Flag of the African Union
Encyclopedia
The current flag of the African Union was adopted at its 14th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government taking place in Addis Ababa on 31 January 2010.
During the 8th African Union
Summit which took place in Addis Ababa
on 29 and 30 January 2007, the Heads of State and Government decided to launch a competition for the selection of a new flag for the Union. They prescribed a green background for the flag symbolising hope of Africa and stars to represent Member States.
Pursuant to this decision, the African Union Commission (AUC) organised a competition for the selection of a new flag for the African Union. The AUC received a total of 106 entries proposed by citizens of 19 African countries and 2 from the Diaspora. The proposals were then examined by a panel of experts put in place by the African Union Commission and selected from the five African regions for short listing according to the main directions given by the Heads of State and Government.
It contains a green background symbolising hope of Africa
and 53 gold
stars to represent Member States.
The previous flag of the African Union was composed of a broad green horizontal stripe at the top followed by a narrow band of gold
. Below is a broad white stripe bearing the then emblem of the African Union
at its centre followed by a narrow gold band and broad green stripe at the bottom.
Although when the AU was formed, a competition was announced for designing a new emblem and flag, the Assembly of the African Union decided at the Addis Ababa session of 2004 to retain the emblem and flag of its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity, and adopt them as the new AU flag and emblem.
The colour symbolism of the old flag is as follows:
During the 8th African Union
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
Summit which took place in Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
on 29 and 30 January 2007, the Heads of State and Government decided to launch a competition for the selection of a new flag for the Union. They prescribed a green background for the flag symbolising hope of Africa and stars to represent Member States.
Pursuant to this decision, the African Union Commission (AUC) organised a competition for the selection of a new flag for the African Union. The AUC received a total of 106 entries proposed by citizens of 19 African countries and 2 from the Diaspora. The proposals were then examined by a panel of experts put in place by the African Union Commission and selected from the five African regions for short listing according to the main directions given by the Heads of State and Government.
It contains a green background symbolising hope of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and 53 gold
Gold (color)
Gold, also called golden, is one of a variety of orange-yellow color blends used to give the impression of the color of the element gold....
stars to represent Member States.
Previous flag
Gold (color)
Gold, also called golden, is one of a variety of orange-yellow color blends used to give the impression of the color of the element gold....
. Below is a broad white stripe bearing the then emblem of the African Union
Emblem of the African Union
The emblem of the African Union features a golden, boundary-less map of Africa inside two concentric circles, with stylised palm leaves shooting up on either side of the outer circle....
at its centre followed by a narrow gold band and broad green stripe at the bottom.
Although when the AU was formed, a competition was announced for designing a new emblem and flag, the Assembly of the African Union decided at the Addis Ababa session of 2004 to retain the emblem and flag of its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity, and adopt them as the new AU flag and emblem.
The colour symbolism of the old flag is as follows:
- The colour greenGreenGreen is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
symbolises African hopes and aspiration to unity. - The colour goldGold (color)Gold, also called golden, is one of a variety of orange-yellow color blends used to give the impression of the color of the element gold....
stands for African wealth and bright future. - The colour whiteWhiteWhite is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
represents the purity of Africa's desire to have genuine friends throughout the world. - The colour redRedRed is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
(of the rings (in the centre)) stand for African solidarity and the blood shed for liberation of Africa.