On 24 and 25 February 2009, ACCORD hosted H.E. Dr. Salim Salim, the former Secretary General of the Organisation of African Unity (now the African Union). Dr. Salim was in South Africa to gather information on the process leading up to the April 2009 South African elections for the African Union.
Officially hosted by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), ACCORD hosted Dr. Slim on his visit to the Province of KwaZulu Natal.
L – R Dr. Rama Naidoo (Executive Director, Democracy Development Programme – DDP); Mr. Mawethu Mosery (Provincial Electoral Officer for KwaZulu Natal); Dr. Salim Salim; Mr. Vasu Gounden (Founder and Executive Director, ACCORD); Ms Ela Gandhi (Granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi) and Mr. Paddy Kearny (Diakonia Council of Churches).
Besides meetings with a host of political figures, ACCORD also hosted a dinner discussion on the evening of the 24th where various role players could brief Dr. Salim on the process leading up to April 2009 and the political situation in KwaZulu Natal, including at the grass roots level. On the morning of the 25th Dr. Salim visited ACCORD House where he met with ACCORD Staff and shared some of his experiences of working in Africa, especially in Darfur.
Vasu Gounden with Dr. Salim at his ACCORD House presentation to ACCORD Staff.
In 1995 Dr. Salim presented ACCORD’s Africa Peace Award (APA) to then President H.E. President Nelson Mandela at the Awards function in Durban, South Africa. Dr. Salim also participated in ACCORD’s “African Conference on Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution” (ACPCR) which was held at the same time as the 1995 APA. More recently Dr. Salim was a Resource Person at ACCORD’s “Mediating Peace in Africa: Securing Conflict Prevention” seminar which was held in Addis Ababa on 04 March 2009.
