Africans Rising was established to mobilize supports among Africans living on the African continent and in the Diaspora for issues on Africa, in this interview Hardi Yakubu, Collaboration and Engagement Lead at Africans Rising throw more light on the movement, excerpts:
Can you kindly introduce yourself?
My name is Hardi Yakubu, Collaboration and Engagement Lead at Africans Rising.
What is Africans Rising, how was it formed and when?
Africans Rising is movement of movements formed to support activists, civil society and African movements to build solidarity towards creating an Africa with justice, peace and dignity. The movement was formed at a validation conference in Arusha, Tanzania in 2016 by a representative body of civil society made up of 51% women and 60% youth.
What was the reason for it’s formation and what has it been able to achieve so far?
It was established to build solidarity among Africans across the globe for Justice, Peace and Dignity. Also to amplify, connect, energise and empower movements and activists working to expand civic spaces, promote gender equality, environmental justice, democracy and human rights, inclusion, peace and security in Africa etc.
What is the membership base like, does it cut across the entire continent and does it encourage membership from Africans in Diaspora?
We have a membership of more than 40,000 currently located in about 200 countries and territories worldwide. Comprises both Africans in the continent and those in the diaspora.
What is African Liberation Week and how is it different from Africa Day?
African Liberation Week is the week from 23rd May to 29th May set aside to mark the historic occasion of the May 1963 Addis Ababa conference, which culminated in the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU now called AU). Each year, May 25th, the day the conference ended is marked across the continent with holidays and commemorative events. Africans Rising takes a different approach to the commemoration. As a movement of movements, we move beyond words by encouraging grassroots to take action in their locations. From 23rd May to 29th May African Liberation Week will mobilise thousands of actions/events by fellow Africans across the world.
Why the theme “Africa for Africans”? What did you intend to achieve?
Africa for Africans was chosen as the broad theme for this year’s African Liberation Week. It highlights two key things; i. The imperative for Africans to take ownership and ownership over the destiny of the continent in its economic, political and cultural dimensions. ii. Calling on Africans to take center stage in protecting the continent’s wealth, environment, people and future. Because Africa is for Africans and people protect what is theirs.
It is followed by four (4) sub-themes that speak to specific issues namely;
Decolonisation
Equitable access to healthcare
Gender justice
Climate and environmental justice
What is the role of Africans Rising in this event and how many countries had registered in African continent and diaspora?
We had a total of 560 registrations of events/activities from 45 countries, 40 in Africa and 5 in the diaspora.
What next from here?
We are taking the momentum to plan for the commemoration of African Liberation Week next year which marks 60 years since the formation of the Organisation of African Unity. On this occasion, we will organise solidarity marches across all African countries and diaspora to demand African unity. We shall also organise a caravan to the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa. In the meantime, we are proceeding with the biggest physical meeting of African and African diaspora activists and movements – the All-African Movement Assembly scheduled to take place from 29th – 31st August, 2022 in Arusha, Tanzania. We are expecting at least 1000 participants.