Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Afrikan Liberation Day 2009 - Nkrumah@100 (1909-2009)

Afrikan Freedom means Defeating Neo-colonialism

Thousands of Afrikan people are expected to join in this year’s Afrikan Liberation Day (ALD) commemoration activities. They include a series of educational workshops during April and May; a demonstration outside the offices of Royal Dutch Shell Oil 16th June 2009; with the main event taking place on Saturday 30th May 2009 at 12noon in St John’s Church hall, Meeting House Lane, Peckham, London SE1 2UN.

The theme for this year’s Afrikan Liberation Day commemoration is Afrikan Freedom means defeating Neo-colonialism: Nkrumah@100. All activities will be geared towards exploring the crucial role of Afrikan people in ridding the world of the current economic crisis– a perspective that, so far, has received little attention in the mainstream media.

ALD will feature a programme of activities for children and youth including Afrikan drumming and craft workshops; cultural artists and performers including, Afrikan dancers, poets and singers. International speakers on the day include brother Kwesi Pratt editor of Insight newspaper and Sister Mawete Teresa of Moyo Wa Taifa Pan-Afrikan women’s network both direct from Ghana.

Activities will include a panel discussion and a broad range of grass roots Afrikan community organisations will be giving messages of solidarity. The day will also feature cultural Afrikan and Caribbean food, book stalls and displays. Entry is free.

A member of this year’s organising committee, Brother Omowale said:
“Kwame Nkrumah is one of the greatest Afrikan leaders of all time. In this the centenary year since his birth, we have a duty to ensure that his strategy of Afrikan liberation is told. Our ancestors suffered intensely under slavery and colonialism and we continue to suffer now. The world’s economic system is built on the theft of Afrikan people’s resources, and if we want justice, we must all learn the truth, continuously expose it and organise around it. Attending this commemoration may be your first step to organising yourself for a better future. Come along to the events and see for yourself.”

To kick start the commemorations there will be a series of pre-Afrikan Liberation Day Workshops where Afrikan centred ideas on neo-colonialism and the current crisis of capitalism will be shared and discussed. These will take place:
· On the radio: Sunday 10th , 17th , 24th May 2007 at 10pm on Galaxy Radio 99.5fm and www.afiwestation.com,
· 44-46 Offley Road: Oval, London SW9 0LS on Friday 8th , 15th , 22nd and 29th May 2007 at 6.30pm

Contact Details:
Afrikan Liberation Day Organising Committee on 07940 005 907 or panascf@yahoo.co.uk or www.pascf.org.uk

Editor’s Notes:
1. The Afrikan Liberation Day Main Commemoration: London will be held on Saturday, 30th May 2009, 12noon - 7pm at: St John’s Church Hall, Meeting House Lane, Peckham, London SE 15 2UN (Nearest BR: Queen’s Road Peckham). Entry is free and all ages are welcome (a youth programme will be available).

2. The keynote speaker will be Kwesi Pratt a Ghanaian political activist and journalist.

3. The Afrikan Liberation Day Demonstration will be held on Tuesday 16th June 2009, 4pm – 7pm at: Royal Dutch Shell HQ, Waterloo, London, SE1 (Nearest Tube & BR: Waterloo).

4. Afrikan Liberation day was founded in Accra, Ghana, at the First Conference of Independent Afrika States. The conference ran from 15th to 22nd April 1958 and the first day of the conference - 15th April was declared, by the eight independent states present, Afrika Freedom Day. Its purpose was to mark the first occasion in modern history when independent Afrikan states met to plan the liberation process for colonised nations in Afrika.

From 1959 to 1963 as the process of Afrikan independence intensified, Afrika Freedom Day celebrations were held in Azania (South Afrika), Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Britain, China, the USA and the USSR. In Afrika, as a result of organised mass struggles an increasing number of states became independent.

It was in the context of these world-wide and continental developments that the Fourth Conference of Independent Afrikan States took place from 22nd to 25th May 1963.

The Organisation of Afrikan Unity (OAU) was founded in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on the final day of the conference - 25th May 1963. Since that date, conferences of the independent Afrikan states have been held annually as OAU and now AU conferences.

The OAU inaugural conference was a continuation of the Afrikan political unification and liberation process spearheaded by independent states, not the beginning as has been interpreted by some.

Today, Afrikan Liberation Day Commemorations are being organized in Afrika and all over the world including London and Birmingham.

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