Cassava Tuesdays: Democracy & Africa at the Institut français des relations internationales with Former Nigerian President Obasanjo, Biti & Friends

Former President of Nigeria (1999-2007)

Tendai Biti , Former Zimbabwe Finance Minister (2009-2013)

SIDEBAR ON SOFT POWER

Mr. Biti was generous with his time to discuss soft power and Africa. Limited time and choppy but I think you can appreciate it.

Mauritius piece was a tad bit problematic….The somersault on which African state got a proper flogging…..

Panel Members

Alain Antil , Director of Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa Center, Moderator

Greg Mills , Director, Brenthurst Foundation

Tendai Biti , Former Zimbabwe Finance Minister

Thierry Vircoulon , Research Associate at Ifri

Olusegun Obasanjo , Former President of Nigeria

Where is Democracy in Africa?

This was the theme for the Ifri Conference on June 7th. We were invited to the conference and also fortunate to ask the former president a question on the current state of Nigeria. The conference touched on elections, political freedoms, authoritarianism and the “strong man/dominant parties” problem. This conference was quite in depth with the occurrences of democracy, election fraud in all 54 states of Africa.

“The process from dictatorship to Democracy is bloody...
For Africa, it is bloody, complicated, corrupt and sometimes rest in ambiguity. ...Kagame anyone??
”

— Democracy in Africa

To learn more about IFRI

The recording is in French and English but very easy to follow. Apologies for the recording quality.

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel : http://bit.ly/29r5pOQ An interview with Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria. Visit our website : http://www.ifri.org Follow us on the social media : - Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/Ifri.Paris - Twitter : http://twitter.com/IFRI_ - LinkedIn : http://www.linkedin.com/company/ifri - Soundcloud : https://soundcloud.com/ifri - Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/ifri_paris/

See you next Cassava Monday

Cassava Tuesdays: World Economic Forum (DAVOS) & AFRICA

…SWITZERLAND

Whenever, I think of Switzerland

“Where all the power players in the politics, economics and every institution meant to hold a state together come and play.
Pay attention to the impact of such a forum to the IMAGE, BRAND, AND REPUTATION of Switzerland”

— World Economic Forum (WEF)-DAVOS

The theme was Globalization 4.0, pay attention to the language used to describe South Africa and Rwanda. While, I recommend following up on all the videos, for the purpose Cassava Tuesday, enjoy the following videos.

SOUTH AFRICA AND RWANDA

A SINGLE MARKET IN AFRICA???

By the way, the next meeting will be held in Ethiopia.

ETHIOPIA

See you next Cassava Tuesday

Cassava Tuesdays: Flag Carriers as Branding and Soft Power Tools for African Countries

“For the sake of this post.
An airline owned or associated with the state.”

— What is a Flag Carrier?

POWER OF BRANDING

“Embassy
Cultural Diplomatic Ambassador
Country Billboard
First Gastronomic Experience”

— Flag Carriers are a moving....

FIRST IMPRESSIONS MATTER

The airline and airport provide the first impression of a country.

“……..If Soft Power is about winning hearts and minds AND is the means to success in world politics….A state would be wise to explore and exploit ALL of its cultural assets. ”

— See, What we did there??

“Ignoramus et ignorabimus

You don’t know and you are comfortable in this space of not knowing”

— This form of ignorance is a dangerous privilege not available for Africa

A state must be creative in the branding of their identity. Particularly, if the identity of the state rest somewhere in-between: Colonialism, Poverty, Debt and never-ending disease. Through the flag carrier, the state establishes perhaps the most elementary form of diplomacy often forgotten in state affairs.
“People to People Contact” or as we see it “Citizen to Visitor”. A flag carrier gives another platform to show an identity outside presumptions.

Branding and Soft Power is possible in Africa but such engagement must be done in an “uninterrupted space”. The uninterrupted spaces are within the region and in Asia. Another problem with branding and soft power in Africa rests on the lack of creativity from the state. Majority of African leaders have ALLOWED a very frustrating narrative to be the norm. They depend on international organizations, state actors and other non state actors to carve and define their brand. However, they will complain on the way Africa is perceived.

“The perception of brand and identity of African States is the responsibility of the respective state. It is not the job of nonstate actors to do your PR.
”

— Water & Cassava

DO YOU TAKE VISA?

There are a few African states waking up to this idea of not needing a visa to travel around the continent of Africa. African states will ask for visas from their neighbors but allow just about every other state to hop around the continent. There is a strong need for liberal visa entries. An African state considering the process of investing in their brand, identity and soft power needs to appreciate liberal visa policies.
African states would benefit from visa schemes such as: 24, 48, 72, 144 hours visas. These kinds of visas can be used to attract a niche population.

“ For the love of all Sky AND Aviation Gods:
No one need stay in an airport for over 6 hours. Sorry, your airport is not that interesting.
…. Create special transient visa zones... These zones must include the locals and the innovators.
Consider this zones to be bragging sessions.... ”

— Aviation God ... Bless It

Is your state, city, town or region known for Mangoes? Go Ahead and create a mango transient visa. Allow those visitors to see everything that can be done with a mango. Think out side the box!! Mango scented bed sheets??? Flatware created from the Mango tree???

“I actually had a chocolate scented tank top. I purchased my chocolate scented tanktop at a chocolate boutique in Manhattan. It cost a nice penny as well”

— Adventures in New York

AIRPORT

Here are some things to consider:

• Does the airport have a digital presence?

• Green Friendly?

• Technology Innovative?

• Art in the Airport (Yes, this is a real thing)

• Services?

• Eateries? (Be diverse in the selections)

• FREE WI-FI
  No, please don’t have special units to print out the magical password that are located on the other end of the airport.

• Duty Free Shopping

• Security

• Can the traveler access trains, buses, taxis or other forms of transportation? If you have Uber Camel, this is okay!! There is no need to do what other cities are doing in terms of transportation. Reliability and applying the niche is the only thing that matters.

  Does Uber Camel have an app? Does this app accept digital wallets? Then, let’s go!

• Bathrooms must not just be clean but do consider bodies not able to move freely

• Sleeping Pods or Areas in the airport must be appropriate

• Staff must speak more than 2 languages

• Signs need to be in languages that are spoken in the country, neighboring country and with locals.

• Housekeeping: A dirty airport does nothing for the image or brand.

• Electronic charging stations should be plenty

AIRLINES

• Does the visitor feel like they are in the country before arrival ?

• Are the Hubs reflective of the country?

• Does the interior and exterior of the plane match the identity of the country?

• What languages are spoken on the flight?

• Does the flight entertainment reflect the country or elsewhere?

• Does the food or alcohol offered on the plane match the country’ s gastronomy?

CHALLENGES

• Cheaper fares from low budget airlines might be a barrier

• Lack of Airport infrastructure investment

• Technology

• Airport Pollution
  

WHO GETS IT RIGHT?

WHO COULD DO IT BETTER?

See you next Cassava Tuesday!

Cassava Tuesdays: Flag Carriers as a Soft Power Tool for African Countries

FLAG CARRIERS AS A SOFT POWER TOOL

We will return next Cassava Tuesday to discuss Flag Carriers as a Soft Power Tool and a important role in diplomacy.

Flag Carriers are a country’s moving:
Embassy
Cultural Diplomacy Ambassador
Billboard
First Gastronomic experience

And make no mistake, it is the first impression of your country followed by your airport.

Questions to think about…..

Which African Countries have flag carriers that fly to Asian spaces? What about within the Region?

How do you brand a country into an Airline?

Does the Airline serve national cuisine or alcohol from the country?

Does your aircrew reflect the country?

Does you crew speak the major languages and ENGLISH? We will address the English language requirement.

How can you pull this off with lower priced carriers?

Who is paying for this?

“African Airlines: GO BOLD OR GO HOME.

EMBRACE YOUR COLORS IN YOUR BRAND”

— #CassavaDiplomacy

Since our conversations are centered around interactions with Asia, we will take a look at airlines from: Turkey, Korea, China and Japan

How are these airlines used as tools of diplomacy towards Africa?

See you next Cassava Tuesday!

Cassava Tuesdays: Challenges Facing the Country Brand of Nigeria aka Naija!

Nigeria’s Women’s Bobsled Team Qualifies for 2018 Olympics, Country’s 1st Ever Winter Olympians

Next Cassava Tuesday, we will discuss the challenges facing the brand of Nigeria. The success of power and influence of a country is based on a country’s reputation regionally and globally. What happens, when a country is in the green economically(ON PAPER) but in the red with reputation?

We will discuss next Cassava Tuesday