5 key things to know on Africa Soft Power summit 2023, how it influences Africa globally.

Africa Soft power
summit held its second annual event May, in Kigali, Rwanda, bringing together
delegates and leading speakers all over the globe. With media reports gather by
BellaNaija team after hosting its second conversation event, and bringing to
live some of the important moments in the summit.

With all hands on
deck on Africa Soft Power’s biggest event right from start to date, below are
some key facts from this year summits which was held in Kigali, Rwanda

Gender equality is
universal equality.

Among the most
favourite additions to this year program was the inaugural ‘women’s Leadership
Conference (RAW). This program was so real, it was Africa-hosted and led by
women. It was indeed to so remarkable to see how much efforts and enthusiasm
out there for greater equality for gender in our various work places and in the
society at large.

One of the opening
panel participant was the deputy partner at Templars “Chike Obianwu” came up
with a joke of how he was the Token man in other wise what must should have
been a session dominated by female. “Templars” is thoroughly putting all efforts
to make sure the gender quality space boast a 53% - 47% female to male gender
split across the societies and offices per quote. Specific information where
revealed in real-time regarding the basic and tough steps most organisation can
take to ensure their own representation.

Sailing across the
Seven C’s

In the summit a lot
of top honoured world-class speakers where present, and in one way or the
other, it feels unjust to pick at just one. From top entrepreneurs and artist
to leading voices from different sectors both public and private. The summit
which also features stories on modern Africa industries and how it impacts the
lives of Africa's.

With specific pin
points for major speakers, one which entirely cut up the attention of  audiences was Adefunke Adeyemi, Secretary
General of the African Civil Aviation commission (AFCAC) and the creator of the
7 C’s (Seven top tips of finding success your career and life.)

• Charisma:
  your likeability, and ability to be human and humane


• Capital:
  your brand, who you show up as, and what you show yourself to the world to
  be


• Competence:
  to back up that confidence and show that you are incredible


• Courage:
  we need the courage to go through life and everything it throws at us


• Confidence:
  belief in yourself, that you can do anything you set your mind to


• Commitment:
  what keeps you going, even when you don’t feel like it


• Character:
  who you are

Celebrate don’t
denigrate

Another key addition to this year’s summit was undoubtedly the ASP Gala &
Awards, hosted smack bang in the middle of the 5-day convening. This was an
opportunity to come together as a collective while recognizing individual excellence
and celebrating the height of African creativity against the backdrop of an
exclusive red-carpet setting filled with African fashion, food, music, and
dance.

Learn to Celebrate
and not to Denigrate.

Another major
addition to this year Africa soft summit was doubtfully the

Going into the
event, Africa’s Soft Power Founder, Nkiru Balonwu, had spoken about
the need – while not shying away from the challenges Africa faces and the
responsibilities it holds as a continent – to emphasize the more positive
aspects of Africa. Removing Africa from the prism of the Western lens and
creating its narratives is critical to today’s beliefs and tomorrow’s
successes. At the Gala & Awards, the strength of African creativity and
innovation was on display for the world to see.

Real-life events
are Back!

The way the world rallied in its pivot to virtual events during the Covid-19
pandemic was something to behold and has provided a wider range of options for
communications and connectivity going forward. But now, over three years since
the onset of the pandemic, and with restrictions well and truly behind us, it
was clear at this year’s Africa Soft Power Summit that the appetite for
real-life events and face-to-face connectivity is stronger than ever before!

In Kigali, there
was something for everyone. People came from across the world to listen, speak,
interact, and at times simply enjoy. There were traditional conference formats,
the aforementioned Gala and awards, networking, breakout sessions, leisure and
cultural outings, and spontaneous socials, and the city of Rwanda truly became
a home for the better part of a week. These types of interactions now seem even
more important than ever before, even though their day-to-day working lives
have been changed beyond recognition.

African soft power
is now part of global culture

While hosted in Kigali, this was a global event, bringing the emerging creative
and innovative sectors side by side with more traditional financial, investment,
and corporate organizations to forge real bonds and examine genuine solutions
for tomorrow’s growth pathways. With one-quarter of the world’s population
predicted to be residing on the continent by 2050, witnessing Africa – and
Africans – playing such a central role in these global conversations was
extremely encouraging.