The hybrid event was streamed live from University of Nairobi and hosted online by Africa.com.
More than 15,000 people registered to join the virtual audience, the largest in Africa.com’s history for a single virtual event. Registrants from 131 countries included 51 African countries and 80 countries in the rest of the world. 3,500+ Kenyan university students, 900+ university students from the rest of Africa and the world registered for the virtual audience.
Pan-African and international journalist, Uduak Amimo, moderated the live discussion in Nairobi. She introduced questions from the audience seated in University of Nairobi’s Chandaria Centre For Performing Arts while Teresa Clarke, Chair of Africa.com, hosted the thousands who tuned in virtually from around the world.
In his first trip to Africa since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bill Gates announced the foundation would spend more than $7 billion over the next four years to support African countries and institutions working to develop and implement innovative approaches to confront hunger, disease, gender inequality, and poverty.
Bill Gates said Africa’s young people have the talent and opportunity to accelerate progress and help solve the world’s most pressing problems.
Africa.com facilitated online surveys & polls during the event where both the in-person audience and the virtual audience were invited to participate. 94% of those polled said they are feeling the effects of climate change. 89% believe food supplies and prices are especially vulnerable to climate change in sub-Saharan Africa.
Below are just a few of the responses from attendees when asked “what did you like about the event”:
- Applaud Bill Gates, the University of Kenya, and Africa.com for making efforts to reach out to help the needs of people on hunger, food security, and climate change. Bill Gates said that he is part of the problems, and ready to be part of the solutions; that is good and courageous leadership. All of us, as individuals, families, and Nations need to do our part, and join the efforts for solutions to the world’s hunger, food security, and climate change.
- The fact that it accommodated everyone physically and virtually.
- I especially liked the honest approach by Bill Gates.
- Effective response to questions posed by the virtual & real audience by Chief Guest.
- Simple and well organized. Bill Gates made the matter of Climate Change easy to understand.
- The organisation was able to bring together over 10,000 participants. About the topic…Bill did articulate on measures that both states and individuals ought to pursue in order to realize the ultimate goal of food security and at the same time mitigate the effects of climate change.
- The informative speech that Bill gave was really good. I was really thrilled to learn that he takes online courses too.
- It was quite interactive, in fact I believe if we can have such discussions all over the world then there will be a great change.
- The humbleness of Bill Gates who owns so much but is so humble.
- The whole event was expository and the fact that it highlighted the significance of African youth in fighting food security made me love the program
- The discourse. It had teeth. I loved the youth participation as well. The education of our youths on climate issues cannot be neglected. It is one of the foremost challenges this generation will have to tackle.