Ordinary African citizens know what they want. They also know what must be done to build a great Africa. However, they face two insurmountable problems: a huge lack or loss of consciousness and systemic exclusion from and by institutions such as governments, civil society, and regional and international organisations. Where they are engaged by these institutions, the engagements are often exclusive, superficial, tokenistic, and opportunistic. It is in and through the spirit that “let the citizens be informed, let the citizens speak”, that the Conference of Citizens Project brings together ordinary citizens to receive and impart ideas and to openly speak about the realities they face, their expectations, and their aspirations. It also brings them into the “conversational spaces” where conversations and decisions about their communities and nations are made so that they can make their demands known to the institutions that are responsible for policy-making and implementation. It is important that citizens are structurally connected to their governments and other decision-making institutions. This is the only pathway that empowers them to exercise their voice and influence the political, social, and economic direction of their societies.