The Sullivan Summits are organized by The Leon H. Sullivan Foundation and held biennially in an African nation to highlight key issues and best practices, stimulate discussion, define opportunities, promote private enterprise and foster high-level strategic partnerships.
The Biennial Leon H. Sullivan Summit is the embodiment of Leon Howard Sullivan’s dream to re-connect the nations and people of Africa with a displaced Diaspora spread out across the world. His concept was simple – knowledge of heritage and history is innately strengthening. Without a sense of history and ancestry, Africa’s lost sons and daughters cannot truly be free to reach their highest potential. This dream and the awe-inspiring reunion is realized every 2 years through the historic gatherings of the Sullivan Summit.
President of Equatorial Guinea, His Excellency Obiang Nguema Mbassogo wraps up his welcome speech marking the opening of the 9th Leon H Sullivan Summit which took place August 2012 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
Summit IX will continue past traditions and create an atmosphere of open dialogue about the state of human rights and the interconnected issues of modern Africa. The Summit, by creating unprecedented & open dialogue and building upon the Global Sullivan Principles, seeks to define the opportunities for both growth and continuous improvement in the quality of life for all Africans. While the economies of Africa grow and evolve, the corporations and government institutions involved must develop responsible strategies to involve the citizenry in its benefits, increase the quality of life and guarantee access to human rights that foster self-empowerment.
We are noted for our nonpartisan posture as well as our unwavering commitment to democratic ideals, both in the US and across the world. The Leon H. Sullivan Summit is the first internationally recognized Summit of world leaders, convened on African soil, by a non-governmental private foundation. We are proud and honored to continue this great legacy and to retain that distinction 21 years after the first convening in 1991.
The Leon H. Sullivan Foundation empowers underprivileged people worldwide by promoting the principles of self-help and social responsibility. These goals are the articulation of the vision of the Reverend Leon Howard Sullivan.
In order to fulfill our mission and in order to take the vision of Leon H. Sullivan to a higher level of effectiveness and expansion, the Foundation will support and create programs where such principles and ideals are implemented to improve the lives of the vulnerable. Also, we endeavor to infuse a spirit of activism into economic development by promoting ethics and corporate social responsibility principles among businesses and governments alike.
THE GOAL:
To bring the corporate and government communities together for the economic benefit of all.
We endeavor to bring the corporate and governmental communities together for the economic benefit of all, and invite businesses and individuals to create partnerships with Africa with our ultimate goal being a peaceful, prosperous, and powerful Africa.
And finally, through the Leon H. Sullivan Summits we will continue to work towards realizing Sullivan’s dream to create a bridge from Africa to the developed world over which investment, tourism, education, healthcare, and other vital needs can traverse freely to the immediate benefit of the Continent of Africa and the ultimate benefit of the entire world.
THE CHARGE AND THE CALL TO ACTION:
Celebrating the power of partnership, peace and prosperity for Africa.
To achieve these goals, it will take a significant investment from those dedicated to the ideals for which we stand. We recognize and acknowledge that this chapter in the Sullivan Legacy illuminates a global challenge that will require a cadre of committed global citizens from the entire Diaspora to prevail.
OUR STRATEGIC GOALS:
- To create opportunity through dialogue.
- To advocate for the poor and disadvantaged.
- To cultivate a new generation of compassionate humanitarians in all walks of life.
OUR CALL TO ACTION:
To insist upon a world that is just for all.
To help each other rise above adversity and continue to evolve as a great humanitarian race.
This is the call to action on behalf of our global society and this is the work embodied in the newly established Leon H. Sullivan Foundation.
This is the Foundation named in honor of a humble yet powerful man whose life’s work changed the course of our society.
This is the Foundation that celebrates a man who, quietly and with purpose, sought to use his life as a means to move people from hopelessness to hope, from despair to discovery, from poverty to the promise of prosperity and a life of purpose.
The Foundation named in his honor continues his legacy of hope as we work towards his goal of a just and fair society for all. (Leon Sullivan Foundation website)