Summit VIII Summary

Sullivan Summit VIII was a tremendous success. Convened in Arusha, Tanzania, June 2-6, 2008, by Summit Co-Chairs Ambassador Andrew Young, Ambassador Carlton Masters and Convener Hope Masters, President of the Sullivan Foundation, Summit VIII, with over 3500 delegates in attendance, was our first in East Africa. Host President, H.E. Jakaya Kikwete promised a "Summit of A Lifetime" and indeed, by all accounts his charge was achieved. Two charter airplanes with 500 African Americans and Friends of Africa delegates, after a two-day pre-Summit bonus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, arrived in Arusha, Tanzania and began to emerge themselves in Summit activities. Summit results supported our mission in building Dr. Leon H. Sullivan's "Diaspora bridge" between Africans and African Americans: connecting entrepreneurs to initiate business opportunities; a pre-Summit Science & Technology Conference to assist Afri ca in a critical area in the global economy; a project that resulted in a new well bringing clean water to thousands of Tanzanians; a project that resulted in thousands of textbooks delivered to local high schools; Cris Tucker and other delegate celebrities participating in providing insectide filled mosquito nets to hundreds of villagers. Among other results we announced the next Leon H. Sullivan Summit IX in Rwanda in 2010. To conclude a "Summit of A Lifetime", charter delegates experience a wonderful time shopping and touring on the exotic island of Zanzibar before returning home to America.