Conférence avec l'UNESCO - Histoire générale de l’Afrique

Empowering African Youth to build peaceful societies through Memory: A Dialogue on the General History of Africa and the Culture of Peace

As the Road to the Biennale of Luanda 2026 unfolds, UNESCO is committed to ensuring that African and diaspora youth are active contributors to the continental conversation on peace, memory, and historical narratives whose ripple effect reach beyond the African continent and need to be addressed overseas.
The General History of Africa (GHA) stands as one of UNESCO's most transformative flagship initiatives. By reclaiming Africa's historical agency and countering persistent stereotypes, the GHA provides a powerful foundation for building a culture of peace rooted in dignity, truth, and shared heritage, including in Western societies in particular, which are also still grappling with the legacy of slavery and colonialism, where moral responsibility, history education, discrimination, identity and inclusion remain the fight of the diaspora in particular.
Sciences Po Paris, with its African studies network, its Reims campus (a hub for Africa-focused programmes), and its student associations (ASPA Paris, ASPA Reims, and affiliated African student collectives), offers a key platform for this dialogue and the Biennale itself.

Welcome and opening remarks : Etienne Cazin, Director of the APAMO Centre

Speaker : Mr Mohamed Elfarnawany, Director, Priority Africa
Division, UNESCO

Round Table : The General History of Africa: reclaiming historical narratives as a foundation for peace

Moderation : Mr Gilbert Dadzie, Programme Coordinator of the
Biennale of Luanda, Priority Africa Division, UNESCO

Closing remarks :  H.E. Ms Maria Cândida Pereira Teixeira, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Angola to
UNESCO

The event will be followed by a networking session.