African Day, also known as African Liberation Day is the day where Africans across the world celebrate the hard-fought freedom from colonial powers. On 25 May 1963, representatives of thirty African nations met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, hosted by Emperor Haile Selassie. By then more than two-third of the continent had achieved independence, mostly from imperial European states. At this meeting, the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was founded, with the initial aim to encourage the decolonisation of Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Namibia, and Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). The organisation pledged to support the work conducted by freedom fighters, and remove military access to colonial nations. A charter was set out which sought to improve the living standards across member states. Emperor Selassie exclaimed, “May this convention of union last 1,000 years. Africa Day continues to be celebrated both in Africa and around the world, mostly on 25 May.
In 2021 African communities across the world decided to come together to celebrate and commemorate African day on Clubhouse (CH) – an audio based social media platform. A 24 hours commemoration marathon will be hosted in the “African Day House” on CH. The event will bring together Africans residing on the continent and Africans in the rest of the world. Commemorations will feature different themes – divided per region. The Namibia House Club community will coordinate the “Youth in Development, Economic Advances, Arts, and Culture in Africa” session.
The “Resilience of African Women” also titled “The shoulders we stand on” is designed to be a creative and informative session celebrating the lives and contribution of African/Tanzanian women across history. The session will also infuse art, aim to represent diverse voices and share untold stories.