Pan-Africanists gather in Accra to discuss strategies for continental unity

Pan-Africanists from all over the world will gather in Accra, the capital city of Ghana, from 8-13 December to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the first All-African People’s Conference (AAPC).

The event marks the 1958 congress, which also took place in Accra and that brought together freedom fighters from all over Africa, including independent and colonised states, to strategise on how to free the continent from colonial rule and unite its peoples. 

Convened by the government of Ghana under the presidency of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the 1958 AAPC, which took place from 8-13 December 1958, was attended by delegates from thirty-five countries, including such African leaders as Patrice Lumumba (Congo), Tom Mboya (Kenya), Felix Moumie (Cameroon), Julius Nyerere Tanganyika).

The founder and president of the Kwame Nkrumah Pan-African Centre, Samia Nkrumah (daughter of Dr Nkrumah), is one of the brains behind the Accra conference / Photo: Screenshot/IBW21st

 

Claiming the spirit of the conference, they continued their struggle and freed their respective parts of Africa. Two years later, eighteen African nations became independent in 1960.

Organised by the Kwame Nkrumah Pan-African Centre and the Pan-African Federalist Movement under the theme “Africa Must Unite-A Mission for Our Generation”, the 6-day 2018 AAPC is expected “to encourage the activist groups, scholars, cultural workers and practitioners to engage in open and dispassionate reflection on the African condition in the contemporary world”.

The founder and president of the Kwame Nkrumah Pan-African Centre, Samia Nkrumah (daughter of Dr Nkrumah), outlines the mission for this generation of Africans, namely “the political unification of Africa under one government, with one currency, one foreign policy and economic planning and a central military command”.

Participants at the conference will include heads of state, researchers, unionists, scholars, policy makers, political parties, youth and women activists, civil society organisations, journalists and individuals.

Moctar Kamara, chairman of the Central Council of African Associations in Germany (right), and Biram Dah Abeid, Mauritanian politician and famous advocate for the abolition of slavery. Kamara will lead the German delegation to the conference in Accra / Photo: Moctar Kamara on Facebook

 

Issues to be discussed are Neo-colonialism and Imperialism, Pan-Africanism today, The Peoples of Africa (Global African Family), Emancipation of Women, Global Warming and Reparation and Restorative Justice.

Activities marking the commemoration include an academic conference, offering opportunity for scholars and activists to share insights from research and practice, networking sessions and artistic performances that showcase the beauty, diversity and uniqueness of African cultures. The highlight of the entertainment programme is the African Unity Concert featuring Femi Kuti.

Femi Awoniyi

60th Anniversary of the All-African People’s Conference
8 – 13 December 2018
Bank of Ghana Auditorium, Economics Department,
University of Ghana
Accra, Ghana
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