Africa Day is the annual commemoration on May 25 of the 1963 founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). On this day, leaders of 30 of the 32 independent African states, at the time, signed a founding charter of the OAU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In 2002 the OAU established its own successor, the African Union (AU).

However, the name and date of Africa Day have been retained as a celebration of African unity. Africa Day is celebrated in various countries on the African continent and by African diaspora communities.

Africa Day is intended to celebrate and acknowledge the successes of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU now the AU) from its creation in May 25, 1963 in the fight against colonialism and apartheid, as well as the progress that Africa has made, while reflecting upon the common challenges that the continent face in a global environment.

The African Union theme for 2021 is ‘“The Arts, Culture And Heritage: Levers for Building the Africa We Want.” In commemorating Africa Day this year, as the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD, we will therefore focus on showcasing efforts by the continent’s youths towards building the Africa we want in arts, culture, heritage, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Same as last year, the commemoration of Africa Day in 2021 comes at a rather difficult time with challenges posed by COVID-19. The messaging around this event will therefore focus on the need to find and amplify innovative solutions that are aimed at addressing challenges on the continent.

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE AFRICA DAY CELEBRATION

The purpose of commemorating Africa Day with the youths is to serve as a platform for showcasing Africa’s talent through the arts, culture, heritage, innovation and entrepreneurship, while at the same time making available the space for networking among the youths and invited stakeholders.

The objectives of the virtual event on Africa Day are as follows:

• Currently, there are about 600 million young people in Africa that are not employed, are uneducated or are in insecure employment. The event will therefore illuminate the need to invest in social and economic development, and especially entrepreneurship in order to meet high demand for employment.

• The commemoration on Africa Day in 2020 finds us in the time of COVID-19.  While this is a challenging time not only for the African continent but for people worldwide, the event will seek to promote African youth’s resilience and active participation in finding and implementing solutions towards the continent’s development.

• To create an appreciation of the innovations in Africa that seek to address the various challenges on the continent and that also have the potential to provide solutions towards Africa’s transformation.

• To identify innovations and young entrepreneurs whose work can contribute towards the AUDA-NEPAD’s programmatic interventions and be potentially showcased further at various regional or continental forums and platforms.