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On May 23, Dr. Ousmane Sy, winner of this year’s King Baudouin International Development Prize, presented a Washington audience with what he perceives to be a positive and effective strategy for development in Africa. This strategy would focus on three key objectives: decentralization, regional integration, and a fundamental transformation of international development cooperation, the former Mali minister of territorial administration and local communities said over lunch at the German Marshall Fund.   Although Africa is often perceived as a continent falling increasingly deeper into poverty, Dr. Sy emphasized that “change in Africa is possible.” He said he sees the causes of his continent’s poor economic performance as stemming not from the lack of capital or technology, but rather from the inadequate means of social and political organization. At the heart of Africa’s problems is a “crisis of governance,” he said.   Dr. Sy spent 10 years in small villages in his native Mali working on the development of local administrative bodies and the organization of transparent elections, so he has seen first-hand the virtues of decentralization. Since post-colonial states were at their inception organized in highly centralized ways, they lacked popular legitimacy. Decentralization has allowed the Mali state not only to respond more effectively to the needs of its citizens, but also to overcome the destructive legacy of rebellion in part of the country, he explained.   While decentralization can significantly contribute to better governance, regional integration can help African economies compete more effectively in international markets, he proposed. Moreover, regional integration would break down the artificial state boundaries imposed by colonial powers. These boundaries often remain the major obstacles to the free exchange of goods among economies which are natural trade partners.   Finally, Dr. Sy said there is a need to reexamine the way economic and development aid is provided to African governments. First, while a substantial share of the African population relies heavily on aid, Dr. Sy underscored the need for the debate on Africa to shift away from “poverty reduction” and toward “development.” He also said that aid is not universally beneficial and that the private sector must be given a more crucial role in building new partnerships for development.