May 25
2025 African Liberation Week Mass Mobilisation
Building on eight years of massive and consistent mobilisations, the 2025 African Liberation Week will be a milestone in fostering Pan-African solidarity.
AFRICAN LIBERATION WEEK
Largest Pan-African mobilisation happening every year during the week of #May25.
History of African Liberation Week Mobilisation
African Liberation Week Mass Mobilisation is set aside to mobilise all Africans – grassroots organisations, trade unions, community groups, women’s organisations, faith groups, youth groups, local associations, media, and individuals – to take action on specific themes or issues relevant to the local as well as continental contexts. These may include but are not limited to, actions seeking accountability from governments, challenging the status quo, showing solidarity, community meetings, film showings, protests and public education campaigns.
In the spirit of our commitment to collective action, the first mobilisation took place on May 25, 2017, when two thousand volunteers, partners, supporters and friends organised a total of 300 actions & events in 42 countries on the African continent and the Diaspora, to mark the launch of Africans Rising. On 25 May, 2018, under the theme #StopTheBleeding. The mobilisation grew to hundreds of individual actions and events in 54 countries, including 6 in the African diaspora. Our members came together that year in the struggle against illicit financial flight and the economic plunder of the African continent.
In 2019, the activities of the African Liberation Day mobilization were held under the theme “Africans Not For Sale! Stop Slavery and Human Trafficking” and activities were aimed at reflecting on the past of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and putting an end to modern-day slavery.
In 2020 and 2021, Africans Rising focused on the COVID-19 pandemic and global health crises, under the theme #Rise4OurLives. This helped Africans Rising to support the implementation of Africans Rising’s COVID-19 response and health education campaigns in at least 30 countries on the African continent. We also created a Pan-African Solidarity Campaign against COVID-19 and lobbied for the release of incarcerated people through our #FreeThem campaign.
In 2022, the banner for mobilisation changed from African Liberation Day to Africa Liberation Week, to create more opportunities for our members and allies to join in the commemoration. The broad theme was “Africa for Africans”, echoing the historic call by Marcus Garvey for Africans to unite and take ownership and control of our homeland. Other sub-themes focused on Decolonisation, Gender Justice, Health and Climate & Environmental Justice. In 2022, more than 500 events took place across 49 countries in Africa and the diaspora.
Since 2023, Africa Liberation Week has been commemorated under the theme “A Borderless Africa for All Africans” and used to mobilise more than 1000 events across 50 countries in Africa and the Diaspora. The activities brought together individuals and movements to take action in promoting the Borderless Africa campaign and other themes. Key among activities is peaceful marches in various countries and the Borderless Africa convening which was attended by stakeholders pushing the vision of an Africa where Africans can move around their own continent without the current restrictions in place, for better trade, integration and development.