Promoting Africa’s growth and economic development by championing citizen inclusion and increased cooperation and integration of African states.
Promoting Africa’s growth and economic development by championing citizen inclusion and increased cooperation and integration of African states.
Agenda 2063 is the blueprint and master plan for transforming Africa into the global powerhouse of the future. It is the strategic framework for delivering on Africa’s goal for inclusive and sustainable development and is a concrete manifestation of the pan-African drive for unity, self-determination, freedom, progress and collective prosperity pursued under Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance.
H.E President William Samoei Ruto (PhD), President of the Republic of Kenya and the African Union Champion on Institutional Reform. H.E. Ruto was appointed during the 37th Assembly of Heads of State and Government in February 2024 to champion the AU Institutional Reform process taking over from the H.E Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda who led the implementation of the reform process since 2016.
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Closing Remarks by The Commissioner of Trade and Industry on the Occasion of the Pan African Business Conference in Addis Ababa on the 24th May 2013
Statement by H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission
On the Occasion of the Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Organization of African Unity and the Debate of the Assembly on Pan Africanism and the African Renaissance
Addis Ababa, 25 May 2013, AUC Main Hall
Your Excellency Hailemariam Dessalegn, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Chairperson of the African Union,
Your Excellencies Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the African Union,
Your Excellencies former African Heads of State and Government,
Your Excellencies Members of the Executive Council of the African Union,
Your Excellencies former Secretaries-General of the Organization of African Unity and Dear Brothers,
Your Excellency Vuk Jeremic, President of the General Assembly of the United Nations,
Your Excellency Ban-Ki moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Your Excellencies Heads of African Regional Economic Communities
Your Excellencies Heads of AU Specialized Organs and International Agencies,
Members of the Permanent Representatives Committee of the African Union,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Distinguished Guests,
Fellow Africans on the motherland and in the Diaspora,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to warmly welcome Your Excellencies and all present to the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), and African Union and to this very critical debate on Pan Africanism and African Renaissance.
We committed ourselves to honour this historic commemoration, by having celebrations that are memorable, global, people-centered and will leave a lasting legacy. Part of that legacy is to reclaim the African narrative - the narrative of our past, present and future - and to tell our own stories.
Your Excellencies, Esteemed Guests, Fellow Africans
The Founders of the OAU followed in the footsteps of sisters and brothers, stolen and sold from African shores and through struggles, broke the shackles of slavery. They followed in the footsteps of our people from across Africa - North to South, East, West and Central that resisted colonialism and subjugation. They followed the declaration of independence of the first Black Republic of Haiti, more than two hundred years ago. Pan Africanism united and inspired our people across the continent and globe, never to accept oppression.
There are few narratives that more evocatively captures Africa’s past, as the extract from Ben Okri’s Infinite Riches:
It was indeed a splendid road. It had been built by the natives, supervised by the Governor-General. He dreamt that on this beautiful road all Africa’s wealth, its gold and diamonds and diverse mineral resources, its food, its energies, its labours, its intelligence would be transported to his land, to enrich the lives of his people across the green ocean.
Deep in his happy sleep the Governor-General dreamt of taking the Golden Stool of the Ashante king, the thinking masks of Bamako, the storytelling rocks of Zimbabwe, the symphonic Victoria Falls, the shapely tusks of Luo elephants, the slumbering trees of immemorial forests, the languorous river Niger, the enduring pyramids of the Nile, all the deltas rich with oil, the mountains rifted with metals apocalyptic, the mines shimmering with gold, the ancestral hills of Kilimanjaro, the lexicon of African rituals, the uncharted hinterland of Africa’s unconquerable spirits.
He dreamt of taking Africa’s timber-like men, their pomegranate women, their fertile sculptures, their plaintive songs, their spirit-worlds, their forest animals, their sorceries, their myths and their strong dances.
He dreamt that the natives would transport all these resources tangible and intangible, on their heads, or on litters, walking on the great road, in an orderly single file, across the Atlantic Ocean, for three thousand miles.
He dreamt of having all these riches transported to his land.
Some of them would be locked up in air-conditioned basements, for the benefit of Africa, because Africans did not know how to make the best use of them, and because his people could protect them better. He dreamt of having them in the basement of a great museum, to be studied, and to aid, in some obscure way, the progress of the human race.
He dreamt of the great road on which all the fruits and riches of African lives would be directed towards sweetening the sleep of his good land.
He did not dream of the hunger he would leave behind.
Pan Africanism and the dream of Africa’s renaissance were in direct opposition to the dream represented by the Governor-General. It was these contending dreams of the Founders of Pan Africanism of freedom, liberation, solidarity, self-determination and independence that united and help to defeat slavery, colonialism and apartheid.
Your Excellencies,
Today, as we debate Pan Africanism, fifty years after the OAU was formed, we have to ask some tough questions about our dream for Africa for the next fifty years and the Pan Africanist values that continue to inspire us.
In the Jubilee book that we distributed today, we have the speeches of the OAU Founders of 1963, and statements from Your Excellencies, our Heads of Government and States in 2013 on how you see Africa’s past, present and future.
Many of the themes we are concerned with today also occupied the OAU Founders in 1963.
Firstly, the Founders swore their solidarity when they vowed that all of Africa shall be free, recognizing that they cannot be free when their brothers and sisters were still under the yoke of colonialism and apartheid. They therefore in word and deed, through support to the liberation movements and by advocating in international forums, fought for the total liberation of all Africans.
Today, there is an impression that solidarity is a thing of the past. And yet in Somalia, when not so long ago the world gave up as a hopeless cause, it was African sons and daughters who fought and laid down their lives to create peace and keep the peace, placing it onto the road to recover. This is but one example in our recent history.
There is no greater example of solidarity than in the sacrifices of African peacekeepers across the continent, and at some point in the near future we must build a memorial in honour of those who lost their lives from all over the continent. When we therefore talk about African solutions to African problems, it is because we know that we can only permanently silence the guns, if we act in solidarity and in unity.
Secondly, we have with some notable exceptions, largely achieved self-determination. However, the self-reliance and economic independence that our Founders spoke of remain elusive, and social inequalities are on the rise. The Pan African commitment to independence and self-reliance remains important today – as we seek to integrate, to expand and modernize our infrastructure, to industrialise, to develop our human capital and our agriculture.
Thirdly, we must accelerate our integration. “It appears obvious”, one of the Founders said, “that the irresistible pressure of technology must lead to the constitution of economically powerful geographical blocks…we have the choice of participation in the modern world as a solidly constructed group… or standing aside from the main economic stream.”
We must therefore act with greater speed and a sense of urgency to create Free Trade Areas and towards an African Common Market, create the five regions as building blocks of the Union, and facilitate the free movement of peoples and goods.
Fourthly, our greatest resource is our people, especially our young population, whose energy, creativity and courage must drive Africa’s renaissance. Investment in their education and training and more generally in science, technology, research and innovation therefor remain critical to drive Africa’s modernization and development in all spheres. In this regard, the role of African business, entrepreneurs and professionals must be strengthened, so that they too contribute to the Pan African vision. Our women must be empowered as a critical ingredient to the continental development.
Finally, to quote yet another of our Founders “…never before has unity of action been more desirable and urgent; never before have nations faced such a challenging and splendid opportunity for concerted action.”
We must therefore renew the vision of Pan Africanism and the ideal of Renaissance to extricate ourselves from cynicism and fatalism. Africa must build confidence in itself, in its ability and obligation to be drivers of its destiny.
The people of any civilization are its greatest resource, and if the collective mindset is attuned towards self-belief, solidarity and self-reliance, then that civilization will triumph against all odds.
These, Your Excellencies, are but some of our thoughts and we look forward to the debate and conversations.
Bonne fête à tout le monde.
I thank you
Seminar on the theme "Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance”
Statement by Carlos Lopes, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ECA
25 May 2013, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Excellencies
The twenty-fifth of May 1963 was a truly momentous day in Africa. It certainly marked the establishment of the Organization of African Unity but there is much more than symbolism to this date.
It was the culmination of over a century of pan-Africanist struggle to assert the dignity of the African peoples. It showcased the desire of unity by the African people and their desire to overcome the balkanization of the continent. It was a repudiation of negative stereotypes and racialist interpretations of African history. Indeed, it underscored the common commitment of Africans to achieve freedom and end decolonization and apartheid on the African continent. The establishment of the OAU was about Africans taking pride in the continent.
It is accordingly quite in order to mark 25 May as a special day on the continent. A golden jubilee is nevertheless a very special milestone. This is attested to by the high turnout of African Heads of Sate and Government at this occasion. It is also attested to by the presence of Heads of State and Government from all parts of the world. Indeed, the Secretary-General of the United Nations who came for the January Summit is also here with us today.
The special nature of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the OAU is also borne out by the extensive number of activities and events to mark the occasion. African intellectuals have deliberated on the true importance of the theme of the celebrations. Yesterday, we had an intergenerational dialogue with children and youth. Our women have marked the occasion just as our workers, business community, artists and faith based groups have mobilized themselves in celebration.
Today, is however only the beginning of a year-long celebration of the African Renaissance. The purpose of this celebration goes beyond the sheer joy of achieving a major milestone. We are acknowledging the contribution of the African Diaspora to the framing of pan-Africanist ideals. We are commemorating the achievement of the key objectives of our founding fathers, including freedom, decolonization and the end of racial domination. We are celebrating Africa’s heroes and heroines who articulated pan-Africanist ideals, led the struggle for independence and where the need arose became focused and unwavering liberation fighters. We are, of course, also marking the economic and social progress that Africa has made since 1963, in spite of all the odds. We are indeed underscoring the transformation of the OAU to the African Union at the turn of the century.
Yet, we must be the first to admit that there is still a lot more to be done. African integration remains incomplete. Development challenges still abound. Peace and security are still very much scarce commodities in parts of the continent. The narrative about Africa is still very much generated from outside. There is need to frame a common vision and roadmap. This is the meaning of an African Renaissance. This, of course, is also what the African Vision 2063 project is about.
However, my role this morning is to use this occasion to elicit reflections from our Panelists and Leaders alike on the achievements and challenges of the past fifty years. It is also an opportunity for us all to assess where Africa stands today especially in the context of mega-trends such as the emergence of new economic powers; recession in the developed world; urbanization, changing demographics; climate change; digitalization and changing security threats. I also hope that taking all these factors into consideration, we shall benefit from some insights into the contents of a vision for Africa’s peace and prosperity over the next fifty years.
Mesdames et Messieurs les Chefs d’État et de Gouvernement,
Voici une chance unique de faire aussi la différence en termes de format de notre dialogue. Je vous invite comme a bien dit feu le sage Amadou Hampaté Ba a atteindre un bout commun en empruntent des voies différentes. Je vous propose que les interventions soient reparties en quatre domaines principaux: 1) la meilleur utilisation des opportunités économiques, 2) le besoin d’avoir des stratégies pour l’avenir du continent, 3) les défis de la gouvernance et le besoin de changer le discours sur l’Afrique, et 4) les questions d’inclusion. On est pas loin des thèmes habituelles du Mécanisme Africain de Révision par les Pairs ou de la Proclamation en train d’être discuté au sein de l’Union Africaine. Le moment venu on ouvrira les inscriptions et je compte sur votre choix sur un de les quatre grands piliers.
Excellences j’ai vu une fois le Président Obasanjo couper la parole a un collègue. Il l’a fait avec sa joie habituelle et l’intervenant a sourit. Je ne suis pas sûre que j’aurais la même chance si j’osais le même défi, car je n’ai pas son âge ni sa sagesse et j’ai envie de m’approcher de l’horizon 2063 autant que possible. C’est la raison pour laquelle je me sens conforté par l’aide de la technologie qui limite le temps de parole à trois minutes, après quoi je vous assure que ce n’est pas moi mais une autorité suprême électronique qui coupera le son. Je dis bien le son, car on ne peut pas vous couper la parole, Excellences. Vous symbolisez la parole africaine, avec ou sans technologie. Ceci dit avec cette aide nous aurons le temps d’écouter toutes les voix.
Excellencies, Ladies and gentleman,
As the famous Ghanaian writer Ai Kwey Armah said «The time has come for us to pause for breath. It is not that our remembrance fatigues us, no.
This is no halt brought on by the tiredness of flesh or any weakening of our minds.
In our remembrance this is no stagnant stop but a necessary part of our memory’s flow in the telling of the way.
For this time that has come, it is a time to be filled not with hallow sounds loud with emptiness.
We have reached the time when we must speak of consciousness”
Let me now introduce members of the Panel, who are:
Dr. Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank
(Mega Trends)
Mr. P.J. Patterson, former Prime Minister of Jamaica
(Diaspora)
Dr. Amina Mama, a Nigerian writer, gender expert and academic
(Diversity/Govern ourselves/Conflict)
Tendai Wenyika, Secretary General of the Pan African Youth Union
(Future is Youth)
Opening Speech Mrs. Habiba Mejri Cheikh, Director Information and Communication during African Journalists and Editors Training, 18 May 2013
Speech delivered by H.E Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ethiopia at the 23rd Ordinary Session of the Executive Council, 22 May 2013
Statement by Carlos Lopes, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ECA at the 23rd Ordinary Session of the Executive Council, 22 May 2013
Welcome Remarks by HE Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission to the Opening session of the 26th Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC), 19 May 2013
Opening Remarks by H.E Ambassador Konjit Sinegiorgis, Chair of the Permanent Representatives' Committee, 19 May 2013
