How will the countrys of the EAC deal with the need for national identity and Autonomy that some need. Im a Pan Africanist but i do like national identity and i think that regionalism would undermine that. Their is something special about being kenyan, tanzanian, rwandan, burundian etc..... and perhaps regionalism undermines national identity. Do you guys think that local authonomy is lost to a larger political unit? :) Dont get me wrong i like the EAC and its beautiful for the strength of those countries in economics, politics and military i just have some concerns. I also wonder if this model will be copied by other countries. What about naming it something like "Swahilia" instead of EAC


AFRICA LOVE

:banana:

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True. Most East Africans are patriotic about their respective contries. However I think we would better be identified with a larger more prosperous state than the current small territories drawn up in some conference in Europe during the 19th century. I think autonomy would not be completely lost since the individual states will still be self governing but under a supreme E.A. government.

As for ''Swahilia'' ...I think I like the title E.A.F. better or simply East Africa.

^^
True. Most East Africans are patriotic about their respective contries. However I think we would better be identified with a larger more prosperous state than the current small territories drawn up in some conference in Europe during the 19th century. I think autonomy would not be completely lost since the individual states will still be self governing but under a supreme E.A. government.

As for ''Swahilia'' ...I think I like the title E.A.F. better or simply East Africa.

"Swahilia" may be a bad name but the idea is right. E.A.F. or E.A. are not as unifying as a real name for a country.

"Swahilia" may be a bad name but the idea is right. E.A.F. or E.A. are not as unifying as a real name for a country.

What do you suggest, should the country have a name like Eastoria?:nuts:

What do you suggest, should the country have a name like Eastoria?:nuts:

no.
it should have a name that is relative to all (or at least most) of the community

I Think East African Community or Federation is the best as it's already widely known in business circles around the world.A new name like Swahilia or UTAKE(acronym for UGANDA,TANZANIA AND KENYA) as some have suggested is not a good move.We don't want to start explaining ourselves to potential investors or tourists who we are.

As for ''Swahilia'' ...I think I like the title E.A.F. better or simply East Africa.

I think EAF is a great name already but I think East Africa is even better, the words federation and especially community give a feeling that it is some sort of loose and even temporary partnership. Rather than a country.
Maybe they should start off naming it EAF and change to East Africa over time, when there's a stronger sense of east african nationallity.

I think EAF is a great name already but I think East Africa is even better, the words federation and especially community give a feeling that it is some sort of loose and even temporary partnership. Rather than a country.
Maybe they should start off naming it EAF and change to East Africa over time, when there's a stronger sense of east african nationallity.
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Totally agree. For example Tanzania is officially called the United Republic of Tanzania (union between Tanganyika and zanzibar) but everybody simply calls it Tanzania. So E.A.F simply becomes East Africa.:)

a name in swahili is best. east africa is fine in some settings, but im sure they can think of a swahili name that speaks to all or most of them

Afrika Mashariki = East Africa ;)

Afrika Mashariki = East Africa ;)

too cumbersome. what else you got?

I was thinking, since many countries are named after a physical feature eg Niger, Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia e.t.c. why cant we pick one major physical feature in the region and name the E.A.F. after it. I have in mind lake Victoria (kenya, Uganda and Tanzania share a common boundary on the lake and its smack in the middle of the region). How does Victorialand sound, or we can take the lake's african name-Nyanza.:)

I was thinking, since many countries are named after a physical feature eg Niger, Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia e.t.c. why cant we pick one major physical feature in the region and name the E.A.F. after it. I have in mind lake Victoria (kenya, Uganda and Tanzania share a common boundary on the lake and its smack in the middle of the region). How does Victorialand sound, or we can take the lake's african name-Nyanza.:)
excellent idea (came up with it myself a while back but didn't put that much thought into it...)
Nyanza or some form of that word sounds promising, but Victorialand?:ohno: i'm not even sure where to begin on that one. why are we so complacent with naming stuff after an ugly woman who most likely never set foot on the continent, and only saw it as her own treasure trove? what in the world did she ever do for africa or africans?

on second thought, i think i really do like Nyanza. hmmm... "i'm going to Nairobi, Nyanza"

excellent idea (came up with it myself a while back but didn't put that much thought into it...)
Nyanza or some form of that word sounds promising, but Victorialand?:ohno: i'm not even sure where to begin on that one. why are we so complacent with naming stuff after an ugly woman who most likely never set foot on the continent, and only saw it as her own treasure trove? what in the world did she ever do for africa or africans?

on second thought, i think i really do like Nyanza. hmmm... "i'm going to Nairobi, Nyanza"
^^
There's one problem though. Nyanza is already the name of a province in Kenya (to the southwest where the lake is). "Nairobi, Nyanza'' does sound funny to me (but I guess even ''Nairobi, East Africa'' will take time getting used to.)

I think I found the best name for the E.A.F.

The ancient greeks used to call the East African coastline from Somalia to Mozambique Azania. If I had my way, that sounds like a nice name for East Africa and it also sounds more like a country.

I think I found the best name for the E.A.F.

The ancient greeks used to call the East African coastline from Somalia to Mozambique Azania. If I had my way, that sounds like a nice name for East Africa and it also sounds more like a country.
perfect name, except many south africans refer to their country as azania

perfect name, except many south africans refer to their country as azania
^^
It was the name the saffers hoped they would give their country during the struggle to bring down apartheid (well it never happeded so the name South Africa will remain). I think its time to return the name to its rightful owners.:cheers:

I think I found the best name for the E.A.F.

The ancient greeks used to call the East African coastline from Somalia to Mozambique Azania.

Thats interesting, never knew that.

I think I found the best name for the E.A.F.

The ancient greeks used to call the East African coastline from Somalia to Mozambique Azania. If I had my way, that sounds like a nice name for East Africa and it also sounds more like a country.
y'know i just realized, even though azania sounds cool it is still a foreign word and maybe shouldn't be used.

East africa sounds just good. There is no need to complicate stuff with far fetched names.

How about "Afrika ya Mashariki"? The Swahili translation, right?