EGYPT: Joaquim Chissano accepts the Mo Ibrahim prize at a glittering ceremony in Egypt's dazzling rebuild of the Alexandria library - the Bibliotheca

Record ID: 454488

  • Title: EGYPT: Joaquim Chissano accepts the Mo Ibrahim prize at a glittering ceremony in Egypt's dazzling rebuild of the Alexandria library - the Bibliotheca
  • Date: 27th November 2007
  • Summary: FORMER PRESIDENT OF MOZAMBIQUE, JOAQUIM CHISSANO, ENTERING LIBRARY FORMER UN SECRETARY GENERAL KOFI ANNAN ENTERING LIBRARY WITH WIFE
  • Embargoed: 12th December 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA71A1B5HHIR2HGK5UIUY202ET7
  • Story Text: Joaquim Chissano accepts the Mo Ibrahim prize at a glittering ceremony in Egypt's dazzling rebuild of the Alexandria library - the Bibliotheca.
    Mozambique's former President Joaquim Chissano, who stood aside after helping to end his country's civil war, was awarded a prize for African leadership at a ceremony held in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria on Monday (November 26).
    After receiving the Mo Ibrahim Prize for African leadership -- the world's largest individual award -- which was announced last month, Chissano said he would use a $5-million prize to push for better governance in Africa.
    The awards ceremony was attended by numerous African luminaries, from former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, to entertainers like Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour, who performed for the crowd of dignitaries.
    Presiding over the event, which was held at the Bibliotheca Alexandria, Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo said it was an occasion for pride in the oft-maligned continent.

    "It's a night to be proud of Africa. Me, personally, I am proud.
    To be proud of the richness of our continent, to be proud of the vitality and strength of its people. To be proud of an African whose leadership has set an example to the world," she said.
    A former revolutionary who fought Portuguese colonial rule, Joaquim Chissano served as president of the southern African country from 1986 until 2005, winning praise for his pragmatic policies in a nation once one of the poorest in the world.
    Chissano was a leader of the Frelimo guerrilla movement which fought Portuguese rule in Mozambique for decades until independence in 1975, and was only the second person to serve as president of Mozambique.
    He showed his negotiating skills when he concluded a peace deal in 1992 to end a 16-year war with Renamo rebels, laying the foundation for his country's first multi-party elections in 1994.
    Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said that despite the many tragedies facing Africa, from poverty to war, there were positive developments on the continent that merited greater attention.
    We live in a world where the negative too often overshadows the positive. And nowhere is this more obvious than when people talk or write about Africa. It means the progress taking place across the continent frequently fails to get attention it deserves. It is seen as concentration of failures of leadership than successes, where, which we've had some as you've heard earlier this evening," he said.
    Former South African president and the leader of the struggle against Apartheid, Nelson Mandela, was held up by many at the ceremony as the paramount example of positive African leadership, and he gave a video address.

    "May this award encourage the new generation of African leaders to follow his example. And Mo, may your exceptional commitment to leadership development on our continent inspire all to lead and live with commitment and honesty," he said.
    Mo Ibrahim, a Sudanese-born telecommunications entrepreneur, established the African Leadership prize as a way of encouraging good governance in a continent blighted by corruption and a frequently loose adherence to democratic principles.
    After being given the award by Annan, former president Chissano dedicated it to the people of Mozambique.

    "I accept the award with humility and great honor. I accept it as a tribute to the millions of women and men of Mozambique, young and old, for their untiring commitment to freedom, peace, democracy and prosperity in our country," he said.
    Chissano pinpointed the struggle against diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis as among the largest challenges facing Africa.
    Winners of the Mo Ibrahim prize will receive $5 million over 10 years and then $200,000 a year for life, with another $200,000 annually for "good causes" they espouse.
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