The Managing Director of CEOAFRICA, a leading online media organization in Africa, Prince Cletus Ilobanafor is set to attend the upcoming African Languages Week Coordination Committee (ALWCC) workshop, which will take place at the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa.
Prince Cletus Ilonanafor, a member of ALWCC has been a leading light in promoting African Languages on the cyberspace.
He has participated in various conferences that seek to promote Africa. One of such is the planning workshop on African languages on the cyberspace in Gabrone, Botswanna in June 2018.
The ALWCC workshop aims to advance the promotion and development of African languages, aligning with the AU’s Agenda 2063 vision of fostering a strong cultural identity across the continent.
The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN), a specialized institution of the AU, leads this initiative to empower African languages as tools for education, integration, and economic growth.
Since its launch in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in July 2021, the African Languages Week has been an annual event, observed from January 24 to 30, to celebrate the linguistic and cultural diversity of Africa and its diaspora.
The 2024 edition of the African Languages Week, themed “Empowering African Languages for Quality Education and Free Trade for the Africa We Want,” will focus on leveraging languages to enhance education and support the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The workshop will include presentations, policy discussions, and collaborative sessions aimed at increasing the relevance and functionality of African languages in everyday life and global discourse.
Participants will include representatives from the AU Commission’s Directorate of Social Development, Culture, and Sports, ACALAN’s National Language Structures, and various research and academic institutions. The outcomes of this workshop are expected to guide strategic planning for the 2025 edition of African Languages Week.
Through this initiative, ACALAN hopes to promote linguistic cooperation, enhance cultural identity, and contribute to sustainable peace and development across Africa.
