Sadio Barry, presidential candidate in Guinea, spoke about the need for new leadership in transition countries. It is not only the slave trade and territorial fragmentation that cause the misery and underdevelopment, that still prevail half a century after colonisation. South Tyrol had also experienced the consequences of arbitrary border drawn without regard for the population. In Africa, the elites and the old political class are also to blame. "The African countries need new politics that are aware of the global problems, less complex, less corrupt, better educated and more dynamic," Barry emphasised. Thomas Spielbüchler, Senior Lecturer at the Institute for Modern History and Contemporary History at the University of Linz, shared this assessment: "In Europe, there are 27 opinions on every problem – in Africa, 55. So the trust in 'change from above' is not clouded for nothing. The desire for new leadership is evident. This drive comes from society - from a participating, engaged, interested society. Civil society."

Hans Karl Peterlini, Head of the UNESCO Chair Global Citizenship Education - Culture of Diversity and Peace, and Robert Mudida, Director of Research at the Central Bank of Kenya, also took part in the final panel discussion. The conference was organised by the UNESCO Chair in Anticipation and Transformation Eurac Research. Introductory speeches were given by Roland Benedikter, UNESCO Chairholder and Co-Head of the Center for Advanced Studies, and Harald Pechlaner, Head of the Center. "We need Africa, not the other way around" was the tenor. Welcoming addresses were given by Roland Psenner, President of Eurac Research, and Patrizio Bianchi from the official association of the 43 UNESCO Chairs Italy ReCUI.