Every year on 25 May, World Africa Day is celebrated. This date refers to the birth of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which became the African Union (AU) in 2002. On that day, the leaders of 30 of the 32 independent African states signed the organisation’s founding charter in the Ethiopian capital. Throughout the continent, numerous activities and ceremonies are organised. The aim is to bring African peoples closer together, strengthen their faith in integration and popularise the ideal of uniting the continent. Thus, the celebration of this day is a symbol of the struggle of the entire African continent for liberation, development and economic progress. This day is then constantly questions our individual and collective capacity to build the Africa then dreamed of by our founding fathers.
A date that is not well known to the general public. The day is not a holiday and there are hardly any events of this nature to really encourage the unity of African peoples. Even if our calendar is Gregorian or Muslim, let us make our own way in it. The Africa we want will benefit.
Furthermore, to mark this date, the African Union (AU) has symbolically decided to dedicate the year 2022 to “Building Nutritional Security Resilience on the African Continent: Strengthening Agri-Food, Health and Social Protection Systems to Accelerate Socio-Economic and Human Capital Development”.
By the way, the African Union, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, is meeting in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea for an extraordinary summit, which ends next Saturday. Health, climate, food and security crises are at the heart of the debate. Issues such as soaring food and oil prices, fighting terrorism in the Sahel, Mozambique and Somalia, and the political instability that has prevailed over the past two years with the resurgence of coups d’état in West Africa will be discussed during this celebration.
