Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 3 July 2017- A donation of USD One million to capacitate the African Union Foundation has been made by H.E. Mr. Robert Gabriel Mugabe, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, during the opening ceremony of the 29th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa. H.E President Mugabe said the funds were raised through the auction of more than 300 head of cattle owned by, him following a pledge he made to the African Union in 2015.

Speaking at the handover event, the H.E. President Robert Mugabe recommended the use of innovative solutions to fund Africa’s development agenda and called on all Africans to come together and build the continent “brick by brick, stone by stone”.

DotAfrica, Africa’s own Top Level Domain (TLD) officially launched a road show today, during the opening ceremony of the 29th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly. DotAfrica is an African initiative created by Africans for Africans and the worldwide audience of companies, organizations and individuals interested in, associated with and connected with the African community and markets. DotAfrica will bring the continent together as an internet community under one umbrella and creates an opportunity to forge a unique online identity which will associate products, services and /or information with the continent and the people of Africa

The objective of the launch was to mark the commencement of the DotAfrica operational phase by setting up a road show starting at the African Union headquarters. The origins of DotAfrica date back to 2000 when a handful of African Internet professionals strongly argued that DotAfrica should be operated by Africans for the benefit of the entire continent and through the efforts of the AUC supported by African governments and organisations the tireless efoforts have finally borne fruit.

At the same occasion, the annual AU Gender Score Card (AGS) 2017 edition was presented to the Assembly. The scorecard is a user-friendly action tool whose main goal is to provide the AUC and Member States with an implementation as well as a monitoring and accountability tool to achieve the vision and objectives of the Agenda 2063 from a gender perspective. The primary objective of this edition of the scorecard is to provide AU Member States with an assessment of the investments they have made in their youth, in particular the young women, and how this investment promotes their participation in economic development as well as their access to education and health, with reference to the objectives of Agenda 2063.

AGS awards were given following an extensive analysis of quantitative and qualitative data over the last five years, as sourced from national statistics agencies and international data hubs recognized by the African Union and its partners. Three awards were given, to 3 Heads of States and Governments for their contribution towards African Union’s gender agenda as follows:
• H.E Professor Alpha Conde president of the Republic of Guinea and Chairperson of the African Union- for designating a Leader for Gender and Development, thus elevating this agenda among the “big issues of concern” for the continent.
• H.E Mr. Nana Akufo Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana for having accepted to be the Leader for Gender and Development in Africa.
• H.E Mrs Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia for being the first woman elected as Head of State in Africa.

The 29th African Union Summit is being convened under the theme “Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investments in Youth”.

For further information contact
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@africa-union.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia
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