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May 25, Africa Day 2012
Posted on May 24, 2012
People around the globe will be celebrating the 49th Africa Day on May 25. 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 signed a founding charter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In 1991, the OAU established the African Economic Community, and in 2002 the OAU established its own successor, the African Union. However, the name and date of Africa Day has been retained as a celebration of African unity. This years theme of Africa Day is "Africa and the Diaspora." In South Africa, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation is hosting the first Global African Diaspora summit, which will be attended by 64 heads of state in Sandton, Johannesburg. "Africa Day acknowledges the progress that we, as Africans, have made while reflecting upon the common challenges we face in a global environment," department spokesman Nelson Kgwete said.
