TAKUKA 2026 Conference

Africa Decides: Sovereignty, Innovation & the Future of Dispute Resolution

5–9 October 2026 | Diamond Leisure Lodge, Diani, Kenya

Conference Overview

The TAKUKA Conference 2026 is a landmark Pan-African gathering bringing together arbitration and ADR practitioners, judges, government officials, policymakers, arbitral institutions, business leaders, in-house counsel and users of dispute resolution services from across Africa and beyond.

Taking place from 5 to 9 October 2026 at Diamond Leisure Lodge, Diani, Kenya, the Conference is convened jointly by the African Arbitration Association (AfAA) and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Kenya Branch under the theme:

“Africa Decides: Sovereignty, Innovation & the Future of Dispute Resolution.”

TAKUKA derives from the Swahili word kutakuka, meaning to rise with intention, to elevate and to ascend. More than a conference name, TAKUKA is a call for Africa to rise, speak with one voice and take a more active role in shaping the future of dispute resolution on the continent.

A Continental Conversation

At its heart, TAKUKA asks a fundamental question: Who decides the future of dispute resolution in Africa—and how should Africa shape that future on its own terms?

The Conference brings practitioners, users, governments, policymakers and experts into the same conversation to examine the opportunities and challenges shaping Africa’s dispute resolution landscape. Key discussions will explore:

• Who Decides? – Sovereignty and Africa’s place in global dispute resolution.
• Deciding Differently – Innovation, technology and the tools of tomorrow, including the growing role of AI in dispute resolution.
• Deciding Together – Access to justice and the development of a stronger African ADR ecosystem.
• Deciding in Practice – Practical issues including construction adjudication, mediation, arbitration, hybrid processes and access to justice systems.

The programme confronts important questions around African arbitral seats, investment disputes, the relationship between courts and arbitration, cross-border mediation, technology and AI, access to justice, and the role of customary and formal dispute resolution mechanisms.

One Conference. One Declaration. One Continental Statement.

TAKUKA is structured around a single golden thread, moving from Prologue and Diagnosis to Tools, Consensus, Application and Roots. Each day builds on the conversation of the previous day, creating one continuous story rather than a collection of disconnected sessions.

The Conference will culminate in the formal adoption of a Conference Declaration, capturing the collective direction and commitments emerging from the discussions. The Conference will also produce Daily Policy Briefs, a Final Declaration and a Peer-Reviewed Journal Publication, creating lasting outputs beyond the event itself.

Five Days of Ideas, Dialogue and Connection

The five-day programme begins with a pre-conference day on 5 October, featuring the AfAA/SOAS Training Programme and the inaugural Young AfAA x CIArb Kenya YMG Conference, dedicated to ADR practitioners under 40.

From 6 to 8 October, the joint AfAA–Ciarb Kenya main programme will explore sovereignty, innovation, technology, access to justice and the African ADR ecosystem, culminating in the Conference Declaration.

The programme concludes on 9 October with Ciarb Kenya’s standalone contribution, featuring dedicated streams focused on practical and constitutional dimensions of access to justice and dispute resolution.

Register Here: https://zfrmz.com/rv1a20PgtDCECM6Lt5qN

Why Attend TAKUKA 2026?

TAKUKA is more than an opportunity to listen to leading voices in arbitration and ADR. It is an opportunity to participate in the conversation.

Delegates will have the opportunity to:

• Engage with leading African and international dispute resolution practitioners.
• Exchange ideas with judges, policymakers, government representatives, business leaders and users of ADR.
• Explore emerging opportunities in African dispute resolution.
• Discuss practical approaches to improving access to justice.
• Examine how technology and innovation are reshaping ADR.
• Build meaningful professional and institutional relationships across the continent.
• Contribute to the conversations and commitments that will shape the Conference Declaration.

TAKUKA brings Africa into one room to confront the challenges, explore the opportunities and decide the way forward.

Africa Decides. Be Part of the Conversation.

Join us in Diani from 5–9 October 2026 as Africa rises, speaks with one voice and shapes the future of dispute resolution on its own terms.