Commemoration of Africa Day, 25 May 2026

Event

أيار/مايو 23, 2026 - 09:00 - أيار/مايو 25, 2026 - 23:45

MEDIA ADVISORY

COMMEMORATION OF AFRICA DAY, 25 MAY 2026

INVITATION FOR MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES

WHAT: The African Union will be celebrating its 63^rd anniversary marking the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) now the African Union (AU) -1963 – 2026.

Theme: “Sixty‑three (63) Years of Unity, Integration and Development, let's celebrate together"

WHEN: 23, 24 and 25 May 2026 starting from 10:00am

WHERE: The commemoration will be celebrated in at the African Union headquarters, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The programme will include:

Saturday 23–Sunday 24 May 2026

Sports activities (football, tennis, chess...), AU Departments stands, Cultural bazaar and family activities (entertainment, bouncing castles)

Monday 25 May 2026

Official Africa Day Ceremony, lunch, Raffle and Entertainment

Media opportunities:

Statements by: the Chairperson of the African Union, Representative of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Ethiopia, the President of the African Union Staff Association among others. The day will also be marked with:

Exhibition, entertainment and cultural showcases;
Media opportunities;
Group photo.

WHO: The Commemoration of the 63^rd anniversary of OAU-AU is organized by the African Union Commission through the AU Staff Association, in collaboration with AU Member States, AU Organs and Regional Economic Communities (RECs).

Participants:

The commemorative event on the 25^th of May 2026 will bring together, among others:

Representatives from AU Member State, the Permanent Representatives’ Committee (PRC); the African Union Commission, AU Organs and AU Specialized Agencies; Regional Economic Communities (RECs); Women and Youth representatives; Civil Society Organisations; Development Partners; UN Agencies; Diaspora community and media representatives.

Journalists are invited to be part of the commemoration and cover the event on Saturday, Sunday and Monday 25^th May 2026 starting from 10H00am at the AU Headquarters.

For media inquiries:

Mr. Molalet Tsedeke, Media Center Coordinator, Information and Communication Directorate; E-mail: Molalett@africanunion.org, WhatsApp: +251-911-630-631

Media Advisory

Event Documents

Media Advisory

Event References

Event Images

AUC

Ethiopia

Agenda 2063

Flagship Projects

Integrated High Speed Train Network

Connecting African capitals and commercial centers through a High-Speed Train Network; facilitating the movement of goods, factor services and people as well as reducing transport costs and relieving congestion of current and future systems through increased rail connectivity.

African Commodities Strategy

Transforming Africa from a raw materials supplier by enabling countries to add value, extract higher rents from commodities, integrate into global value chains promote diversification anchored in value addition and local content development.

African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

Accelerating intra-African trade and boosting Africa’s trading position in the global market by strengthening Africa’s common voice and policy space in global trade negotiations.

The African Passport & Free Movement of People

Removing restrictions on Africans’ ability to travel, work and live within their own continent by transforming restrictive laws and promoting visa free travel to enhance movement of all African citizens in all African countries.

Silencing the Guns by 2020

Ending all wars, civil conflicts, gender-based violence, violent conflicts and preventing genocide in the continent by 2020.

The Grand Inga Dam Project

Generating an estimated 43,200MW of power to support current regional power pools and their combined service to transform Africa from traditional to modern sources of energy and ensure access to clean and affordable electricity.

Single African Air-Transport Market

Promoting intra-regional connectivity between the capital cities of Africa by creating a single unified air transport market in Africa, as an impetus to the continent’s economic integration and growth agenda.

African Economic Forum

Multi-stakeholder meeting bringing together the Africa’s policy makers, private sector, academia and civil society to reflect on accelerating Africa’s socio- economic development and transformation by harnessing its vast resources.

African Financial Institutions

Accelerating integration and economic development through the establishment of organisations which will play a pivotal role in the mobilization of resources and management of the African financial sector.

The Pan African e-Network

Transforming Africa into an e-Society by implementing policies and strategies that lead to transformative e-applications and services in Africa such as broad band terrestrial infrastructure, cyber security and revolutionary bio and nanotechnology industries.

Africa Outer Space Strategy

Strengthening Africa’s use of outer space to bolster development in critical sectors such as agriculture, disaster management, remote sensing, climate forecast, banking and finance, defense and security.

African Virtual & e-University

Using ICT based programmes to increase access to tertiary and continuing education in Africa by reaching large numbers of students and professionals in multiple sites simultaneously.

Cyber Security

Incorporating emerging technologies in Africa’s development plans and ensuring these technologies are used for the benefit of African individuals, institutions and nation states by ensuring data protection and safety online.

Great African Museum

Preserving and promoting African cultural heritage by creating awareness of Africa’s vast, dynamic and diverse cultural artefacts and Africa’s continuing influence on world cultures in art, music, language, science, and so on.

Encyclopaedia Africana

Provide an authoritative resource on the authentic history of Africa and African life.

NOW

Event Documents

Event References

Event Images

Agenda 2063

Key Resources