African Century

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Map of the African Union.

African Century is a term that is used to express belief or hope that the 21st century will bring peace, prosperity and cultural revival to Africa, or is used to draw attention to the need for such an evolution. Among those who have used it in this way are South African politicians Thabo Mbeki^[1][2] and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma,^[3] Chevron CEO David J. O'Reilly^[4], US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill^[5] and celebrity campaigner Bono.^[5]

Progress to date

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The stability and prosperity^{[citation needed]} of democratic^{[citation needed]} South Africa since the fall of the apartheid regime is often used as an example that such evolution is possible. The creation of the African Union in 2002 is seen as one of the first steps in this evolution.

Indeed, the last decade of the 20th century brought much hope. The last African colony, Namibia, became independent at the beginning of the last decade, majority rule was established in South Africa, and there was a revival of democracy in many parts of Africa. However, hope that the 21st century would be the African century was quickly muted. The continuing Darfur genocide, manipulation of elections or completely ignoring the elections or the outcome of elections by some leaders diverted Africa's attention from more urgent issues of civil wars, AIDS, malaria, and education. Investment in peace, health and education are recognized by many African leaders as essential elements for economic and social emancipation to make the 21st century the African Century.

See also

Africa portal

• American Century
• Africanisation
• Afrocentrism
• African Renaissance
• Asian Century
• Millennium Development Goals

References

v d e Pan-Africanism Proponents Politicians: Nnamdi Azikiwe · Amílcar Cabral · Muammar Gaddafi · Marcus Garvey · David Comissiong · Kenneth Kaunda · Jomo Kenyatta · Patrice Lumumba · Thabo Mbeki · Abdias do Nascimento · Gamal Abdel Nasser · Kwame Nkrumah · Julius Nyerere · John Nyathi Pokela · Thomas Sankara · Haile Selassie · Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe · Ahmed Sékou Touré · I. T. A. Wallace-Johnson Others: Marimba Ani · Molefi Kete Asante · Steve Biko · Edward Wilmot Blyden · John Henrik Clarke · Cheikh Anta Diop · W. E. B. Du Bois · Frantz Fanon · John G. Jackson · Leonard Jeffries · Yosef Ben-Jochannan · Maulana Karenga · Fela Kuti · Bob Marley · Malcolm X · Zephania Mothopeng · George Padmore · Motsoko Pheko · Runoko Rashidi · Paul Robeson · Walter Rodney · Burning Spear · Henry Sylvester-Williams · Stokely Carmichael · Omali Yeshitela Concepts United States of Africa · Afrocentrism · Kwanzaa · Pan-African colours · Pan-African flag · Négritude · African nationalism · African socialism · African Century · Africanization · Kawaida · Ujamaa · Harambee · Ubuntu · Zikism · Black nationalism Organizations African Union · Organization of African Unity · Uhuru Movement · UNIA-ACL · African Unification Front · International African Service Bureau

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