This discussion paper is part of the preparatory materials for the 21st IREN East Africa Media Forum hosted by the Inter Region Economic Network (IREN Kenya). It synethisizes key points from Dr. Bob Wekesa (Director, African Centre for the Study of the United States, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa).

September 2024 will be a momentous time for the world as the global governing body, the United Nations (UN), is poised to change if not substantially, at least appreciably. With the anticipated changes in the UN, global governance will equally change, and with it, we shall likely begin to view the world in a manner substantially different from that we do today. Even if the current UN reform does not reach the threshold of catalytic reforms, the buzz already created around the UN and global governance will remain on the global agenda for the foreseeable future. As of April 2024, plans are at advanced stages in various regions of the world in attempts to shape the nature of the proposed reforms at the UN. But how did we get here and what is African agency in the unprecedented reform of global governance? 

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