Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Tuesday 08 September
6:15 PM - 7:15 PM
The relationship between Australia and Africa is anything but straightforward. While Australia has diplomatic ties with every African state, the continent occupies a sometimes inscrutable position in our foreign policy priorities. For Australia, Africa represents both obligation and opportunity.
Earlier this year, Australia’s foreign aid to Africa was reduced by 70 percent, leading World Vision’s Tim Costello to argue that Australia has effectively abandoned the continent. Yet many regard Africa as the next frontier of the global economy, and Australia’s business and investment interests in Africa are worth tens of billions of dollars. It’s not just about the resources sector, either – Australian involvement in African economies is increasingly reaching into other areas including education, health and the arts.
At a time when China and the US are expanding their involvement and interest in Africa, where does Australia sit? What’s the nature and extent of investment and trade (not to mention private enterprise) in Africa – and why are Australian businesses comparatively slow to invest in African prospects?
Africa Talks host Santilla Chingaipe will speak with expert guests about the opportunities and questions of Australia’s relationship with Africa.
Featuring
Santilla Chingaipe
Santilla Chingaipe is a filmmaker, historian and author, whose work explores settler colonialism, slavery, and post-colonial migration in Australia. Chingaipe’s first book of non-fiction detailing the untold stories of convicts of ...
Roger Phillips
Roger Phillips is the Vice President of the Australia Africa Business Council (VIC), an organisation that aims to assist and facilitate cross-cultural learning in the form of fair commerce and trade. He is the co-founder of two start-up businesses based out of Lagos, Nigeria.
Andrew Barnes
Andrew Barnes is Director of the Southern Africa and Indian Ocean Section in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). As well as managing Australia’s bilateral relationships with the countries of Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean, Andrew’s section has responsibility for the management of DFAT’s Extractives Program in Africa.
Prior to joining the Africa Branch, Andrew was Director of DFAT’s Counter Terrorism Cooperation Section managing CT capacity building programs in Indonesia and the Philippines. During his career in DFAT, Andrew has had postings in Canada and Stockholm and also worked in the Department’s Western Australia State Office. In 1995-96 he worked for the World Food Program and then with an NGO in southern Sudan, managing emergency food relief operations and IDP camps.