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ANNOUNCEMENT An informative online session discussing the transition from tolerated stay (Duldung) to a secure legal right of residence in Germany will be held on Wednesday, 2 October 2024. Topics to be covered at the virtual event, titled “From Tolerated Stay to Right of Residence in Germany,” include the legal frameworks governing tolerated stay, options for regularizing one’s status and …

Berlin hosted a significant event on Saturday 21 September aimed at fostering unity and collaboration between African diplomatic missions and the organized African communities in Germany. Organized by the African Ambassadors Group, the event, christened ‘Celebration of Africa Day with the Diaspora 2024’, saw the participation of diplomats from African embassies in Germany alongside representatives of various African associations in …

Kenyan-born social entrepreneur and advocate for African girls, women and families in Germany, Virginia Wangare Greiner, is one of the two recipients of the ‘HeroinesAward 2024’ (HeldinnenAward 2024). Awarded by the Alice Schwarzer Foundation, the ‘HeroinesAward’ recognizes women who fight courageously and with dedication to improve the situation of women, whether through their professional work, social engagement or personal commitment. …

Afro-Pop stars to perform at Berlin’s international music festival Pop-Kultur Berlin’s Pop-Kultur Festival, holding from 28-30 August, is set to dazzle attendees with an electrifying lineup of performances, featuring some of Africa’s brightest stars. Among the headliners is Yemi Alade, the Nigerian Afro-pop sensation whose energetic performances have captivated audiences worldwide. Known for her vibrant stage presence, Alade will bring …

Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka turns 90 on 13 July. Femi Awoniyi and Michael Nnaji look at the life of the literary giant as a political and rights activist in the service of humanity. Born Oluwole Akinwande Soyinka on 13 July 1934 in Abeokuta, south-western Nigeria, this truly great man of many parts is often wrongly reduced to the Nobel Prize …

The Africa Centre London has rolled out an elaborate programme to celebrate the life of Wole Soyinka, the first African Nobel laureate in Literature (1986), to mark the Nigerian writer’s 90th birthday. From Friday, July 19 to Saturday, July 27, The Africa Centre will come alive with exhibitions, roundtables, film screenings, live music performances and poetry recitals to celebrate the …

The Association of Yoruba Progressive Community (AYPC) Bayern e.V. is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its founding. The group’s members are from the Yoruba-speaking areas of Nigeria living in the state of Bavaria and they support each other as well as promote their culture in Germany. Events commemorating the milestone commenced on 1 June in the Bavarian city of Munich …

Dr Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, Member of the European Parliament (MEP), condemns discrimination on the basis of religious beliefs as well as anti-Black racism, and calls for decisive action against all forms of hatred. She makes a recommendation on how to tackle Afrophobia more effectively at the European level ——- Discrimination on the basis of religious beliefs has no place in our …

New data has revealed the most ‘TikTokable’ European cities, with Berlin and Hamburg making the top ten.  Using data sourced from Statista, marketing experts at Upbeat Agency analysed the number of views each European city had received on TikTok.  Barcelona is the most popular European city on TikTok, with 106.1 billion views. The cosmopolitan capital of Spain’s most popular tourist …

Plans to eliminate the blinding disease trachoma from 16 African countries have been boosted with $36.5m (about €34.24) in new funding. Twelve of the countries supported through the Accelerate programme, led by the non-profit Sightsavers, hope to eliminate trachoma by 2027 and three will make significant progress towards this goal in that time.  Trachoma begins as a bacterial infection, with symptoms similar …

A recent study conducted by experts at Vignetteswitzerland.com has unveiled the most and least affordable European countries for car ownership.  The research considered factors such as fuel prices, vehicle taxes, and insurance costs, compared to average salaries, to assign each place a unique score to reveal where owning a car is the least financially draining.  The higher the index score …

It is quite an achievement itself that OUR ROOTS has been a Black history cartoon column featured series for 35 years. It was first published in the UK’s Voice newspaper. The history of Black people must be illustrated and that is what Tayo Fatunla (whose artistic name is TAYO) has been doing through his journalistic drawings after discovering the need …

The annual summer season of African music and culture, featuring live concerts and parading the crème de la crème of artistes from the continent and the Diaspora, in Germany enters into full swing in May. From May to November, African festivals take place across Germany. From the southwestern city of Emmendingen (near Freiburg) to the federal capital and cultural metropolis …

A Nigerian fashion brand, Deji & Kola, has opened its first store in Europe, part of its global expansion drive. Deji & Kola, founded in 2017 by two brothers – Deji and Kola Olabintan, has made its debut in the United Kingdom with the opening of its store in Kent. In a statement released by Kola Olabintan, the creative lead …

Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, (NIDCOM), has reiterated that Nigeria’s economic prosperity could be galvanised through a structured Diaspora Investment. The NIDCOM chief emphasized this at a strategic meeting with the investment group Optiva Capital Partners, a wealth management firm specializing in investment immigration, investment advisory and insurance services, in Abuja on Wednesday. She added that collaboration …

Mati Diop’s documentary Dahomey secured the top prize at the Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale, on Sunday. The film tackles the themes of colonialism and the return of looted African artifacts to the continent. The 41-year-old Senegalese-French director’s one-hour documentary follows the 26 priceless artifacts on their 2021 journey from Paris to Benin, where they were originally …

Starting in 2024, the international literature festival berlin will collaborate with a Curator in Residence. He or she will be responsible for events and invitations and will work together with the festival director and the team to develop a guiding theme for the ilb. Additionally, they will be present in Berlin during the festival. An internationally composed selection committee has …

An umbrella organisation of Black organisations in Germany, tubman.network, has successful completed the implementation of its ‘Professionalisation-Strategy’ project, aimed at bolstering support for Black communities in Berlin’s district of Mitte. Supported by the District Office Berlin-Mitte, the project addressed crucial challenges such as housing, psychosocial support, employment, access to education, emergency relief, access to health-services with a focus on providing …

InterKontinental Verlag has been honoured with the 2023 Berlin Publishing Award (Berliner Verlagspreis). The publishing company is a subsidiary of InterKontinental, the Berlin-based literary agency and association for the promotion of African and Afro-diasporic literature. The Berlin Publishing Prize 2023 was presented to InterKontinental Verlag as well as two others, Edition Tiamat and Lukas Verlag, on 5 November during a …

Adire Carnival, the Nigerian Cultural Festival that holds annually in the Austrian capital city of Vienna, has received an important endorsement from one of the most influential traditonal leaders in Africa. Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi (Ọjájá II), the Ooni of Ife, has expressed his support for the Carnival, organised by the Egbe Omo Oduduwa Austria. He was speaking in his …