Africa Day Explained

Holiday Name:Africa Day
Type:international
Longtype:International; cultural and historical
Observedby:Member states of the African Union
Significance:Anniversary of the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity
Date:25 May
Scheduling:same day each year
Duration:1 day
Frequency:annual
Relatedto: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.

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 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]

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 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."

The charter was signed by all attendees on 26 May, with the exception of Morocco. At that meeting, Africa Freedom Day was renamed Africa Liberation Day. 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 health care and, by doing so, accelerate Africa's transformation".[9] The slogan of the 2023 Africa Day celebration was "Our Africa Our Future".[10] The theme of 2024 Africa Day celebration is "Education Fit for the 21st Century".[11]

Sixth region and diaspora observances

Africa - Caribbean (CARICOM) Day

See also: Afro-Caribbean people. In 2021 the Republic of Kenya hosted the first joint African Union summit along with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region virtually.[12] To commemorate this event it was decided that September 7th,[13] [14] would be celebrated annually as Africa-CARICOM Day throughout the Caribbean to recognize and strengthen linkages between CARICOM and Africa.[15] [16] The first of August has been celebrated as African Emancipation Day throughout much of the British Empire from the Trans-Atlantic African Slave Trade[17] 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.

See also

Footnotes

References

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tutu . Bongiwe . 25 May 2017 . 10 Things to Know About Africa Day . 16 May 2019 . Africa.com . en-US.
  2. Web site: Africa Day To Be Celebrated On May 24 . 21 May 2024 . Yarde . Jennifer . Prime Minister's Office . www.gisbarbados.gov.bb . Government of Barbados . Government Information Service . Barbados . Press release . 17 October 2024 . 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. .
  3. http://www.thetalkingdrum.com/ald.html "The History of Africa Liberation Day"
  4. News: African Liberation Day: A Celebration of Resistance. 23 October 2016. Pambazuka News. 10 May 2012.
  5. Web site: The History of Africa Day – 25 May. jonas. 24 May 2012. South African History Online. en. 4 January 2019.
  6. News: Allison. Simon. Africa Day: Is the African Union worth celebrating?. 23 October 2016. Daily Maverick. 26 May 2015.
  7. Web site: Africa Day 2021 South African Government . 25 May 2022 . www.gov.za.
  8. News: Kakadu for Africa Day celebrations. 23 October 2016. The Nation. 12 October 2016.
  9. Web site: Africa Day 2015 Celebrated in New York. United Peace Federation. 23 October 2016. 27 May 2015.
  10. Web site: Commemoration of Africa Day, May 25, 2023 . African Union .
  11. Web site: Celebrating Africa Day with the Theme: Education Fit for the 21st Century . African Union . 25 May 2024.
  12. Web site: 2nd Anniversary of the Africa – CARICOM Day . Staff writer . 7 September 2023 . mfa.go.ke . Gov. of the Republic of Kenya . Ministry of Foreign & Diaspora Affairs . Press release . 29 September 2024 .
  13. Web site: Message from the P.J. Patterson Institute for Africa-Caribbean Advocacy - Africa-CARICOM Day . Patterson . Percival James . 6 September 2024 . www.caricom.org . Caribbean Community (CARICOM) . 10 October 2024 . 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. .
  14. Web site: Africa-CARICOM Day Celebrations Likely On September 7 . 7 March 2022 . Carrington . Julie . Prime Minister's Office . www.gisbarbados.gov.bb . Government of Barbados . Government Information Service . Barbados . Press release . 17 October 2024 . 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. .
  15. News: Brathwaite . Deidre . 7 September 2023 . Strengthening Bonds: Africa-CARICOM Day Celebrated on September 7 . Caribbean Export . 7 September 2023 . 10 October 2024 .
  16. News: writer . Staff . 7 September 2023 . September 7 is Africa-CARICOM Day: The UWI marks the celebration with hybrid public forum and cultural dress day . News and Events . Jamaica . University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus . 7 September 2023 . 10 October 2024 .
  17. News: Ghouralal . Darlisa . 18 April 2024 . African Emancipation Day: August 1 holiday renamed . Loop News . 18 April 2024 . 10 October 2024 .

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