1. Foreign Aid – Stephanie Altman — Senior Executive, Environmental 

Are foreign aid decreases just a setback, or can they catalyse more resilient, self-sustaining growth across the continent?

 2. African Economy & Politics –Dr. Douglas Mpondi, Professor, MSU Denver 

How are some African countries countering the recruitment of youth as cheap labor and the resource curse to build more sustainable, local, and effective jobs? 

 3. Global opportunities for Africans – Dr. Abigail Kabandula, Director, Africa Center – University of Denver Korbel School

How are African countries drawing on local commitment and knowledge to build strong, productive industries that will help them to prosper in the new global economy? 

 4. Trade and investments – Alphonse Nembot, Instructor and Researcher, UNC Greeley 

Can African countries leverage the AI revolution and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to break dependency cycles without compromising their sovereignty and stability? 

 5. Media and Information – Tracey Williams, Tradewinds Communications 

How can Africans counter the rise of deep propaganda, ‘theatrical elections,’ and digital authoritarian practices constructing narratives of international legitimacy while shaping, limiting, or distorting domestic political agency? 

 6. Education & Technology – Abraham Loorig, Founder, Image of Africa 

How can African universities and schools both promote ethics and responsibility in data collection and protect community knowledge from data colonialism by foreign tech giants? 

 7. Global Cooperation & Peacebuilding – Nancy Idehen – President, Students for Africa – University of Denver

Can global cooperation frameworks support African nations in negotiating trade agreements collectively to promote equitable partnerships, strengthen regional integration, and ensure mutual economic benefits across regions? 

 8. Governance & Policy strategy – Dr. Peter Van Arsdale, Regis University 

How can African countries promote investment and address the primary ‘analog’ gap of basic computer literacy and rural electrification? 

 9. Agriculture – Fatou Doumbia — Founder, Agile International 

Can Africa’s agriculture thrive from local knowledge, safeguards for its farmers, and careful, not top-down, use of international technological innovation? 

 10. Health – Dr. Daniel Perlman, Infectious Disease Specialist 

How can African countries strengthen local health capacity and address outbreaks such as malaria?

 11. Immigration – Dr. Isaac Chinyoka 

How are communities in Colorado valuing and protecting our African and other immigrant communities?

 12. Arts – Saber Kemer — Children’s book writer and author 

How are the arts helping to strengthen awareness of the deep values and cultural traditions of Africa that value and change our understanding of humanity?

13. Women’s Empowerment – Bryna Perlman 

14. Cooperatives – Monica LaBiche Brown, Executive Director, Africa Development Promise 

How can we help the cooperative movement expand and thrive to show ways forward for the sustainable and just development of the Continent?

15. Dr. Anne Keke, Aurora Public Schools Board of Education