Introduction
Two members of the YAFO Institute recently participated in a gathering of intellectuals, policy thinkers, campaigners and leading voices for freedom from around Africa and beyond. The conference was hosted in Ghana and offered a unique opportunity for the exchange of ideas, establishment of networks and the advancement of practical measures toward defending liberty and fostering human flourishing. The George Ayittey Society (GAS) conference was held on 29th July 2026 for African Intellectuals with stimulating conversations about the intellectual and institutional growth of Africa. This was followed by the Africa Liberty Forum commenced on 30-31 July, a wider gathering dedicated to the ideals of liberty, influencing policies, democratic government and open societies across Africa.
The George Ayittey Society Meeting
The conference kicked off on the first day with the George Ayittey Society Conference for African Intellectuals, in which the Paper Discussing sessions were a core activity. The society matched its members to review papers submitted for the 2026 Journal on the Review of African Social and Economic Development of the George Ayittey Society (GAS). The discussions were conducted in two rounds, allowing participants to engage with different perspectives and provide constructive feedback on the research presented.
The YAFO Institute was represented by the President, Nathaniel Dwamena, and Policy Scholar, Lucy Asafo-Adjei, who submitted a paper on the democracy resilience in Africa traditional institutions. In Round 1, Nathaniel Dwamena presented “The Resilience of a Democratic Ideals in Africa: Tracing Cultural Roots, Traditions, Indigenous Democratic Institutions That Render Coups Incompatible to African Societies” and Iniobong Usen presented “Beyond Reason: Why Nigerians Oppose Good Reforms for Bad Reasons.” One of the main ideas that came out during the discussion was that the acceptance or rejection of changes often depends not so much on the content of the reform but on who is proposing the reform. This demonstrated the significance of credibility, trust and public perception in policy decisions.
In another Round 1 match, Lucy Asafo-Adjei presented the same paper on The Resilience of a Democratic Ideals in Africa, while Henri Kouam presented “The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a Driver of Free Market Reforms in Central Africa.” The debates provided a rich intellectual interaction and increased the engagement of the YAFO Institute with modern African political and economic studies.
The intellectual interchange continued in the second round, where participants engaged with studies on trade regulation and democratic institutions in Africa, and environmental enterprise. Francis Vorheis presented on “Towards a Landscape Approach to Wildlife-Based Enterprise in Africa” and Nathaniel Dwamena presented on “The Resilience of a Democratic Ideals in Africa: Tracing Cultural Roots, Traditions, Indigenous Democratic Institutions That Render Coups Incompatible to African Societies.”
In another session, Lucy Asafo-Adjei from the YAFO Institute gave the same paper on The Resilience of a Democratic Ideals in Africa and Oluwaseun Adeoye Oyebamiji presented “The Border’s Invisible Toll: Dismantling the Extractive Regulatory Ecosystem in West African Agricultural Trade.”
The Round 2 discussion also revealed the diversity of policy research undertaken by GAS members. The discussions gave the YAFO Institute an opportunity to critically engage with issues of democratic government, indigenous institutions, economic freedom, leading reforms and the regulatory hurdles to African commerce. The conversation also emphasized the need for thorough study and intellectual debate to provide practical policy solutions that can help solve Africa’s institutional and economic difficulties.
The next activity featured two concurrent discussions: “The Africanization of Liberalism: Defining the Idea” and “Africa After USAID: Where Do We Go From Here?” Nathaniel Dwamena participated in the former, while Lucy Asafo-Adjei joined the latter. The discussions were on individual liberty, economic liberalism, political institutions and Africa’s growth path. Nathaniel Dwamena noted that the traditional institutions and market systems of African cultures had long practiced some aspects of liberalism but early African thinkers typically missed the links. He challenged the rethinking of liberalism in the language of African traditions and conceptions that make sense locally. The participants stressed that involving traditional institutions and respecting individual rights were essential elements for the promotion of liberty.
The George Ayittey Society also conducted elections to establish its governance structure and leadership for the next term. The election resulted in the following appointments:
- Executive Director and Lead Fellow: Olumayowa Okediran
- Partnerships Lead Fellow: Olufemi Ogunjobi
- Capacity Building Lead Fellow: Crespen Ndlovu
- Presiding Fellow of the General Assembly: Linda Kavuka.
The elections were an important step in strengthening the institutional structure of the Society and providing appropriate leadership for its future operations.
The George Ayittey Society meeting closed with a keynote interview hosted by Olumayoma Okediran with Kofi Bentil of IMANI Centre for Policy Education, concluding the day’s program. The discussion provided participants with more food for thought on intellectual leadership, institutional development and the role of African organizations in promoting ideas that could help to create a more affluent and freer continent. Overall, Day One offered the YAFO Institute’s delegates enough opportunity for intellectual interchange, research involvement, networking, and participation in shaping talks on Africa’s political and economic future.
Africa Liberty Forum 2026 – Ideas, Networks, and Strategies for a Freer Africa
The Africa Liberty Forum, a gathering of critical voices fighting to enhance freedom across Africa, began on July 30. The forum organized by the Atlas Network and co-hosted by IMANI Centre for Policy Education and Africa Center for Entrepreneurship and Youth Empowerment, the forum provided a space for discussion, learning, networking and the investigation of practical solutions to improve liberty and opportunity. The Africa Liberty Forum discussed how the freedom struggle should start, stop and continue. Participants underlined the need to be careful with language, noting the shifting connotations of terms like “libertarian” and “classical liberalism.” The conversations highlighted the necessity of expanding the discourse of liberty in Africa to incorporate subjects with which Africans are familiar.
The Africa Liberty Forum also included a number of discussions and breakout sessions aimed at strengthening liberty in Africa. One of the key breakout sessions was led by Reem Ibrahim of Reason Magazine, “The Future of Persuasion in a Digital Age: How to Advance Liberty by Creating Compelling Short-Form Videos Using Only Your Phone.” The seminar touched on the growth of digital “yapping”, influencers as the new second-hand dealers of ideas and the role of storytelling in communicating ideas. Participants learned practical approaches for writing vertical videos, such as how to generate captivating hooks, use relatable message, respond to trending concerns, and determine the right audience for each video.
The event was particularly timely for the YAFO Institute’s strategy Marketing & Communication pillar, which aims to harness social media, storytelling videos, podcasts and other digital platforms to disseminate research and advocacy messages to key stakeholders and beneficiaries. The participants were also given a practical activity, producing and editing a one-minute movie.
The day concluded with the George Ayittey Society Debate: “Africa After USAID” The debate was on the motion ‘The closure of USAID will strengthen democracy and advance African self-reliance.’ Lucy Asafo-Adjei, Policy Scholar at the YAFO Institute and member of GAS, spoke in favor of the motion citing the possibility of lessening aid dependency, increased local accountability and African-led solutions. USAID’s exit, Bright Simons., Vice President of IMANI Centre for Policy Education, stated from the opposing standpoint, might imperil humanitarian assistance, damage civil society and democratic institutions, and pave the way for authoritarian regimes and competing foreign powers.
The debate was a suitable end to the day and brought together questions of financial independence, digital persuasion, foreign aid, democracy and Africa’s potential to chart its own course.
Final Day: Reflections, Reform and Celebration of African Freedom
The final day of the Africa Liberty Forum was dedicated to practical tactics for driving legislative change and economic improvement. They looked at the case study on Champions for Growth by Institute of Race Relation and considered how modifying language, reasoning and law might create the conditions for real reform. Discussions also addressed the question of whether people have the resources and institutional space to take initiative for freedom, the need of understanding how organizations are viewed from the outside, and the importance of a clear and core message. Participants stressed the need to develop essential terms and concepts that can help shape and express the progress of the freedom movement.
Another significant session was “Financial Freedom Under Pressure: Online Assets and Financial Censorship, and the Future of Economic Liberty in Africa,” led by Mr. Femi Longe He argued that financial freedom must be a central focus of the freedom movement, noting that restrictions on financial liberty can affect other freedoms and create mechanisms for the repression of activists and civil society. “If you don’t have the money, freedom stops where the wallet starts,” Femi pointed out. “Targeting someone’s bank account can become an effective means of silencing dissent,” he said.
The Forum also featured a screening of the award-winning documentary “70% Informals: The World You Think You Know Is Only a Fraction of the Story,” which explores informality and its impact on livelihoods. Elena Panaritis led a talk after the film on Peru’s transformation, liberalization, and lessons for African reformers. Nathaniel Dwamena worried that too much bureaucracy could hurt livelihoods and stifle economic potential.
The Forum ended with the Africa Liberty Forum Dinner and Awards. The Smart Bet Competition had three finalists: Free Future Foundation (Nigeria), Solidarité d’Actions pour le Développement Intégral (Congo), and Malkia Africa (Uganda) with locally led approaches to increase freedom and opportunity. The Solidarité d’Actions pour le Développement Intégral in Congo triumphed and will be representing Africa at Liberty Forum & Freedom Dinner in New York City.
The Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) Great Lakes (Burundi) won the 2026 Africa Liberty Award for its innovative initiative, Freedom Week. Runners-up The Eastern Caucus (Zimbabwe) and the Liberalist Centre for Education (Nigeria) were also congratulated for their efforts to promote economic freedom through tax reform, government openness, and independent journalism.
Conclusion
The three-day conference provided Nathaniel Dwamena and Lucy Asafo-Adjei from the YAFO Institute an invaluable opportunity to engage with some of the leading African and international voices in the freedom movement, to share ideas, to build professional networks, and to gain practical knowledge for promoting liberty, economic freedom, and policy reform. The event delivered vital insights from intellectual debates and research presentations to strategic communications, case study, financial freedom and grassroots reform, that will guide the Institute’s future advocacy and research activities.
The YAFO Institute would like to thank Atlas Network (USA) for sponsoring the Africa Liberty Forum and IMANI Centre for Policy Education and Africa Center for Entrepreneurship and Youth Empowerment for co-hosting the gathering in Ghana. We are thankful for the chance to be part of this important forum and look forward to integrating the knowledge, relationships and experiences gained into future efforts to improve freedom and prosperity in Africa.
