Promoting Sports & Culture

Aspiration 5 of Agenda 2063 envisions A’n Africa with a strong cultural identity, common heritage, shared values and ethics. This calls for an African cultural renaissance which is pre-eminent and inculcates the spirit of Pan Africanism; tapping Africa’s rich heritage and culture to ensure that the creative arts are major contributors to Africa’s growth and transformation; and restoring and preserving Africa’s cultural heritage, including its languages.

The AU African Charter for African Cultural Renaissance recognises the important role that culture pays in mobilising and unifying people around common ideals and promoting African culture to build the ideals of Pan-Africanism. The Agenda 2063 flagship project for the Great African Museum aims to create awareness about Africa’s vast, dynamic and diverse cultural artefacts and the influence Africa has had and continues to have on the various cultures of the world in areas such as art, music, language, science, and so on. The Great African Museum will be a focal centre for preserving and promoting the African cultural heritage. The AU works to encourage cultural co-operation through the use of African languages and the promotion of inter-cultural dialogue. The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) and the Centre for Linguistic and Historical Studies by Oral Tradition (CELHTO) have been established to empower African languages, promote use of multiple languages at every level, especially in the education sector and to ensure the development and promotion of African languages as factors of African integration and development, respect for values and mutual understanding and peace.

Sport is recognised as an element of culture and a major contributor in human development and strengthening national cohesion and rapprochement of people. The AU undertakes activities through member states to develop and promote sports and to ensure that Africa’s contribution to global sports is balanced and democratic. The AU members states have recognised that there is a need for Africa to enhance its campaign against all forms of racial, religious and political discrimination in sports. The African Union Sport Council (AUSC) has been proposed as the body that will be responsible for the coordination of the African Sports Movement and the forum that will coordinate efforts by member states to promote and develop sports on the continent. Its functions will include the promotion of sports as a fundamental human right, defend sport development, advocate for funding for sport development and ensure that countries develop sport policies, programmes, systems and structures. The AUSC is responsible for the African Games.

The Social Affairs Department promotes the work of the AU in the area of culture and sports.