MOTTO:

“Fides et Ratio” is the motto of the JNTT. It invites all to understand the importance of promoting rigorous thinking enlightened by the Gospel and intelligible to all people.

Our Mission

The fundamental mission of the JNTT is to assist the Church in Africa in fulfilling her evangelizing mission, which consists in converting “solely through the divine power of the message she proclaims, both the personal and collective conscience of people. The fundamental mission of the JNTT is to assist the Church in Africa in fulfilling her evangelizing mission, which consists in converting “solely through the divine power of the message she proclaims, both the personal and collective consciences of people, the activities in which they engage, and the lives and concrete milieu which are theirs.” (Saint Paul VI, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi, 1975, n. 18). As a laboratory of ideas and a source of proposals, the JNTT has the specific task of generating pan-African cultural, economic and political ideas that are both innovative and highly transformative.

Our Vision

Established in 2024 to support the work of the St John Paul II Chaplaincy to the African Union, the Julius Nyerere Think Tank (JNTT) aims to be a laboratory of ideas and a source of proposals to assist the Church in Africa in promoting integral human development and the African Union in achieving the goals of Agenda 2063.

Values

Justice, peace, truth and the preferential option for the poor are the four values that guide the work of JNTT.

Areas of Interest

The areas of interest of the JNTT are:

1. Justice, Integral Human Development
2. Peace and Security
3. Environmental Protection and
4. Culture.

Tutelle

As an initiative of the Saint John Paul II Chaplaincy to the African Union, the JNTT is under the supervision of its Board of Directors, which Adetermines its guidelines and ensures its administration.

Structure

In order to function effectively and thus fulfil its mission, the JNTT is structured on two levels. It has a Coordinating Committee and Working Groups.

Activities

JNTT undertakes the following activities in accordance with its mission and values:

1. Conducting high quality studies and research;
2. Promoting dialogue among relevant African Union stakeholders;
3. Facilitating public debate through seminars, workshops and round tables;
4. Advocating and proposing solutions and actions of all kinds;
5. And to disseminating new ideas and best practices.

JNTT organizes periodic public conferences and workshops bringing together a limited number of experts on selected topics.

Operation

The Coordinating Committee is composed of a General Coordinator, who represents the Committee and coordinates its activities, a Permanent Secretary and two members. The Permanent Secretary assists and provides technical support to the General Coordinator and facilitates relations between the JNTT structures and the Board of Directors. The two members are appointed by the Board of Directors.

The Working Groups, as technical units, will be the main and real framework for the production of ideas and proposals . The Working Groups are as follows:

(1) Culture, Education and Social Affairs,

(2) Peace, Security and Political Affairs,

(3) Migrants, Refugees and Diaspora,

(4) Caring of our Common Home, and

(5) And Integral Human Development.

Potentially open to all those who meet the selection criteria defined by the Chaplaincy, the JNTT is composed of individuals with proven competence and/or recognized experience in their respective fields of activity, but who have also demonstrated their commitment to the mission of the Church and the Constitutive Act of the African Union.

WHY MWALIMU JULIUS NYERERE

Julius Nyerere (1922-1999) was a great man in many ways. The Tanzanian leader’s life and achievements can still be an inspiration to many today. The single most important fact is that he was both coherent and consistent in what he believed in. He walked the talk, as the saying goes. His intellectual rigour enabled him to write volumes about his political thinking and philosophy while in office. He is said to have been the author of his speeches. He was an eloquent public speaker, fluent in both English and Swahili. Apart from politics, he translated literary works such as The Merchants of Venice into Swahili.

Mwalimu Julius Nyerere voluntarily retired from the presidency of Tanzania and became a farmer in his village. Amazingly, a man of his stature found time to teach catechism in his local parish. He is a true role model for religious and spiritual leaders, statesmen, diplomats and intellectuals in Africa. He can be seen as a president, statesman , pan-Africanist, intellectual, writer and champion of African liberation.A former teacher (hence the title Mwalimu), Nyerere was an educator: he could explain sophisticated concepts to ordinary people in very simple language, using stories and examples. Mwalimu was a devout Catholic.

He is now a Servant of God in the process of beatification and canonis

Contact Us

St John Paul II African Union Chaplaincy, 69 Ras Lulseged Street, P.O. Box 9166, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Email: catholic.africanunion@gmail.com. Tel/WhatsApp: +251900485018