The President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, delivered the 2024 Kofi Annan Eminent Speakers’ Lecture at a virtual event organized by the African Development Bank Group’s African Development Institute (ADI) on Thursday, 7 November 2024, from 14:00 to 16:00 GMT.
The lecture’s theme was “Issues for Structural Transformation, Inclusive Economy and Sustainable Development in Africa: Achieving Food Security through Globalisation ‘from Below’.” The event also featured the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, along with the Bank’s Chief Economist and Vice President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management, Professor Kevin Chika Urama.
President Michael D. Higgins was inaugurated as the ninth President of Ireland on 11 November 2011 and re-elected to a second term on 11 November 2018.
A passionate political voice, poet and writer, academic and statesman, human rights advocate, promoter of inclusive citizenship, and champion of creativity within Irish society, President Higgins served at every level of public life in Ireland, including as the country’s first Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht—areas of the country where the Irish language is spoken as the first language.
About the Kofi Annan Eminent Speakers’ Lecture Series
The Eminent Speakers’ Lecture Series was launched by the Bank in 2006 and renamed Kofi Annan Eminent Speakers’ Lecture in 2018. It serves as a forum for sharing policy insights on development challenges in Africa.
Some 35 eminent persons have participated in previous editions of the Seminar, including several former presidents: His Excellency Dr Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia; His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor of Ghana; His Excellency Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania; His Excellency Abdou Diouf of Senegal; and His Excellency Festus Mogae of Botswana.
The series has also featured several Nobel Laureates, including Mrs. Leymah Roberta Gbowee of Liberia (Peace Prize; 2011), Mrs. Ouided Bouchamaoui of Tunisia (Peace Prize; 2015), Professor Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University, USA (Economic Prize; 2001), Professor Wangari Maathai of Kenya (Peace Prize; 2004), Professor Wole Soyinka of Nigeria (Literature Prize; 1986) and Esther Duflo, Professor of Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA (Economic Prize; 2019).
Other speakers include Her Excellency Graça Machel, former first lady of Mozambique and South Africa; His Royal Highness Muhammadu Sanusi II, the emir of Kano; Mr Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank; Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, President of Singapore; His Excellency Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and, most recently, former President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim.
