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AU Watch generates ideas and fosters debate on policy issues facing the AU and AUMS, promoting constructive leadership and engagement in regional and international affairs based on the central role of the AU in meeting the regional challenges of the 21st century. Led by experienced practitioners and distinguished academics, we form networks, advance policy debate and generate ideas for a new and changed Africa that is looking forward into 2063. Conducting an active agenda of research and publishing, organising events, a vibrant media and giving practical development assistance, AU Watch’s interdisciplinary work includes collaboration with regional and international CSOs, governments, development, policy, business and academic communities around Africa and the world. Through our work, we are dedicated to bringing information and analysis to those who make or influence policy on the AU and to assisting the AU and AUMS in promoting regional security, democracy, rule of law, good governance, human rights, sustainable development, and peace.
Our Mission
To contribute to the AU and its Members efforts in building a secure, prosperous and just Africa as envisioned in Agenda 2063.
We offer policy and practical solutions anchored in certain core principles:
⦁ An informed, empowered civil society and media that holds to account the AU, its institutions and Members;
⦁ Good governance, respect for human rights, including social justice and the rule of law;
⦁ An open and accountable AU looking forward to 2063;
⦁ An Ubuntu Africa, that believes in the Pan-African ideals and vision of a united Africa.
We Deliver Our Mission Through:
Monitoring and Disseminating Information About the AU & Its Members
Monitoring, publicising and disseminating information about the work of the AU and its Members, especially their programs and activities on regional integration, and a union government, sustainable development, climate change, governance and rule of law, human rights and security. Assisting in changing the way all of us think about the AU, and do things for and on behalf of the AU and AUMS, underpins our work at AU Watch. That concept of CHANGE is reflected in our work on the AU and AUMS. Assisting in changing what the AU does and how it works is at the heart of our work at AU Watch.
Dialogue
AU Watch recognises and accepts that the AU is an organisation that Africa and the world need, and is here to stay. It further recognises and is convinced that the AU is the best political forum Africans have for multilateral dialogue and concerted action. We Africans should not only treasure it, but wherever we are should assist it in ensuring that it fulfils its mandate for the greater good of the continent and the entire world. We engage the AU, its Members, the private sector, civil society and our members in open debate and private discussions about what has gone wrong with Africa and the most effective ways to get Africa into 2063. We offer the AU, its Members a space to engage in public and private dialogue with some of Africa’s most excluded and vulnerable communities – people who are often excluded from decision-making. Our work enables dialogue and creates space for people to think, speak and participate.
Events
In 54 African countries, AU Watch run hundreds of private and public events – conferences, workshops and roundtables, interviews with leading AU personalities, radio and TV dramas, on stage performances, films, documentaries, seminars, yearly schools athletics, football and other sports competitions, press conferences / briefings, schools / colleges debating competitions, moot court competitions for schools and colleges, spelling competitions. Through these events we seek to empower Africa to have the knowledge and power to hold power to account. Our convening power attracts world leaders and the best analysts in their respective fields from across the globe. Working in partnership with the AU and various partners we provide access to useful, timely, understandable and reliable information on the AU – helping people make sense of events, engage in dialogue and take action to improve their lives.
Strengthening Capacity
Streghnthening Capacity
Underpinning all our projects is the objective of empowering the African citizenry, help them make sense of the socio-economic and political events, within Africa’s foremost multilateral organisation, engage in dialogue with its leaders and take action to improve their lives. Consequently, strengthening capacity is key to our work with individuals, communities, audiences, media professionals, the AU and its Member States and other CSOs. By sharing skills and knowledge, we improve people’s ability to make informed choices and improve their lives.
Media and Communication
We use the media and communication to empower people and communities to have the power to claim their basic human rights, to escape poverty, injustice, and misrule. AU Watch understands that media and communication can have a deep and positive result on the lives of people – especially on the poor and vulnerable. So, through our media programs and projects we aim to develop and support some very provocative conversations about how the AU and AUMS can create effective institutions in Africa that allows meaningful participation by the populace; develop and support some stimulating conversations about how the AU and AUMS can create effective rules of governance; create an environment of social, economic and political pressure about and on the AU, and what should be done to achieve more equitable economic and social outcomes and convey information about the AU, serving as a public education tool.
Research
Research is at the heart of what we do. We carry out independent and rigorous analysis of critical regional and country-specific challenges and opportunities facing the AU and its Members, examining the changing nature of regional geopolitics through the lens of our core research themes – Agenda 2063, Silencing the guns, African governance architecture, sustainable and equitable growth, and improving the rules-based order. We gather and analyze data, share it worldwide, and help to empower disadvantaged communities in Africa to understand their rights and ability to improve themselves and the region.
We collaborate with several research affiliates and gratefully acknowledge support from the AU and in particular the University of The Gambia, Legacy University, The Gambia and University of Makeni in Sierra Leone. Our research and consultancy services are based on lessons learned from nearly 30 years of development, human rights, and security work. We understand that failure to base policy and programs on sound political, scientific, economic and social analysis can have disastrous consequences for whole communities. Growing inequalities, social deprivation, discrimination, hunger, and disease are all caused by poor decision making and neglecting to implement evidence-based policy. We are renowned for our innovative and in-depth approach to research. Our reports, papers, books and other research outputs are a key resource for civil society, researchers, students’ leaders and policymakers in the AU and governments and the private sector.
Leadership
We believe AU leadership is essential in the regional struggle for security, development, the attainment of Agenda 2063 and human rights, so we press the AU and its states managers to respect the laws they create and the treaties they sign. When they fail, we step in to demand reform, accountability, and justice. Because of our unique knowledge of Africa and our role in helping to address regional challenges, AU Watch promotes constructive engagement with the leadership of the AU and its institutions. The aim is to promote the adoption of sound policies to further regional peace and security and maintain civilised relations amongst member states. With decades of experience within our team, we’ve teamed up with frontline journalists, activists and analysts to tackle regional challenges that demand AU leadership.
So, we promote constructive leadership and engagement in regional and international affairs based on the AU Watch’s central role in addressing regional challenges. We provide a platform for circumnavigating the multifarious, perplexing economic and political landscape of Africa by galvanising our exclusively influential network of regional leaders, researchers, journalists, analysts, and scholars. In that regard, AU Watch has created and sponsored the ‘Nelson Mandela Academy for Leadership in African Affairs’ with a view of assisting the AU and its States Parties to develop a new generation of leaders capable of crafting innovative responses to the most pressing challenges facing Africa.
