Africa Day

Last updated

Africa Day
Observed byMember states of the African Union
TypeInternational; cultural and historical
SignificanceAnniversary of the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity
Date 25 May
Next time25 May 2024 (2024-05-25)
Frequencyannual
Related toAfrican 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. The organization was replaced by the African Union on 9 July 2002, but the holiday continues to be celebrated on 25 May.

Contents

Background

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 symbolising 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. [2]

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 symbolise the determination of the people of Africa to free themselves from foreign domination and exploitation." [3]

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. [4]

History

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 Organisation of African Unity was founded, with the initial aim to encourage the decolonisation of Angola, Mozambique, South Africa and Southern Rhodesia. The organisation 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." [5]

The charter was signed by all attendees on 26 May, with the exception of Morocco. [lower-alpha 1] At that meeting, Africa Freedom Day was renamed Africa Liberation Day. [3] 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. [6]

Contemporary celebrations

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). [7] [8] 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 healthcare and, by doing so, accelerate Africa's transformation". [9] The slogan of the 2023 Africa Day celebration is "Our Africa Our Future". [10]

See also

Footnotes

Notes

  1. ↑ Morocco's delegation was present in an observatory capacity only, due to the attendance of Mauritania and the ongoing border dispute with that nation. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organisation of African Unity</span> Defunct African international body

The Organisation of African Unity was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 33 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's establishment was Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana. It was disbanded on 9 July 2002 by its last chairman, South African President Thabo Mbeki, and replaced by the African Union (AU). Some of the key aims of the OAU were to encourage political and economic integration among member states, and to eradicate colonialism and neo-colonialism from the African continent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ZANU–PF</span> Ruling political party of Zimbabwe

The Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) is a political organisation which has been the ruling party of Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. The party was led for many years by Robert Mugabe, first as prime minister with the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and then as president from 1987 after the merger with the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and retaining the name ZANU–PF, until 2017, when he was removed as leader.

Chimurenga is a word in Shona. The Ndebele equivalent is not as widely used since most Zimbabweans speak Shona; it is Umvukela, meaning "revolutionary struggle" or uprising. In specific historical terms, it also refers to the Ndebele and the Shona insurrections against administration of the British South Africa Company during the late 1890s, the First Chimurenga—and the war fought between African nationalist guerrillas and the predominantly-white Rhodesian government during the 1960s and the 1970s, the Rhodesian Bush War, or the Second Chimurenga/Imvukela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pan-Africanism</span> Movement to encourage and strengthen bonds between people of African ancestry

Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement extends beyond continental Africans with a substantial support base among the African diaspora in the Americas and Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights</span> International human rights instrument

The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights is an international human rights instrument that is intended to promote and protect human rights and basic freedoms in the African continent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States of Africa</span> Political concept similar to the hypothesised United States of Europe

The United States of Africa is a concept of a federation of some or all of the 54 sovereign states and two disputed states on the continent of Africa. The concept takes its origin from Marcus Garvey's 1924 poem "Hail, United States of Africa".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casablanca Group</span>

The Casablanca Group, sometimes known as the 'Casablanca bloc', was a short-lived, informal association of African states with a shared vision of the future of Africa and of Pan-Africanism in the early 1960s. The group was composed of seven states led by left-wing leaders — Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea, Libya, Mali, and Morocco. The conflict and eventual compromise between the Casablanca Group and the Monrovia Group led to the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enlargement of the African Union</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of the African Union</span>

The African Union covers almost the entirety of continental Africa and several off-shore islands. Consequently, it is wildly diverse, including the world's largest hot desert, huge jungles and savannas, and the world's longest river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Nkobi</span>

Thomas Titus Nkobi was a senior leader of the South African African National Congress (ANC) and a key figure in the Anti-Apartheid movement. Until his death he was the Treasurer General of the ANC and also its Member of Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African Union</span> Continental union of African states

The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The bloc was founded on 26 May 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and launched on 9 July 2002 in Durban, South Africa. The intention of the AU was to replace the Organization 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.

Nathan Shamuyarira was a Zimbabwean nationalist who at different times fought on behalf of and helped lead FROLIZI, ZANU, and ZAPU. He later served as the Information Minister of Zimbabwe and as the Information Secretary of ZANU PF. He was writing President Robert Mugabe's biography at the time of his death.

Sydney Tigere Sekeramayi is a Zimbabwean politician who served in the government of Zimbabwe as Minister of Defence between 2013 and 2017. He has been a minister in the Cabinet since independence in 1980, serving as Minister of Defence from 2001 to 2009 and Minister of State Security from 2009 to 2013.

The African Union is a geo-political entity covering the entirety of the African continent. Its origin dates back to the First Congress of Independent African States, held in Accra, Ghana, from 15 to 22 April 1958. The conference aimed at forming the Africa Day to mark the liberation movement of the African people each year, such as to free themselves from foreign dictatorship and to unite Africa. The Organisation of African Unity (OAU), was subsequently established on 25 May 1963 followed by the African Economic Community in 1981. Critics argued that the OAU in particular did little to protect the rights and liberties of African citizens from their own political leaders, often dubbing it the "Dictators' Club".

Horace G. Campbell is an international peace and justice scholar and Professor of African American Studies and Political Science at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. Born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, he has been involved in Africa's liberation struggles and has campaigned for peace and justice globally for over four decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Member states of the African Union</span>

The member states of the African Union are the 55 sovereign states that have ratified or acceded to the Constitutive Act of the African Union to become member states to the African Union (AU). The AU was the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), and AU membership was open to all OAU member states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chairperson of the African Union</span> AUs ceremonial head

The Chairperson of the African Union is the ceremonial head of the African Union (AU) elected by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government for a one-year term. It rotates among the continent's five regions.

After Algeria defeated France in 1962 and achieved independence, the country became an important hub for revolutionary activities in the Third World.

During the Cold War period former Southeast European country of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia established and maintained significant political, cultural and economic exchanges and relations with newly independent African states. While majority of multilateral exchanges were organized via Non-Aligned Movement and the United Nations, significant cooperation developed with the Organisation of African Unity as well, predecessor to contemporary African Union. Yugoslavia was the only non-African country which participated in funding of the Liberation Committee of the Organisation of African Unity. While being a uniquely involved in the workings of the body the country nevertheless preferred bilateral relations with individual liberation movements. The Organisation of African Unity included the Non-Alignment principle in its charter while Yugoslavia consider the organisation to be the only legitimate representative for the entire African continent throughout the Cold War era. Yugoslavia therefore followed common OAU line in its own policies towards issues in Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African Union–Ethiopia relations</span> Bilateral relations

Ethiopia is one of founding African states of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on 25 May 1963 under Emperor Haile Selassie, headquartered in Addis Ababa. At the time the organization evolved up to 54 African states, except Morocco.

References

  1. ↑ Tutu, Bongiwe (25 May 2017). "10 Things to Know About Africa Day". Africa.com. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  2. ↑ "The History of Africa Liberation Day"; TheTalkingDrum.com; accessed May 2017
  3. 1 2 "African Liberation Day: A Celebration of Resistance". Pambazuka News. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  4. ↑ jonas (24 May 2012). "The History of Africa Day – 25 May". South African History Online. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  5. 1 2 "1963: African States Unite Against White Rule". BBC On This Day. 25 May 1963. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  6. ↑ Allison, Simon (26 May 2015). "Africa Day: Is the African Union worth celebrating?". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  7. ↑ "Africa Day 2021 | South African Government". www.gov.za. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  8. ↑ "Kakadu for Africa Day celebrations". The Nation. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "Africa Day 2015 Celebrated in New York". United Peace Federation. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  10. ↑ "Commemoration of Africa Day, May 25, 2023", African Union: https://au.int/en/announcements/20230509/commemoration-africa-day-may-25-2023

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.