;
french: Unissons-nous tous et célébrons ensemble;
pt, Vamos todos nos unir e celebrar juntos;
es, Unámonos todos y celebremos juntos;
sw, Tuungane na tusherehekee , image = , image_size = , caption =

Emblem of the African Union The emblem of the African Union features a golden, boundary-less map of Africa inside two concentric circles, with stylised Palm tree, palm leaves shooting up on either side of the outer circle. Although when the AU was formed, a competition was ...

, prefix = Official , country = the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

---- Former anthem of the

Organisation of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...

, author =

Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin ( am, ጸጋዬ ገብረ መድኅን; 17 August 1936 – 25 February 2006) was an Ethiopian poet and novelist. His novels and poets evoke retrospective narratives, fanciful epics, and nationalistic cannonations. Tsegay is co ...

, lyrics_date = , composer = Arthur Mudogo Kemoli , music_date = 1986 , adopted = 1986 (by the

)
2002 (by the African Union) , until = , sound = LetUsAllUniteAndCelebrateTogether.ogg , sound_title = Let Us All Unite and Celebrate Together (Instrumental) "Let Us All Unite and Celebrate Together" ( ar, فلنتحد جميعا ونحتفل معا; french: Unissons-nous tous et célébrons ensemble; pt, Vamos todos nos unir e celebrar juntos; es, Unámonos todos y celebremos juntos; sw, Hebu wote kuungana na kusherehekea pamoja) is the

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

of the

(AU). It was written as a poem titled "Proud to be African" by Ethiopian poet

, while the music was composed by Kenyan choral composer Arthur Mudogo Kemoli. It had served as the anthem of the former

since 1986 before being adopted by the newly formed Union in 2002.

History

The anthem was written as a poem titled "Proud to be African" by Ethiopian poet

. Kenyan choral composer Arthur Mudogo Kemoli composed the anthem's music in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

in 1986, and it was selected as the anthem of the AU's predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), as part of a contest. The same year, the OAU honoured Tsegaye with the OAU African Unity Anthem Prize for writing the anthem. After the AU's formation in 2002, it organised a contest to establish official symbols of the Union, including a

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...

and anthem. The competition's brief for the anthem included that its short form for official ceremonies (first stanzas or two verses and chorus) should not exceed one minute in length and that each entry should include lyrics, sheet music, a good recording and an explanatory note and be submitted in one of the working languages of the AU. The brief stated that the symbols should draw inspiration from a number of values including struggle, independence, labour, unity, justice and hope. The competition was to last until 25 April 2003, and the three best entries were to be presented and the symbols chosen at a session of the

AU Assembly The Assembly of the African Union, which is formally known as the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government (AU-AHSG), is one of several decision-making bodies within the African Union. The other bodies are the Pan-African Parlia ...

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the Capital city, capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a popul ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, in July 2003, with the first-, second- and third-place winners receiving US$7,000, US$5,000 and US$3,000 cash prizes, respectively. The competition did not attract many participants, and eventually the competition was abandoned and symbols adopted and/or formalised irrespective of it, including the OAU anthem, which was retained as the anthem of the new AU.

Lyrics

Notes

References

External links

African Union page on its symbols

{{National Anthems of Africa Anthems of organizations African Union African anthems Songs about Africa