The United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) will on Monday, January 24, 2022 hold an online workshop within the framework of the celebration of the World Day for African and Afro-descendant Culture.
Proclaimed by UNESCO in November 2019 during the 40th session of its General Conference, the World Day for African and Afro-descendant Culture is celebrated each January 24, a date which coincides with the adoption of the Charter for the Cultural Renaissance of Africa on January 24, 2006 by the Heads of State and Government of the African Union.
This celebration is the result of the efforts led by the African Network of Cultural Promoters and Entrepreneurs (RAPEC) with the support of UCLG Africa.
The theme chosen for the year 2022 is: “Culture, an element of expression of African identity”.
UCLG Africa believes that the world has much to gain from acknowledging and adopting values such as respect of nature, humaneness, and the sharing of the African cultural identity.
According to UCLG Africa, celebrating African culture around these values is a call for acknowledgement of the unbreakable solidarity between the African people as a condition for survival on a planet that they are sharing with the rest of the living world, and on which the survival of human beings is threatened by the competition of all against all.
Celebrating the cultural African identity is choosing this fundamental bond with nature and other living beings while respecting each other and sharing.
This workshop proposes to bring the perspective of the local governments of Africa in the celebration of the 2022 World Day for African and Afro-descendant Culture.
The results of the work will be presented during the Culture Day at the 9th Africities Summit to be held from May 17 to May 21, 2022 in Kisumu, Kenya.
The panelists of the workshop are: Ms. Asmaa Rhlalou, President of the City Council of Rabat, Morocco; Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, Secretary General of UCLG Africa; Mr. John Ayité Dossavi, President of the African Network of Cultural Promoters and Entrepreneurs (RAPEC); Mr. Alain Bidjeck, Director of the Movement of Creative Africa (MOCA), the forum of African cultures and Diasporas in France; Mr. Raoul Rugamba, CEO of Africa in Colours, Fields of Cultural, Creative and Digital Industries in Rwanda and the Great Lakes Region; Mr. Monceyf Fadili, Essayist, author of the book (Rabat, un printemps confiné); and Mr. Mustapha Moufid, Director of the Department of Culture, Migration, Peace and Security, UCLG Africa.
The discussions will be moderated by Mr. Khalil Gueye, a journalist, and an online debate with the participants will follow.
