Over 200 Leaders from 30 Countries will Gather in Accra to Reimagine Who Shapes Africa’s Development

“If we are to heal our health systems, we must first reset development itself.” Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama issued that challenge at the launch of the Accra Reset on the margins of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2025.

Nearly a year later, the question of who gets to shape Africa’s development future is moving to the centre of a major Pan-African convening in Accra. More than 200 leaders from 30 countries will gather from 1 to 3 September 2026 for Africa at the Centre: Leading Change, Shifting Power, bringing together civil society leaders, systems change practitioners, funders, policymakers, researchers, social innovators, youth leaders and diaspora actors to move the debate on African ownership from rhetoric to practical action.

For decades, development in Africa has often been shaped through externally defined priorities, funding models and measures of success. The Africa at the Centre convening responds to this reality by creating space to reimagine development from African perspectives and place African leadership, knowledge and agency at the heart of the Africa we want.

Across the continent, governments, civil society organisations, movements and communities are already developing solutions rooted in local realities, knowledge and lived experience. Yet African actors can remain closest to the challenges while having less influence over the priorities, resources, partnerships and systems intended to address them.

Charles Kojo Vandyck, a member of the Africa at the Centre organising team and Head, Capacity Development Unit at the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), said during a media partners engagement on 27 August that the development conversation must look beyond money alone and recognise the assets already present within African communities.

“Money is not all that development needs. Development systems need to respect the expertise, knowledge and resources that already exist within communities. Africa is not poor. We have knowledge, skills, creativity, relationships and resources. The question is how these assets are recognised, valued and mobilised in shaping our own development.”

The convening comes at a critical moment for development and philanthropy. Shrinking donor resources, intensifying global crises and growing momentum for locally led development are raising fundamental questions about who holds power, whose knowledge counts and who decides what gets funded. Africa at the Centre seeks to move that conversation beyond the language of inclusion towards practical shifts in power, ownership and agency.

Across three days, participants will move through three interconnected stages. Remember and Locate will examine the histories, realities and forces that have shaped current development systems. Disrupt and Reimagine will challenge assumptions around power, financing, institutions, and mindsets and worldviews. Build and Steward will focus on turning ideas into practical initiatives, partnerships and prototypes that can continue beyond the convening.

Unlike a conventional conference, the gathering is designed around dialogue, peer learning, difficult conversations and collective action. Its goal is not simply to produce another set of recommendations, but to build shared analysis, deepen relationships and generate practical pathways that participants are prepared to shape, resource and steward beyond the three days in Accra.

The convening is co-hosted by WACSI, EPIC Africa, the African Foundation for Development (AFFORD), Reos Partners and Re-Imagining INGOs. WACSI will serve as lead host and post-convening steward, supporting continuity, shared accountability and collaboration beyond the gathering.

Among the dignitaries and leading voices participating in the convening are: Ambassador Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Presidential Special Envoy on Reparations, Republic of Ghana, who will deliver the opening keynote; Ms Bell Ribeiro-Addy, UK Labour Member

of Parliament for Clapham and Brixton Hill; Arthur Larok, Secretary General of ActionAid International; Dr Nana Asantewa Afadzinu, Executive Director of WACSI; Dr Ebrima Sall of TrustAfrica; Dr Moses Isooba of the Uganda National NGO Forum; Nafissatou Sene, Senior Manager, Portfolio Services at African Collaborative; and Makmid Kamara, Executive Director of Reform Initiatives and Regional Director for Africa and the Middle East at the International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM), alongside other leaders from civil society, philanthropy, research, systems change and the African diaspora.

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Signed:
Africa at the Centre Communications Team
Media Contact: Jimm Chick Fomunjong [+233 560482063 ]

Email: jcfomunjong@wacsi.org communication@wacsi.org

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