History of Global Africa Day
In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on May 25, 1963, the leaders of 30 of Africa’s 32 sovereign republics signed a founding charter. The O.A.U. was established to assist numerous African countries in achieving transformation, freedom, and independence. The African Economic Community was founded by the O.A.U. in 1991, and the African Union was established by the O.A.U. in 2002. A total of 21 countries have joined the O.A.U. since its inception.
On May 23, 1994, South Africa joined as the 53rd member. African Liberation Day or African Freedom Day was observed in Ethiopia, South Africa, and Ghana on April 15, 1958, following the first Conference of Independent African States. In Ghana, African Unity Day replaced this holiday in 1963. Despite being renamed the African Union, the name and date of Africa Day have been preserved, and Africa Day serves as an opportunity to honor Africa’s people and governments. Africa has a wide range of languages. Except for Ethiopia, every African country has one of the following official languages — English, Portuguese, French, or Arabic.
Apart from Ethiopia and Liberia, Europe colonized every country in Africa. After the colonized obtained independence, one of their official languages remained the colonizers. Liberia had previously adopted English as its official language after being founded by African-American settlers in 1847. Ethiopia was never colonized, despite being briefly occupied by Italy before WWII
