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Africa Day 2025 Speech by Dr Rita Bissoonauth, Director, UNESCO Representative to AU, ECA and Ethiopia

Africa Day 2025 Speech by Dr Rita Bissoonauth, Director, UNESCO Representative to AU, ECA and Ethiopia

May 24, 2025

Your Excellency, João Goncalves Lourenço, President of the Republic of Angola and Chairperson of the African Union,
Your Excellency Taye Atske Selassie, President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia,
Your Excellency John Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana and African Union Champion on Advanving the Cause of Justice and Payment of Reparations to Africans,
Your Excellency Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission,
Your Excellency Youssouf Assoumani, Ambassador of Comoros and Dean of the African Diplomatic Corps in Ethiopia,
Your Excellency Martin Kimani, Chairperson of the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent,
Mr Thiam Nouhou, President of the AU Staff Association,
Excellencies, All Protocols observed,

Je tiens à exprimer, au nom de l’UNESCO, notre profonde reconnaissance pour cette invitation à participer à la commémoration de la Journée de l’Afrique 2025, qui célèbre l’unité, la résilience et la dignité des peuples africains et de leurs descendants. Le thème retenu cette année « Justice… » entre en résonance directe avec les priorités stratégiques de notre organisation et est au cœur des combats historiques de l’UNESCO.

Depuis plus de 75 ans, l’UNESCO agit comme une force intellectuelle, éducative et culturelle pour réparer les fractures de l’histoire et promouvoir un monde fondé sur la vérité, la reconnaissance et la justice.

À l’UNESCO, nous croyons que la justice réparatrice commence par la connaissance de l’Histoire, par la dignité retrouvée et par la souveraineté culturelle des peuples africains. C’est pourquoi nous avons, depuis plusieurs décennies, accompagné l’Afrique dans ses combats intellectuels, politiques et même spirituels.

C’est dans cet esprit que l’UNESCO a lancé l’ambitieux projet de l’Histoire Générale de l’Afrique, un chantier intellectuel majeur qui restitue la voix des Africains dans l’écriture de leur propre histoire. Ce projet, unique en son genre, est un outil fondamental de justice cognitive, qui déconstruit les récits coloniaux et restaure la vérité sur les civilisations africaines.

Nous avons aussi, depuis 2019, lancé avec l’Angola, la Commission de l’Union Africaine et d’autres partenaires, la Biennale de Luanda, qui fait vivre la culture de la paix comme fondement de la justice sociale à travers l’art, l’éducation, la culture et notre jeunesse. Et avec La Route des personnes mises en esclavage, nous œuvrons pour que la mémoire des résistances ne soit jamais effacée.

Mais nous savons que cela ne suffit pas : le combat pour la justice exige des alliances stratégiques, une vision partagée, et une mobilisation de tous les fronts : intellectuel, politique, culturel.

Excellencies,
This year’s theme is not just timely, it is urgent. Justice through reparations is not about the past. It is about the future. It is about dignity. It is about sovereignty. UNESCO stands with the African Union to say : the time has come to match words with will. Reparative justice means rewriting the historical narrative, empowering African Youth and reclaiming ownership of African memory and identity.
Justice and reparations cannnot be achieved by one institution alone. That is why the relationship between the African Union and UNESCO is more vital today than ever.

As we commemorate Africa Day under the banner of reparative justice, UNESCO reaffirms it’s commitment to walk this path with the African Union – not as a partner of circumstance but as a partner of principle.

I am proud to announce, in this spirit, that before the end of the year, UNESCO will convene a high-level roundtable on the theme : « Reparations, Memory and Sovereignty : African Liberation Movements and the Relevance of Pan-Africanism Today ». This will not be a symbolic event but a space for policy dialogue, inter generational learning, and concrete proposals for action.

Allow me to conclude with the words of Thomas Sankara, a visionary leader whose message remains more relevant than ever : « You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness. It takes the courage to invent the future. »

Let us invent that future together !

Happy Africa Day.

Thank you, Asanti Sana Merci, Shukran, Gracias, Muito Obrigado.

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