As human beings, what we look to is what they stood for. - Amina J. Mohammed

I think it starts first of all for from where we create access to education, and the curriculum that we put in place for it. And we talk about the scientific basis that we find we must have in early childcare. I think early childcare is not in a classroom, but very much in Africa today, it needs to start with adult literacy and mothers because as African women, and in our cultures – our children are with us until they’re three, attached at the hip, if you would.

We also have a lady who is heading up the Economic Commission for Africa, Vera Songwe, and I think that this is amazing because she’s going to bring a different kind of vision to supporting Africa’s agenda; making sure that we integrate the economy; women’s issues, youth issues, technology, across some of the promises that have been made by African leaders. So, in short, I would say the rubber is about to hit the road and what we need to see is that rhetoric and those frameworks are turned into action.

So what common ground can they come together on to move us forward? And I think that the fact that we’re seeing no solidarity with Africa right now has actually empowered a conversation. I think the United Nations has been helpful for a sanguine Economic Commission for Africa that did a lot of work with the Minister of Finance. So they were able to take the issues in an international arena and argue them, and it’s quite difficult for our people to do that because essentially, they’re in their own bubble, fighting the day-to-day challenges of broken democracies and an incredibly different set of difficult situations, conflict, etc.