February 26, 2003 Arusha - Tanzania Conference organised by
...The question that we could not fail to ask is: If Africa was not subjected to the past that it has come from - which we are all familiar with, what kind of continent would it have been today? Would the countries of this region have evolved the same way as we know them to have done today? Would we be talking about the need to develop, or modernize? We will probably never be able to answer these kinds of questions.		Ezra Mbogori / MWENGO

...The one thing that is clear though, is that Africa has always had to react, so never had the opportunity to evolve in its own way, at its pace. So, instead of trying to imagine what could have been, it appeared infinitely better to try and develop a more confident relationship with the future, if we imagine what could be, create a clear, desirable vision and try to make it a reality.
This is the basic motivation of triple F - Fast Forwarding to the Future.
What if we were to create a space in which we ask a group of creative, dynamic individuals who have an abiding interest in and concern for this region, to develop an image of a desirable future in say 50 years. What do you think this region - or indeed Africa, should be like in 2050, if you were able to influence trends and events?...

...»There is a large pool of well exposed, dynamic young people out there who are willing - sometimes eager to dream, to take calculated risks and make a difference for the region.
»There is a passion, vigour and romanticism in youth which we should all seek to harness and use as effectively as possible. After all it is to them that the older generation will cede their responsibilities in time.
»The advent of Information technology offers many new opportunities to get over the sheer distances that have bee a barrier in themselves.
»We are witnessing trends towards regional integration on account of forces that our leaders were able to ignore in the past.

...Having developed some of these initial ideas, the MWENGO leadership reached out to its network and sought nominations for outstanding young people who, through demonstrated interest, were well suited to play a role in this activity. In order to give the group the best chances for representing the aspirations of civil society in the region, we also chose to form a group that would be as close to the population profile of the region as possible. As of mid-2002, this stood at 52% female. We have attending this session 14 female and 12 male Core group members. At least two other female member of this group were unable to join us but have indicated an abiding interest and desire to become involved in all the Groups activities...