Jean Narcisse Djaha, PhD, Founding President & Chairman of the African Council on Foreign Relations, remarked, ‘’By founding and launching this great institution, I would like to help position Africa to compete and win in the 21st century. ACFR is set to become a powerful and trusted voice for youth everywhere in Africa and the diaspora. Our parents had a developmental vision for us and now it is our responsibility to communicate that vision to the next generation of visionary leaders.’’
The Founder of the African Council on Foreign Relations is an outstanding innovator in international education, serial author, leaders of disruptive leaders, and long-time champion for a values-based competitiveness leadership and international cooperation. Djaha spoke with ACFR Executive Interview Team about why he believes that ACFR is a gateway for positive change in Africa.
Can you introduce yourself to our audience and tell us more about the African Council on Foreign Relations? When did you get the idea to build this world-class institution?
My name is Jean Narcisse Djaha, Founding President, Chairman and a Distinguished at African Council on Foreign Relations, a world renowned Think Tank dedicated to advancing Africa’s competitiveness on the global stage in the 21st century. As the public face of the organization, I constantly give voice to the African Council on Foreign Relations. At ACFR, I specialize in Agriculture Tech, Education Technology, Social Innovation & Systems Change, Entrepreneurship, Economic Development & Business Diplomacy.
The African Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), as an organization, is a pan-African membership think-tank social enterprise that performs independent research, advocacy, studies, training, consultancy on social, international, political, foreign policy, business, and economic issues. At ACFR, we strive to create a platform to bring business, government, private sector, and social sector actors together to share perspectives, develop constructive ideas and opportunities, and promote Africa’s best interest on the global stage.
I am a serial founder and big fan of public, private, and social innovation excellence. They allow you to actively participate in the development of societies, communities, and nations. The African Council on Foreign Relations started as an idea back to 2016 when I was preparing to leave Cote D’Ivoire for the United States of Africa. It was one of the projects that I decided to deliver in my lifetime. I remembered sharing the idea with some business leaders and government officials so that I can have their guidance and blessings. At the time, I lacked the resources to realize this project.
In 2022, I started to gather relevant information regarding the formation of the organization in Virginia.
In 2023, the African Council on Foreign Relations was formed in the state of Virginia.
When you were setting up the African Council on Foreign Relations, what components were critical to providing value to the populations you were serving?
I started with understanding what it truly means to provide exceptional value to youth populations across Africa today. Most of the world leaders do not realize that Africa in 1960s is not the same today. Development dynamics have changed in several ways which require more attention than has ever been before. Aspirations carried by young people have evolved over the years. They look for development opportunities in their respective countries.
Another point is that the old diplomatic system in Africa has failed young people. Therefore, it is more than important to appoint more and more qualified young people in decision-making roles and bodies in regional and international institutions. Today, everybody agrees that Africa’s future lies in the hands of its brave young people. But , how do we prepare them to excel tomorrow if we do not open doors for them in the economy today?
Sometimes people think of African young leaders in a way that is outdated. We do not believe that young leaders of today are incapable of achieving great things for their nations and communities.
We are talking about young people who are responsible, highly qualified, knowledgeable of their needs and those of their communities and countries. We are talking about high value creation for current and future generations as well.
We are thinking about how we can rebuild a values-based competitiveness leadership in Africa.
What is Values- Based Competitiveness Leadership and why it is essential to the success of your organization?
Values- based competitiveness leadership is a concept that I am developing in a book that I am currently writing. The title of the book is ’Why Africa Will Not Fail Again’. It will be released in the near future.
What is values-based competitiveness leadership? I define it as a set of values (national, community corporate, and corporate) that have the potential to influence leadership of countries, communities, and corporations to realize their development goals, objectives, and plan in a regional and global economic context. competitiveness or build a competitive economy. My basic theory of values-based competitiveness leadership is that:
- When a country, community, or corporation’s competitiveness goals are grounded in their core values, they contribute to both private and public sector development for a very long time.
- ‘’Values create value’’, says Prof. Elliot Schreiber
- Since the beginning of time, no single country, community, or corporation has developed itself with outside values.
All of this is to make sure that the current and next generation of leaders growing ideas and businesses and driving systems change in Africa will be competitive in the labor market. That they see an opportunity to provide for their nations, and businesses in a way that leads them to believe in a future not of confusion, but where their aspirations are going to be met by playing these values. That is what I am the most excited about today.
What do you feel is the biggest strength and challenge of your organization right now?
Our biggest strength is that everyone is rowing in the same direction. That means that we share the same vision, mission, and values. I believe that it will help to reach the finish line. We also have highly dedicated individuals and partners ready to help the organization progress toward its goals.
One of our biggest challenges is the satisfaction of our audiences, partners, sponsors, and supporters. We will strive to make them happy by all means to ensure our longevity as an organization. The second challenge is funding. However, we do believe that the quality of our work will motivate partners, organizations, and individuals to support the African Council on Foreign Relations and its work.
As a follow up, where are you now, and where do we want your organization to be in the 5 to 10 years?
We are at the beginning of building the organization. The old saying goes, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” Having a goal for our organization–and, more importantly, a clear plan to achieve that goal–is essential for success in my lifetime.
We are still building our capacity at several levels. Our goal is to realize our strategic plan, opening some offices in Africa, building capacity for our ACFR Foundation and ACFR Business & Diplomatic Business School and their expansion across the African continent.
This will require a lot of human and financial resources.
As a final question, do you have a message for your audiences in Africa and globally?
Yes, definitely. We are building this organization to advance Africa in the global economy and political stages. I have a request for you. We need you. We need your resources and assistance. It is a great honor and an incommensurable privilege to start this new mission with you. The mission is to direct this great continent in a new vision. Together, we can do it and we will do it. I am here to be at your service.
ACFR Executive Interview Team
