Africa Day is intended to celebrate and acknowledge the successes of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU now the AU) from its creation in May 25, 1963 in the fight against colonialism and apartheid, as well as the progress that Africa has made, while reflecting upon the common challenges that the continent face in a global environment.
The organisation was transformed into the African Union on 9 July 2002 in Durban, South Africa, but the holiday continues to be celebrated on 25 May.
Consequence of change for African nations
The Africa Day continues to be celebrated both in Africa and around the world, mostly on May 25th since the sitting of the first conference in 1963.That was the start of Africa Day, at the time known as Africa Liberation Day. African Liberation Day was celebrated on 15 April and gained traction throughout Africa and the rest of the world.
A celebration of the diversity and a call to unity for the continent
The end of World War II saw exceeding efforts from Africans over the process of decolonisation of the African continent for more political rights and independence from colonial rule; thus, between 1945 and 1965, a significant number of African countries gained independence from European colonial powers, with Ghana becoming the first African country in the South of the Sahara gaining its independence on March 6, 1957, under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah. Ghana’s independence, therein, served as an inspiration to other African countries fighting against colonial rule, and Ghana played a central role in this objective.
During this period, only eight African countries had gained independence from colonialism, which meant only a few could attend. Those that did were Ghana, Morocco, Ethiopia, Sudan, Tunisia, Liberia and Libya. Cameroon and Algeria, although not free at the time, sent representatives to the conference.
This was the first ever conference in which Africa’s leadership convened to plot a away forward, free of dominance by the Europeans, and it is when the celebration of Africa Day, formerly known as Africa Liberation Day (ALD), was conceived.
Between 1959 and 1963, Africa Day was openly celebrated by Africans on and away from the continent. On May 25 1963, leaders from 32 African countries converged on Addis Ababa and formed the Organisation of African Unity. It was then agreed to move Africa Day from April 15 to May 25. That was the start of Africa Day, at the time known as Africa Liberation Day.
Africa Day 2020
The theme for Africa Day (Africa Liberation Day) 2020 is “Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development”, which undoubtedly is a worthy focus considering the degree to which national reconciliation and mutual cooperation between AU member-states is essential for qualitative growth and societal advancement. These guns to be silenced often have political and economic interests behind them that are at variance with the interests of the workers, farmers and youth making up the majority within Africa.
As Africa is on the march towards a more prosperous future in which all its citizens, young, old, male, female, rural, urban, of all creeds and backgrounds are empowered to realize their full potential, live with satisfaction and pride about their continent. A future with healthy, well educated people living in robust and developed economies. Indeed, this is a progressive march towards the “Africa we want” as envisioned in Agenda 2063.
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