FIJADA 2026: Rudo Apollonia Madhende Calls on Africa to “Build Its Own Table” and Turn Dialogue into Action

Speaking at the FIJADA 2026 World Diplomacy Summit, Rudo Apollonia Madhende placed African unity, cooperation and collective responsibility at the heart of her message, urging participants to ensure that the ideas discussed at the forum translate into concrete action beyond the conference hall.

KINSHASA — What happens when the speeches end and delegates leave the room?

That question stood at the heart of Rudo Apollonia Madhende’s message at the FIJADA 2026 World Diplomacy Summit, held from 9 to 11 September 2026 at the Cultural Centre of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Kinshasa.

The gathering brings together participants from different African countries around diplomacy, leadership, cooperation and sustainable development, under the theme “DRC, Heart of Africa: Contemporary Diplomacy as a Lever for Promoting Sustainable Development.”

After thanking the forum’s organisers and guests who had travelled from across the continent, Madhende turned her attention to what should come next. In her message, such a diplomatic gathering should not simply be remembered as a moment of speeches and discussions. It should become a starting point for Africans to work together in shaping the continent’s future.

From dialogue to concrete action

A central message of Madhende’s address was the need to move beyond words.

Ideas exchanged during FIJADA 2026, she stressed, should not remain confined to conference discussions. Their real value lies in their ability to generate initiatives, partnerships and concrete action.

She therefore encouraged participants to continue engaging with one another after the forum, to share experiences and knowledge, and to build cooperation that extends beyond national borders.

The message reflects a broader principle running through her intervention: African cooperation cannot be limited to major gatherings. Connections established at forums such as FIJADA must be sustained if they are to produce lasting results.

Africa must create its own opportunities

Madhende also placed Africa’s responsibility for its own development at the centre of her remarks.

Africa, she recalled, has long occupied an important place in the world because of its wealth, natural resources and immense human potential. Yet the continent, in her view, cannot continue waiting for solutions and opportunities to come exclusively from outside.

To illustrate that idea, she used the powerful metaphor of the table.

Rather than simply waiting to be given a seat at a table designed by others, Africa must become capable of designing and building its own table — creating opportunities, defining priorities and assuming greater responsibility for its future.

The image captures one of the central ideas of her address: African countries should strengthen their capacity to identify their own challenges, develop their own responses and turn the continent’s resources and human potential into engines of development.

Making sure ideas survive the summit

For Madhende, the success of FIJADA 2026 will ultimately depend on what participants do after the event.

Reflections and debates, however ambitious, only acquire lasting meaning when they are translated into action.

She therefore called for continued dialogue after the summit, greater exchange of experiences and stronger collaboration among Africans across borders.

The objective is not simply to establish contacts in Kinshasa, but to preserve those connections and use them to create new forms of cooperation between countries, communities and emerging African leaders.

In this sense, FIJADA becomes more than an event. It is presented as a platform from which relationships can develop and ideas can move towards implementation.

“Every country is first built by its own people”

Madhende’s message also carried a direct appeal to African citizens themselves.

Every nation, she argued, is first built by its own people.

The statement places responsibility for development not only on governments and institutions, but also on societies and citizens. Africans, in her message, are encouraged to believe in their own abilities, take responsibility and work collectively for the development of their respective nations.

The argument does not exclude international cooperation. Rather, it places African initiative at the centre of the process: external partnerships can contribute to development, but the continent’s future cannot be built without Africans themselves taking an active role in shaping it.

DRC and Zimbabwe in a shared African dynamic

The Democratic Republic of Congo occupies a symbolic position in Madhende’s message.

Presented by the summit as the “Heart of Africa,” the DRC is described as a central point from which a broader African energy of cooperation can circulate across the continent.

Madhende also highlighted Zimbabwe, encouraging the country to play an active role in carrying that shared energy forward.

The reference underscores the cross-border dimension of her message. Development, cooperation and African solidarity cannot stop at national frontiers. Knowledge, experience, ideas and opportunities must circulate between countries if continental cooperation is to become tangible.

The DRC–Zimbabwe connection therefore serves as one illustration of a broader ambition: strengthening relationships among African nations and encouraging them to contribute actively to a common development agenda.

Unity as a working principle

Three major ideas emerge throughout Madhende’s intervention: unity, responsibility and action.

Unity is presented as a means of bringing African experiences and capacities together. Responsibility means recognising that Africans themselves have a central role to play in building sustainable solutions. Action is what must ultimately transform discussions, commitments and ambitions into measurable outcomes.

Her message is therefore both continental and practical.

Africa’s resources and potential remain important, but their significance ultimately depends on the continent’s capacity to organise, cooperate and convert them into opportunities for its people.

The challenge is not merely to speak about African unity, but to make cooperation work in practice.

When the conference ends, the work begins

Madhende concluded her intervention in a spirit of hope, African pride and commitment.

Her message to participants was clear: they should not leave the forum carrying only memories of speeches and meetings. They should leave with the determination to continue working together.

The end of FIJADA 2026, in that perspective, should not mark the end of the conversation. It should mark the beginning of the work.

By encouraging participants to maintain the connections created in Kinshasa, exchange experiences and transform ideas into concrete initiatives, Madhende framed African development as a collective responsibility extending far beyond a single summit.

At the centre of her address was ultimately a straightforward proposition: Africa has the resources, talent and human potential to participate more decisively in shaping its own future.

The task, she argued, is to turn that potential into action — moving from dialogue to implementation, from waiting for opportunities to creating them, and from national ambitions towards stronger African cooperation.

And through the metaphor that defined her intervention, the message was unmistakable: Africa should not simply ask for a place at the table. It must be ready to build the table itself.