Celebrate The Spirit Of Africa Day Every Day - Arterial Network

“Africa will write its own history, and it will be, to the north and to the south of the Sahara, a history of glory and dignity.” - Patrice Lumumba

“Africa must join forces to bring its potential to full fruition, so that we can celebrate the continent, not just today, but every day. Together, let us work for a united and prosperous Africa!” - Mamou Daffé - Chairperson - Arterial Network

As celebrated every year, Arterial Network marked international Africa Day on the 25th of May 2017 with celebrations hosted by national affiliates, which this year included Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Togo.

Arterial Network Cameroon

Arterial Network Cameroon celebrated Africa Day with a panel discussion titled, "Pan-Africanism: A Tool for African Development" led by panelists Cabral Libii, Ateba Ossende and Tayou Kamgue. The event took place at the Museum of Blackitude in Yaoundé.





RECAF/ Arterial Network Chad

RECAF/ Arterial Network Chad arranged a celebration at the Maison de la Culture Baba Moustapha in N'Djaména.

Réseau Kya/ Arterial Network Mali

Réseau Kya/ Arterial Network Mali and the Centre Culturel Kôrè Ségou celebrated Africa Day with a lecture titled "Culture as the foundation of the African Union," led by Dr. Fodé Moussa Sidibe.





Assalamalekoum Cultures/ Arterial Network Mauritania

Through the Assalamalekoum Festival, Arterial Network Mauritania organised a panel discussion at its headquarters in Nouakchott to look at various new cultural media that promotes African integration. The official Africa Day message from Mamou Daffe (Arterial Network Chairperson) was printed and distributed to all participants. The evening was attended by journalists and cultural actors, as well as some key partners, such as the GIZ German Cooperation and the cultural activities department of the French Embassy in Nouakchott.





The event was an opportunity for Limam Kane (known as Monza), Chairperson of the Festival Assalamalekoum and Arterial Network Mauritania, and Cheikh Aïdara, Secretary General, to present the rich programme for the upcoming 10th anniversary of the festival. The festival will kick off on the 29th of June with the participation of a dozen foreign artists and talent from all regions of Mauritania.

The 10th anniversary of the festival will also be devoted to the launch of the "Nouakchott, Creative City" project that will be financed by Arterial Network over the next two years. The aim of the project in Nouakchott is to simultaneously create a space of relaxation, training, production and realisation of cultural and artistic works.

Adafest Senegal/ Arterial Network Senegal

In Senegal, the Africa Day festivities were brought forward to the 24th of May due to the Christian holiday held on the 25th of May. Arts et Culture Consulting, in partnership with Adafest Senegal/ Arterial Network Senegal, organised a Jazz Manding 'afterwork special' at the Cave Hôtel le Djoloff that featured various musicians from Guinea, Mali and Côte d'Ivoire who are based in Senegal. In the spirit of celebrating Africa Day, this gathering of multiple nationalities was the perfect symbol of African unity.







Arts et Culture Consulting also organised a series of workshops for a number of cultural actors (representing visual art, urban culture, traditional dance etc) under the overarching theme of “African Cultural Industry.” These meetings were held on Gorée Island at the Mister Co. workshop. The first phase of the workshop was held under the symbol of Africa Day and provided a platform for participants to discuss issues that hinder the development of African cultural industries in areas popular with tourists, like Gorée Island. The workshop also provided an opportunity to showcase the Arterial Network toolkits that contain useful information regarding funding applications, cultural administration, capacity building of artists in various fields and how to build networks across Africa. At the end of the workshop, participants were selected for the upcoming Maaya Entrepreneurship training workshop.

Arterial Network Togo

The celebration in Togo took place on the 27th of May at the Heinrich Klose Association headquarters in Agbalépédogan, Lomé. The event brought together numerous well known names in the Togolese cultural milieu, such as Leonardo Yakanou, Malik Ayeva and Landry Teko to name but a few, and it echoed the spirit of the other Arterial Network Africa Day celebrations held across multiple locations on the 25th of May.



A large number of cultural managers and several artists also made the trip for the meeting. The event was organised under the title “The role and place of the artistic manager in the cultural system in Africa.” The guests shared their experiences with the audience, and raised many concerns related not only to the deontology of the position of artistic or cultural managers, but also relating to the absence of a well-developed or well-defined legal and administrative framework, emanating from the state authority that is meant to oversee the wellbeing of the sector. Moreover, the assembly also discussed certain challenges that hinder the development of managers in the field. For more information about the event, click here.