In recent years, the concept of design thinking has gained significant popularity in project management circles around the world. With its focus on putting the end-user at the centre of the development process, design thinking offers a powerful framework for creating innovative solutions to complex problems. In Africa, this approach has become particularly important as organizations and communities work to tackle a range of pressing challenges, from healthcare to education to economic development. One key aspect of design thinking in Africa is its focus on citizen development, which emphasizes the importance of involving local communities in the design and implementation of development projects.

Talking points:

• Principles and Application: What does design thinking mean to you in the context of project management in Africa?
• New Contributions: How do you envision integrating technology in design thinking and citizen development approaches in project management?
• Challenges and Opportunities: What are the key challenges you have faced in applying design thinking and citizen development in project management in Africa?

Initiatives and policies that support addressing challenges the continent faces, in addition to solutions, as we build the Africa we want, together we can.

As we navigate the challenges faced by the continent, it is crucial to identify and discuss the initiatives and policies that are helping address these challenges. Together, we can explore potential solutions and work towards a prosperous and sustainable Africa. Our roundtable participants will shed light on the various efforts being undertaken and share their insights on how we can collectively build the Africa we envision. In this round tablediscussion, we will delve into key initiatives and policies that are contributing to the development of Africa.

We will explore the multifaceted challenges faced by the continent and highlight concrete solutions that are being implemented. By focusing on collaborative efforts, this discussion aims to inspire action and foster a sense of collective responsibility towards building a better future for Africa.

Mindset is the beginning, technologies & solutions set the ending!

The world is moving fast and project managers have to leverage fast paced data to deliver projects successfully. The question of tools and technology occurs to become critical in that Dynamics context. How to leverage relevant project management KPIs, efficiently engage stakeholders and harness technology to become problem solvers more than project administrators? That will be our key talking points for this circular dialogue session.

Key discussion points:

• What trends do you observe in terms of solutions usage for project management?
• What are the key challenges of project management solutions adoptions?
• Can you share a specific (positive or negative) experience around using a project management solution?
• AI is taking over process and jobs by storm. What are concrete opportunities and threats for Project Management in Africa?

Presentation and Q&A on becoming a French-language content contributor on ProjectManagement.com. While the site is hosted in English, PMI encourages proposals for webinars, articles, white papers, templates and other practitioner information that can be posted in French. The session will let attendees address any submission guideline and content provider agreement questions in French.

A discussion on agile methodology put into action; the power of design thinking and realising the promise of Citizen Development.

Collaboration and Empowerment: Agile project management encourages cross-functional collaboration and empowers team members to take ownership of their work. This collaborative approach brings diverse perspectives, ideas, and skills together, fostering creativity and innovation. Team members feel empowered to share their ideas and contribute to the project’s success, leading to innovative solutions that may not have been possible in a traditional hierarchical approach.

Customer-Centricity: Agile project management places a strong emphasis on customer satisfaction by involving them throughout the project lifecycle. Frequent customer feedback loops, continuous validation, and incremental deliveries ensure that the final product meets the customer’s needs and expectations. This customer-centric approach allows for quicker identification of customer pain points and opportunities for innovation to deliver maximum value to customers.

Iterative and Incremental Approach: Agile project management follows an iterative and incremental approach, where projects are broken down into smaller manageable chunks, often called sprints or iterations. This allows for faster delivery of value to stakeholders and early validation of assumptions, reducing the risk of costly mistakes. The iterative and incremental nature of Agile provides opportunities for innovation and experimentation, allowing teams to learn from failures, adapt, and evolve their solutions.

Best practices in the field of project management have been around for decades. However, most of them are technical in nature. Just recently, our profession has started to understand that leading projects requires leadership and business acumen. But we want to take one more step ahead: being responsible. This is a very powerful word, and it is one that resonates specially in professionals from emerging economies where opportunities abound to “make it right”.

This discussion will centre on the Responsible Project Management (RPM) principles formulated just 5 years ago by a group of researchers. It creates a different mindset as to how we practice project management. And the question is simple: are we willing and ready to embrace a new way to be project managers?

What new skills and abilities are needed to be responsible?

How can we influence our teams, sponsors, and stakeholders to adopt a new mindset?

How do we apply these new responsible practices in our projects?

In this roundtable discussion, we will explore the growing trend of data localization laws and their implications for the tech industry in Africa. We will delve into the challenges, opportunities, and potential consequences of these regulations, ultimately seeking to understand how they shape the region’s digital landscape.

Talking points:

Regulatory Landscape: We will examine the current state of data localization laws in Africa and explore the various approaches taken by different countries. This discussion will shed light on the motivations behind these regulations and their intended goals.

Economic Implications: We will analyze the direct and indirect economic impacts of data localization laws on the technology sector in Africa. This will involve considering factors such as investment, innovation, job creation, and competitiveness, as well as potential risks and benefits associated with these regulations.

Data Privacy and Security: We will discuss the relationship between data localization laws and the protection of personal information and sensitive data. This segment will address the potential benefits of localizing data for privacy and security reasons, as well as the challenges and considerations surrounding data governance and cross-border data flows.

Global Tech Partnerships: We will explore the effects of data localization laws on international collaboration and partnerships in the technology sector. This discussion will touch upon the implications for multinational companies operating in Africa, potential limitations on cross-border data transfers, and the impact on regional and global digital ecosystems.

Through these key talking points, we aim to foster an open and constructive dialogue that helps attendees gain a deeper understanding of the influence of data localization laws on the technology economy in Africa and explore strategies for addressing the associated opportunities and challenges.

This discussion delves into the challenges faced in implementing government and social projects in Africa. It examines project initiation, the causes of project failure, and proposes a model for enhancing project implementation on the continent. The discussion emphasizes the importance of mindset transformation, effective communication, and stakeholder management. Participants are encouraged to actively engage in influencing public decision-making to foster positive change and build a better Africa. Key topics for discussion include project failure, stakeholder management, mindset transformation, and communication. The aim is to encourage diverse perspectives and transparent guidance to facilitate informed decision-making among leaders. It’s time to unlock the true potential of project management in Africa! Your journey starts now. Get ready to be part of an extraordinary transformation!

Talking Points

• Project Initiation: Explore the challenges of initiating government and social projects in Africa, focusing on the role of directives, political influence, and the alignment with actual needs.
• Causes of Failure: Identify common factors contributing to project failure, highlight the importance of comprehensive feasibility studies and delivering value to beneficiaries.
• Enhancing Implementation: Discuss practical steps for improving project execution, including mindset shifts, effective communication, and stakeholder management.
• Building a Better Africa: How can we do this?

This round table explores the opportunities which can be achieved through a collaborative approach to solution delivery in the African Market. Africa continues to experience substantial economic growth, with six of the world’s ten fastest-growing economies located in the region. Investments in infrastructure development, energy, and telecommunications are creating vast opportunities for project management in Africa but despite the opportunities, project management adoption in Africa is relatively low. Collaboration can play a crucial role in improving project success rates. It is therefore crucial to leverage collaborative approaches to address complex challenges and capitalize on emerging opportunities. Conversations on how a collaborative approach would drive innovation, increase project outcomes and success rates, foster sustainable development in Africa are leading discussion points in this round table.

Talking points

• What prevailing barriers hinder collaboration in the African context, and how can we proactively overcome these obstacles to unlock the full potential of collaborative efforts in driving Africa’s progress?
• What strategies and practices can be employed to cultivate trust, foster effective communication, and cultivate synergy among diverse stakeholders within African project management initiatives, consequently paving the way for successful collaboration and project outcomes?
• How can the integration of human-centered approaches and emotional intelligence enabling better collaboration and improved outcomes enabling long-term success?
• Considering the multidimensional nature of sustainable development, including environmental, social, and economic aspects, how can collaboration be harnessed as a catalyst for fostering sustainable development in Africa, and what concrete examples can you provide where collaboration has played a transformative role in addressing these factors and driving positive change on the continent?
• How can the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies such as machine learning and predictive analytics empower collaborative project management in Africa, enabling data-driven decision-making, optimized resource allocation, and enhanced project outcomes?

The largest population of young people in the world is in the African continent, with over 60% of its population under the age of 25. They all are looking for new opportunities to gain professional skills and support the economic, social, and environmental development of their countries. Africa also has one of the highest infrastructure gaps and sub-Saharan African alone has an annual project management-oriented employment (PMOE) gap of nearly 90,000. The project management profession can support African youth in their journey to support development and close the gap on the project management professionals needed for Africa’s infrastructure development. In this circular dialogue session, we aim to present PMI academic services and resources, and more specifically the PMI Global Accreditation Center (GAC) and explore the role of GAC-accreditation in preparing the next generation of the African project management workforce to meet business and government organizations’ current and anticipated needs for qualified professionals in the field. The discussion will centre on how students and young professionals can be supported in the field of project management and how practitioners can be involved in supporting the development of the next generation of African project managers.

Talking points

• What support do students and young professionals need to start a career in project management and/or develop project management skills?
• How can the PMI GAC accreditation process ensure that project management academic programs prepare students to meet business and government organizations’ current and anticipated needs?
• Which PMI products and services can be more effective in supporting students and young people to start a career in project management and/or develop project management skills?
  How can project management practitioners support the advancement of quality project management education?

You are aware of the rapid rate at which AI is changing our business practices, and the management of projects is not an exception to this trend. Artificial intelligence makes it possible to automate operations that were previously onerous, evaluate data, and potentially improve decision-making. It is anticipated that the use of AI will increase in project management in the coming years. This is done in an effort to improve productivity, quality, and timeliness. As a result, there is a need for ongoing talks to improve and embrace emerging technologies in the project management sector!

Talking points

• Discuss the impact of AI on project management.
• Explore the benefits of using data analytics in project management.
• Examine the ethical considerations of AI-driven project management.
• Consider the now and the future of project management with AI: Artificial Intelligence’s Role in Achieving Agenda 2063 Goals

This roundtable discussion explores sustainable, innovative project management for successful outcomes in Africa. We’ll touch on critical themes such as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) integration into project management, aligning objectives with SDGs to foster both local and global benefits. We’ll also tackle the balancing act of progress towards Agenda 2063—a strategic African socio-economic transformation—with the protection of Africa’s natural environment, stressing the need for strategies that ensure development without compromising biodiversity.

Our focus will then shift to green project management, assessing its potential through environmental considerations in project execution. We will highlight how this approach can bring about successful project outcomes and sustainability in Africa.

We will also discuss social impact assessments’ crucial role in balancing project objectives with community needs, ensuring a community-focused approach to development. Our final topic is the role of innovation management in enhancing project delivery and understanding how continuous improvement and innovation can lead to better project outcomes.

Our goal is to stimulate insightful discussions among thought leaders, practitioners, and innovators, sharing experiences and strategies that promote sustainable and innovative project management practices. We look forward to diverse participants contributing unique perspectives and expertise to this enriching dialogue.

Empowering youth with the skills, mindset, and knowledge necessary to thrive in the jobs of tomorrow, enabling them to contribute to societal progress and economic growth. According to the World Economic Forum, the African continent will experience unprecedented growth by 2050, and the outlook indicates 25% of the world’s population will be African. We have seen evidence that African youth are ready and primed for social and economic reform. Youth have mobilized and are participating in initiatives such as #fixthecountry and MINDS. The #fixthecountry is a non-partisan and non-political civic movement by Ghanaian youth to build a better Ghana where basic rights are accessible to all Ghanaians. MINDS, which is an acronym for Mandela Institute for Development Studies, a continent-wide think-tank based in South Africa, is providing civic education focused on elections and governance to young people through regional education centers across Africa. It aims to help African youth understand the power of their numbers and how they can leverage this to bring about positive change. Primarily, the program enables youth to understand how some political leaders use the politics of exclusion to subvert democracy on the continent. MINDS also encourages greater youth participation in electoral processes and cultivates ethical and adaptive leadership qualities in the next generation of African leaders. Due to the current landscape, change cannot be rectified through “modus operandi”: with a positive material impact on the emerging workforce.

Talking points

• What future-ready skills do we need to equip our youth within order for them to succeed in the jobs and industries of the future?
• How to foster digital literacy among youth: access to digital tools, teaching digital skills, and promoting responsible and ethical online behavior?
• How to encourage interest and engagement in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics STEAM fields?
• How can we foster an environment to encourage youth to think critically, identify opportunities, take calculated risks, and develop innovative solutions to address societal challenges?
• Is it crucial, now more than ever, for local PMI Africa chapters to engage the next generations of project managers to learn project management principles and methodologies?
• How early is too early to instill a culture of lifelong learning among youth in response to evolving job market needs?
• How can we ensure there is equal access to opportunities and resources, regardless of socio-economic background, gender, or ethnicity?
• Would there be a benefit to fostering a collaboration between educational institutions, policymakers, and industry stakeholders to align curriculum and training programs with industry needs?
• How can we cultivate a growth mindset, well-being, and provide support systems for coping with challenges and setbacks?
• Should we foster a global perspective among youth that encourages cultural awareness, intercultural communication skills, and an understanding of global challenges and opportunities?

The significance of project management in driving sustainable development in Africa. We will highlight the unique challenges and opportunities faced in the region, emphasizing the need for innovative approaches that align with the cultural, social, and economic context. Discussion will look at best practices, successful case studies, and strategies that prioritize sustainability, inclusivity, stakeholder engagement, effective risk management, project governance, capacity building, knowledge sharing, technology adoption, and holistic approaches.

Talking points:

• Stakeholder Engagement for Sustainable Outcomes:
• Effective Risk Management and Project Governance:
• Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing:
• Leveraging Technology for Effective Project Management:

This roundtable session would be a presentation and Q&A on becoming a French-language content contributor on ProjectManagement.com. This is an opportunity many French speaking members and PMs are not currently aware of, as the site is hosted in English and does not specifically solicit for other language content. The session would be beneficial to many conference attendees, allowing them to address submission guidelines and content provider agreement questions in French, directly with PM.com staff.

The discussion will aim at sharing insights that will strengthen the delegates’ ability to design and deploy effective talent management and succession management programs in their organizations. Talent management focuses on onboarding, developing and highlighting people with the potential to excel in their job and demonstrating how to support them to sustain/grow business results. The best performing organizations ensure there is an adequate pool and continuity at the leadership level to maximize performance.

Talking points

• Define successful talent management strategies that delegates can adopt in their organizations
• How to assess the effectiveness of their own talent management strategies and develop a roadmap for improvement to enhance business performance
• How to develop competency frameworks to serve as the basis for talent review, acquisition, and development
• Use of valid tools and techniques to assess the potential of talent
• Action planning

This discussion provides an overview of the agile transformation journeys of some of the leading organizations that I have supported in Australia. It lays the foundation for applying good practices, instead of one and only best practice in the agile world. There is no silver bullet in agile, some pitfalls to avoid would be highlighted. This talk offers an exclusive opportunity to gain a rare “behind the scenes” sneak peek into successful agile transformations. It would create the pathway toward successful agile transformations in African organizations, and how we can together unlock innovative practices and build the Africa we want. It’s time to get down to business, it’s time to get down to practical agility.

Talking points

• Stories of successful agile ways of working.
• Generic playbooks don’t always work, there is no “one size fits all” framework. Instead, create an authentic approach to business agility.

Top-down, bottom-up, and middle management buy-in are critical for developing the right organizational culture and increasing agile maturity.
Instead of agile teams blindly following “agile in name only” tactics and prescriptive frameworks, this session proposes freedom.

Africa currently has the highest annual population growth rate (2.5 per cent) in the world. Its overall population is projected to increase to about 2.9 billion by 2050 (about one-third of world’s population by 2050) and its working-age population (aged 15-64) is expected to increase by almost 100% from 783 million in 2021 to 1.56 billion by 2050. Africa is thus being faced with an opportunity, as this proportionate increase will create a potential for the continent’s demographic dividend. This issue is on the front burner of AU 2063 Agenda’s aspirations. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), high-skilled employment accounts, on average, for only 6% of the total employment in Africa (excluding North Africa), against 24% in the rest of the world. Using technology to close the skills gaps, there is an urgent need to raise an African population that is effectively educated, healthier and ready for the future world of work.

Talking points

• What is D-TVET and its role in the Africa Union (AU) 2063 Agenda?
• Discuss about the D-TVET Framework in the Africa Context.
• Discuss about the relevant TVET skills that will help meet the AU 2063 Agenda.
• Discuss about the impacts of project management skills in TVET.
• Briefly share the case study of Engage Youth Africa Initiative projects.

This discussion aims to inspire project managers to harness the power of global networks and communities, driving collaboration, innovation, and success in their projects. Through the lens of project management, the session aims to:

• Examine the role of global networking in enhancing collaboration, knowledge sharing, and professional connections among project managers.
• Discuss the importance of community building within project management, fostering cultural understanding, diversity, and collective impact.
• Explore case studies and best practices that demonstrate successful global networking and community building initiatives in project management.
• Highlight the challenges of language barriers, power dynamics, and resource management, and strategies to overcome them.
• Delve into leveraging technology, digital platforms, and online communities for effective global networking and community building.
• Provide project managers with practical tools, resources, and strategies to engage in global networking and community building.
• Identify future trends and opportunities in global networking and community building within the project management landscape.

The construction sector releases approximately 40% of carbon dioxide emissions to the environment and uses very large amounts of non-renewable energy. There is therefore need to adopt sustainable/green construction practices.

Talking points

• What green buildings should incorporate/meaning of sustainable construction
• Factors that influence green/sustainable construction
• How to evaluate sustainable/green building

Approaches to sustainability in construction projects