JOINT INVITATION

HIGH LEVEL PANEL ON CIVIL REGISTRATION AND VITAL STATISTICS DURING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ORGANISATION OF AFRICAN UNITY/AFRICAN UNION (OAU/AU)

THEME: THE SCANDAL OF INVISIBILITY IN AFRICA

As part of celebrations to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity/African Union, a High Level Panel on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) will be held on Tuesday, 21 May 2013, from 15:00hrs to 17:00hrs, at the Small Conference Room 1, in new AU Conference Centre, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The High Level Panel will comprise the following Panelists:
• H.E. Dr. Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson, African Union Commission
• H.E. Mr. Thomas Pale, Ministre Délégué auprès du Ministre des Affaires Étrangères et de la Coopération régionale, République du Burkina Faso
• H.E. Ambassador Ibrahima Dia, Coordinator, AUC-UNECA-AfDB Joint Secretariat Office
• Mr. Martin Mogwanja, Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF New York Headquarters
• Mr. Benyam Dawit, Chairperson, African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child

The discussion will explore:
• With Africa’s population growing quickly, and the child population set to rise by 130 million between 2010 and 2025, why effective civil registration are critical investments to plan the continent’s development, ensure everyone is counted; and put in place effective systems to protect all the continent’s citizens, especially the most vulnerable.
• How the gap between policy and practice can be met through new innovation and map out what can be done to achieve universal birth registration and effective ways to count vital statistics;
• How civil registration systems can contribute to good governance and economic integration as well as central to empower all Africa citizens.

The Panel will be moderated by Uduak Amimo, a prominent African news journalist, who has extensive experience reporting on the continent. A broadcast quality audio recording will be made available to media partners by Channel Africa Radio, part of South African Broadcasting Corporation that is dedicated to the African Renaissance and broadcasts across the continent on shortwave and internet. The debate will be live streamed and web cast by the AUC and an audio- visual coverage of the panel discussion will be done by the Directorate of Information and Communication of the African Union.

Journalists are invited to attend this High Level Panel on CRVS.

Mr. Dossina Yeo
Economic Affairs Department
African Union Commission
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel: (251) 11 551 77 00 |
Fax: (251) 11 551 78 44 |
E-mail: DossinaY@africa-union.org

Mr. Anthony Mwangi
Public Affairs Manager,
UNICEF Liaison Office to the AU and UNECA
P.O. Box 1169,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Phone: +251-11-518-4223
Mobile: +251-911-513-058
Email: amwangi@unicef.org

Mrs. Esther Azaa Tankou
Directorate of Information and Communication
African Union Commission
P.O. Box 3243, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel. Off. (+251) 11 5514555
Mobile: +251911361185
E-mail: yamboue@africa-union.org