The #UNHub at Expo 2020 Dubai’s Mission Possible – The Opportunity Pavilion featured an exhibition showcasing the significance and ongoing refurbishment plans of the iconic Africa Hall in Ethiopia’s capital city Addis Ababa.
Titled ‘Africa Hall, at the Origin of the UN in Africa with a Look to the Future,’ the exhibition highlights Africa Hall as a historical landmark, as well as the permanent headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
Africa Hall is a momentous edifice in the continent’s history, donated to the UN by former Ethiopian ruler Emperor Haile Selassie, with a vision of attracting the organisation to Africa and uniting African nations.
The Hall was inaugurated in 1961 as the permanent seat of ECA and has hosted a number of important meetings in the history of Pan-Africanism, including the liberation of Africa from colonialism. The charter of the Organisation of African Unity – now the African Union – was signed at Africa Hall in 1963 between 36 heads of African states.