I am honoured to address this Gala dinner on the occasion of the 4th Pan African Cultural Congress, which is hosted under the theme Unity in Cultural Diversity for Africa's Development.

Tonight, we commemorate and celebrate the founding, 52 years ago, of the Organisation of African Unity, now the African Union. 32 Independent African states gathered to sign the Organisation's founding Charter in Addis Ababa and accelerated actions to secure and safeguard the hard won independence and integrity of African States with a view of ridding our continent of all forms of racism, colonialism and discrimination. From the onset Africa's leaders identified the need to coordinate and harmonize policies in several fields, including in education and cultural cooperation.

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