Message of DR. Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union Commission On the occasion of the celebration of Africa Day (25 may 2010)
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, May 25, 2010/African Press Organization (APO)/ –Message of DR. Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union Commission On the occasion of the celebration of Africa Day (25 may 2010)
Dear African Sisters and Brothers,
Friends and Partners of Africa,
Like every year, today 25 May 2010, we are celebrating Africa Day.
On this occasion, the African Union has chosen the theme “Building and
Sustaining Peace through Sports” to mark this year’s commemoration. A few
weeks to the kick off of the 19th edition of the Soccer World Cup which Africa will
be hosting for the first time in history, the choice of this theme gives full meaning
to the event, as it highlights our resolve to make all possible efforts in order to
fulfill the vision of Africa towards peaceful co-existence, integration, prosperity
and proactiveness on the global scene. It also echoes the decision taken in Tripoli
in August 2009, by our Heads of State and Government, to proclaim 2010 as the
Year of Peace and Security in Africa. It further marks a strong and symbolic
moment in the history of our continent, as it has brought to the lime light the
power of sports and its contribution to peace and social cohesion. The 1995
Rugby World Cup in South Africa that sealed the reconciliation in the rainbow
nation, which hitherto had been torn by decades of apartheid, is worthy of
remembrance. This feat was achieved thanks to the personal involvement of
President Nelson Mandela, a charismatic and visionary leader, who accomplished
a highly symbolic gesture during the competition by wearing the shirt of the
Springboks, considered by the Black community as the squad of the enemy. This
paved the way for an era of pardon and allayed the fears of the Afrikaans
community. Sports have thus become a symbol of unity, national reconciliation, a
means by which a nation communes in fervour beyond all its cleavages, through
« a sacred union » with its national team. President Mandela once said that
football like rugby, cricket and other team sports has the power to heal old
wounds. This is a legacy that our continent like the South African people as a
whole, can be proud of and, above all, draw lessons from.
History is full of examples which illustrate that sports can contribute to the
achievement of peace and development goals through the surrounding media
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hype and, symbolic acts. The football encounter between Armenia and Turkey
that led to the resumption of diplomatic ties between the two countries is one
such example. Sports also has the unparallel potential of mobilization in a
globalized world; and its capacity to attract and affect the masses and keep the
attention of young generations, make it a formidable tool of training, education,
awareness-raising, promotion of values of tolerance, fairplay, courage, good
conduct, rigor, courage, perseverance, effort, humility in victory, self-control in
defeat and respect for the opponent. By presenting sport as a powerful
instrument for peace promotion, we would like to reassert our faith in the values
inherent to sports which are consonant with universal values and our shared
African values. We would like to demonstrate our will to further centre our
actions on improving humankind and its values, through activities which are
fulfilling like sports, exchanges and competition, in a bid to effectively speed up
peace in our societies, amongst our States and with the rest of the world.
In a Continent that continues to be the unfortunate ground for conflict despite
the operationalisation of most of our instruments and unrelenting efforts; in a
region that has the largest number of refugees and internally displaced persons
and where a number of post-conflict reconstruction processes are on-going,
sports is an essential tool which, on the one hand, can foster links and ties
between communities that have been divided by conflict, and on the hand,
improve the relationships between peace keeping missions and civilian
populations. It is against this backdrop, for example, that the United Nations
Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) organised tournaments such as the African
Championship of Nations (CHAN) in collaboration with the Confederation of
African Football (CAF), a unique event in the history of peace-keeping missions,
the first edition of which took place in Cote d’Ivoire, a country emerging from
crisis. Sports therefore can contribute to restoring peace which is vital for
elections.
Peace is not just simply the absence of war; peace is also synonymous with
development. Our Continent has enormous untapped potential, underscoring the
need to promote values of solidarity to guarantee it a better future. Sports that by
nature have unifying characteristics involving participation and developing the
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phenomena of inclusion and citizenry, can significantly contribute to achieving
our Continent’s development.
On my part, in light of the new context of globalization of which Africa is part and
parcel and an actor, and in considering that 2010 is, the year in which many
African States are celebrating their fiftieth anniversary of independence, I am
confident that efforts to concretise this dream of an independent, united,
prosperous and peaceful Africa nurtured by the Founding Fathers will bear fruit.
As the Olympic motto suggests, we should not set limits to our collective
undertaking to firmly establish our Continent’s sustainable development. Let us
remain ambitious and highly performing champions so that together we can
ensure the future and Peace of the Continent. Citius, Altius, Fortius! Swifter,
Higher, Stronger! United we remain for a winning Africa!
I wish you all a happy Africa Day!
SOURCE
African Union Commission (AUC)
