The Pilot Phase of the African Union Project for inclusion of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) in school curricula for West African region has been officially launched by H.E. Professor Mariatou Kone, the National Education Minister of Côte d'Ivoire, in the presence of H.E. Mr. Herry Mané (the Education Minister of Guinea Bissau), H.E. Ambassador Bankole Adeoye (AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security), representatives of other West African States, ECOWAS, relevant AU organs, Regional Mechanisms, experts from the education sector, youth, CSOs and relevant development partners in Abidjan, 27 June 2024.
The African Union (AU) Project for the inclusion and the mainstreaming of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) in school curricula of AU Member States (ACDEG Project) emanates from a recommendation of the first meeting of the Specialized Technical Committee on Education, Science and Technology (STC-EST I) held on 30 October 2015 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During this meeting, Member States urged the African Union Commission, "to promote the inclusion of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance in the school curricula as well as in teacher training".
Since then, the Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security, in line with its mandate and with the aspiration of achieving Agenda 2063's pillar three (3) - "an Africa of good governance, democracy, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law" - has taken important steps for the effective implementation of the project. A strategy and roadmap were developed, and the pedagogical material (teachers' guides and learners' manuals) needed for the implementation of the said strategy was elaborated by a team of experts over several meetings held since 2019.
With the validation of the pedagogical material by representatives of the Members States and RECs/RMs in Maputo, Mozambique, from December 4th-6th, 2023, and their alignment by a Steering Committee of Experts, the ACDEG Project is now entering a new stage with its effective implementation on the ground, in selected pilot countries.
The launch event aimed at raising awareness on the ACDEG as an important normative framework and on the ACDEG Project as a tool to promote and expand African citizens' knowledge on the principles and values of the Charter.
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Prior to the launch, Commissioner Bankole, alongside Professor Kone and Mr. Mané, engaged Ambassadors of the West African Region on their expectations and next steps of the ACDEG project, including the identification of pilot countries.
For more information, please contact:
The meeting organization will be coordinated by Mrs. Abibata Tientega Barry, BarryA@africa-union.org, and Mrs. Nedra Cherif, CherifN@africa-union.org, from the Constitutionalism and Rule of Law Unit, AUC.
