World Day for African and Afro Descendant Culture – Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District

Established by UNESCO in 2019 and held every year on 24 January, the World Day for African and Afrodescendant Culture aims to celebrate the many vibrant cultures of the African continent and African Diasporas around the world, and promotes them as an effective lever for sustainable development, dialogue and peace.

Held every year on 24 January, World Day for African and Afrodescendant Culture celebrates the many vibrant cultures of the African continent and African Diasporas around the world, and promotes them as an effective lever for sustainable development, dialogue and peace. As a rich source of the world’s shared heritage, promoting African and Afrodescendant culture is crucial for the development of the continent, and for humanity as a whole.

UNESCO adopted 24 January as the World Day for African and Afrodescendant Culture at the 40th session of the UNESCO General Conference in 2019. This date coincides with the adoption of the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance in 2006 by the Heads of State and Government of the African Union. Celebration of this day also aims to promote the widest possible ratification and implementation of this Charter by African States, thereby strengthening the role of culture in promoting peace on the continent.

We commemorate traditional doctors, guardians of ancestral knowledge and religions of African origin; leaders, the foundation of contemporary organisational processes; human rights defenders; and all those who, from their position, fight daily for dignity and equality.

It was on a day like today, August 31, in 1920, that the first declaration of the rights of people of African descent was adopted in New York. Commemorating this historic event, last year the General Assembly, under the initiative of Costa Rica, declared this as the International Day for People of African Descent. International day celebrations invite governments, civil society, the public and private sectors, schools and universities, and citizens of the world to reflect on values that unite humanity and to take concrete actions to advance them.

Today, as part of a single human family, we recognise the urgency of eradicating once and for all the stigmas and prejudices based on unfounded ideas of racial superiority that continue to cause suffering to millions of people of African descent around the world.

On World Day for African and Afro Descendant Culture, the Board and Staff of Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District celebrates the contributions to society and culture by the African peoples of the Goulburn Valley. Our lives are enriched by their presence, their cultures and their contributions to everyday life.

World Day for African and Afro Descendant Culture

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	The Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District acknowledges the Yorta Yorta People of the land which comprises the Goulburn Valley. We pay respect to tribal Elders, past, present and emerging and we celebrate their continuing culture and acknowledge the memory of their ancestors.
	The Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District is a peak body whose mission is to promote and represent the social, cultural and economic well-being of ethnic communities in the Goulburn Valley Region through the provision of quality and innovative settlement, refugee support, community development, and information and advocacy services.