THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
There’s still time to catch the best of African music and culture in Germany this summer. From lively street festivals to open-air concerts, here are the events worth making time for before the season ends.
African Music Festival Emmendingen
7 – 9 August / Emmendingen, Schlossplatz
The festival celebrates its 26th anniversary this year. What began as a modest gathering has blossomed into a cultural institution of international significance. Each day of the festival promises a musical highlight to remember.
Get ready for a world-class, diverse program that’s as exciting as it is unforgettable!
African Culture Festival Berlin
8–9 August 2026 / Berlin, Beach Neukölln
A two-day open-air festival with music, street food, fashion, art, drumming workshops and a kids’ corner.
Afrikanisches Kulturfest Frankfurt
14–16 August 2026 / Frankfurt am Main, Rebstockpark
Over three days, visitors can enjoy concerts, dance, reggae, Afrobeat, traditional African culture and contemporary musical influences. As a family festival, the event will also offer activities for children and adults, including acrobatics, creative workshops, games and dance sessions. A major highlight is the return of the Africa Forum, providing a space for discussion and reflection on current developments in Africa and its diaspora. Key issues will include the conflict in Sudan and the political situation in the West African Sahel.
https://www.afrikanisches-kulturfest.de
African Food Festival Berlin
– Summer Market Edition –
21–23 August 2026 / Berlin, Jules | B-Part
Join a full weekend of delicious food, electrifying music and unique shopping finds at Berlin’s most exciting open-air venue in the heart of the city. From traditional dishes like Fufu to bold and creative fusion cuisine, this is where flavors meet culture. An opportunity to taste, dance and celebrate with others.
https://www.africanfoodfestival.de
MitAfrika Festival
21 – 23 August / Cologne, Schockoladenmuseum
The festival celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and brings together an impressive roster of international artists, including Orchestra Baobab (Senegal), Dobet Gnahoré (Ivory Coast), Lamisi (Ghana), Nomfusi (South Africa), Mirta (Cuba), Senjam (Senegal/Germany), Dunyabele (Guinea-Bissau/Germany), Kwaggawerk (Germany), Omar Diatta (Gambia) and Epixode (Ghana). And for the 20th time running, the West African percussion group Mama Afrika (Ivory Coast, Guinea, Congo, Senegal) will close the festival with their “Feast of the Senses”.
Afro-Ruhr Festival
28 – 28 September / Dortmund, Friedenplatz
Get ready for three unforgettable days of rhythm, colour and culture at the festival — a spectacular celebration of Africa right in the heart of the Ruhr region! From electrifying live concerts and a bustling bazaar to hands-on workshops and high-energy club nights, this festival is a feast for the senses. But the celebration doesn’t end there — the spirit of Africa pulses through a rich program of cultural events before and after the festival weekend. Discover the continent through powerful literary readings, thought-provoking films and striking visual art exhibitions that reveal Africa’s depth, diversity and creativity.
Alafia–Afrika Festival Hamburg
28 – 30 August / Hamburg, Große Bergstrasse
Alafia stands for peace, tolerance and openness. With rhythmic music, individual craftsmanship and delicacies from different countries, the festival brings together the cultures of the African continent in Hamburg.
“For political and symbolic reasons, it is important to us to present Black music, political discourse, and the Black Albarika Market publicly in the very heart of the city,” the organisers say. “In doing so, we send a clear message against racism and discrimination, and underline the need for an international festival in the centre of Hamburg, a Free and Hanseatic City that proudly embraces its identity as a multicultural metropolis. This is our stand — for an open and inclusive society!”
Afrika Film Festival Köln
17 – 27 September / Cologne
In its 23rd year, the festival will present films from Africa and its diaspora and play hosts to international filmmakers. In addition to the screenings, podium discussions, featuring directors, will debate the current standing of the African filmmaking world.
If last year’s edition, staged under the banner “African cinema lives — and Cologne remains its stage,” was defined by its defiance in the face of funding cuts, this year the festival turns inward, towards a theme that is harder to put into words: healing.
It’s not healing as a tidy resolution, organisers are careful to stress, but as something messier and more honest — a process that demands courage, community and memory, and rarely arrives with a clean ending. It’s a fitting thread for a programme built almost entirely around characters picking up the pieces after war, displacement or personal loss, and finding, in ways large and small, a reason to keep going.
AFRIKAMERA
9 – 15 November/Berlin, Kino Arsenal
By presenting current films by African directors, the festival aims to immerse its visitors in the cultural, historical, social, religious and political consciousness of contemporary Africa. It cooperates with the major African film festivals, from Ouagadougou (with FESPACO) to Marrakech and Durban, in order to present African cinema in all its diversity
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