African Union Commission and South Africa Conclude Technical Mission with Roadmap for the African Union (AU) Archives and Repository Project

The African Union Commission (AUC) and the Government of the Republic of South Africa have concluded a series of technical consultations held at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa from 7 to 18 September 2026 on the African Union Archives and Repository Project. The consultations culminated today in the formal handover of a Final Technical Report setting out the project scope, implementation approach, indicative financial framework and roadmap for moving the longstanding initiative towards implementation.

The mission follows renewed high-level engagement between the leadership of the African Union Commission and the Government of the Republic of South Africa and reflects the shared determination of both sides to safeguard the documentary, photographic and audiovisual heritage accumulated since the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963.

H.E. Amb. Selma Malika Haddadi, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission, received the South African delegation together with the AUC technical team and was briefed on the progress and emerging outcomes of the engagement. The Deputy Chairperson expressed appreciation for the continued commitment and support of the Government of South Africa, underscored the strategic importance of safeguarding the African Union’s institutional memory, and encouraged both technical teams to sustain the momentum towards practical implementation.

The technical engagement began with a high-level introductory meeting on 7 September 2026, when the South African delegation was formally received at the African Union Headquarters by H.E. Amb. Moussa Mohamed Omar, Deputy Chief of Staff, Cabinet of the Chairperson. The meeting reviewed the history and current status of the initiative and established the strategic direction for the technical consultations that followed.

Over the course of the consultations, the two technical teams held detailed working sessions, reviewed the existing archival and knowledge-management environment, and conducted guided visits to the AU Central Archives, photographic and audiovisual collections, and the AU Library. They also exchanged experiences on repository systems, archival preservation, digital infrastructure, metadata, security, conservation and institutional capacity. These engagements enabled the project requirements to be assessed against the Commission’s actual operational environment.

A major outcome of the consultations was the recognition that the initiative should not be approached simply as a stand-alone digitization exercise. Instead, it forms part of the broader AU knowledge-management programme, which seeks to strengthen institutional memory and establish an integrated, sustainable and increasingly intelligence-enabled knowledge environment for the African Union.

The two technical teams identified four interconnected priority areas for focused cooperation under the project:

1. Knowledge Audit and Asset Discovery;
2. Knowledge Management Governance, Policy and Institutional Sustainability;
3. KM Digital Core and Systems Integration; and
4. Legacy Digitization and Risk Mitigation.

The teams agreed that these workstreams should be implemented as one integrated programme rather than as separate projects.

At the handover ceremony, Mr. Brian Sebola reaffirmed the South African side’s commitment to advancing the project through the agreed processes and implementation stages, while noting that the necessary funding and approval processes must now be undertaken.

“We can further confirm our commitment based on the dates specified in the implementation plan annexed to this report,” Mr. Sebola said, reaffirming South Africa’s commitment to maintaining the progress achieved during the mission.

Receiving the report, H.E. Amb. Moussa Mohamed Omar, Deputy Chief of Staff, commended the technical teams for the work accomplished and stressed the importance of translating the outcomes of the mission into concrete action.

“We must now build on this work to move from discussions to concrete actions and the effective implementation of the African Union Archives and Repository Project,” he said, adding that the initiative remains a top priority for the Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

The next stage will focus on advancing the necessary institutional processes. The draft Memorandum of Understanding between the African Union Commission and the Government of the Republic of South Africa will be reviewed and updated to reflect the agreed technical scope, respective roles and responsibilities, funding modalities, treatment of sensitive records, partnership arrangements, monitoring and reporting requirements, and implementation phasing.

The Final Technical Report was jointly presented to the Deputy Chief of Staff during a formal handover ceremony held at the Cabinet of the Chairperson. The ceremony included a summary presentation of the report by Mr. Asmerom Girma, Head of Knowledge Management at the AUC, remarks by Mr. Brian Sebola, Financial Manager of the African Renaissance and International Cooperation Fund (ARF), Government of the Republic of South Africa, and closing remarks and guidance from the Deputy Chief of Staff.

The conclusion of the mission marks an important transition from a longstanding concept to a structured, costed and time-bound technical framework for action. Through continued cooperation, institutional ownership and sustained knowledge transfer, the initiative seeks not only to preserve Africa’s documentary heritage, but also to ensure that the accumulated knowledge of the African Union is securely preserved, accessible and available to support institutional learning, informed decision-making and the continent’s future.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Union (AU).