Fwd: [African Citizens] Note on Training on “Understanding the African Union’’ 7 – 9 April 2010, Kampala, Uganda

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: CCP - African Union <aucitizens@yahoo.com>
Date: 2010/4/12
Subject: [African Citizens] Note on Training on "Understanding the African Union'' 7 – 9 April 2010, Kampala, Uganda
To: africancitizens@yahoogroups.com

 

Training on "Understanding the African Union''

7 – 9 April 2010, Kampala, Uganda

On 7-9 April 2010, fifty participants from all the five geographical region of Africa attended the training on "Understanding the AU", organised by the African Union Commission in collaboration with the Pan African Movement and Oxfam International in Kampala, Uganda.

Within the different sessions, panelists drawn from the African Union Commission (Cabinet of the Chairperson, Legal Department, CIDO), ECOSOC, Oxfam International, Save The Children and the Darfur Consortium made presentations on the following issues:

 

•      Origin, growth and development of the AU system-its issues, problems and challenges

•      AU policy and decision making processes

•      Overview of the AUC- its internal reforms, vision, mission, mandate and strategic plan

•      About the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) of the AU

•      Strengthening popular participation-Guide to AU Structures and Processes and CSOs Entry Points

•      Accreditation for the Biannual Ordinary Summits and Pre-Summit

•      Advancing CSOs agenda within the AU, challenges and opportunities

 

National media widely covered the training and Certificate of participation co-signed by the AU Commission, Oxfam and the Pan Africa Movement was given to each participant.

 

It was agreed that this training would be systematically held biannually every year whereby one would be an all encompassing training on the AU structures and processes while the other would focus on a specific organ of the AU. In addition, it was also decided that a special session on the ongoing integration process will be organised.

 

Furthermore, Fahamu/AU Monitor has been commissioned to lead on the designing and the drafting of a training Manual to be used for further trainings. Also, participants from Burundi, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi and Nigeria, have expressed their interest in organising national activities to sensitise their respective countries and spread their knowledge of the AU and to that effect have invited organisers to support them in their endeavours. 

 

 

Happy Birthday, Ghana! Long live Nkrumah! (An Ode to Pan-African-ism)

It is always difficult to talk about Ghana's March 6 independence day without talking about Dr.Kwame Nkrumah--quintessential Pan-Africanist. I cannot wait to see what the African Union has in store to commemorate his birthday.

Even before then, I am keen to see how minds will be sensitized the necessity of whipping up support for Pan-Africanism. Many of my contemporaries who have had the opportunity to travel outside Ghana and the continent and come back regrettably are hooked onto the capitalist ideology of free-markets. So imbued are they to that and the concept of foreign investment that I suspect the mere mention of Pan-Africanism is sufficient to send most of them to a catatonic state.

But let me be more clear about my point: the AFrican Union, in my humble view, would have to be invented did Nkrumah not invest energies into it. Despite how far it has come--to the extent that we can now talk of a "Peace and Security Architecture" or APSA (http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/acp/regional-cooperation/peace/capacity_building/apsa_en.htm)--I sincerely believe that the communication of it remains so execrable that most Africans are unable to appreciate the quality of the experience known as the AU experience.

Not to mention how the youth have been excluded from participating in discussions and events that seek to promote, and reduce the level of abstraction that issues on the AU seems to hover around.

An understanding of the AU will never happen quickly without interested Pan-Africanists choosing to make more noise than necessary about where the AU is and where it's going!

How Quickly one Forgets Libya's Instrumentality in the AU!!

PANAF NewsAlerts 008


Editor’s Note


The 14th Summit draw much World attention, thanks in particular to Maummar al-Ghaddafi. His rebuke of the African Union should also command your awareness. While we’re at it, let’s also thank him for spearheading the creation of the AU itself. How quickly we forget Sirte, indeed his birthplace. The Sirte Declaration paved the way for the AU to be realized, and something of substance, far removed from the talk shop days of the OAU. You could actually see milk teeth appearing in new inter-governmental organization save for the usual Heads of State directing the affairs of the continent according to their own interests. Yet these gradualists, as they are called, worked diligently this past year to sideline political unity for Africa. Red Card! We all know why the AU was created, and we all know the urgency of our complete unification. To make progress at every step of the way is imperative to our survival as a people on Earth. One people, Africa! So, as we see very poignantly in Haiti, to delay aid means one’s life. We should be rushing to unify, to come to each other’s aid, especially during crisis. And so, the gradualists tighten our noose, ridiculing the creation of a continental federation of African states. How can we protect our dream? In this PANAF News Alert, I offer you an article from Speaker of the Gambian Assembly, the Honorable Elizabeth Renner, who reminds us that leaders, especially our Heads of State in Africa, are not the catalysts for change. She pleads to the masses to entrench and intertwine their lives within Pan African action. Ditto that message for the African Diaspora. In anycase, I think you’ll enjoy hearing positive developments from the Nigerian Community in Gambia. Elsewhere, I point you to


Did you know that Guinea, Madagascar, and Eritrea were recently booted from the AU? The former two were suspended due to “coups”. The latter due to an accusation that the state was sponsoring Somali militants. A quick biased judgment was made on Guinea that led to. And it is clear that the change of power was urgently necessary in Madagascar for the sake of the people and environment. Eritrea, well, let’s ask, who doesn’t have a hand in Somali affairs? If the AU will be partial to certain interests when it comes to membership within its structure then we have certainly a compromised institution. The AU can not condone political coersion and violent control on one hand, and punish a popular revolution on the other. Perhaps it was good gesture for Mr.DJ to boycott the 14th Summit. Lastly, an update on the repatriation of Haitians to Africa, and for those excited about the new direction of the AU, I’ve included an AU press release on its slick new flag and an article about the integration of NEPAD into the AU Structure.


Nkosi Sekele Afrika!

Ikeme

Handguide to the AU Launched on 27 January!

On 27th January a 70-page Hand Guide written both in English and French entitled ‘’Strengthening Popular Participation in the African Union: A Guide to AU Structures and Processes’’ will be launched here in Addis at the Hilton Hotel. It is a practical tool aiming to assist citizens and organizations to engage with African Union policies and programmes.

It describes the AU decision-making process and outlines the roles and responsibilities of the AU institutions. It also contains a sampling of the experiences of several non-governmental organizations that have interacted with the African Union in the past.

The main purpose of the publishers of this Hand Guide, Oxfam and Afrimap, is to support the African Union’s commitment to a vision of an Africa that is ‘‘integrated, prosperous, peaceful and driven by its own citizens’’.

addisababa@oxfaminternational.org or programmes@ccpau.org

Cry Our Beloved Guinea!

I am beginning to feel a bit embarassed about the situation in Guinea: I don't quite understand what's going on there. Is Camara going to stand in the election -- or is he not?

If he does, then he is contradicting all that he has said about restoring the country to constitutional rule. Then there is the recent shootings of unarmed people in the country. Power is certainly sweet--especially for military juntas--but I felt given the bloodless nature of the coup, Camara was going to be a different kettle of fish.

Looks like I was wrong...

I have tremendous faith in ECOWAS, but I cannot quite understand what it can do now. Already, Guinea has been suspended, so what next--beyond a flying in of a diplomats to speak with the interim government.

More than anything the irony of what is happening in Guinea is that it is happening in the centenary of Osagyefo Dr.Kwame Nkrumah who sought to create close ties with the francophone country to push forward African Unity.

Vacancy Announcement: FES Liaison Officer to the African Union

(thx to AU-Citizens Yahoo list-serv:)

Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

Addis Ababa Office

Announcement of Vacancy

FES Liaison Officer to the African Union

Addis Ababa, 25^th September, 2009

Background

Established in 2002, the African Union is becoming an increasingly important actor for African and international politics. Especially security policy has developed into a core area of activity for this continental organization, but other policy areas – such as agricultural or social policy – are gaining influence as they are being discussed on a continental level.

The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, committed to the global promotion of social democracy, sees the AU as a potential partner to further its mission. The FES Addis Ababa office, established in 1992, has been cooperating with the AU since 2007, in order to promote the democratic potential of the organization in certain policy areas according to the goals of social democracy. It seeks to support the creation of a peaceful, democratic and socially just Africa that can assume its legitimate global responsibility, but also seeks to critically analyze the development of the organization with the input of important democratic and societal actors, such as Parliamentarians, Trade Unionists, Political Party representatives, Civil Society activists, media practioners, and to feed back its analysis into its political framework in Germany and Europe.

The FES therefore seeks a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the African Union. The FES office Addis Ababa will be upgraded to become an AU-FES Liaison Office. The coordination of its work shall be the task of an AU Liaison Officer. According to the (draft) Africa Strategy of the FES Africa Department, the office should “assume the task of a liaison office and take over a service function for other offices, such as support these offices with information and contacts and by feeding issues into the national and regional work that are easily implementable on the respective levels”.

Profile

The FES-AU Liaison Officer should be an expert in African politics with an ability to sustain high-level contacts and to use the common FES instruments (trainings, workshops, conferences, publications) in order to achieve the defined overall objectives. He/she will report to the FES Resident Representative in Addis Ababa and work in a team with two other project managers.

In detail, he/she should:

· Hold an advanced degree (M.A. or equivalent) in social sciences such as political science, international relations, (African) history, international law or other relevant fields;

· Have significant knowledge of African politics, institutions, the development of the AU and the Regional Economic Communities, especially in, but not limited to, the field of security policy;

· Have at least 3-5 years work experience in continental politics, the AU, or related institutions such as research institutions with a focus on Africa, International Organizations etc.;

· Be fluent in English and French, preferably be proficient in (an)other African language/s;

· Be able and ready to gain knowledge in new policy areas (such as social policy/social security systems) within a short timeframe;

· Be committed to the principles of social democracy and the international labor movement, namely peaceful conflict resolution, international solidarity, social justice, individual and collective freedom and democracy;

· Be ready to undertake extensive travelling, mainly on the African continent;

· Be ready to work in a small team in a participatory manner in the FES Addis Ababa as well as to build up networks with similar institutions as well as FES offices worldwide.

Areas of Work

The AU Liaison Officer will be responsible for

· Implementing the MoU between the FES and the AU: supporting the AU in certain policy areas by engaging it in a political dialogue on issues to be defined in the MoU

· Organizing training and dialogue seminars and conferences in Addis Ababa and other African as well as European capitals

· preparing information material for interested stakeholders, building up a website on continental issues together with other FES offices in Africa

· analyzing the overall development and developments of certain policy areas of the AU and preparing regular publications (policy briefs) on issues of interest

· Sustaining dialogue with AU representatives, maintain a network of contacts with the AU, AU partner organizations and donors, but also with representatives of African labor unions and civil society, media on a continental level

Contract

The contract will be for one year on a renewable basis.

Salary is competitive and negotiable on the basis of qualifications and experience.

Local insurance for health and professional accidents will be concluded by FES Addis Ababa.

Application

If you are interested in this position and fulfill the above criteria, please send a motivation letter and CV in French or English to:

fandrych@fes.org.et and florian.daehne@fes.de

until 30^th October, 2009.

Suitable women candidates are encouraged to apply.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

********************************

Désiré Y. Assogbavi (Mr.)

Tel. + 251 (0) 11 661 16 01 (Desk)

+ 251 (0) 911 20 83 32 (Cell.)

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Highlight of last week: "Africa must indeed unite, but does that mean we should disband the regional economic communities?"

African Union (AU) Africa must indeed unite, but does that mean we should disband the regional economic communities? What value do they have?

August 27 at 11:05am · Comment · Like / Unlike · View Feedback (4)Hide Feedback (4)

Aminu Adamu

The Africa should operate with the regions,it wll make it stronger,we will then have a centralAfrica Union.

August 27 at 11:10am · Delete · Report

African Union (AU)

Aminu, why do u think govts are fighting abouta united AFrica. DO you not think sovereignty will be lost by uniting, in the sense that we would have to give off some of national rights in facour of an integrated "African" one. Is that not a problem?

August 27 at 11:33am · Delete

Aminu Adamu

That is not the problem,we can be integrated.The African countries should have the ministry of cooperation and integration.This could be a good machinery to Unite all of us,to have one African state.It is achievable through the political will of our national leaders in Africa.

August 27 at 11:49am · Delete · Report

Firouzeh Afsharnia

The europeans are already going towards this with the european union, the european parliament and the single currency. It will give Africa the political, and economic clout as well as the synergy of the network.

August 27 at 1:35pm · Delete · Report

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