Over 300 delegates from Africa and beyond are expected to converge at the Turbine Hall in Newtown, Johannesburg, for three days of inclusive, innovative and interactive dialogue on growing African philanthropy, new social investment practice and a shared commitment to action.

The assembly is the second of its kind in the short life of the African Grantmakers Network (AGN). Driven by the vision of organisations like TrustAfrica in Senegal, the African Women’s Development Fund in Ghana and the Kenya Community Development Foundation, the AGN was launched in Accra, Ghana, in July 2009. Its current board also includes Akiba Uhaki in Kenya, the Foundation for Civil Society in Tanzania, and the Southern Africa Trust in Johannesburg.

The AGN represents a bold enterprise by African philanthropic organisations to bring African voice and agency to the fore in meeting the challenges facing the region. In the rapidly changing reality of Africa, there are signs of new energies, new interests, new actors and new wealth. Yet, under-development, inequality and exclusion persist. Old practices, relationships and frameworks of social investment can no longer contain these contradictions. The AGN provides the space for African actors to converge and find African solutions to these contradictions. It seeks to promote an African voice and agenda for philanthropy, in pursuit of its vision to grow a transformed, relevant, vibrant and sustainable African community of philanthropy and social investment.

The 2012 event follows on the highly successful inaugural assembly held in Kenya, Nairobi in 2010. Under the banner of “Growing African Philanthropy: What’s New, What’s Now, What’s Next?”, the 2012 assembly will convene grantmakers and social investors, together with delegates from all sectors of society – the social, the private, and the public sectors – providing a unique opportunity for engagement across a broad spectrum of social issues and actors. 

It will scan the diverse terrain of philanthropy in Africa to identify new trends, showcase emerging practices and exciting innovations, and craft a shared agenda to build the field in a changing context.
The assembly will highlight the local genius and potential of African philanthropy. It will focus on the rich array of assets – human, material and financial – that can be marshalled to build African agency to solve Africa’s problems.  Delegates will be encouraged to transcend their silos and develop the kinds of collaboration required to achieve lasting impact.

Throughout the assembly, tough issues like poverty, inequality and social exclusion will be examined frankly to frame a practice of philanthropy that can rise to the challenge of creating systemic change for social justice in Africa.

Fuelled by the energy and ideas of participants, the assembly’s approach to dialogue is fresh and creative, and discussions will be facilitated in new and exciting ways that encourage inclusion and participation of diverse voices from the continent.

To register, go to www.regonline.com/2012africangrantmakersnetworkassembly. There are only a few places left, and registration closes on 22 October 2012.