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African diaspora must also take part in ongoing processes. A lot of Africans live in European countries as well as in United States. They are able to help their historical homes in three major ways.
First, Become an Advocate for Africa: For every devastating image of Africa they see on television, not far from that camera there is an image of people striving to develop. As a start, they should visit Africa, spread the word about it, become a personal lobbyists for Africa. They must lobby for African products in their stores; lobby for strong US-Africa ties.
Second, Invest in Africa: Investing in Africa could be profitable. Now is the time for African-Americans to put their money where their mouths are. They can invest in Africa, through such convenient ways as the mutual funds that concentrate on Africa. Members of other diasporas have accelerated development in their ancestral homelands through widespread individual investments. Surely African-Americans can do it, too.
Third, Invest politically in Africa, 40 percent of United Nations assistance is currrently going to Africa. When the US and other flourishing countries pay their UN dues, when someone pays voluntary contributions to United Nations he/she helps Africa. Foreign aid helps building schools as well as improving governance in terms of efficancy.
While many write off Africa as the continent of despair, other enterprising individuals and organisations have recognised the huge, untapped potential of Africa and are actively pursuing business ventures across the continent.
African Development Indicators show clearly where the regions greatest social challenges and opportunities lie. Indeed, Africa's future economic growth will depend less on exploiting its natural resources, which are being depleted and are subject to long-run price declines, and more on its labor skills and its ability to accelerate a demographic transition.
Africa's opportunities, which range in risk from investing in emerging market funds or one of the listed multinationals active in Africa to trading with African partners, include:
oil and gas (Angola and Libya);
mining (West and Central Africa);
privatisations (South Africa and Nigeria);
international trade (oil producers and SADC);
infrastructure (pipelines, roads, telecommunications);
stock exchanges that are mushrooming in many countries
using educated English and French speaking African nationals
and leisure (big game + beaches + golf + climate + satellite + Internet + cell + low cost structure = huge telecommuting opportunity).
However, perhaps Africa's greatest opportunity lies in its biodiversity, which ranges from Sahara desert to tropical jungle, from snow-capped volcanic Mount Kilamanjaro to the beaches of East and West Africa. Then there is the excitement of stalking big game in the African bush to the thrill of whitewater rafting through the gorges below Victoria Falls or the awe of seeing the Egyptian pyramids at sunrise. Africa is going to become the telecommuting centre of the world, in the short to medium term, ecotourism provides the opportunity to develop leisure complexes which can take advantage of game parks, golf courses, beaches and beautiful scenery one day. “We need to stop thinking of ourselves as a single engine train, but rather a jumbo jet, with several engines revving up for take off, and several more back ups in case of engine failure.” said K.Y. Amoako Executive Secretary of ECA at the 40th Anniversary of Africa Confidential.
6. Conclusion
At the end few words comparing Armenia with the African region. The main difference is different natural resources of these regions. Africans may get started their economic growth with incomes from exporting oil, gas, precious metals and jewels. Alas, Armenia have no this option. Our country have no significant resources to exploit them or not to exploit, meanwhile for Africa devastation of resources may stimulate the economy in the case of peace and efficient government. There are also a lot of differences in terms of agriculture. Arfican countries cover wide territory, but they have problems with irrigation. In the case of Armenia it is important to note, that the situation is just the opposite. Even the most severe droughts can not be compared with deserted areas of black continent, but the land is highly limited. I think that the last point of comparison, which is as important as the previous ones, is the labour force. Labour force is one of the main differences between former USSR republics and the developing countries of African region. As a result of USSR educational system Armenia has educational level which can be easily compared even with the most developed countries.The level of literacy is 99%, which is higher than in African countries. Armenian in spheres of programming, medicine, science highly priced all over the world. The main problem in these sphere is brain drain. So the primary task for government is to stop this process. With the foreign investitions Armenia is able to establish advanced technology production, which is not available for Africans. This could be a good impulse to become a new “tiger”.
Реферат опубликован: 1/03/2009