African heads of state and delegates attend the opening of the 38th Ordinary Session of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union at the African Union Commission (AUC) headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on February 15, 2025.
On May 25 each year, Africa Day is commemorated diversely across the continent and in the diaspora. As part of our reflections this year, we interrogate the mantra of “Africa we Desire and Deserve” as encapsulated in Agenda 2063.
This agenda sets out seven aspirations, each with specific goals intended to move Africa closer to a collective vision by 2063. These aspirations reflect the continent’s longing for shared prosperity, well-being, unity, integration, a continent of free citizens with expanded horizons, and the realization of the full potential of women and youth—free from fear, disease, and want. However, ten years into this journey, we must ask: Are we on course to realising the Africa we Desire—or indeed Deserve?
