OUR CONCERNS
Unable to lift the poorest people out of poverty with persistent inequality, poverty and inequity in access to social services and economic prospects, the President of the 67th session of the UN General Assembly without a doubt, pointed out that leaders are not doing enough to meet the fundamental challenges of our time to end extreme poverty, and accordingly the Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), one of the world’s three most influential living economists of the first decade of the 21st century restated that ‘In the 20years since the first Rio Earth Summit, the world has largely failed to address the most serious environmental and social problems pressing on the world’
Most recently the President of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly stressed that to achieve the visions of our founding fathers there is need to ‘reduce the trust deficit between nations, as we all share the same aspirations and cautioned that we have no choice but to work together and to annihilate any indifference or cynicism’. Earlier the UN Secretary General had avowed that ‘Our duty to the peoples we serve is to move from fear of each other, work as partners and let trust prevail’.
HISTORIC ASIA AFRICA CONFERENCE – BANDUNG
In his 4 page paper delivered at the 48th anniversary celebration of the Africa Union (AU) held at the Medway Universities in Kent, on the 26th of May 2011, His Excellency Yuri Octavian Thamrin, Indonesia Ambassador to the UK, described our work as ‘strategic and vital ‘ to overcome the massive difficulties that confront our continents which includes the strengthening of the Bandung Principles of the Asia Africa Conference (AAC) as subscribed to in April 1955, by India’s first Prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Ghana’s President Kwame Nkrumah, President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, President Sukarno of Indonesia and President Marshal Josip Broz Tito of the erstwhile Yugoslavia.
The historic Asia Africa Conference led to the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the Group of 77 at the UN and the Switzerland based South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) and the South Centre, formerly South Commission, which was established in 1987 during a meeting of non-aligned countries in Harare, Zimbabwe and had President Nyerere as founding Chair.
‘In governments’ endeavour to overcome the massive difficulties that confront our continents’, the Ambassador affirm ‘With our effective partnership and active participation, I’m confident that AASGON can help foster the socio-economic developments of the Asia and Africa”
By the end of the year 2011, AASGON in association with Indonesia’s renowned Civil Society Organization ‘The Bandung Spirit, joined a number of top Asian Universities in organizing a Series of Conferences, Workshops, Socio-cultural Visits in Jakarta, Bandung, Malang and Bali, in November 14-19, 2011. With the theme, the ‘Dynamic of international exchanges in Africa, Asia and Europe the conference-workshop was held in conjunction with the ASEAN and EAST ASIA SUMMITS 2011.
FRACTURED WORLD : UN WOMEN TO COOPERATE WITH AASGON
The World Economic Forum (WEF) audaciously at its 2018 Conference in Davos, Switzerland, proclaim today’s society as a ‘Fractured World’ and Pope Francis in his message to the summit, called for the ‘restoration of dignity to those who live with great uncertainty and who are unable to dream of a better world’.
Seeking viable solutions to the rebuilding of the cracked walls in our endemic splintered world, as signatory to the UN Global Compact (UNGC), on the 19th of July 2018, a delegate of AASGON led by its founder and Group Executive President, met with the Under Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Women and her team at the UN Headquarters in New York. Consequently, both AASGON and the UN Women agreed to work together to tackle present and future challenges in meeting the UNSDGs.
SUSTAINABLE STRUCTURES
Founded on the historic 10th October 2010 (10.10.10), AASGON is the Founder of the following well researched projects of which their modus operandi have been tested over the last 7 years and proven to be highly feasible.
They are conceptualised as means of establishing sustainable structures which the United Nations claim the world is in dearth of.
- SADFA – ‘Sino-African Diaspora Forum’.
- Global South Diaspora Forum and Awards (GSDFA),
- World Film Music Arts Awards Festival – FIMAAFEST
- Global South Strategic Partnership on Artificial Intelligence and Nano Technology for Sustainable Development (GS3PAINT4SD)
- South-South Summit of Ministers, Farmers and Universities and Colleges of Agriculture (SSSUMFUCA) Awards and Expo
- Global South Food and Agriculture Resource and Research Development Centre GS-FARRDEC) Awards and Expo
- Global South Summit of Trade Ministers and Presidents of Chambers of Commerce and Business Schools for Sustainable Development (GSSTM&PCCBS-4SD) Awards and Expo
- Kofi Annan Trade and Resource Centre for Sustainable Development (KATREC-4SD)
- Summit of Africa Arab Asia Ministers of Tourism, Heads of Tourism Organisations & Universities (SAMTHOTOU) for Sustainable Development.
Other projects conceived by AASGON are;
- The UK – Africa Arab Asia Business Technology and Education Summit Expo (UKAABTES).
- Global South Summit of Health Minister, Practioners and Universities and Colleges of Medicine (GSSHM-PUCM)
- Global South Scholarship Summit Awards and Expo (GS3AE)
- Forum of Emerging Cities of Africa Arab Asia-Pacific (FECAAP)
- Global South Gross National Happiness Summit for Peace and Sustainable Development (GSGNHS-4PSD) Awards and Expo
- Global South Summit of Micro Small Medium Enterprises (GSS-MSME).
- Global South Justice Ministers, Legal Practitioners and Scholars Summit Awards (GSJM-LPSSA)
- Global South Summit of Heads of State for Peace and Sustainable Development (GSSHS-4PSD) Awards & Expo
EMERGENCE OF GSUA
AASGON has been mandated to establish the Global South Universities Association (GSUA) and the Global South Leadership (GSL) Awards by the following agencies, the United Nations Academic Impact and Outreach Division, the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP), the International Association of Universities (IAU), the Association of Universities of Asia and the Pacific (AUAP), the Association of Arab Universities (AArU) and the Association of African Universities (AAU).
To transform education in the entire developing countries of the Global South, this mandate is being followed in line with UDUAL, the Association of the Universities of Latin America and the Caribbean, the largest, oldest and most consolidated network of higher education institutions in the Latin America and the Caribbean region as well as the Universities Caribbean, devoted to the fostering of cooperation among Higher Education institutions in the Caribbean region.
GSUA will among others, enhance the analysis of finding solutions to human capacity and resource developmental problems and further strengthen good governance, poverty alleviation, peace and sustainable growth in the developing countries of the Global South.
Fully committed to the attainment of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Africa Union Agenda for 2063, as well as the strengthening of the Commonwealth, to attain equity and inclusive governance, AASGON has secured about a 100 Scholarships for African Students and will shortly be launching its £120m Scholarship Endowment Fund for future potential African Leaders.
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
With global economic uncertainties showing that the systemic frailties of the existing structures and models of leadership, is impacting the political, academic, corporate, environmental, and social landscape, as corroborated by the London Business School, at its 2013 Global Leadership Summit and correspondingly by the UN Open Working Group of the Post Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which confirmed that there is a strong and disproportionate emphasis and demand for goals when we have not even built the foundation for sustainable development and that the ‘Current models for development are unsustainable’, it became imminent that to make considerable achievement on the 2030 sustainable development target set by the United Nations, governments and all stakeholders should recognise the fact that the mainstay and ‘Strategic Vision for Post 2015 and Sustainable Development Framework lies in Partnership through the strengthening of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) which was vehemently substantiated by the UN ‘ Heads of State’ High Level Panel declaration in Bali, in 2013.
PPP has taken greater prominence in developing countries as the search for capital to finance infrastructure and other capital projects increases. In order to promote ‘equal partnership of all stakeholders’ which is found to be critical for considerable success of the 2030 UN Development Goals (UNSDGs), AASGON and the GSEF Strategic Plan of Action (SPA) developed through its intensive research over the years demonstrates the need to leverage on PPP to achieve lasting Sustainable Socio-Economic Development.
PPPs are increasingly envisaged as an attractive proposition for involving the private sector in infrastructure and economic development. It is generically known as a form of cooperation between government and the private sector which sometimes also involves voluntary organizations (NGOs, trade unions) or knowledge institutes – that agree to work together to reach a common goal or carry out specific tasks, while jointly assuming the risks and responsibilities, and sharing resources and competences.
Addressing global challenges requires a collective and concerted effort involving all actors. Through partnerships and alliances, we increase our chances of success affirms the UN. In ensuring the realisation of the UNSDGS 2030 and the Africa 2063 agenda, as signatory to the UNGC and active member of the UK Stakeholders for Sustainable Development (UKSSD), AASGON welcomes meaningful and productive partnership with all relevant stakeholders across government, the organised private sector and the civil society.
AASGON …. COMMITTED TO STRENGTHENING NAASP
On April 22–23, 2005, Asian and African countries renewed their longstanding solidarity at the 2005 Asian African Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia. The 2005 Asian African Summit yielded, inter-alia, the Declaration on the New Asian African Strategic Partnership (NAASP), the Joint Ministerial Statement on the New Asian African Strategic Partnership Plan of Action, and the Joint Asian African Leaders’ Statement on Tsunami, Earthquake and other Natural Disaster.
The aforementioned declaration of NAASP is a manifestation of intra-regional bridge-building forming a new strategic partnership commitment between Asia and Africa, standing on three pillars, i.e. political solidarity, economic cooperation, and socio-cultural relations, within which governments, regional/sub-regional organizations, as well as peoples of Asian and African nations interact.
The 2005 Asian African Summit was attended by 106 countries, comprising 54 Asian countries and 52 African countries. The Summit concluded a follow-up mechanism for institutionalization process in the form of Summit concurrent with Business Summit every four years, Ministerial Meeting every two years, and Sectoral Ministerial as well as Technical Meeting where deemed necessary.