The idea for the summit was born on the last day of the trip to Sierra Leone.
The magnitude of the All African People's Development and Empowerment Project's (AAPDEP's) work in that country confirmed the fact that AAPDEP, as a strategy of the African People's Socialist Party, can transform the relationship that Africans have to imperialism, eventually empowering the people enough to overthrow it.
During the two day summit in Washington DC, the four members of AAPDEP's International Executive Committee (IEC) discussed the current state of the organization and the way forward.
The meeting touched on every aspect of the work, from building the membership base and expanding departmental capacities to international and national projects.
International Director of AAPDEP, Dr. Aisha Fields, opened it up by expressing the need for AAPDEP to be a fully functioning organization within the next few years.
Acknowledging that there are currently some limitations, but with the continued dedication from AAPDEP's leadership and its members, these are barriers that can be overcome very soon.
One of the pressing issues is the upcoming "Africa's Future in African Hands" tour, which starts next month.
As one of the organization's larger fundraisers, the response from the public has been really encouraging, and there is confidence that targeted goals will be met.
The beginnings of a strategic membership plan was developed and it will continue to expand over the next few weeks.
Membership is one of the aspects of AAPDEP that makes it stand out from other development organizations.
AAPDEP calls on Africans to use their skills for the betterment of African communities everywhere.
So as we continue to tighten up this process, look forward to more communication from the IEC.
Discussions about expanding the scope of AAPDEP's work, from Africa to other countries, reinforced the need for there to be a more solid infrastructure that can take on the question of development worldwide.
The importance of building the Executive Committee departments was integral to these talks, as each department head reviewed their Plans of Actions and strengthened their strategic goals to ensure that this will be a reality in the near future.
The dedicated members of AAPDEP's IEC live in three different states and four cities, and even though they meet weekly via phone, the level of work that can be accomplished during in-person summits far exceeds the previous.
Therefore, they are dedicated to meeting in person, more often, to ensure the success of the organization.
Some things to look forward to from AAPDEP:
-An AAPDEP members only site
-A re-designed website
-More opportunities to support the work through sponsorship
-More membership communications
-Opportunities to be a part of the Uhuru Freedom Project in Oakland
-Opportunities to be a part of an AAPDEP Winter Project in Sierra Leone
-Expanded projects in Africa
