Remarks by Joan Holmes, President of The Hunger Project

On the occasion of the seventh annual Africa Prize announcement, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Today we are announcing the 1993 winners of the Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger.

In the last decade of this century, at a time of enormous challenge, what the world longs for and needs is true, authentic leadership – leadership not just by people who have been elected to high office, but leadership by thousands of men and women, in every sector of society, in every town and village, at all ages and education levels.

Leadership is the pivotal force behind all great achievements in human history. As it has been noted, leaders are by no means "ordinary people." They are the individuals who work at the frontier where tomorrow is taking shape.

The region of the world where tomorrow is taking shape the fastest, and where the challenges are greatest, is Africa. One of our Africa Prize laureates, President Robert Mugabe, has, in fact, called Africa "the continent of tomorrow."

The essence of leadership has been studied for thousands of years, perhaps because it is both rare and vital to human progress. Though there are many ways to define leadership, I think most would agree that leadership must include three essential elements. Leaders must possess vision, they must bring to that vision essential human qualities, and they must successfully translate that vision into reality.

The first element is vision. Humanity's most ancient and timeless wisdom teaches us that "Where there is no vision, the people perish."

But what is vision? Vision is being able to think beyond the immediate day to day challenges. Vision is a statement of a future that is possible to achieve, that is worth achieving, and that represents reaching a new threshold in the quality of life.

Vision calls forth the strength and commitment of the people. It animates, inspires and transforms a compelling purpose into action. Vision draws people out of their petty preoccupations. It carries them above conflicts that can tear a society apart, and it unites people in the pursuit of objectives worthy of their best efforts.

In Africa, the next threshold to achieve is the sustainable end of hunger.

Each and every day, 10,000 African children, women and men die as a consequence of hunger. Africa is the one region of the world where per-capita food production is still in decline. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 59 percent of the people lack access to clean water, 40 percent lack access to primary health care, and 63 percent of the women are not allowed the freedom and opportunity which comes from being literate.

To be an authentic leader in Africa today, is to be a leader for the sustainable end of hunger. Such leaders make the accomplishment of this vision their obsession, their reason for being, their strategic intent. Such leaders are committed to a new "bottom line" – the well-being of Africa's people.

These are the authentic leaders for the future of Africa. These are the leaders who qualify for the Africa Prize for Leadership.

These are the men and women who live their lives consistent with the words of Mahatma Gandhi, who is perhaps the greatest leader of our century: "Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen, and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything by it? Will it restore him to a control of his own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to freedom for the hungry and spiritually starving millions?"

The second element of leadership is to possess essential human qualities.

We must recognize that everywhere in the world, and specifically in Africa, there is a shift in the paradigm of leadership. Leadership today does not mean the pursuit of power and personal gain. Leadership must mean seeking solutions to vital global, regional and national problems.

It is therefore imperative that leaders for tomorrow possess the essential human qualities of responsibility, integrity, commitment and endurance.

The key to leadership is responsibility. A leader must say to him or herself that, "even though I have inherited this problem – a problem that I did not cause – this problem is now mine. With your participation, I will solve it."

Leaders must not blame others. They must not feel that they are victims of circumstance. So-called leaders, who exert their energy assigning blame, are only advocates for powerlessness and paralysis.

Responsibility is a declaration. Responsibility is taking a stand that we ourselves are up to the challenge. We assert that we can and will solve the problem.

By integrity, I mean standards of moral and intellectual honesty on which a person's conduct is based. It means that a leader must be the kind of person who embodies the future he or she intends to create.

By commitment, I mean an intense and abiding passion to give oneself fully and without reservation to the well-being of Africa's people.

And by endurance, I mean the ability and willingness to stay true to the vision day-by-day, year-by-year, until the goal is achieved.

The final element of leadership is the ability to translate vision into reality. Authentic leadership means that the deeds must match the words.

To be effective in translating the sustainable end of hunger into a reality, a leader must be close to the people. A leader must know that the key to Africa's future is in unlocking the power and creativity of each son and daughter of Africa.

This was the greatness of the liberation-era leaders. These leaders were not isolated within bureaucracies, but worked shoulder to shoulder with the people, tapping the well-spring of Africa's aspirations. It was this quality that made liberation leaders powerful and successful, as well as recognized and respected around the world.

The day-in/day-out work of a great leader is to inspire, mobilize and empower the people to achieve their vision. As the Chinese philosopher has written:

Go to the People

Live with them

Love them

Learn from them

Work with them

Start with what they have

Build on what they know

Fulfilling the vision of an Africa free from hunger – an Africa where every individual has the chance to lead a healthy and productive life – is more than relieving misery. No one knows how the world will be enhanced by Africa once the threshold of meeting basic needs has been reached.

We can only imagine what contributions can be made when the spiritual strengths, cultural richness and human creativity of the African people is unleashed into activities beyond survival.

Somewhere today, living in an African village is a woman or man who may become the scientist who will discover the cure for aids. Some African child, who presently does not have access to a school, may be the Einstein of tomorrow. Some nation in Africa today, may be tomorrow's Singapore.

The Africa Prize was created to call forth leaders – those rare and necessary individuals who make great human achievements possible. The Hunger Project is honored to dedicate this prize to the women and men who are creating an Africa free from hunger.