User:Jeremytorres1151/Pan-Africanism

Pan-Africanism in the 21st Century (Initial Draft)
Since the onset of the 21st century, the internet and other similar media have facilitated the growth of many core pan-African principles by strengthening the connections between people across the diaspora. Twitter is one of these places where people across the continent and diaspora have manufactured a collective African identity. In July 2015, Botswananian satirical writer and speaker Siyanda Mohutsiwa posed a question on her Twitter account that led to the creation of the hashtag #IfAfricaWasABar. After one week, over 60,000 tweets with the hashtag were created which allowed users on the platform to grapple with a vision of widespread African interaction throughout the continent.

The intersection between the digital media revolution and pan-Africanism has also had implications for the education sector. Pan-African organizations have used the internet and digital medial to produce educational content for both children and adults that seeks to encourage solidarity between all people of African descent. The most popular is Ubongo which is Africa's largest manufacturer of educational content for children and seeks to improve learning outcomes for children across the diaspora. Tens of millions of children have consumed their content with over 24 million displaying improved learning outcomes as of 2022.

Increased globalization in the last few decades is contributing to a boom in the popularity of pan-African sentiments throughout Africa. Globalization is contributing to more connectivity between individuals and groups across the world and this is contributing to the decreasing value that many young Africans are putting on state boundaries. This devaluation combined with increased usage of colonial languages (English, French, Portuguese) and frustration with long-time rulers is heightening this continental wide solidarity amongst younger Africans with countries such as Senegal, Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire being at the forefront of this shift.

Although in an era of globalization and increased connectivity, challenges continue to exist that undermine the African Union's (AU) goal of continent wide solidarity. Many of these challenges have persisted for decades with some including inconsistent treaty implementation, ineffective governance and continued involvement from foreign economic superpowers amongst others. Influence from the United States, Britain and France continues to remain while new countries such as China are increasingly became involved politically and economically on the continent with many referring to this era as a "new scramble for Africa".

One of the biggest goals that the African Union has set for the continent in the 21st century is improving long-term economic growth. Major steps have been taken to address this issue particularly with the creation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). The establishment of this free trade zone connects nations throughout the continent that together posses a GDP of upwards of 2.5 trillion USD. The emergence of Covid-19 has delayed its implementation but in the long term, the African Union hopes that the agreement will spur industrialization and substantially boost trade within Africa.

An expansion in the popularity of hip-hop culture in the 21st century has also increased the role hip-hop is playing for pan-African solidarity across the diaspora although limitations still remain. At a conference at Howard University on March 4, 2016, Assistant Professor of African Studies Msia K. Clark spoke of the historical connection that has linked pan-Africanism and hip-hop since the genre's birth and how hip-hop was at the forefront of uprisings in both Senegal in 2011 and Burkina Faso in 2013 which led to many artists being jailed for their involvement.

Added to lead
In the age of globalization and rapid technological advancement, the compression of space and time facilitated by new technologies has contributed to the growth of Pan-African thought in a way that is helping to promote unity throughout the diaspora.

Hip hop (adding additional info on some stuff that has happened in the 21st century)
An expansion in the popularity of hip-hop culture in the 21st century has also increased the role hip-hop is playing for pan-African solidarity across the diaspora although the opportunity for a greater Pan-African involvement remains. At a conference at Howard University on March 4, 2016, Assistant Professor of African Studies Msia K. Clark spoke of the historical connection that has linked pan-Africanism and hip-hop since the genre's birth and how hip-hop culture has been at the forefront of various movements throughout the continent in the 21st century. One of these movements involved Y'en a Marre which was a collection of mainly Senegalese rap artists that are attributed with helping to remove former President Abdoulaye Wade from office in 2012 through the mass electoral mobilization of Senegal's youth.

Social Media and the Internet
Since the onset of the digital revolution, the internet and other similar media have facilitated the growth of many core pan-African principles by strengthening and increasing connections between people across the diaspora. Although internet penetration rates remain below the world average, roughly 43% of the population of Africa uses the internet and social media with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube being some of the most popular social networking sites. The ability to connect with people thousands of miles away has allowed these platforms to become places where people across the continent and diaspora have attempted to manufacture a collective African identity. Twitter has been one of the biggest sites where this production is taking place. In July 2015, Botswananian satirical writer and speaker Siyanda Mohutsiwa posed a question on her Twitter account that led to the creation of the hashtag #IfAfricaWasABar. After one week, over 60,000 tweets with the hashtag were created which allowed users on the platform to grapple with a vision of widespread African interaction throughout the continent.

The intersection between the digital media revolution and pan-Africanism has also had implications for the education sector. Pan-African organizations have used the internet and digital media to produce educational content for both children and adults in an effort to improve learning outcomes across the continent. The most popular is Ubongo which is Africa's largest manufacturer of educational content for children and uses shows such as Akil and Me to help Africa's youth improve literacy outcomes. The results have been widespread with Ubongo claiming that 24 million children have displayed enhanced learning outcomes and a study in Tanzania finding an association between improved mathematics skills and children consuming Ubongo's content.

Globalization
Increased globalization in the last few decades is contributing to a boom in the popularity of pan-African sentiments among many young Africans that identify with the middle-class. Increased connectivity associated with globalization is helping to de-emphasize conceptions of statehood which is contributing to the rise of a "new pan-Africanism". This new conception of pan-Africanism prioritizes economic development, democratic ideals and government restructuring rather than solely concentrating on identity. This new approach to pan-Africanism combined with increased usage of colonial languages (English, French, Portuguese) and frustration with long-time rulers is heightening this continental wide solidarity among younger Africans with countries such as Senegal, Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire being at the forefront of this shift.

African Union
One of the biggest goals that the African Union has set for the continent in the 21st century is improving long-term economic growth. Major steps have been taken to address this issue particularly with the creation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). The establishment of this free trade zone connects nations throughout the continent that together posses a GDP of upwards of 2.5 trillion USD. The emergence of Covid-19 has delayed its implementation but in the long term, the African Union hopes that the agreement will spur industrialization, substantially boost trade, and contribute to increasing economic integration throughout the continent.

The African Union has also sought to make changes on policies involving movement within the continent. Similar to the current agreement in the European Union, the African Union proposed a free movement policy that would allow residents of countries in the union to move throughout the continent freely and participate in economic endeavors in other countries. The majority of countries have not formally signed off on the agreement and others are critical of the prospects of success but the African Union continues to view this policy as a major step toward its goal of continent wide solidarity and integration.

Although in an era of globalization and increased connectivity, challenges continue to persist that undermine the African Union's goal of continent wide solidarity. Many of these challenges have persisted for decades with some including inconsistent treaty implementation, ineffective governance and continued involvement from foreign economic superpowers amongst others. Influence from the United States, Britain and France continues to remain while new countries such as China are increasingly became involved politically and economically on the continent with many referring to this era as a "new scramble for Africa".