From the OAU to the AU: Twenty years of lessons learnt towards silencing the guns

Date: 29 June 2021

Time: 09:00 EST / 13:00 GMT/ 15:00 SAST / 16:00 EAT

Location: Zoom

The year 2021 marks a milestone for the African Union (AU). First, it is the 20th anniversary since the Constitutive Act that birthed the AU from the Organization of African Unity (OAU). Second, it marks an unprecedented transformation at the AU Commission in merger of the departments of peace and security and political affairs.

This webinar will provide a platform for candid conversation on key developments in Africa’s governance, peace and security landscape from the last twenty years. Panellists will also identify critical signposts for navigating the next twenty years.

Agenda

Session 1

• Creating the Africa we want: Challenges and Opportunities – Dr. Olajumoke Ayandele, Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for the Study of Africa and the African Diaspora, New York University; Non-Resident Fellow, Center for Global Affairs, New York University.
• Upholding the promise of never again: Lessons learnt in deepening governance on the continent – Professor Tim Murithi, The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation; Head: Peacebuilding Interventions and & Extraordinary Professor of African Studies, University of the Free State.
• Enhancing preventive diplomacy on the continent: critical considerations – Professor Laurie Nathan, Director, Mediation Program, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies

Session 2 – Facilitated Dialogue

• Beyond Institutional reform: signposts for enhancing relevance, effectiveness and efficiency

Question-and-answer session