Twenty five think tanks meet up in Casa África to generate synergies and promote a common agenda

 Casa Africa's headquarters yesterday and today held the 1st Africa-Spain Think Tanks Meeting, a research initiative that brings together representatives of the most prominent think tanks with specialists in sub-Saharan Africa from the Spanish and European think tanks. The purpose of the meeting is to generate and strengthen the interaction between them, strengthen ties and promote the creation of synergies and joint projects.

Yesterday a series of work tables took place behind closed doors in which information was exchanged, and where the fields of joint work and cooperation strategies could be analysed. During the conference two round table discussions were organised open to the general public, which focused on youth and the economic opportunities and security in Africa.

The meeting was attended by twenty organisations, of which half are African from South Africa, Ghana, Mauritania, Somalia or Cape Verde. The Spanish counterpart has five think tanks and both universities of the Canary Islands. It also highlights the participation of leading European think tanks based in United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands, such as Chatham House, the French Institute of International Relations and the European Centre for Development Policy Management. The organisation is sponsored by the airline Binter.

The conference ended with the signing of the Declaration of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, which ensures the creation of a network of  Hispano African think tanks  and promotes and disseminates its work through the Spanish translation of its working papers and analysis. In addition, it includes a commitment to convert the meeting into a biennial edition.