The conference comprised of two very important meetings namely:
• Intergovernmental Experts Meeting held from 8th to 11th December 2005. The main objective the Expert’s meeting was to prepare an agenda for the African Ministers meeting.

• The African Ministers of Culture Conference held on 13th and 14th December 2005 whose main objective was to develop further the Experts report and to pre-pare an agenda of how to mainstream African culture in development to be pre-sented during the AU Summit scheduled to take place in Sudan in January 2006 whose theme will be “Culture and Education”.

The Vice President of Kenya Hon. Moody Awori officially opened the African Ministers of Culture Conference while the Minister for Gender Sports, and Culture & Social Services Hon. Maina Kamanda opened the Intergovernmental Experts Meeting. Other key speakers at the conference were; Assis-tant Director General UNESCO and African Union Commissioner for Social Affairs.

All the above speakers in their address recognized the importance of integrating culture into developmnent and commended the African Union for initiating the Con-ference and the Kenyan gov-ernment for agreeing to host the conference.

Delegates attending the conference were all in agree-ment that there is need to strengthen existing cultural policy instruments with a view to tenter into new com-mitments that can give African cultures the prominent place they deserve.

• To preserve cultural heritage and promote cultural development in all spheres and dimensions by creating pro-pitious environment.

• To Consider culture as foun-dation and engine of socio-economic development and thus promote the integration of cultural factors in development goals and use culture in addressing present-day challenges.

• To Devote special attention and resources to women and youth for their crucial contribu-tion to a much-needed social transformation in Africa.

• To Foster the link between culture and education at all levels and ensure that edu-cation is rooted in African cultural life in such a way that the youth is empowered and prepared to cope, successfully and in African perspective, with present and future chal-lenges of the modern world.

• To Encourage policies that foster the development of Afri-can languages and improve communication and par-ticipation of all people in cultural life as it is fit in a democratic society.

• Reaffirmed to promote cul-tural industries and cultural producers by harmonizing domestic policies that enhance intra-regional exchange of cul-tural products, consolidating existing cultural markets, creating new opportunities, and protecting copyrights.

• In addition to strengthening the existing cultural policy instruments and esta-blishing new ones it was recommended that governments also facilitate; regional networks of cultural creators, practitioners and professionals to expedite continental cultural integration.

• That Africa must assert the contribution of the African culture to global civilization in association with its Diaspora and must also promote cul-tural diversity and intercultural dialogue as a tool for integration, conflict resolution and development.

• The updated Cultural Charter of Africa;

• The updated Dakar Plan of Action for the promotion of cultural industries for Africa’s Development;

• Programmes on African Languages (academy of lan-guages and year of African languages);

• The proposal prepared by the meeting of experts to establish Pan – African Cul-tural Institute;

• The plan to hold the First edition of Pan – African Cul-tural Congress in Nairobi, Kenya in march 2006;

• The African position paper on the state of the world heritage in Africa and the proposal for the creation of the African World heritage Fund; and

• South Africa’s hosting of the 1st African Film Summit and the General Congress of FEPACI from 3rd to 4th April 2006.