WHAT: Celebration of the African Union (AU) Day observed every 9 September… This year, the African Union Commission (AUC) will celebrate the Day on 15 September 2018.

Meanwhile, the Message of the Chairperson of the AU Commission, H.E Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat for the African Union Day has been distributed and posted on the 9th of September 2018 on the AU website: www.au.int

WHEN: Saturday, 15 September 2018
The event will start at 8:30 am with sports activities followed by the speech of the AUC Chairperson, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat at 10:05 – 10:10 am at the Nelson Mandela Hall, New Conference Center, in the presence of H.E. Amb. Thomas Kwesi Quartey, Deputy Chairperson, the AU Commissioners, the staff of the AU Commission and invited guests.

WHERE: African Union Headquarters, Addis Ababa (Nelson Mandela Hall, NCC)

WHO: Organized by the African Union Commission (AUC),

Highlights for media will include:

Ø A welcome address by H.E. Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the Commission;
Ø African Fashion Show “Showcasing the beauty of Africa” ;
Ø Award of Trophies to the winners of the Basketball, Football, Volleyball/Running and Fun games
Ø The event will feature a high level debate and panel discussion on the AU Day theme: “African Union: Achievements, Challenges and Next Steps”.

WHY: The AU day will present an avenue to celebrate some landmark achievements of the Union on various issues such as peace and security, continental integration, women and youth empowerment, eradication of diseases, inter alia. The celebration will also be an opportune time to reflect on the Union’s transformation and achievements and also renew commitments to realize the Africa we want as embedded in Agenda 2063. The AU day will further be an opportune occasion to promote the visibility of the African Union and its activities all over the African continent, diaspora and the countries where AU has its representative offices as well as regional offices. The African Union Commission is therefore calling upon all Africans to commemorate and celebrate the African Union Day.

Objectives: The objectives of the African Union Day celebration includes:

- To Commemorate the African Union (AU) Day;

- Reflect on the progress made, challenges faced and possible solutions to these challenges;

- Promote African culture and respect for diversity through various African indigenous activities and

- Commemorate the milestones of the African Union (AU).

Expected Outcomes
- The successes of the African Union since 2002 reflected upon and celebrated;

- The African Union and its activities promoted and popularized in Member States ;

- The commitment of Member States through political will renewed.

Participants: Participants will include:
· AU Member States;
· AU Commission staff and their families ;
· RECs Liaison Offices;
· Friends of Africa, Non-African States and International Organizations accredited to AU;
· Civil society organizations accredited to AU

Background:

On 9th July 2002, 43 African leaders gathered in Durban, South Africa to launch the African Union (AU), a successor to the Organization of African Unity (OAU) created by the Sirte Declaration on 9.September 1999. The objective of the African Union is to unify the fifty-five (55) Member States and accelerate the process of continental integration to enable Africa play its rightful role in the global economy while addressing multifaceted social, economic and political problems within the continent. Since 2002, the African Union (AU) has witnessed substantial progress in various spheres of life and sectors.

Some of the flagship projects enshrined in the Continent’s blueprint which is Agenda 2063 have witnessed remarkable success as evidenced by the launch of the African Passport at the July 2016 Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, the Single African Air transport Market (SAATM) launched at the January 2018 Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) launched at the March 2018 Extraordinary Summit on AFCTA, all of which are intended to spur the economic integration agenda of the Continent. However, the celebration of the AU Day calls for further reflection, notably on the challenges impeding the continental integration and total eradication of poverty as well as pockets of conflict that still exist on our continent.

Journalists are invited to cover the event

The draft programme is attached:

For media enquires contact:
Mrs Esther Azaa Tankou | Head of Information Division, Directorate of Information and Communication, African Union Commission | Tel: +251(0) 911361185 | E-mail: yamboue@africa-union.org

For further information:
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@africa-union.org I Website: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia