on economic and corporate governance as the priority, while putting political governance issues such as democracy and human rights on a slow track (awarding them to African Union institutions which have not even been set up) indicates a switch to a more technocratic, top-down approach. Participants regretted that the divorce between the economic and political components of peer review might destroy the progressive possibilities for the whole process.

Another participant briefly presented a second view of the APRM, which was more donor-driven, used the OECD Development Assistance Committee as a model, and focused primarily on the economic and corporate governance aspects. This was a more technical process involving only experts, and aimed at establishing mutual accountability between donors and recipients. The objective here would be to improve the effectiveness of the aid regime, rather than political and economic governance more broadly, through moves towards long-term commitments to budgetary support and the reduction or elimination of donor conditionalities.

The discussion rehearsed many familiar concerns about NEPAD, especially the fact that discussion about NEPAD has been too restricted on the continent such that even high-ranking government officials in some countries are not fully aware of NEPAD's content and the issues around it, let alone wider segments of societies. However, the consensus view seemed to be that all Africans, and civil society organizations in particular, must engage with NEPAD, using it as an opportunity to put pressure on their own and other heads of state, in relation to improving governance as well as to other aspects of NEPAD, such as enhancing trade and the development impact of trade, where the knowledge and expertise of producers, including small scale women producers, was essential to policy formulation and implementation.

The group converged on two proposals.

C. Regional Economic Communities

Reference to Africa's Regional Economic Communities (RECs) recurred throughout the discussion. The number, diversity and diverse performance of the RECs was emphasized. While some were highly active, such as the rejuvenated East African Community and ECOWAS, others were virtually moribund or ineffective, such as the Arab Maghreb Union or the Manu River Union. Different views on RECs were forwarded. Some thought that the acronym 'REC' was appropriate as they were indeed wrecks, and that they should be rationalized and their numbers reduced. Another viewpoint was that it was asking for political opposition to seek to dismantle some RECs, and that it was better to accept them all as legitimate and functional. Because of lack of time, there was no opportunity to elaborate on this discussion and reach consensus on specific suggested action points.

SADC

One group held an in-depth discussion of the obstacles that SADC has encountered in its endeavors to integrate southern Africa. SADC is currently undergoing a process of restructuring and revamping its activities, including reorganization of the secretariat and revision of the system of member states' contributions to the organization, which will now be pegged to GDP. SADC is holding negotiations on creation of a free trade area and SADC is engaged in parallel negotiations with the EU and the USA towards further liberalizing their trade policies towards southern Africa. The primary obstacles facing these processes have been disparate levels of socio-economic development between SADC states and the fact that some SADC member states were not eligible for initiatives such as the AGOA.

Participants also discussed some of the positive advances that SADC has achieved, including numerous protocols governing relations between member states and a parliamentary forum, which has drawn up guidelines on elections and electoral procedures. Of particular note, SADC is the first sub-regional organization to involve civil society in the process of regional integration. SADC has also encouraged the creation of an association of chambers of commerce in member countries.

Nevertheless, some difficulties and obstacles remain. Some member states are also members of other sub-regional organizations, and faced with multiple and sometimes contradictory obligations and responsibilities. In addition, SADC governments, while ostensibly adhering to lofty principles, have tended to resist concrete measures and obligations that would deepen regional integration in practice. Member states' rejection of the Regional Industrial Development Plan was a case in point.

ECOWAS

Participants from the West African region then discussed the successes, failures and challenges facing the ECOWAS group of states. It was apparent that both exercises in regional or sub-regional integration faced very similar problems and challenges. Problems and weaknesses common to both regions included the slow pace of economic integration, the lack of enforcement mechanisms in these treaties and agreements, states belonging to several different groupings at the same time and facing difficulties in fulfilling multiple commitments, the excessive control over the whole process by the executive branches and the heads of state, and also the difficulties associated with the implementation of protocols concerning free movements of individuals between countries belonging to the same regional grouping.

North Africa

Ambassador Ahmed Haggag, Secretary General of the African Society in Cairo and former Assistant Secretary General of the OAU, presented a paper on regional integration in North Africa. In reports on African issues in general, and African integration in particular, the role and contribution of the North African region is rarely given the importance it deserves. Luckily, the founders of Africa were conscious early enough of this perception, which they considered as deliberate attempts to divide the continent and deprive it of the contribution of major countries of the North, and ensured that creation of the OAU incorporated countries of the North as well as the South. While the relationship between Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa remains to be solidified, he underscored that the experience of North Africa regarding regional integration could provide valuable lessons to other parts of the continent.

After providing an overview of existing regional cooperation mechanisms including the Maghreb Arab Union (established in 1989 between Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Libya and Mauritania) and the Sahel and Sahara Group (originally established by Lybia in 1998 and now including Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Gambia, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Chad, Togo, and Tunisia), he acknowledged that political differences have hindered integration in North Africa, with the unfortunate result that political differences block economic integration. The Arab Maghreb Union in particular has faced challenges caused by the problem of Western Sahara and the conflict between Algeria and Morocco. He also partially attributed the failure of the OAU, similarly, to its sole emphasis on political issues and its failure to focus on economic integration. Within the North Africa region, Ambassador Haggag stressed the importance of regional efforts to address two key problems: terrorism and HIV/AIDS (including the destructive lack of official recognition of HIV/AIDS as a major problem in the region).

With regard to the Afro-Arab cooperation, he noted that many viewed it skeptically in terms of sub-Saharan states providing political support in exchange for financial aid from northern states. Since the first Afro-Arab Summit in 1977, cooperation has continued, albeit subject to political differences within the Arab states (including differences over Iraq's 1991 invasion of Kuwait). But, in his view, the major challenge for both sides remains how to harness the private sector to revitalize economic relations that could constitute a vehicle of value added, economic diversification, trade and exports, and sustainable economic development. Trade and economic cooperation have produced favorable results in some cases, but lack of political will and gaps of information (most information being provided by western media not the relevant organizations) pose substantial obstacles to this cooperation.

He concluded his presentation by enlisting participants to, "ask not what Africa can do for you, but what you can do for Africa."

V. Thematic Issues

A. Language and African Integration

Professor Kwesi Prah of CASAS gave a lively presentation on harmonization of African languages. To begin with, he noted that Africans moving around different parts of the continent often encounter xenophobia due to economic hardship and political instability. He attributes the xenophobic attitude of states and leaders - in contrast to integration and unity which existed historically in Africa - to the negative effects of colonialism, which imposed artificial boundaries and barriers within African society. The colonial era also essentially created many languages by classifying as languages what should have been termed dialects. As part of their strategy to divide and rule, foreign powers thus erected barriers and perceptions of difference between Africans.

What Africans need is people-centered development that stresses the importance of culture in general and language in particular, issues hitherto overlooked. He pointed out that a polarized situation exists in Africa, whereby the "elites" and the "masses" speak different languages. The framework, objectives, and programs associated with development are interpreted and explained in languages alien to the people they are supposed to benefit. This is largely due to the existence of educational systems that equate knowledge and science with European languages and essentially discard endogenous history, myths, and knowledge. People-centered development can only become a reality by using the people's own language, and restoring Africans' pride, history, and dignity.

According to the speaker, about 80 percent of the languages on the continent can be harmonized in fifteen language groups. Professor Prah went on to describe the activities carried out by his organization to simplify and integrate nominally separate languages by developing dictionaries, orthographies, and common syllabuses. The goal is for this harmonization of languages to facilitate integration and contacts between Africans, and to foster the development of publishing and education systems for Africans in African languages.

B. African Agency in Development

Professor Ihiedu Iweriebor gave a presentation on African agency and development. He began with a conceptual and historical survey, arguing that there have always been pressures on Africans to accept external prescriptions as solutions to Africa's development challenges. By contrast, he strongly emphasized the need for Africans themselves to assume responsibility for their own development - relying on African resources, initiatives, choices, and experiences, though without completely precluding use of non-African ideas or institutions. He recalled the significant pre-colonial achievements of Africans in any number of fields including state formation, arts and culture, science, medicine, metallurgy, construction, and industry. Contemporary Africa, on the contrary, sadly exhibits Africa's incapacitation, attributable principally to colonialism, which exposed her to dependence on and exploitation by foreign powers.

He argued that the tendency to marginalize and neglect African cultures and heritage was not borne out by Africans themselves. It was colonialism that created disruption of African agency and dissipated African energy, with the help of collaborationist Africans who worked with foreign powers to the detriment of the continent. Ideologically and psychologically depleted elites who took power after independence offered prescriptions for development, which was basically the production and distribution of primary commodities. In so doing, post-independence African governments surrendered their opportunities for self-development. Attempts at opening up space for investment and transfer of technology were unsuccessful. African intelligentsia, traders, entrepreneurs, and others put forward contradictory policies, strategies, and practices. The OAU is a case in point. The NEPAD will perpetuate the notion and practice of denying African agency in Africa's development.

The following solutions were proposed to reverse the continent's downward slide:

C. Protection of Traditional Knowledge Systems

One group had extensive discussions on the importance protecting traditional knowledge systems, citing the need to look inward to find solutions rather than from outside, for example by highlighting the importance of traditional medicine which is the medicine used by the majority of African people for maintaining or achieving health. The discussion touched on a number of different issues including intellectual property, health, traditional dispute resolution mechanisms, culture, and traditional leaders. Specifically, the group called for research and documentation of African endogenous knowledge systems, establishment of mechanisms for protecting the intellectual property rights of this knowledge, and strategies for deploying this knowledge in everyday life to produce goods and services of benefit to the general population.

A strong case was made as to why traditional knowledge was essential for people-centered integration.

Participants pointed out that, to some extent, regional organizations have already addressed this issue. For example, an AU protocol encourages national legislation to protect endogenous knowledge. The World Intellectual Property Organization and World Trade Organization have also expressed interest in more appropriate exploitation of endogenous knowledge, and it is essential for Africans to be involved in this process to ensure that that Africans receive the benefits reaped from their technology.

D. Participation of Women

Much lively discussion centered on how best to ensure effective participation of women in regional institutions. Participants expressed a concern that women are going to be marginalized in the process of building the new regional structures. They pointed to the African Women's Committee on Peace and Development, which merely holds an advisory role vis-a-vis the AU Council of Ministers. Several participants referred to the distinction between formal representational equality for women and substantive empowerment of women - will women MPs, executive officials or committee have substantial power? Will they represent the interests of women? How can there be some assurance that representatives will be accountable?

Many expressed a belief that it is not enough to insist on quotas for women in positions of power, but rather to empower women to be truly qualified to lead regional integration. They agreed that it is essential nominate strong candidates to serve in the various AU bodies, including the Pan-African Parliament. But there was also a recognition that women's advocates need to develop a strategic approach to promoting women's role in decision-making, and that this is a long-term struggle. Civil society organizations are not a substitute for political processes in individual countries.

Participants identified a number of ways in which effective women's participation can be enhanced. For example, a study of best practices among national governments and regional and sub-regional bodies would be helpful. They also recommended that "important" African women be identified and lobbied to participate in regional structures. The recommendations were fairly practical but, above all, they further an ultimate goal of working towards getting women elected, not nominated. A few participants pointed out that women do not always push the women's agenda once they are in office. While that should not be used as an excuse not to ensure women are strongly represented in official and elected structures, it does make it incumbent on advocates to ensure that the women they nominate and push to the top are as democratically representative as possible.

E. HIV/AIDS

As perhaps the most devastating problem facing the African continent today, participants felt the need to emphasize the importance of addressing the problem of HIV/AIDS when debating regional integration. The pandemic is not only a threat to Africans as individuals, but to dearly-held projects such as regional integration. The disease does not respect national borders. Efforts of individual countries would not bring a fundamental change of the reality; therefore, being a regional or continental problem, HIV/AIDS needs the concerted efforts of civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations to act beyond their states' boundaries. Establishing community radio programs in local languages would be the most suitable mechanism to reach the most inhabitants of the continent.

Initially, discussion of HIV/AIDS as a theme was put aside on the assumption that it would emerge as a topic during all the subsequent days' discussions. In the event, as this did not occur, one group discussed HIV/AIDS as a separate topic, with a particular focus on the governance implications of the pandemic, and supporting creative ways and means of reversing its impacts.

The negative social and economic impact that the HIV/AIDS pandemic implies for the continent are unmistakable: slowing or reversing economic development, rendering societies more vulnerable to crises such as famines, undermining the capacity of states to provide essential services, jeopardizing civil society and democracy, and possibly even sparking or worsening conflict. Thus far, neither African governments nor international agencies have grappled adequately with the pandemic and its wider impacts. Responses have generally fallen into three basic categories:

Another gap was a response to the wider governance impacts, so that these other governance and development agendas could be kept on track despite the human resource losses associated with the AIDS pandemic. One participant cited the Commission on AIDS and Governance in Africa (CAGA) initiative at the ECA as a high-level response to the latter need.

There was recognition that regional cooperation, not just by governments but by CSOs as well, was necessary for the disease to be overcome. Among the specific proposals forwarded for networking and information sharing were:

VI. Conclusions: The Way Forward

Throughout the workshop, participants analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of existing efforts towards regional integration, economic and otherwise, and what they as civil society could do in terms of research, communications, networking, and advocacy can do to make it better. The proposals focussed on how to make regional integration processes and institutions more people-centered, what some described as "the missing link" in terms of regional integration. One identified the present moment as a "golden opportunity" for the Ford Foundation and SIA to fill this void.

Thus the participants proposed a broad framework to guide SIA as it endeavors to strengthen African approaches to integration. The numerous concrete proposals put forward at the workshop, which have been discussed above, fall into four main categories:

Participants also recommended that SIA be institutionalized to strengthen and sustain African solutions through funding, technical assistance, and covenings (one group went so far as to draft an "organigram" for SIA!). Based on the recommendations made at this and two other workshops organized by SIA and the experience of pilot grants resulting from the workshops, the Ford Foundation hopes to establish a fund to institutionalize support for these goals, to strengthen African solutions to the continent's most pressing challenges.