29 March 2018

Africalia presentation

A society nourished by culture and an alternative economy based on creativity is not a dream. This is the aim of Africalia's new cultural cooperation programme in Africa.

What's more, for the first time in over 10 years, Africalia is once again opening up to Belgium and the Belgian cultural sector as part of a programme of Education for Global Citizenship and Solidarity (ECMS). Behind this acronym lies the desire of people working in various artistic disciplines to give meaning to cultural mixing and to combine our plural identities.

All these new features can be discovered on Africalia's new website, a showcase for the activities organised by its partners and the team in its 2018-2021 programme.

Abandoned and neglected, it is vital to put the arts and culture back at the centre of our thinking about the societies we want to see.

Debate: "Culture and creativity as vectors for change in Belgium and Africa

What are the challenges facing cultural cooperation today? What is Africalia's position within it? During this presentation, Africalia's partners will play a key role. Active in the field and well versed in the issues at stake, they will be able to testify to the usefulness and impact of their activities - at local, national, regional and/or continental level - and express their views on the themes highlighted in the Africalia programme:

* Culture and creativity as drivers of change
* Artistic mobility
* Access to markets

Speakers will include : Frédéric Jacquemin (Director of Africalia - Belgium)Faisal Kiwewa (Director and founder of Bayimba Foundation - Uganda)Wend-Lassida Ouedraogo (Coordinator of the CNA Afrique - Burkina Faso) and Christophe Galent (Director of Halles de Schaerbeek - Belgium). The meeting will be moderated by Annabelle Van Nieuwenhuyse (Presenter - Belgium).

The debate will be conducted in French.

This presentation will be followed by a cocktail reception.

Register for the presentation

Participation is free, but you must register to attend the presentation.
Please confirm your attendance by 23/03/2018 at the latest by email to event4@africalia.be or by telephone on +32 (0)2 412 58 80.

Practical info

Date : 29 March 2018, 10.30am
Location: La Bellone, Rue de Flandre 46, 1000 Brussels
Transport : metro De Brouckère / Sainte Catherine or tram 3 and 4 Bourse
Parking : Q-park, Place du Nouveau Marché aux Grains 2, 1000 Brussels

The speakers

Frédéric Jacquemin Before taking up his post as Director of Africalia, Frédéric Jacquemin was a Cultural Policy Expert at the Secretariat of the Africa-Caribbean-Pacific Group of States. As part of this role, he coordinated the ACP Cultural Observatory, where he conducted studies on creative industries and cultural policies in ACP countries from 2009 to 2012. He has designed development initiatives and training courses in cultural business management in sub-Saharan Africa for the Hicter Foundation and organisations such as the Belgian Technical Cooperation, the Observatory of Cultural Policies in Africa and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. Frédéric Jacquemin holds an M.A. in Art History and Archaeology from the Université Catholique de Louvain and an M.A. in Business Administration from the Institut E. Solvay-Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Faisal Kiwewa Faisal Kiwewa is the founding director of the Bayimba Cultural Foundation. Alongside a talented team, he has succeeded in transforming the Ugandan arts scene, taking it from a rather static state to its current dynamic state. As part of Bayimba, Faisal has organised a series of festivals, from the Bayimba International Festival of the Arts (11th edition) to various festivals across Uganda (between 2010 and 2015). He was instrumental in launching the regional forum DOADOA | East African Performing Arts Market (6th edition) and the Kampala International Theatre Festival (4th edition), and more recently in breathing new life into the Amakula International Film Festival and Dance Week Uganda. He is frequently called upon to act as programme director, organiser, committee or jury member for various festivals and events across the continent, and is a regular guest speaker and trainer.

Wend-Lassida Ouédraogo Wend-Lassida Ouédraogo studied literature and cultural management and administration at the University of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. In 2013, he obtained a DEA in Language Science from the University of Ouagadougou. He also holds a master's degree in project management from the Institut Supérieur d'Informatique et de Gestion (ISIG), now the Université Aube Nouvelle. He discovered the Cinéma Numérique Ambulant (CNA) in Koudougou through the Loniya association, which was already organising activities with the CNA Mali. In 2006, the CNA Burkina was created and he became its president. He then worked for several years at Espace Gambidi as an administrator in charge of cultural programming. In 2009, he became coordinator of the CNA Afrique, a network of different CNA structures. He still holds this position today.

Portrait of Christophe Galent - Les Halles

Christophe Galent Over the past thirty years, Christophe Galent has worked in a variety of performing arts venues in France, including municipal theatres, creative centres and national stages. He has been General Secretary of Le Volcan, one of France's leading theatres, and a project manager for the OFF d'Avignon. He has (co-)edited several collective works (l'Art en Difficultéswith Cassandre/Horchamps ; Producing creationwith Cantarella, Comolli, Fisbasch, Françon, Jourdheuil, Lagarde, Milin, Mondzain, Tsaï...), and co-directed Culture(s) : Strengths and challenges of the 21st century. A member of expert commissions in France and Belgium, he now runs Les Halles de Schaerbeek, one of Brussels' leading theatres, and has developed its production capacity. A member of MASA's International Artistic Committee, he works alongside the festival and the OIF to support technical training in Africa.