In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – One hundred and forty one years after the Berlin Conference carved up Africa without the consent of its people, a new generation of African creators gathered at the African Union (AU) Headquarters with a clear message: the continent’s future must no longer be defined by borderlines drawn in 1884.
In two days, artists, journalists, digital influencers, creative content creators, cultural custodians, youth activists and policymakers, convened under+ the banner of the High-Level Influencers Forum on Borderless Africa, a space where creativity met continental politics; and where personal stories of restricted movement across Africa collided with the promise of a unified Africa, without border restrictions and visa application bureaucracy. Reclaiming identity, reimagining the continent towards promoting Africa industrialization.
Participants described the meeting as more than a forum; it was a moment of collective reclamation. Many noted that Africa’s borders, which is are legacies of the colonial partition, continue to fragment industrial development across Africa, decentralize unification, partition families relationship, constrain youth opportunities, undermine trade/mobility across the continent, limits cross-countries share talent/creativity, etc.
H.E. Amb. Fred Ngoga, Senior Advisor for International Partnerships at the AU Commission, grounded the political theme in human experience: “integration is more than policy; it is about people experiencing freedom across their own continent”. His remarks highlighted a central tension. While the AU has championed continental integration without borderlines for decades, everyday Africans still face visa barriers, high travel costs and bureaucratic hurdles that contradict the dream of Pan-African unity. This is a call to action, to unify Africa.
Hardi Yakubu, the coordinator of the Africans Rising Movement, urged the continent to move from historical reflection to practical action. In his word – “we can no longer complain about the Berlin Conference when we hold the power to undo its legacy”. The conference room erupted as Yakubu lamented that Africans still pay international currency to visit Ethiopia, the home of the African Union itself. He highlighted how severely colonial frameworks still shape Africa against free transitions across her borders.
In an emboldened session, 36 influencers, creative content creators and cultural leaders from across Africa and the diaspora, signed the Addis Ababa Influencers Declaration on Borderless Africa, presenting it to H.E. Amb. Robert Afriyie, Ghana’s Permanent Representative to the AU. Afriyie’s statement to the participants, captured both the political urgency and generational responsibility. In his word, he said – “history is not a marathon but a relay. Run your leg with purpose, then pass the baton”. He emphasized the need for the power of creativity in the storytelling of Africa’s political transformation. Urging creators to disrupt the narratives imposed by global media, with mass-multiple creative-media projections, to reclaim the Africa’s voice, rewriting the African story the African way. Gear towards building sustainable momentum of promoting a borderless Africa, into a united states of Africa.
In a major step forward, participants announced the establishment of the Borderless Africa Fund, aimed at financing continent-wide advocacy, awareness campaigns and movement-building. This fund signals a new phase, from calls for unity to sustained strategic action.
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