| Africa Day | |
|---|---|
| Observed by | Member states of the African Union |
| Type | International; cultural and historical |
| Significance | Anniversary of the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity |
| Date | 25 May |
| Next time | 25 May 2025 |
| Frequency | annual |
| Related to | African Freedom Day and African Liberation Day |
Africa Day (formerly African Freedom Day and African Liberation Day) is the annual commemoration of the foundation of the Organization of African Unity on 25 May 1963. [1] It is celebrated in various countries on the African continent as well as around the world. [2] The organization was replaced by the African Union on 9 July 2002, but the holiday continues to be celebrated on 25 May.
The First Congress of Independent African States was held in Accra, Ghana on 15 April 1958. It was convened by the Prime Minister of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, and comprised representatives from Egypt (then a constituent part of the United Arab Republic), Ethiopia, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon, and the host country, Ghana.. The Union of South Africa was not invited. The conference showcased progress of liberation movements on the African continent in addition to symbolizing the determination of the people of Africa to free themselves from foreign domination and exploitation. Although the Pan-African Congress had been working towards similar goals since its foundation in 1900, this was the first time such a meeting had taken place on African soil. [3]
The conference called for the founding of an African Freedom Day, a day to "...mark each year the onward progress of the liberation movement, and to symbolize the determination of the people of Africa to free themselves from foreign domination and exploitation." [4]
The conference was notable in that it laid the basis for the subsequent meetings of African heads of state and government during the Casablanca Group and the Monrovia Group era, until the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963. [5]
Five years later, on 25 May 1963, representatives of thirty African nations met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, hosted by Emperor Haile Selassie. By then more than two-thirds of the continent had achieved independence, mostly from imperial European states. At this meeting, the Organization of African Unity was founded, with the initial aim to encourage the decolonization of Angola, Mozambique, South Africa and Southern Rhodesia. The organization pledged to support the work conducted by freedom fighters, and remove military access to colonial nations. A charter was set out which sought to improve the living standards across member states. Selassie exclaimed, "May this convention of union last 1,000 years." [6]
The charter was signed by all attendees on 26 May, with the exception of Morocco. [a] At that meeting, Africa Freedom Day was renamed Africa Liberation Day. [4] In 2002, the OAU was replaced by the African Union. However, the renamed celebration of Africa Day continues to be celebrated on 25 May in respect to the formation of the OAU. [7]
Africa Day continues to be celebrated both in Africa and around the world, mostly on 25 May (although in some cases these periods of celebrations can be stretched out over a period of days or weeks). [8] [9] Themes are set for each year's Africa Day, with 2015's being the "Year of Women's Empowerment and Development towards Africa's Agenda 2063". At an event in New York City in 2015, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Jan Eliasson, delivered a message from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in which he said, "Let us... intensify our efforts to provide Africa's women with better access to education, work and health care and, by doing so, accelerate Africa's transformation". [10] The slogan of the 2023 Africa Day celebration was "Our Africa Our Future". [11] The theme of 2024 Africa Day celebration is "Education Fit for the 21st Century". [12]
In 2021 the Republic of Kenya hosted the first joint African Union summit along with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region virtually. [13] To commemorate this event it was decided that September 7, [14] [15] would be celebrated annually as Africa-CARICOM Day throughout the Caribbean to recognize and strengthen linkages between CARICOM and Africa. [16] [17] The first of August has been celebrated as African Emancipation Day throughout much of the British Empire from the Trans-Atlantic African Slave Trade [18] and the addition of Africa Day in the Caribbean has to come to be regarded as part of an observance known as the 'Season of Emancipation' across the Caribbean countries.
Modern Trinidad and Tobago maintains close relations with its Caribbean neighbours and major North American and European trading partners. As the most industrialized and second-largest country in the English-speaking Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago has taken a leading role in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and strongly supports CARICOM economic integration efforts. It also is active in the Summit of the Americas process and supports the establishment of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, lobbying other nations for seating the Secretariat in Port of Spain.
The Caribbean Community is an intergovernmental organisation that is a political and economic union of 15 member states and five associated members throughout the Americas, The Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean. It has the primary objective to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and coordinate foreign policy. The organisation was established in 1973, by its four founding members signing the Treaty of Chaguaramas. Its primary activities involve:
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Ralph Everard Gonsalves is a Vincentian politician. He is currently the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the leader of the Unity Labour Party (ULP).
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Heroes' Day or National Heroes' Day may refer to a number of commemorations of national heroes in different countries and territories. It is often held on the birthday of a national hero or heroine, or the anniversary of their great deeds that made them heroes.
When the African Union (AU) was founded in 2002, it represented almost the entire African continent, inheriting the membership of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was founded in 1963, as its successor. Currently, the AU has 55 member states. Growth in the OAU typically came from post-colonial independence; as decolonisation ended, the borders of the OAU had overlapped almost all of Africa.
The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The bloc was launched on 9 July 2002 in Durban, South Africa. The intention of the AU was to replace the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa by 32 signatory governments; the OAU was disbanded on 9 July 2002. The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states.
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This article deals with the diplomatic affairs, foreign policy and international relations of Barbados.
Barbadian–Nigerian relations are foreign relations between Barbados and Nigeria. Barbados and Nigeria formally established diplomatic relations on 24 April 1970. Nigeria is accredited to Barbados from its high commission in Port of Spain,. Currently the Barbadian Government does not have foreign accreditation for Nigeria, however the Nigerian Government has said that it was highly desirous of Barbados establishing a high commission directly in Nigeria.
Barbadian-French relations are the bilateral relations between the two countries, Barbados and France. Both countries have established diplomatic relations on May 3, 1968. Barbados is represented in France through its embassy in Brussels (Belgium). France is represented in Barbados through its embassy in Castries, led by and an additional honorary consulate in Bridgetown.
Freundel Jerome Stuart, OR, PC, SC is a Barbadian politician who served as Prime Minister of Barbados and the leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) from 23 October 2010 to 21 February 2013; and from 21 February 2013 to 25 May 2018. He succeeded David Thompson, who had died in office on 23 October 2010 from pancreatic cancer.
Dudley Joseph Thompson was a Jamaican Pan-Africanist, lawyer, politician and diplomat, who made a contribution to jurisprudence and politics in the Caribbean, Africa and elsewhere internationally.
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The National Library Service, in association with the Division of Culture, Prime Minister's Office, will celebrate Africa Day on Friday, May 24, at the Roy Marshall Teaching Complex, The University of West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Four years ago, on September 7, 2021 the first Africa Caribbean (CARICOM) Summit was hosted virtually by the Republic of Kenya in the aftermath of a 2003 Declaration by the African Union (AU) of its Diaspora as the sixth region of Africa. That Summit decided to establish September 7 as Africa Caribbean Day.
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has suggested that Africa-CARICOM Day should be celebrated on September 7, in recognition of the first-ever Africa-Caribbean Summit aimed at forging stronger social and economic ties between the two global communities. Speaking during Ghana's 65th Independence Anniversary celebrations at the Cape Coast Stadium on Sunday, Ms. Mottley told the thousands gathered that African Caribbean Solidarity received a new boost on September 7, when the first African- CARICOM caucus was organised by the Presidents of Ghana and Kenya, Nana Akfuo-Addo and Uhuru Kenyatta, respectively.
In a statement for Africa-CARICOM Day, observed on September 7, 2024, the group said the first Africa/CARICOM Summit held on September 7, 2021, saw the tabling of several issues such as the removal of double taxation, direct flights between the Caribbean and African countries, reviewing whether travel visas are needed between African and Caribbean countries.
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