CODE’s Chief Executive and Follow the Money Founder, Hamzat Lawal, will be joining thought leaders in Europe to discuss policy formulation, international dependency and solidarity, and vulnerabilities through intersectionality at the 2020 Annual Lisbon Forum.

The event organised by the Council of Europe and tagged Learning from Our Global Challenges: Rebuilding Solidarity, is a distinctive platform for policy makers and activists to deliberate on how the global community can enhance international solidarity so that it becomes an effective tool to overcome the challenges the world is facing currently and to set the basis for a more sustainable and unified future.

Lawal will be speaking alongside the High Representative of the UN Alliance of Civilisations, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, President of the Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Europe, and the Director-General of Democracy, Council of Europe, Snežana Samardžić-Marković, on Thursday 2nd December 2020.


Recall that Follow The Money, emerged winner of the 2019 Council of Europe’s Democracy Innovation Award and was recognised by the Council of Europe as one of the leading ground-breaking initiatives in the world, that are promoting democratic principles.

The award which was presented by the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, and received by CODE’s Communications Director, Kevwe Oghide in Strasbourg, France, won against 27 brilliant initiatives from across the world. In her remark, Burić noted that Follow The Money had shown exemplary leadership in advancing democratic governance, despite that Nigeria was not a member State of the Council.

Connected Development is an initiative that is passionate about empowering marginalised communities.