On May 24th and 25th 2008, the Centre for Citizens Participation in the African Union (CCP-AU) – in collaboration with the Egyptian Business Women Association (EBWA), the Cairo Institute of Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), Fahamu, the Federation Internationale des Droits de l”Homme (FIDH) and Oxfam Liaison Office with the African Union – organized a training workshop for Egyptian and other North African CSOs on the African Union : “Understanding the African Union and Seizing Opportunities for Change” in Cairo, Egypt.
Forty participants from Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia met in Cairo for training , as a follow up to the last two training workshops held in Accra (Ghana) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) ahead of the June 2007 and January 2008 African Union Summits.
The training aimed at providing civil society with a clear understanding on the African Union, its key organs and the decision making process, in order to help them identify key opportunities to engage with this continental body.Specifically, the training focused on the following areas:
1) Background of the African Union and the transition from the OAU to the
AU
2) The vision, mission and mandates
3) Key organs of the AU including the Commission, the Pan-African parliament, the peace and security council, the human rights court, the citizens directorate and ECOSOCC
4) Decision making processes at the AU
5) Importance of collaboration between African CSOs and the AU
6) Importance of African citizens participation in African union affairs including Egyptian and other North African CSOs
In his opening speech, Dr. Mohammed Naimi, representing the African Union Commission, commended CCP-AU’s initiative to build the North African CSO capacity on the African Union. In his remarks, he stated that “this training is in line with the vision and the mission of the African Union, which has clearly stated in its strategic plan, to actively involve African citizens at large and members of the Diaspora in the process of building continental integration”.
This training workshop created a way for the CSOs to engage in the upcoming African Union Summit being hold in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt from 24 June to 1 July 2008. Participants agreed to engage with the AU and to take part in the upcoming CSO Continental Conference held in Sharm El Sheikh from June 22-23rd, 2008. This conference gathered African citizens from all parts of the continent and the Diaspora, CSOs and other concerned bodies to discuss the pertinent issues on the Summit agenda as well as key issues within the continent.
