All-Africa Students Union

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The All-Africa Students Union(AASU) is the umbrella organization of 75 national student unions from 54 countries, representing 170 million students across the African continent. [1] [2]

Contents

History

In 1972, student representatives from ten African countries gathered at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana, to attend the first Congress of the All-Africa Students Union. Inspired by the Organisation of African Unity, the Congress aimed to unify students across the African continent in the spirit of Pan-Africanism. [3]

In 1973, the second Congress of the All-Africa Students Union was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In 1974, the third Congress of the All-Africa Students Union was held in Alexandria, Egypt. [4] In 1976, the fourth Congress of the All-Africa Students Union was held in Accra, Ghana, attended by the African National Congress and the South West African People Organization. In 1982, at the sixth Congress of the All-Africa Students Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, June 16 was declared African Students' Day, known as the Day of the African Child, in honor of the students who lost their lives in the Soweto Uprising. [5] In 1987, the seventh Congress of the All-Africa Students Union was held in Luanda, Angola. In 1992, the eighth Congress of the All-Africa Students Union was held in Accra, Ghana. In 2000, the ninth Congress of the All-Africa Students Union was held in Tripoli, Libya, recognized by the United Nations for advancing students rights and expanding access to education across the African continent. [6]

Governance

The All-Africa Students Union is governed by three constitutionally-mandated decision-making bodies: the Congress, the Executive Committee, and the Secretariat. [7]

Congress

The Congress is the highest decision-making body of the All-Africa Students Union. Convened on a quadrennial basis, the Congress is composed of delegates from the All-Africa Students Union membership. Autonomous and operating according to principles of democratic decision-making, the Congress may amend the Constitution, and is charged with oversight of the Executive Committee and the Secretariat. [7] [8]

Executive Committee

The second decision-making arm of the All-Africa Students Union, the Executive Committee comprises the President; five Regional Vice Presidents (representing North Africa, South Africa, West Africa, East and Central Africa); five Executive Committee Representatives and six officers of the Secretariat, including the Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary-General, Secretary for Education, Secretary for Student Rights, Secretary for Press and Information, Secretary for Gender and International Relations, and Secretary for Finance and Administration. The Executive Committee provides political leadership, executes policies and programs adopted by the Congress, examines membership applications, and makes recommendations to the Congress. [7]

Secretariat

Located in Accra, Ghana, and headed by the Secretary-General, the Secretariat serves as the headquarters of the All-Africa Students Union. The Secretariat is composed of six tenured staff elected by the Congress. and locally recruited permanent staff. Tenured staff are democratically elected officers who serve in positions mandated by the Congress in accordance with the Constitution, including the offices of the Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary-General, Secretary for Education and Students Rights, Secretary for Press and Information, Secretary for International Relations, and Secretary for Administration. [7]

Permanent staff members are recruited by the Secretariat under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of the Republic of Ghana. By statutory provisions, technical staff of the All-Africa Students Union are civil servants under the Supreme Law of Ghana, working under Finance, Audit, Human Resource, Operations, Technical, Programmes, Research and Communications. Personnel undergoing national service can be assigned to the staff of the All-Africa Students Union for a period of one year. [7]

Membership

CountryNameAASU Abbrev.
Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria l'Union Nationale des Étudiants AlgériensUNEA
Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt Students' Representative Council, Alexandria University SRC-AU
Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt Students' Representative Council, Cairo University SRC-CU
Flag of Libya.svg  Libya General Union of Libyan StudentGULS
Flag of Mauritania.svg  Mauritania L'Union nationale des étudiants mauritaniensUNEM
Flag of Mauritania.svg  Mauritania Students' Representative Council, Université De Nouakchott SRC-UN
Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco L'Union nationale des étudiants du MarocUNEM
Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia Union Général Tunisienne Des ÉtudiantsUGTE
Flag of Benin.svg  Benin La Fédération Nationale des Étudiants du BeninFNEB
Flag of Burkina Faso.svg  Burkina Faso La Fédération Estudiantine Et Scolaire Pour L’intégrité au Burkina FasoFESCIBF
Flag of Cape Verde.svg  Cape Verde Federação Nacional de Estudantes e Desporto UniversitárioFNEDU
Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Côte d'Ivoire Fédération estudiantine et scolaire de Côte d'Ivoire FESCI
Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Côte d'Ivoire Counseil National des Jeunes de Côte d'IvoireCNJCI
Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia National Union of Gambia StudentsNUGS
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana National Union of Ghana Students NUGS
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana Graduate Students Association of GhanaGRASAG
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana Ghana National Union of Technical StudentsGNUTS
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana Ghana Union of Professional StudentsGUPS
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana University Students Association of GhanaUSAG
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana Union Scolaire et Estudiantine de GuinéeUSEG
Flag of Guinea-Bissau.svg  Guinea-Bissau Plataforma Nacional das Associações Acadêmicas do Ensino Médio e Superior da Guiné BissauPNAAEMS-GB
Flag of Guinea-Bissau.svg  Guinea-Bissau The National Confederation of Student Associations of Guinea-BissauCONAEGUIB
Flag of Mali.svg  Mali Association Des Élèves Et Étudiants Du MaliAEEM
Flag of Niger.svg  Niger Union Des Scolaires NigerUSN
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria Postgraduate Students Association of NigeriaPSAN
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria National Association of Nigerian Students NANS
Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal Students' Representative Council, Cheikh Anta Diop University SRC-CADU
Flag of Sierra Leone.svg  Sierra Leone National Union of Sierra Leone StudentsNUSS
Flag of Togo (3-2).svg  Togo Union National des Étudiants du TogoUNETO
Flag of Angola.svg  Angola Union Nationale des Étudiants d'AngolaUNEA
Flag of Angola.svg  Angola Student Association, Universidade Agostinho Neto UAN
Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana Botswana United Students AssociationBUSA
Flag of Eswatini.svg  Eswatini Swaziland National Union of StudentsSNUS
Flag of Lesotho.svg  Lesotho United Lesotho Students AssociationULSA
Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe Malawi National Students UnionMANASU
Flag of Mozambique.svg  Mozambique União dos Estudantes MoçambicanosUEM
Flag of Mozambique.svg  Mozambique Association of University Finalist Students of MozambiqueAEFUM
Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia Namibian National Students Organization NANSO
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa South African Union of StudentsSAUS
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa South African Students Congress SASCO
Flag of Zambia.svg  Zambia Zambia National Students UnionZANASU
Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe Zimbabwe National Students UnionZINASU
Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Congress of Students UnionZICOSU
Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon L'Association des Étudiants de l'Université de Yaoundé AEUY
Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon Students' Representative Council of International Relations Institute of Cameroon SRC-IRIC
Flag of the Central African Republic.svg  Central African Republic L'Association nationale des étudiants centrafricainsANEC
Flag of Chad.svg  Chad Union Nationale des Étudiants TchadiensUNET
Flag of the Republic of the Congo.svg  Republic of the Congo Mouvement des Élèves et Étudiants du CongoMEEC
Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg  Democratic Republic of Congo Représentation des Étudiants du CongoRDC
Flag of Equatorial Guinea.svg  Equatorial Guinea Students' Representative Council of Universidad Nacional De Guinea Equatorial SRC-UNGE
Flag of Gabon.svg  Gabon Union Nationale des Etudiants du GabonUNEG
Flag of Sao Tome and Principe.svg  Sao Tome and Principe Federação Nacional das Associações Acadêmicas da Universidade de São Tomé e PríncipeFNAA-USTP
Flag of Sao Tome and Principe.svg  Sao Tome and Principe Students' Representative Council of Universidade Lusíada de São Tomé e PríncipeSRP-ULSTP
Flag of Burundi.svg  Burundi Burundi National Students UnionBNSU
Flag of the Comoros.svg  Comoros Union Nationale de Jeunesse et des Etudiants des ComorosUNJEC
Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students NUEYS
Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia Ethiopian Higher Education Students UnionEHEISU
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya University of Nairobi Students AssociationUNSA
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya Kenya University Students' OrganisationKUSO
Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar Students' Representative Council, Université d'Antananarivo SRC-UA
Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar Comite Democratic Des Jeunes Et Des Etudiants De MadagascarCDJEM
Flag of Mauritius.svg  Mauritius Council of Students & Youth Movement of MauritiusCOSYM
Flag of Rwanda.svg  Rwanda Rwanda National Students' AssociationRNSA
Flag of Seychelles.svg  Seychelles Students' Representative Council, University of Seychelles SRC-US
Flag of Somalia.svg  Somalia Somalia Higher Education Students UnionSHESU
Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan General Sudanese Students UnionGSSU
Flag of South Sudan.svg  South Sudan South Sudanese Students UnionSSSU
Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania Tanzania Higher Learning Institution Students OrganisationTAHLISO
Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda Uganda National Students AssociationUNSA

See also

References

  1. Klemenčič, Manja; Luescher, Thierry; Otieno Jowi, James (2016). Student Politics in Africa: Representation and Activism. Capetown, South Africa: African Minds Publishing. pp. 9–26.
  2. Erunke, Joseph (June 17, 2024). "AASU seeks urgent action to make education affordable in Africa". Vanguard.
  3. Boahen, A.A. (1994). "The role of African student movements in the political and social evolution of Africa from 1900 to 1975". The General History of Africa: Studies and Documents. pp. 9–23.
  4. Zeilig, L (2009). "The student-intelligentsia in sub-Saharan Africa: Structural adjustment, activism and transformation". Review of African Political Economy (36): 63–78.
  5. "All-African Student Union commemorates African Students' Day - MyJoyOnline". www.myjoyonline.com. 2021-06-08. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  6. "UNITED NATIONS WORLD YOUTH AWARDS GIVEN TO AFRICAN YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". press.un.org. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Kwasi Kodjie, Peter; Mawuli-Kwawu, Elorm; Safowaa Kyei-Baffour, Awurama; Karim Ibrahim, Abdul; Amefianu Kudoafor, Bismarck; Akrong, Rexford (February 22, 2024). Klemenčič, Manja (ed.). The Bloomsbury Handbook of Student Politics and Representation in Higher Education (1st ed.). Great Britain: Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 45–46. ISBN   9781350375970.
  8. "All-Africa Students Union holds 13th elective congress to elect new executives". Modern Ghana. December 27, 2021.