Africa Dialogue Series 2022: Strengthening Africa's agro-food systems, social protection.

Africa Day is held every year on 25 May to mark the day Africa Union's predecessor, the Organization of African Unity, was founded in 1963. The United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa has organized month-long Africa Dialogue Series 2022 to bring African voices to the global stage at the UN Headquarters in New York. Ms. Cristina Duarte, the UN Special Adviser on Africa, explains why these activities are important:-

Africa Renewal: May is Africa month. What is the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA) doing to mark this month for the continent, and are there special plans for Africa Day on 25 May?

Ms. Duarte: My office launched the Africa Dialogue Series (ADS) as a way to commemorate Africa Day by bringing African voices to the New York stage. Last year, we transformed ADS into a one-month long event, effectively making May 'Africa Month' at United Nations Headquarters. This year, we are conducting the dialogue series from the 3-27 May in Abidjan, Addis Ababa, Johannesburg, Nairobi, and Rome, as well as in New York.

Each week and day of the month, the dialogue series will focus on a specific sub-theme and a product, respectively: Mondays are video materials, Tuesdays involve interviews with senior officials or experts, Wednesdays feature an interactive Webinar, Thursdays are for the day of our Youth Twitter Stage, and Fridays offer a selection of music from the continent. The programme culminates on the High-Level Policy Dialogue on 26-27 May.

This year, we are collaborating with the African Union Commission. Co-partners include the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the World Food Programme (WFP).

What is this year's ADS 2022 all about and why is it important to have such dialogue?

Since our inception in 2018, ADS has focused on the AU theme of the year. In 2022, the theme is 'Strengthening resilience in nutrition and food security on the African continent: Strengthening agro-food systems, health, and social protection systems for the acceleration of human, social, and economic capital development.'

This is a very important topic because no continent can develop without first being able to feed its people. Over the last decades, Africa has grown more dependent on imported agricultural goods instead of...