Diaspora joins in Africa Day celebrations
THE time a person feels more African is when he or she is in the Diaspora. If there is a time one truly celebrates being African is when they are away from the African sunshine.
In the Diaspora, Africa Day is reduced to be an annual celebration of the people and cultures of this wonderful continent.
Africa Day in the eyes of Diaspora is an annual worldwide celebration of the people, cultures and potential of this wonderful continent.
In Africa, it is held on 25 May each year – Africa Day is a chance for people to come together and celebrate the diversity of Africa.
The English Department of Foreign Affairs ( DFA) organises a programme of events each year to mark Africa Day.
This year, the Diaspora will see its biggest ever Africa Day celebrations in Ireland, with 30 local authorities around the country hosting a variety of events in their communities.
The function will be done on the 29th of May 2023 in England and Republic of Ireland.
Africa Day commemorates the founding of the Organisation of African Unity ( OAU) on 25 May 1963.
It is a statutory public holiday in several countries such as The Gambia, Mali, Namibia Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Africa Day is an opportunity to remember that on 25 May in 1963, 32 African countries signed the Charter of the Organisation of African Unity, which later evolved into the African Union ( AU).
The charter called for greater unity among African countries and supported their independence from colonialism and apartheid, and promoted economic and political cooperation. It had a vision that all people on the continent would live freely and in prosperity.
The United Kingdom and Ireland share many links with the continent of Africa, and there is a deepening political, economic, cultural and development relations with African countries and Europe.
Several European governments increased allocation to international development aid to over € 1.2 billion. Europe’s support comprised life- saving humanitarian aid, development assistance, and support to partners working to build peace and address climate change in Africa.
Africa Day is also an opportunity to reflect on the progress made by the African Union in achieving its goals, especially with regard to protecting the human rights and freedoms of Africans.
The trade relationship between UK and Zimbabwe continues to strengthen.
Zimbabwe has showcased the significant potential for growth in mutually beneficial trade and investment between United Kingdom and Africa.
The history of Africa Day is well documented. On May 25 1963, leaders from 30 of the then 32 independent African states signed a founding charter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The OAU was created to help bring about change, freedom and independence to many African countries.
In 1991, the OAU established the African Economic Community, and in 2002 the OAU established its own successor, the African Union.
Since the establishment of the OAU, a further 21 states have joined. South Africa became the latest and 53rd member on May 23 1994.
Following the first conference of Independent African States on 15 April 1958, African Liberation Day or African Freedom Day was celebrated in Ethiopia, South Africa and Ghana.
This holiday was replaced by African Unity Day in Ghana in 1963.
Despite the name change to the African Union, both the name and date of Africa Day have been retained and Africa Day provides an opportunity to acknowledge the achievements of the people and governments of Africa.
Over 25 percent of the world’s languages are spoken only in Africa. Around 2 000 languages are in use in the continent.
Despite this linguistic diversity, every African country has English, Portuguese, French or Arabic as one of their official languages, except Ethiopia.
Europe colonised all of Africa except Ethiopia and Liberia. After those colonised gained their independence, they still kept the language of their coloniser as one of their official languages.
At the time, Liberia, having been founded by African- American settlers in 1847, already had English as its official language.
Ethiopia was not colonised, though it was briefly conquered by Italy ahead of the Second World War, and its official language is Amharic.
Africa Day signifies the unity and collective aspirations of African nations, their challenges and their shared determination to solve problems and unlock its potential.