In recent years, the African continent has been undergoing profound transformation and renewal, characterized by economic growth and political democratization.  Ambassador Kapanda discusses the regional, continental, and global significance of the end of Mobutu Sese Seko's thirty-two-year regime in the Congo (formerly Zaire) which, according to some observers, is as significant for the future of Africa as was the end of apartheid in South Africa.

Ambassador Kapanga received both an M.A. and a Ph.D. in linguisiics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.  He is currently on leave from the Department of French, Illinois State University at Normal, where he is a tenured member of the faculty.