Name: Can Africa turn Pan-Africanism ideals into reality?
Uploaded: 2025-11-24T20:50:36.533Z
Duration: 3 min 13 s
Description: Once a rallying cry for liberation, Pan-Africanism now faces its toughest challenge: Can lofty ideals translate into unity, peace, and shared prosperity in a rapidly changing Africa? We explore whether a historic vision can deliver real progress or remain just a dream.

Once a rallying cry for liberation, Pan-Africanism now faces its toughest challenge: Can lofty ideals translate into unity, peace, and shared prosperity in a rapidly changing Africa? We explore whether a historic vision can deliver real progress or remain just a dream.

Pan-Africanism, once a unifying force against colonialism and oppression, remains a central theme in African political discourse. At a recent conference in Accra marking 80 years since the Manchester Congress, leaders and youth discussed whether Pan-African ideals can move beyond rhetoric to address persistent issues such as poverty, neo-colonialism, and internal conflict.

Speakers highlighted the importance of unity and solidarity, citing examples like South Sudan's independence and Libya's ongoing peace challenges. Youth voices emphasized the need to raise awareness of Pan-Africanism among new generations to ensure its relevance and effectiveness in achieving tangible progress.

Can Africa turn Pan-Africanism ideals into reality?

Pan-Africanism once united Africans against oppression and colonial rule. In the 19th century, it inspired resistance to slavery and imperial domination. By the 20th century, leaders like W. E. B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, and Kwame Nkrumah championed solidarity and independence. This November, Accra hosted a Pan-African conference marking 80 years since the historic Fifth Congress in Manchester, a turning point in Africa's liberation struggle. But today, the question is sharper. Can Pan-Africanism move beyond rhetoric and deliver tangible progress? The issues that were there in 1945, of decolonization, racial discrimination, marginalization politically, economically, and socially, are still there of the African people. We are still neo-colonists. Today we are still, as we were in 1945, the poorest continent. We don't have a choice. It's either we unite as Africans, or we'll be defeated alone. South Sudan's Minister of Culture, Nadia Arop-Dudi, says African solidarity helped her country gain independence in 2011, but warns that unity must go beyond symbolism to secure peace and stability. We went through the challenges to gain our independence. After that, we came alone as a people of South Sudan to fight the war that we should not do it. The Pan-African really was keen to make sure that South Sudan, as a young country, must get back so that we can develop our country. Our region, which is East African region, they stand with us, all of us, that South Sudan must get back to their sense and remember the struggle that we struggled since we fought Sudan since 1955. It's not easy to come in 2011 and then go to another internal war. Libya's fragile peace shows the same dilemma, ideals without implementation. Yet young voices like Abdul Hamid Al-Sadiq Gayet believe Africa's youth can revive Pan-Africanism if they make it relevant. I'm pretty sure many youth across the continent, if you ask them about this Pan-Africanism, they will not know it. So that's what we need to do and the part that we need to play right now is to raise awareness about this idea and this Pan-Africanism so we can continue the footsteps of our African great leaders. Pan-Africanism lit the fire of freedom, but will it light the path to real progress? For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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