Zan speaks at the UN

Mr. Samuel Zan Akologo, Executive Secretary of the Department of Human Development at the National Catholic Secretariat, Accra, will be speaking at the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiations of the Post-2015 Development Agenda at the United Nations, New York.     

He is being invited as a representative of Caritas Internationlis in Rome and member of Post-2015 Working Group. He is expected to contribute to the voice of the Catholic Church on the new successor framework to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which expires this year.

Mr. Akologo will make his intervention on April 23^rd, during the interactive dialogue with Major Groups and other stakeholders as part of the joint session of the Post-2015 Development Agenda and Financing for Development negotiations.

This meeting according to development analyst is the second and most critical phase of the Post-2015 Development Agenda, which seeks to tackle new financing formula for development and prepare the final Post-2015 Development Agenda draft for the UN Head of States Submit in September 2015.    

Mr. Akologo with over 25 years of Civil Society activism locally and internationally, the opportunity to speak at the UN platform comes as a plus to his career and the Church in Ghana and Africa. He will draw lessons and experiences as the former Country Director of SEND-Ghana, a National Public Policy Advocacy NGO and his many years of Human Rights activism with Amnesty International.

Having studied Education at the Bimbilla College of Education and University of Education, Winneba, Mr. Akologo holds a Post-Graduate degree in Public Administration from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and a Masters in Government and Economic Reform at the University of Westminster in London.

He has served on Committees of many Public Institutions including Senior High Schools, Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) and the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) of Ghana’s Petroleum Revenue Management.  Zan belongs to the Community of Practitioners (CoP) of Gestalt Psychology and Organizational Development (OD) certified by the University of Cleveland (USA) and the OD Centre in Ghana.

So far, over 1000 Civil Society Organisations from 130 countries around the world has signed on to the Beyond 2015 campaign, which is strongly pushing for a legitimate successor framework to the Millennium Development Goals, which is likely to be christened Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Asked how he felt about the invitation, Mr. Akologo said he was humbled by the recognition and noted that one good news for Africa in the development discourse was that the Africa Union was presenting a Common Africa Position (CAP) in Post-2015 Development Agenda.  He also thinks the focus of the April Session on Means of Implementation of the Post-2015 Development Agenda makes it crucial for him to express an opinion.