CULTURE & SOCIETY

The 2021 Nobel prize for literature has been awarded to the Tanzanian-born novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah. The Swedish Academy, which awards the prize, announced the winner on Thursday, praising Gurnah for his “uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents”. The prize is worth 10 million Swedish …

A Nigerian, who has been living in Germany for more than four decades, has been awarded the country’s national honour, Bundesverdienstkreuz. Akinbode Akinbiyi, a Berlin-based photographer, author and curator, was one of the 14 citizens conferred with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland) by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on 1 October to mark …

NEW YORK, United States, October 4, 2021 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- Do you have a favorite religious site? Do you often visit sacred sites? The United Nations wants to hear from you The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), the leading UN entity on dialogue between cultures and religions, is launching a global call to action to inspire people around the …

Dr Vivian Chioma Timothy, a Germany-based Nigerian artist, will speak at the 2021 World Summit on Women and Girls. The event, which commemorates the United Nations International Day of the Girl, takes place on Thursday 28 October 2021. The self-taught, multiple award-winning artist will join global leaders such as Ms Coleiro Preca, former President of Malta; Hajia Fatoumata Jallow Tambajang, …

The 21st international literature festival berlin [ilb] holds on 8-18 September 2021, drawing participants from across the globe. During the 11-day event writers from all over the world gather in Berlin to present their work to lovers of literature. On 8 September, French-Moroccan author Leïla Slimani will give the opening speech entitled “Call for Crime” at the festival. She will …

The African Union Commission and The International Committee of All Africa Music Awards, (Afrima), have received a staggering number of 8,880 entries for the Afrima 2021 Awards. Now in its eighth year, Afrima, the ultimate recognition of African music globally honours African artists, music producers, songwriters, video directors, DJs, choreographers/dancers, and movie/film producers living on the continent or in diaspora …

The international literature festival berlin [ilb] calls on individuals, schools, universities, cultural institutions and media to participate in a Worldwide Reading for the Dead of the Corona Pandemic on September 5, 2021. The reading is intended to commemorate those who died in the pandemic. For more than a year, the world has been in the grip of the pandemic. Nearly …

Ethiopian-American writer Meron Hadero has been awarded the 2021 AKO Caine Prize for African Writing for her short story ‘The Street Sweep’, published in ZYZZYVA (2018). This is the first time an Ethiopian writer has won the Prize since its inception in 2000. The Chair of the AKO Caine Prize Judging Panel, Goretti Kyomuhendo, Founder and Director of the African …

Spurred by the obvious lack of quality children’s books for kids of African descent growing up in the diapora, authors have been striving for several years to fill the yawning gap. Berlin-based Nigerian journalist and writer Lolade Adewuyi has now made a very rich addition to the growing library for African children. His The Lost Little Masquerade is a story …

Lovers of African literature congregated in Berlin for the African Book Festival Berlin on 16 – 17 July 2021 to celebrate writing from the Continent and its Diaspora. The festival, first held in 2017, continues to go from strength to strength. Although this year’s event had a Lusophonic slant to it, celebrating, in the main, Literature and Music from Portugal, …

Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Saturday said the Federal Government will be responsible for taking possession of the 1,130 Benin bronzes to be returned by Germany. “The Federal Government is aware of the widely reported controversy on who will take possession of the Benin bronzes when they are returned from Germany,” Mr Mohammed said on Saturday …

The 18th Africa Film Festival Cologne holds from 16 – 26 September 2021. A main focus of the biannual festival is the effects of digitalisation on everyday life, social interaction, economy, ecology and politics in African countries. —– The effects of digitalisation on everyday life, social interaction, economy, ecology and politics are now central themes in films from African countries. …

Nigerian singing legend Olanrewaju Abdul-Ganiu Fasasi, more famously known as Sound Sultan, has died. The rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, comedian and recording artist, who is regarded as one of the pacesetters of modern hip hop music in Nigeria, died on Sunday, 11 July in the US of throat cancer. He was 44. Tributes continue to be paid to the artist. …

A powerful Nigerian delegation visited Berlin on Wednesday, 7 July 2021, to pursue the return of the famous Benin bronze heads and other cultural artefacts that were pillaged from that country in the 19th Century during a punitive expedition of the British Army. Led by Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the delegation included Mr Godwin Obaseki, the Governor …

The international committee of the All African Music Awards (Afrima) has announced the 2021 event calendar at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, marking the opening of Afrima 2021. This year’s calendar features a lineup of undertakings and events that would take place between 20 June and 21 November 2021. Speaking on behalf of the African Union, the …

The annual African Book Festival Berlin holds on 16-17 July. The festival, which was held for the first time in 2018, brings together the best-known authors and artists from Africa and its diaspora for lectures, discussions, readings, interviews, concerts, theatre and spoken word performances. Each year, the festival goes far beyond the mere presentation of new books and authors, as …

The Zimbabwean author and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga has been named the recipient of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade 2021. The Prize honours personalities who have contributed to the realisation of the idea of peace in literature, science or art. “In her films, she addresses problems that arise from the clash between tradition and modernity,” explained Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, …

The AKO Caine Prize for African Writing has announced 153 submissions from 22 African countries via their new online submissions platform this year, including an entry from Burkina Faso, for the first time. Also announced, are the five Judges for the 2021 Prize. Caine is a literature prize awarded to an African writer of a short story published in English. …

Clothes are important to us humans in our daily activities as they do far more than covering our nakedness. Clothing and dress as a social activity and obligation show our sex, profession, social status/class, and are symbols of communication, have aesthetic value, indicates one’s nobility, shows one’s ethnic or other identities, protect from the environment etc. We give impressions and …

Creative fashion designers, fashion bloggers, jewellery makers, make-up artists, models, fashion brands and influencers from across the globe will gather virtually at the ‘Fashion Major Event’ on 29 May. The creatives will showcase their designs and discuss the post-Covid world for fashion at the online exhibition-fair-conference themed Your Fashion Sense. The pandemic has changed the way we live, work and …