The African Union of Broadcasting (AUB) (www.uar-AUB.org) is pleased to inform the international media that the official launching and presentation ceremony of the 9^th edition of the Lomé Pan-African Congress will take place on Monday 22 May 2023 at 2.00 PM GMT, at the Lomé’s Hôtel du 2 février, in Togo.

This ceremony, placed under the aegis of African Union and the Republic of Togo, will be marked by a speech of H.E. Prof. Robert DUSSEY, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and the Diaspora.

In his statement, the Minister will put the forthcoming Congress into perspective, by defining the objectives and the overarching lines of action, and will, finally, detail the practical and innovative arrangements in 2023, which shall set the tone for the preparations of the Congress next year.

The 9^th Pan-African Congress shall present an excellent occasion for Africans living on the continent, the Diaspora and Afro-descendants community to meet and discuss. Furthermore, the meeting will be an excellent opportunity for African countries to find unique and relevant solutions aimed at improving Africa’s participation and representation in global governance, as well as its involvement in key reforms in international institutions.

To ensure the political and historical continuity of the pan-African movement, the African Union together with the Republic of Togo shall co-host the 9^th Pan-African Congress to be held in Lomé (Togo) in May 2024 under the theme: “The Aspiration of Pan-Africanism: Mobilize resources, join forces, and reinvent ourselves to take action”.

Many participants are expected to attend the launching ceremony, including representatives of Togolese government and its institutions, members of parliament and traditional leaders; members of diplomatic and consular corps, representatives of the African Union member states, international organizations accredited in Togo, stakeholders and professionals from the cultural, scientific and political sector (diasporas and Afro-descendants), opinion leaders, influencers, Mr. Gervais Gnaka Lagoke, Associate Professor of History and Pan-African Studies at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania (USA).

This 2024 edition follows in the wake of the Decision taken during the 36^th ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, 18-19 February 2023 in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). It falls within the framework of the “2021 – 2031 African Roots Decade” of the African Union Agenda.