Photo by BNA – AMIP News
Wednesday June 29, 2016
Washington, DC
AMIP News CEO, Mr. Frederick Nnoma-Addison today briefed the African Diplomatic Corps in Washington on progress on a commemorative book about President Obama’s engagement with Africa since 2009. AMIP News http://www.amipnewsonline.org/ is the publisher of The United States & Ghana -2010/2012, and The United States & Nigeria – 2010.
In his presentation, Mr. Nnoma-Addison explained that The United States & Africa: The Historical Legacy of the Obama Presidency – “is a detailed chronicle of the President’s engagement with Africa and African leaders, an important, national and international historic document, and a volume that highlights Africa in the United States”.
The United States & Africa is a joint production by AMIP News, and The Africa Society on the National Summit on Africa, http://www.africasummit.org/ now headed by veteran U.S. career diplomat, Ambassador Pamela E. Bridgewater (Retired) – former U.S. Ambassador to Benin, Ghana, and Jamaica.
In her introduction to the book Ambassador Bridgewater writes:
“Every U.S. President has engaged in initiatives aimed to impact and to improve U.S. and Africa relations, but President Obama’s are remarkable in many respects. This important publication will highlight the bold programs of the Obama years and the benefits they have yielded, and will yield for generations of Americans and Africans.”
– Pamela E. Bridgewater
The 300-page volume highlights some of President Obama’s most important policies, programs, and key initiatives like Power Africa, Feed the Future, and the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. It includes White House Fact Sheets, excerpts of the President’s speeches to Africans, statements by African leaders and governments during the historic U.S.-Africa Leadership Summit, bilateral meetings, state visits, and a collection of historic photographs.
Contributors to this historic volume include a number of African Presidents, African Union representatives, and government officials like Senator Richard Green “Dick” Lugar (Retired) – Chair of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee (2003-2007). Ambassador Johnnie Carson (Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs: 2009-2013), and Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs: 2013-Present) shared information about the Administration’s engagement with Africa in separate interviews.
Concerning the significance of one of the President’s initiatives, Ambassador Carson remarked on June 15, 2016.
“The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders formerly known as The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), has the potential to be for Africa what the Fulbright Scholarship program was to western Europe after the end of 2nd world war. It is of enormous importance and benefit to establishing ties with the next generation of African leaders… and I will give it high marks”
– Johnnie Carson
The United States & Africa is a culmination of extensive research, and over seven years of covering the Obama Administration’s engagement with Africa. Created with a large international audience in mind, it combines both human and national interest stories, and pictorially presents people, places, events, and common challenges and opportunities that Africans and Americans share.
The book will be launched in the United States in fall 2016, and promises to take an important place in international relations literature.
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