African Liberation Day

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African Liberation Day
Also called	African Freedom Day
Observed by	member states of the African Union
Type	international; cultural and historical
Date	May 25
Related to	Africa Day

African Liberation Day on May 25 is an annual holiday in various countries in Africa, coinciding with African Union's Africa Day.

[edit] History

On April 15, 1958, in the city of Accra, Ghana, African leaders and political activists gathered at the first Conference of Independent African States. It was attended by representatives of the governments of Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, The United Arab Republic (which was the federation of Egypt and Syria) and representatives of the National Liberation Front of Algeria and the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon. This conference was significant in that it represented the first Pan-African Conference held on African soil.

The Conference called for the founding of African Freedom Day, a day to “mark each year the onward progress of the liberation movement, and to symbolize the determination of the People of Africa to free themselves from foreign domination and exploitation.”

Five years later after the First Conference of Independent African States in the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia another historical meeting occurred. On May 25, 1963, leaders of thirty-two independent African States met to form the Organization of African Unity (OAU). By then more than two thirds of the continent had achieved independence from colonial rule. At this historic meeting the date of Africa Freedom Day was changed from April 15 to May 25 and Africa Freedom Day was declared African Liberation Day (ALD).