Africa & Global Policy Panel

From Aid to Agency: Africa Rewrites the Rules of Engagement For decades, Africa’s engagement with the world was too often framed through aid dependency and externally imposed agendas. Today, that paradigm is breaking down. Across diplomacy, trade, and governance, African leaders and institutions are asserting agency, demanding equity, and reshaping the terms of global cooperation. With the African Union’s elevation on the world stage and the continent’s growing influence in a multipolar order, the central question is no longer what others can do for Africa, but how Africa and the world can build partnerships on equal footing. This panel will convene policymakers, international leaders, and African officials to explore how the continent is rewriting the rules of engagement with multilateral institutions, foreign governments, and global powers. Panelists will examine strategies for moving beyond donor-driven models, leveraging collective bargaining power, and ensuring that Africa’s priorities—sovereignty, representation, and shared value—are embedded in the global policy frameworks of the future.