Addis Ababa, Ethiopia- 29th June, 2023: Leaders attending the 1st Extraordinary Session of the General Assembly and Summit of the Organisation of Educational Cooperation, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, concluded their Session by adopting the Resolution to change the name of the Organisation to The Organisation of Southern Cooperation (OSC).
The decision was taken unanimously on 29th June, 2023, at the Summit segment, Chaired by the newly elected President of the General Assembly, H.E Azali Assoumani, the President of the Union of the Comoros.
The move to change the name followed the presentation of the Resolution from the Ministerial Session that preceded the Summit from 27th to 28th June 2023.
During that Ministerial Session, there was a robust debate in support of the urgent and critical need to align the name to the mandate of the Organisation in order to facilitate effective implementation of the Collective Programme of Member States.
Presenting the rationale for the change of name in the Ministerial Session, Secretary-General Bin Mussallam, stated that the new name is consistent with the multidimensional and trans-sectoral breadth of the vision of the Founding Documents such as the Universal Declaration of Balanced and Inclusive Education and the Constitutive Charter. He said the name change would properly align the Organisation to its mandate, ease communication and aid building effective partnerships in the interest of implementing the Common work programme.
In supporting the Resolution, delegates concurred that to effectively implement the objective of the Organisation of contributing to a “ third, alternative and inclusive way of development,” with a corresponding mandate to support Member States in reinforcing transdisciplinary research, bridging the techno-digital divide through endogenous technology development, achieving debt relief and securing favourable fresh financing for development whilst reinforcing and amplifying South-South cooperation and integration—a change of name was necessary, urgent and timely.
Delegates further observed that the new name, the Organisation of Southern Cooperation (OSC) gives the proper geographical identity of the Global South countries of Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Pacific and the Arab world—which constitutes the current and prospective future membership of the Organisation.
Welcoming the decision of the Summit to change the name, Secretary-General Bin Mussallam said the OSC Secretariat will spare no effort in moving swiftly to implement the work prgramme of member states with the urgency it deserves.
With the change of name, accordingly, all past and future documents, communications, branding and other physical, digital and online materials of the Organisation will change to reflect the new name.
While making his inaugural speech as the President of the General Assembly, HE Azali Assoumani pledged to continue supporting the Organisation to achieve the collective vision of the transformation of societies within the membership.
He said that the Organisation of Southern Cooperation carries a very important mandate of accompanying Member States to address the challenge of debt, access to more equitable financing, and creating a more inclusive and solidary international finance architecture.
On his part, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed also said that the Organisation of Southern Cooperation was a timely creation to support countries in the Global South to rekindle global solidarity and genuine multilaterism.
What has Not Changed:
- The mandate of the Organisation remains the same;
- The Charter of the Organisation remains the same;
- Education remains central to the vision and mission of the Organsation;
- The commitment to the Universal Declaration of Balanced and Inclusive Education remains;
- The emblem remains the same;
- The flag remains the same.
