KARIM El Aynaoui, Executive President of the Policy Center for the New South, in Rabat, Morocco, who is the keynote speaker at the Realnews 12th Anniversary Lecture, has arrived in Lagos, aboard Air Maroc on Monday, November 18, 2024.

El Aynaoui who was accompanied by Abdelhak Bassou, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, Rabat, Morocco is also the Executive Vice-President of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and Dean of its Humanities, Economics and Social Sciences Cluster.

A team of Realnews Magazine and Publication officials led by Maureen Chigbo, Publisher/Editor, was at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport to receive them.

The Realnews Lecture, which has held consecutively for 11 years beginning from 2014 will centre on “Africa in world shifting geopolitics, matters arising on democracy, technology, artificial intelligence, natural resources” and will be held at the Sheraton Hotel, Lagos, on Tuesday, November 19, 2024.

El Aynaoui’s contributions at the Policy Center for the New South, pcns, a Moroccan Think Tank that works to improve social and economic public policies in Africa and the Global South makes him a perfect fit for this year’s theme.

He is an economist. From 2005 to 2012, he worked at the Central Bank of Morocco where he held the position of director of economics, statistics, and international relations.

At the Central Bank of Morocco, he was in charge of the research department and equally a member of the governor’s cabinet. Previously, he worked for eight years at the World Bank as an economist for its regional units of the Middle East and North Africa and Africa.

El Aynaoui has published books and journal articles on macroeconomic issues in developing countries. His recent research has been focused on growth and the labour market in Morocco, as well as on reforming international development economy.

EL Aynaoui holds scientific and advisory positions at various institutions. He is currently a member of the Malabo Montpellier Panel, the scientific committee of the Italian Institute for International Political Studies, the scientific council of the Moroccan Capital Market Authority, the International Board of Leonardo Medor Foundation, the advisory council of the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy of the American University of Cairo, Morocco’s Chapter of the Confrérie des Compagnons de Gutenberg. He serves as advisor to the CEO and Chairman of OCP Group and is a board member of OCP Foundation.

He holds a Phd in economics from the University of Bordeaux in France where he taught courses in statistics and economics for three years and he is also a Commendatore of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.

Realnews, a general interest magazine, is an online publication that thrives on investigative journalism. We have expertise in reporting the oil and gas sector with its attendant environmental challenges. We aim to unearth exclusive stories about real people and the challenges they face in their day-to-day activities. We do this bearing in mind that government can only act to influence the lives of people positively if they are aware of their true situation. Hence, our objective is to use our investigative skills to ferret out information in the sectors we focus on and produce an unbiased report that will influence the government and decision-makers to take actions that will make society better.

Realnews is populated by seasoned journalists who believe strongly in the tenets and ethics of the profession. The online publication believes that journalism as the fourth estate of the realm can contribute its quota towards building a fair and just society where fundamental human rights are respected and citizens have the freedom to pursue their interests anywhere in the world without hindrance. Its editors have a combined experience of several decades in active journalism practice and are highly dedicated to serving humanity. Hence its motto: “for god and humanity.”

Realnews anniversary lecture series was established to commemorate the best minds in our society and to tap from them to enrich the discourse in our national development.

The 11th anniversary lecture in 2023 on the threats of illicit funds flow to the African economy was delivered by Dr. Edwin w. Harris jr., Director-General, ECOWAS Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA).
The 10th anniversary lecture in 2022 on “Drug Abuse among Youths in Africa: Implication for Nigerian Economy and 2023 Elections” was delivered by Brig- General Buba Marwa, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA; 9th Anniversary Lecture of Realnews in 2021 was delivered by Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board on “Nigeria in the Unfolding Integration of the African Market: the oil and gas perspective”; 2020 Eighth Anniversary Lecture of Realnews was delivered by Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on Covid-19 on Managing Covid-19 Pandemic in Africa: the Nigeria Experience; Former President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana gave the 2019 Lecture on Beyond Politics: an Economic Narrative for West Africa while Prof. Mahmood Yakubu spoke on Political transitions and Africa’s Economic Development: Preparations for Nigeria’s 2019 General Elections at the 2018 Lecture. The 2017 Fifth Anniversary Lecture on African Leadership in a Turbulent era was delivered by Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, former Minister of Education and former World Bank Vice President. The 2016 Fourth Anniversary Lecture on Security and National Development in Plural Democratic Society was delivered by Dr. Mohamed ibn Chambas, former United Nations Secretary General’s Special Representative to West Africa and the Sahel; the 2015 Realnews Third Anniversary Lecture was delivered by Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on November 19, 2015, under the theme: It’s the Nigerian Economy Stupid? The Second Realnews Anniversary Lecture On Nigerian Democracy: Getting It Right In 2014 was delivered by Professor Maurice Iwu, former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.