AFRICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE CONFERENCE
July 6-7, 2009
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

Preparations for the GA Meeting:
Invitation
Awareness Raising
Fund Raising

Conference Program

Organizer
Sponsors
Letter of Collaboration
Contacts

PREPARATIONS FOR THE UPCOMING EXTRAORDINARY GA MEETING

• Invitation :in early efforts to organize and ensure the success of the extraordinary meeting to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the secretariat has already prepared and started distributing invitation letters to African Chambers of Commerce. As fulfillment of the least amount of participants (28) is a priority to ensure success, the secretariat has embarked on a three winged strategy to reach out to some African Chambers of Commerce whose addresses have not been easily found. The first approach is through the respective embassies of these countries to Ethiopia. The second is through Ethiopian embassies in African countries with the third being through representatives of regional blocks in the IC. Accordingly, relentless efforts to contact the chambers of commerce have been carried out through e-mail, fax and telephone with invitation letters sent as of May 2, 2009. Follow up efforts also seem to be paying off as more than 30 countries have confirmed ( as of June 15, 2009) their participation .
  
  
• Awareness raising: the secretariat is also underway with activities that shed light on the efforts aimed at facilitating a vibrant private sector representing institution in Africa. To this end, it has set some activities off to have brochures, bill boards and magazines printed. It has also dealt with two Ethiopian newspapers, one English and the other Amharic, to be official partners of the ECCSA in promoting the effort. An international shot at promotion is also underway with the use of this website.
  
  
• Fund raising: to cover the expenses of organizing the GA meeting, the secretariat has also hired a commission agent  to raise funds for the cause. It has also tried to raise some money from advertisement on the magazine. Various national and international organizations have also been approached to contribute their share in realizing the cause and follow up activities are underway.

Conference Title: Pan African Chambers Extraordinary General Assembly Meeting

Date: July 6th-7th, 2009

Venue: ECA Hall, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Tentative Schedule:

Monday, July 6th, 2009
Session One: Registration and Opening
8: 00 am       Registration, Organizers
9: 50 am        Introduction of the Program, Master of the Ceremony
9:15 am         Welcoming Note, Mr. Getachew Ayanew, President, Ethiopian Chambers of Commerce and Sectoral Associations
9:30 am         Opening Remark, Mr. Peag, Chairperson, AU  (TBC)
9:45am          Key Note Speech: H.E Trade and Industry Minister Girma Biru
10:00 am    Coffee Break
Session Two: Report and Presentation
Moderator:
10:30am        Report of the Interim committee activities, Mr. Sipho Mseleku, Chairman, Interim Committee
11: 15am        Genesis of Pan African Chamber of Commerce Movement: The effort made, the challenge faced and the way forward, Mr. W.A.Krofah
12:00am        Status Report of the Union of African Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Professions, 
12:30            pm     Lunch Break
Session Three: Deliberation on the Report and Presentation
Moderator:
1:30pm          Discussion, Participants
3:45pm        Coffee Break
Session Four: Presentation of and Discussion on the Statute
Moderator:
4:00pm         Presentation of the existing Statute of the Union of African Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Professions and the Proposed amendments, Mr. Sipho Mseleku and Alh Sanusi Maijama’a, Chairman and deputy chairman of the Interim Committee respectively.
6:30pm       Cocktail and gala dinner
Tuesday July 7th, 2009
Moderator:
9:00 am        Cont. Presentation of the existing Statute of the Union of African Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Professions and the Proposed amendments, Mr. Sipho Mseleku and Alh Sanusi Maijama’a.
9: 30 am        Discussion, Participants
10:30am     Coffee Break
Moderator:
11:00 am       Discussion, Participants
12:30pm     Lunch Break
Session Five: Election
Moderator:
1:45pm          Discussion and Approval of the Statute, Participants 
2:30pm         Election of Executive Board: President and Vice Presidents and other officials
3:30pm       Coffee Break        
Session Six: Closure
4:00pm         Decide on Venue and Date of the next meeting, Participants
4:30pm         Final communiqué           
5:00pm         Vote of Thanks,
6:30              Farewell Dinner