Ibrahim Governance Weekend

The moment

The Ibrahim Governance Weekend is the Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s flagship gathering, where African leaders, policymakers, business, civil society and young people meet to talk honestly about governance and leadership on the continent.

In 2023 the Weekend came to Nairobi, and the brief was ambitious: an evening opening ceremony for some of the most senior figures in Africa and beyond, a hybrid main summit delivered in several languages to around 1,000 delegates in the room and more online, and side events hosted by partner organisations in hotels across the city.

An opening worthy of the room

The Weekend opened at KICC with an evening ceremony attended by H.E. President William Ruto, Graça Machel, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and celebrated the 2020 Ibrahim Laureate, President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger. Acrobats, dancers and live musicians set the tone on stage before the formal programme began, and every arrival and movement of the dignitaries was planned with protocol in mind.

A committee for the complexity

The scale of the Weekend called for coordination across government and suppliers at once, so we formed a multi-disciplinary committee that brought representatives of the relevant ministries, the vendors and the Waridi team to one table. Audiovisual production was led by Barefoot Live, a UK production company, supported by eight local audiovisual vendors we mobilised and managed. Transport and transfers were coordinated with a travel agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A summit built for conversation

Over the following days the main summit at Radisson Blu moved between keynote presentations, panel discussions and fireside chats. Hybrid production carried each session to delegates following online, and simultaneous interpretation kept the conversation open to speakers and delegates working in different languages. Side events run by partner organisations in hotels across Nairobi gave the Weekend a footprint across the city.

One team for the whole Weekend

Waridi led the Weekend: planning and management, the budget, vendor contracts, venue management, guest registration and airport transfers, with one team accountable for every moving part. It placed us on the global conferencing map and remains one of the pieces of work we are proudest of.