ADDIS ABABA – On the sidelines of the 33rd Assembly of the African Union held in Addis Ababa, twelve Heads of State solemnly accepted the invitation of Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, President of the Republic of Mali, and African Union Leader for Arts, Culture and Heritage to act as co-champions.
Upon his designation as African Union Leader for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, found it appropriate to establish a presidential level structure to carry out his mission. Thus, he invited twelve Heads of State to join him in a Council of the Peers.
The twelve Heads of State are fromCape Verde, Ghana, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kingdom of Morocco, Egypt, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Namibia.
The mandate of the Council is to formulate strategic orientations and to ensure that these orientations are taken into account in the activities of the African Union (AU). The members of this Council are also expected to play the role of leadership, advocacy and facilitation at the sub-regional level.
At the inaugural meeting of the Council, the twelve Heads of State committed themselves to give pride of place to culture, arts and heritage.
In that framework, they adopted a draft resolution that will be tabled with a view to declaring 2021 as the year of culture.
The Ethiopian Herald February 13/2020
