African Liberation Day

African Liberation Day, African Freedom Day, or Africa Day on May 25 is an annual holiday celebrated in various countries in Africa, and around the world, coinciding with the formation of the OAU now known as African Union.

History

On 15 April 1958, in Accra, Ghana, African leaders and political activists gathered at the first Conference of Independent African States. In attendance were representatives of the governments of Egypt (then a constituent part of the United Arab Republic), Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, and the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon with the exception of the Republic of South Africa. This conference was significant in that it represented the first Pan-African conference to be held on African soil.^[1] The conference was also exceptional because it laid the basis for the subsequent meetings of Africa heads of state and government during the Casablanca Group and the Monrovia Group era until the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963.

The Conference called for the founding of African Freedom Day, a day to “mark each year the onward progress of the liberation movement, and to symbolize the determination of the People of Africa to free themselves from foreign domination and exploitation.”

Five years later, after the First Conference of Independent African States in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, another historic meeting occurred. On 25 May 1963, leaders of thirty-two independent African states met to form the Organization of African Unity (OAU). By then more than two-thirds of the continent had achieved independence, mostly from imperial European states. At this meeting, the date of Africa Freedom Day was changed from 15 April to 25 May, and Africa Freedom Day was declared African Liberation Day (ALD).

Limerick, Ireland, regularly hosts a festival for Africa Day.^[2] The 2014 festival was filled with several African artists.

See also

• Obama Day

African nations:

• Public holidays in Ethiopia
• Public holidays in Kenya
• Public holidays in Niger
• Public holidays in Sudan

References