Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has reiterated the importance of Africans taking greater ownership of their development and narratives, and of understanding their history.

Speaking at the inaugural Africa Mindset Reset Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, the Vice President said Pan-Africanism was founded on the conviction that Africans could work together to determine their own future.

“That conviction must remain at the heart of our development today. We must move beyond implementing solutions designed for us towards building the capacity, institutions and expertise needed to address our own challenges,” she said.

The event, which was organised by the African School of Governance provided a platform for candid discussions on Africa’s history and trajectory.

Other dignitaries who participated in the Forum included President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, former Prime Minister of Ethiopia Hailemariam Dessalegn Boshe; and former South Africa Thabo Mbeki.

Vice President Opoku-Agyemang encouraged African School of Governance to invest in research grounded in Africa’s realities and to produce solutions relevant to their development needs.

She said education must prepare their young people not merely to participate in the future, but to equip them with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to shape it.

Their discussions also focused on the need to confront the bottlenecks and bureaucracy that continue to slow progress and ensure that their policies and institutions improve the lives of their people, particularly those who have had fewer opportunities.

“We must increasingly ask where Africa ought to be, what it will take to get there, and what each of us is prepared to do to make that future possible,” the Vice President stated.