Congo Basin Conclave

The Congo Basin Conclave is a project of the US embassy Kinshasa with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by Groupe Utalii Kwetu ‘GUK’ nonprofit & Kongo River. GUK is organizing the overall logistics as well as the scientific part of the Conclave while Kongo River will focus on the cultural aspect of the Congo Basin Conclave in Kinshasa. The Congo Basin Conclave seeks to bring together local stakeholders to share their experiences and build networks that support projects that invest in the people of the Congo Basin. The Conclave priority regions are: Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Brazzaville, Republic of Congo; Yaoundé, Cameroon; Libreville, Gabon & Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. The project is divided into two phases: - Phase one of the project will start with country-specific sessions for U.S. government-selected participants (including Embassy contacts, alumni, civil society leaders, private sector, and academics) in Brazzaville, Kinshasa, Libreville, Malabo, and Yaoundé. Attendees will evaluate what they want to bring to and get from the regional conclave (phase two) and brainstorm ideas for regional cooperation and/or exchanges to present at the regional conclave. (March 2024 in each of the targeted countries) - Phase two of the project, a maximum of 100 delegates from the five country-specific sessions will convene in Kinshasa, DRC, for a 2-day Congo Basin Conclave (and evening reception). The event will be divided between sessions of general interest and breakout sessions on core themes, where participants will discuss their experiences, share best practices, and develop ideas for regional projects to propose for Embassy funding. All sessions will be in English and French (consecutive interpretation). During the regional conclave, participants will have unstructured networking time between themselves and various speakers. They will end the conclave after forming a sustainable, prestigious network of Congo Basin conservat