Thinking Africa’s Development, Thinking Sustainability! 

We still seem to find it hard to treat the future as if it really is as important as the present, and seek to tackle each problem separately from the others. Humanity can no longer simply think of existing from generation to generation, but must ensure that the world we leave behind is as good as, if not better than the one we found. The core values that underpin sustainable development - interdependence, empathy, equity, personal responsibility and intergenerational justice - are the only foundation upon which any viable vision of a better future can possibly be constructed.

The world must quickly design better strategies that will allow nations to move from their present, often destructive processes of growth and development onto sustainable development paths. This will require policy changes in all countries, with respect to both their own development and to their impacts on other nations' development possibilities. Building a world where we meet our own needs without denying future generations a healthy society is not impossible, as some would assert. The possibility lies in where societies choose to put their creative efforts. 

The “African Development Charter Series” is a strategic and well coordinated policy framework, featuring broad-based and integrated strategies towards transforming the social and economic landscape of developing economies of the World and Africa in particular. It does not claim to capture the complexity of development issues in Africa but provides useful insights and new directions based on the expertise of respective authors that shed light on the challenges within, newly emerging development concepts, and opportunities that arise for sustainability.