Anton du Plessis, ISS managing director and counter-terrorism expert, has a key role at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa in Cape Town, briefing government and business leaders about conflict and violence in Africa.

WEF put violence, terror and organised crime onto its agenda for the first time this year, as economics merge with security and politics like never before. Conflict and state fragility are now mainstream in talk about African development.

Du Plessis is a WEF Young Global Leader, member of the WEF Global Agenda Council on Fragility, Violence and Conflict; and the WEF Meta Council on the Illicit Economy. He is helping the WEF community understand the role business and investors play in securing a stable and prosperous future for Africa.

ISS helps the WEF community understand the role business and investors play in securing a stable and prosperous future for Africa

The ISS speaks authoritatively about human security in Africa and has unique insights into the social, political and economic forces at play on the continent. This makes the ISS extremely valuable to WEF, as corporates are encouraged to think more intelligently and responsibly about how violence affects development, stability, and prosperity; and how they can help to develop a safer and more prosperous world. 

On Friday 5 June, du Plessis speaks on a high-profile WEF panel titled ‘Silencing the Gun’, based on the African Union’s ambition to end all wars in Africa by 2020. He argues that this noble ambition will likely remain a dream considering Africa’s current political and development trajectory, with conflict expected to escalate as Africans aspire to and achieve greater freedom and democracy.

Du Plessis will note that the most important driver of violence and conflict today is weak and unconsolidated governance. He will describe the role of the private sector in governance, by adhering to good investment practices, not dodging tax, and not paying bribes.

He was also a discussion leader on a closed WEF session on future challenges identified in a WEF risk report, and is briefing business leaders on the role of corporates in Africa’s development. A high-profile opinion article by Du Plessis was published on 4 June in the leading SA newspaper Business Day.

CREDIT LINK:  http://www.issafrica.org/iss-spotlight/violence-and-conflict-on-world-economic-forum-agenda

The article was first published by The Institute for Security Studies (http://www.issafrica.org) and is republished with permission  granted to www.oasesnews.com