As Africa marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the African Union (AU), formerly Organisation of African Unity (OAU), African media houses have been urged to seize the opportunity to raise awareness around the Pan African ideals of the OAU Founding Members.
The call was made in a media advisory issued by the African Union Commission (AUC) through its Information and Communication Directorate (ICD). The slogan for this year’s celebration is “Our Africa Our Future”.
It also urged the media to “educate the population on the history of Africa, while shaping the narrative and journey of the continent towards achieving its socio-economic and political development for “ The Africa We Want”.
Created in 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) now the African Union (AU), has always celebrated the “Africa Day” on 25 of May, in recognition of the vision and milestone achieved towards “An Integrated, Prosperous and Peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.”
“This, in remembrance of its founding members, whose dream was to strive for a united Africa, at peace with itself, and representing a dynamic force in the world arena and more especially, the fight against colonialism. Eventually most African countries achieved independence in the 50s through the 60s and later in the 90s with the fight against Apartheid,” the advisory noted.
It added that the media has an important role to play in shaping the narrative about Africa rising and occupying its rightful position as a key player on the international scene.
