Gearing up for TICAD IV


New York, 25 January, 2008 - The Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) will be held from 28 to 30 May, 2008, in Yokohama, Japan.

Under the theme “Towards a Vibrant Africa: A Continent of Hope and Opportunity”, TICAD IV will address the following priority areas: boosting economic growth; ensuring “human security”, including the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the consolidation of peace and democratization; and addressing environmental issues and climate change.

Results from TICAD IV, one of the foremost conferences on African development in 2008, are expected to be fed into the G-8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit hosted by Japan from 7 to 9 July, 2008. The Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize established in 2006 to recognize outstanding achievements in the field of medical research and services will be awarded for the first time during TICAD IV. Dr. Noguchi was a famous Japanese researcher who died some eighty years ago in Ghana, where he lived and carried out research on yellow fever. 

Preparations for TICAD IV, which are characterized by wide-ranging meetings and conferences, including consultations with African leaders, the African Union Commission, NEPAD, African regional organizations, TICAD Co-organizers, major international and regional organizations, partners among developed countries, Asian and other developing countries, as well as civil society and non-governmental organizations and the private sector, are well under way. Regional preparatory conferences held from 30 to 31 October, 2007, in Lusaka, Zambia, for Southern and Eastern African countries,  and from 21 to 22 November, 2007, in  Tunis, Tunisia, for North, West and Central African countries, fulfilled the overall objective of kicking-off the preparatory process and build up the momentum towards the May 2008 Conference in Yokohama. The Ministerial Preparatory Conference scheduled for 20 to 21 March, 2008, will be held in Libreville, Gabon.

The TICAD process has significantly contributed to the mobilization of the international community’s interest in African development and has spurred a wave of innovative activities for the past fifteen years.

For more information about TICAD IV, contact Nicholas Gouede, Programme Specialist, TICAD/UNDP Africa Bureau, United Nations Development Programme, tel: + 1 212 906 5954; fax: +1 212 906 6958; email: nicholas.gouede@undp.org