Opening the OTT Conference 2026 in Rabat, Karim El Aynaoui reflected on the role think tanks can play in addressing global imbalances — between generations, between North and South, and between those who shape global narratives and those who are too often excluded from them. Speaking as Executive Director of the Policy Center for the New South (PCNS), Karim framed think tanks not only as producers of research, but as institutions committed to public service, talent development and international dialogue.
Although his remarks were delivered as part of the conference welcome, they touched on many of the themes that would later run through the event’s keynote sessions and discussions: trust, representation, legitimacy, knowledge production and the responsibility of think tanks in a rapidly changing global landscape. His intervention also situated these debates within the experience of think tanks working from and within the Global South.
Think tanks as communities of public service
Welcoming participants to Rabat, Karim described the conference as a gathering of a wider think tank community connected by shared values and a common sense of purpose. Comparing think tankers to members of a professional community, he suggested that, despite different regional focuses or thematic specialisations, many institutions are ultimately driven by similar commitments to public service, evidence and policy engagement.
For Karim, this sense of community matters because think tanks occupy a distinctive position between academia, policymaking and civil society. Unlike universities, they are expected to engage directly with public problems and decision-making processes. Unlike governments, they retain the space to question assumptions, challenge narratives and experiment with ideas. And unlike many advocacy organisations, they are expected to combine policy relevance with analytical rigour.
This positioning, he suggested, gives think tanks a particular responsibility at a moment when global debates are increasingly fragmented and unequal.
Building talent and policy ecosystems
Karim described the Policy Center as both a “public good” institution and a “talent factory”, focused on preparing younger generations to navigate the worlds of academia, policymaking, civil society and the private sector. For him, one of the central responsibilities of think tanks is to create opportunities for emerging leaders while strengthening the policy ecosystems in which they operate.
This emphasis on talent development reflected a broader concern with intergenerational inequality and access to opportunity. Karim argued that think tanks can help accelerate the emergence of a new generation of leaders capable of moving between different institutional worlds and translating knowledge into action. In this sense, the role of think tanks extends beyond producing publications or convening events; they also contribute to shaping the people who will later influence policy, business and public debate.
Rebalancing North–South narratives
A second major theme of Karim’s remarks was the need to rebalance relations between North and South, particularly within global knowledge production and international policy conversations. He stressed that many narratives about Africa continue to be shaped externally and often without sufficient understanding of the continent’s complexity, diversity or policy realities.
In some contexts, he argued, there is still limited curiosity about Africa beyond simplified assumptions and geopolitical shorthand. This affects not only how the continent is represented internationally, but also how investment, partnerships and policy priorities are shaped. Karim suggested that narratives themselves have material consequences, influencing everything from foreign direct investment to international political relationships.
Producing knowledge from the Global South
For think tanks based in Africa and other regions of the Global South, producing rigorous research therefore becomes more than an analytical exercise. It is also a way of asserting intellectual agency and contributing to more balanced global conversations. Karim described this work as a form of engagement in the spaces where narratives are constructed and contested.
At the same time, he was careful to frame this effort less in ideological terms than in practical and developmental ones. The objective, he argued, is not simply representation for its own sake, but creating the conditions for greater economic and social progress. In his words, the ambition is straightforward: helping African countries become more prosperous and more influential within global systems.
Karim pointed to several annual reports produced by PCNS on African geopolitics and economies as examples of this effort. Developed with contributors from across the continent and beyond, these publications aim to provide grounded analysis while strengthening African participation in international policy discussions. He also emphasised that institutions across Africa possess the expertise and intellectual capacity necessary to contribute at the highest level internationally, arguing that the issue is often less about talent than about access and opportunity.
Expertise, legitimacy and representation
Underlying these reflections was a broader argument about the politics of expertise and knowledge production. Karim’s remarks echoed wider debates within the think tank sector about who gets recognised as an authority, whose perspectives are amplified internationally and how global policy conversations are structured. In this sense, his intervention connected closely with other discussions during the conference about legitimacy, trust and the need for more pluralistic forms of evidence and policymaking.
From ideas to action-oriented partnerships
Throughout his remarks, Karim also returned to the importance of collaboration and action-oriented partnerships between think tanks. Describing PCNS as an institution focused on “doing” as much as debating, he encouraged participants to see the conference not only as a space for reflection, but also as an opportunity to develop concrete collaborations, joint projects and longer-term cooperation across regions.
This practical orientation reflected another recurring theme throughout the conference: the idea that think tanks are not only spaces for analysis, but also institutions embedded within broader political, economic and social systems. Their relevance depends not only on the quality of their research, but also on their ability to convene, connect actors and contribute to real policy processes.
Karim’s welcoming remarks, therefore, did more than open the conference. They offered a broader reflection on what think tanks can contribute in an increasingly fragmented and unequal world: creating opportunities for younger generations, strengthening policy ecosystems, expanding the diversity of voices shaping international debates and building partnerships capable of turning ideas into action.
His intervention set the tone for a conference centred on trust, knowledge production and the evolving role of think tanks in a changing global environment.