Let Us All Unite and Celebrate Together
The "African Union Anthem" also known by its incipit "Let Us All Unite and Celebrate Together" is the anthem of the African Union. It was written as a poem titled "Proud to be African" by Ethiopian poet Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin, while the music was composed by Kenyan choral composer Arthur Mudogo Kemoli. It had served as the anthem of the former Organisation of African Unity 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 Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin. Kenyan choral composer Arthur Mudogo Kemoli composed the anthem's music in Dakar, Senegal in 1986 and it was selected as the anthem of the AU's predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity, as part of a contest. That 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, emblem and anthem. The competition's brief for the anthem included that its short form for official ceremonies 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 in Maputo, Mozambique 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; eventually, it was abandoned and the old OAU symbols were instead retained as the new symbols for the AU.
Lyrics
| English version | Arabic version | French version |
Let us all unite and celebrate together The victories won for our liberation Let us dedicate ourselves to rise together To defend our liberty and unity Chorus: O Sons and Daughters of Africa Flesh of the Sun and Flesh of the Sky Let us make Africa the Tree of Life II Let us all unite and sing together To uphold the bonds that frame our destiny Let us dedicate ourselves to fight together For lasting peace and justice on earth Chorus III Let us all unite and toil together To give the best we have to Africa The cradle of mankind and fount of culture Our pride and hope at break of dawn. Chorus |
| Portuguese version | Spanish version | Swahili version |