Press Release

Akosombo, Ghana -27th October 2016. The Citizens and Diaspora Directorate of the African Union Commission (CIDO), in partnership with the Encyclopaedia Africana Project Secretariat in Accra, Ghana, have completed a technical workshop aimed at revitalizing the implementation of the Encyclopaedia Africana within the framework of the First 10-years Implementation Plan of the AU Agenda 2063.

Initiated by the first president of the republic of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah together with eminent Africa Diaspora scholar Dr. W.E.B Dubois, the Encyclopaedia was designed to document the authentic history of Africa and African life with particular focus on the history, culture and contribution of African people throughout the world.

While the project has succesfully published three volumes of the Encyclopaedia Africana, the pace of implementation of the project slowed over the last few decades until it designation as one of the key continental objectives of AU Agenda 2063.

With a view to ensuring the successful completion of the Encyclopaedia Africana Project by 2023 in line with the targeted timeline of Agenda 2063, the Citizens and Diaspora Directorate (CIDO) and the Encyclopaedia Africana Project Secretariat convened a two day technical workshop to establish a road map for expedited project completion within the framework of the first 10-Year Implementation Plan of the Agenda 2063.

The technical workshop brought together technical staff from the AU Commission and the Encyclopaedia Africana Secretariat in Accra Ghana together with senior officials from the Government of Ghana, scholars and leaders from the African Diaspora, as well as academics from various scientific institutions including the association of African Universities, the Pan-African Writers Association, and the University of Ghana.

The meeting established a framework for expediting action towards the successful implementation of the project in line with the Agenda 2063. The workshop further developed a number of critical recommendations to guide the next steps of the project implementation, including the adoption of a new governance structure for the EAP secretariat; the identification and pursuit of alternative funding strategies for the project; investment in project communications and branding; and more structured integration of scholars and scientist from the African Diaspora.

However the most important outcome of the technical consultation was the development of an action plan to re-position the Encyclopaedia Africana Project within the African Union framework; with particular regard to it inclusion in the list of AU Agenda 2063 Flagship Project and its submission to a Specialized Technical Committee (STC). The workshop concluded with the establishment of an ad hoc working group under the guidance of CIDO to work towards the full implementation of the outcome decisions.

End

For more information, please contact:
Mr. Ernest Kaliza; EKaliza@africa-union.org
cido@africa-union.org

For further information.

Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I

E-mail: DIC@africanunion.org I Website: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia
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