By Emmanuel Argo

While many of us are taking stock after unique experiences and paths, we wish to transmit to our contemporaries, to our descendants and to the rest of the world, the fruit of our convictions, commitments and skills, at different levels and for peace, initiatives in connection with our populations in Africa and the rest of the world.

Why talk about it?

While many of us are taking stock after unique experiences and paths, we wish to transmit to our contemporaries, to our descendants and to the rest of the world, the fruit of our convictions, commitments and skills to propose, at different levels and with appeasement, initiatives in connection with our populations of Africa, the Caribbean, the Americas, French overseas, English-speaking, Creole-speaking, Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking and Dutch-speaking people.

To this end, the concept of NegroEvolution created by Emmanuel Argo* who was inspired by Nelson Mandela (with whom he worked) and the Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan (whom he rubbed shoulders with on different occasions) made sense thanks to the support of early progressives such as South African Nadine Gordimer, Nobel Prize for Literature or Chris Lamb, former Australian Ambassador or Sir Peter Heap, former British Ambassador, as well as the co-authors of this article.

The NegroEvolution takes into account the historical dimension of the populations of continental Africa, the diasporas, the Afro-descendants, the mixed race, without distinction of ethnicity or origin, i.e. a real melting pot living both in the overseas territories and all over the world.

This concept that brings us together therefore goes beyond the notion of race to highlight our talents, strengths and values ​​in order to get out once and for all of Western representations based on more or less advantageous classifications according to skin color and gender. geographical origin and this, to move forward instead of stagnating. It is therefore a question of not giving in to the resignation of: let's not change anything! [in Creole] I bon kon sa, [in English] Don’t touch anything; please! [in Spanish] Esta muy bueno. NegroEvolution is also the desire to recognize women as the keystone in our matriarchal societies. We therefore salute here the late Professor Wangari Mathai, ecologist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate as well as the current commitments of our Excellencies Ms. Graça Machel, international defender of child soldiers and Helen Johnson Sirleaf, Nobel Peace Prize.

After the liberation of the slaves, republican France had generously compensated the large planter-slavers, “victims of the abolition of slavery” [sic]. What else can we say about the “independence debt” of Haiti which, for having dared to become a sovereign republic in the 19th century, was forced to pay a ransom at the price of gold until 1952 – almost 125 years – without no democracy in the world is moved by it. She never stops paying the price. By considering these compensations, we can therefore underline the importance of the economic and financial benefits generated by slavery which made the prosperity and the war power of many nations. But fortunately, times have changed: the Resolution of the International Decade of Afro-descendants 2014/2024 taken by the UN is a step forward that reinforces our societal approach.

Thus, as Emmanuel Argo proposes, "beyond the annual official French commemoration of the abolition of slavery which takes place discreetly in May in front of a modest stele, it is necessary to trigger a process of sincere truth, justice and reconciliation which could be the means of an unfeigned and lasting peace but also a real educational action with a universal character and purpose. It is also urgent to establish a concordat including different forms of compensation for the descendants of slaves and victims of the slave trade in regions where the prosperity of the sugar economy has given way to impoverishment. Thus, we will wholeheartedly applaud the birth of such an initiative that could be endorsed by the United Nations.”

Furthermore, to raise public awareness and get away from the usual clichés, we will have to assert our scientific, economic and commercial potential, our capacities for inventiveness and cultural creativity. All this will allow as many people as possible to express themselves or even excel, as some of us are already doing in their region. Information, training and job creation must be the driving forces behind these initiatives.

Finally, at a time when climate change will lead to the disappearance of certain island and coastal territories and thus, profound social and economic upheavals, the Africa Mundus sphere must already anticipate the reception of refugees, and in particular by targeting the geographical areas best suited to population transfers. We must avoid the urgency that generates chaos and consider these trips as an influx of wealth.

Looking towards the future, the concept of NegroEvolution adapts to the challenges of our century and our societies without forgetting the legacies of our illustrious NegroEvolutionists before the letter, such as Frantz Fanon, Aimé Césaire, Léon Gontran Damas, Jacques Stephen Alexis, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Julius Nyerere, Cheick Anta Diop, Marcus Garvey, Tomas Sankara, Nelson Mandela and so many others, who launched their desire for emancipation in the face of the world. They transmitted to us the values ​​of courage, solidarity, honor, pride, altruism, respect, fraternity and dignity. Yet, despite these daring men and women and their courageous and exemplary acts, too many have nevertheless grown up in pusillanimity because of family culture or religious background. Progressive contemporaries of all origins make themselves heard; let us encourage them with lucidity to undertake the beginnings of an international geopolitical rebalancing which will eventually lead to other forms of administration of the peoples.

The case of the French overseas territories included in the European Union is unique compared to the former British colonies which are now independent while being included in the Commonwealth. A few years ago, in Martinique, during a meeting between Presidents Georges Bush and François Mitterrand, speaking of the future, the latter said “we have to think about building or rebuilding a balance! How should it be interpreted? Was this already the beginning of an answer to the geopolitical questions of the Caribbean at the time, in a context of the emancipation of certain Caribbean, South American or African republics from the hegemony of the great Western powers?

Is the autonomy of overseas territories self-evident in the face of the threat of the break-up of the European Union, in particular for security reasons due to illegal immigration? For political reasons, more than ever identity checks based on facies, racism, negrophobia and xenophobia are the stock in trade of certain parties. At the same time, the African Union is initiating the creation of an economic free trade area and is considering the establishment of a common passport as part of the creation of the United States of Africa. In 2007, in a development program that concerned relations between the African Union and its diaspora based in Great Britain, Emmanuel Argo had already proposed the free movement of diasporas in continental regions.

Faced with the rapid and unprecedented development of Africa, which it has long seen as a vassal, the EU is seeking to establish a new partnership already called “Eurafrique”. If it is appropriate to talk to each other and to work between equal partners who respect each other to get out of stubborn colonial mentalities and representations, including among humanist allies, let us welcome the initiative. But if this is a new, even more perverse and devious form of economic imperialism, let’s unmask it now! As Emmanuel Argo says, "beware of Thucydides' trap".

The European initiative shows in any case an awareness: it accepts the idea of ​​partnership which means that it envisages Africa and its peoples in a bipartite and not unilateral relationship which, of course, reinforces our we, NegroEvolutionists, in our process of contractualization. It is in this perspective that Emmanuel Argo calls once again for the application in extenso of the social responsibilities of public and private companies, both on the African continent and in the overseas territories, because this will contribute to an infrastructural and social catch-up essential to any rebalancing. for win-win economic exchanges between contracting parties.

Thus, the overseas territories mostly populated by Afro-descendants need not fear their inevitable statutory evolution, provided that some of their local leaders responsible for these "island dust", no less generating of intelligence and purveyors of geostrategic interests, maritime, marine and agro-ecological resources, already agree to cooperate on common geopolitical development strategies rather than prefer isolation. So that these overseas territories benefit from synergies with continental Africa, Emmanuel Argo created the generic name Africa Mundus, thus following the six intra- and extra-continental regions defined by the African Union. The sixth so-called extracontinental region brings together Afro-descendants and the diaspora spread across the world.

Emmanuel Argo's approach is as follows: the overseas territories must emerge from their isolation and fully enter an economic, commercial and cultural market of 1.315 billion inhabitants. Some have already understood that, like this group of Martinican import-export békés very present in local agriculture, has invested in banana plantations in West Africa. Let's go further: why wouldn't the Dangote group, this group originating in Nigeria which occupies the key sectors of construction and energy and invests throughout the continent, invest in Guyana, in the Caribbean or in the ocean? Indian?

The concept of NegroEvolution that we carry is above all a voluntary attitude to promote audacity and self-esteem, particularly in the search for pragmatic solutions to avoid exile or resignation whatever the region. where we are born. At a time when the old powers are exhausted fighting each other, it is an idea with a promising future because of the existence of the new Pan-Africanism carried by Africa Mundus, this economic and societal entity which will soon have 2 billion mainly young people. Finally, we will put an end to this tenacious cliché that keeps black-skinned peoples on the margins of evolution.

Serge Samandoulgou. Researcher at the National Center for Scientific and Technological Research (CNRST) of Burkina Faso. Member of the Africa Mundus network / French-speaking West Africa region. Peer of NegroEvolution. Victor Truxillo. Doctor in organic chemistry, former university cooperant in French-speaking Africa (Algeria, Benin, Gabon). Professor at the former IUFM Antilles Guyane/University Institute for Teacher Training, Member of the Africa Mundus scientific network, Peer of NegroEvolution.

Vicky Hendrick, retired civil servant from the Ministry of Higher Education, Training and Innovation of the Republic of Namibia. Entrepreneur. Member of the Africa Mundus /English-speaking Southern Africa region network. Aedile of NegroEvolution.

Falla Ensa-N'Dayma. President of Trade Union Organizations of Sierra Leone. Member of the Africa Mundus / Anglophone West Africa network. Peer of NegroEvolution.

Maguy Lottin. President of Associazione Interculturale Griot in Rome. Member of the Africa Mundus/Italy network. Aedile of NegroEvolution

Jean Kenne. University Professor / The DAPAD Foundation Tokyo. Member of the Africa Mundus/Japanese Archipelago network. Peer of NegroEvolution.

Jilles Djion. Managing Director of an international company in China. Member of the Africa Mundus/Asia Pacific network. Peer of NegroEvolution.

* Afro-Caribbean, Emmanuel Argo was born in Martinique. Leaving his native region for nearly four decades, he worked in a Parisian law firm, taught European law at the University of Rouen, then approached the African National Congress in 1992 to bring his contribution , as South Africa emerged from apartheid. Focused on the African Commonwealth, America and Asia-Pacific, by participating in initiatives taken in international decision-making spheres, he has made recommendations to consultative bodies of the United Nations and the G20. In respect of England, as General Rapporteur of a G8 conference chaired by Vladimir Putin in Moscow, he is behind the reduction in taxes levied on remittances/Remitt@nces sent by migrants from all continents to their families back home. He has written numerous press articles, is the author and co-author of several books in English, has received the support of the Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Wałęsa who prefaced his book entitled: Main basse sur l'argent des poor; thank you to the Remitt@nces, which he offered to Pope Francis at the Vatican. In China, he is an adviser to the African Chamber of Commerce. In England, he is a Fellow of the Historical Society of Oxford University and of Chatham House/The Royal Institute for International Affairs.