Tags
Africa Rising, Booker T Washington, Dayo Olopade, Ethiopia, Josh Keating, Mimi Alemayehou, New America Foundation, Sino - Africa, technology in Africa, The Brightest Continent, World Health Organization
After a long day on Capitol Hill (post to follow) yesterday, I ventured to Dupont Circle, where I learned that Arizona State has an office, for an event with a former Fellow of the New America Foundation. Dayo Olopade, spoke on her new book, The Bright Continent: Breaking Rules and Making Change in Modern Africa. I wasn’t able to get an especially clear picture of Olopade’s book from the talk, but it seemed that she has traveled widely throughout east and west Africa during her Fellowship and sought to challenge assumptions of Africa as a stagnant continent lacking the capacity for innovation (although the way she articulated this didn’t particularly resonate with me). Mimi Alemayehou, Senior VP at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) was also on hand to provide refreshingly candid remarks for a government official and Josh Keating of Slate moderated.