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.
Civil society organisations in Lagos State have renewed calls for closer coordination and stronger partnerships to address irregular migration and promote dignified, legal mobility. Members of the Civil Society Network on Migration and Development (CSOnetMADE) made the appeal when they held their first coordination meeting of 2026 in Lagos recently. The meeting, held on 22 January at the Denny Social …
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February, 2026
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9 February
TRAVEL: The Congo Square in New Orleans
When Berlin-based freelance journalist Wolfgang König recently travelled to New Orleans, he found himself drawn not only to the city’s famous music clubs and historic streets, but to a modest open space whose global significance is easy to overlook. In this reflection, König traces the remarkable history of Congo Square — a place where African traditions survived enslavement, shaped the …
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8 February
Fela’s Legacy Celebrated with Long-Overdue Global Honour
Afrobeat pioneer and cultural icon Fela Anikulapo-Kuti has made history by becoming the first African artist to receive a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The honour was bestowed at a special ceremony held on 31 January 2026, ahead of this year’s Grammy Awards, nearly three decades after Fela’s death in 1997. Members of the Kuti family, including Fela’s children, accepted the …
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8 February
Film: An Austrian-Nigerian Business Story
Lace Relations follows an expansive journey that begins in the bustling textile markets of Lagos, Nigeria, moves on to embroidery workshops in Lustenau, Austria, and reaches back to the historical roots of Europe’s prosperity. Centered on women, power dynamics and the global textile trade, the film exposes the colonial legacies that still influence Europe’s relationship with its neighbouring continent. Sarah …
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8 February
African Stories at the Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) is one of the world’s most important film festivals, standing alongside Cannes and Venice as a key meeting point for global cinema. Held every February, the Berlinale is not only prestigious but also unique in scale: with more than 400,000 cinema tickets sold each year, it is widely regarded as the largest public film …
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8 February
Germany: Government Suspends New Admissions to Integration Courses
New admissions to federally funded Integrationskurse (integration courses) have been suspended, leaving many refugees and migrants unable to begin essential German language and cultural orientation classes. The freeze, implemented quietly by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) at the end of 2025, remains in place with no clear timeline for resumption. Integration courses are government-supported programmes designed to …
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2 February
Spain to Regularise 500,000 Undocumented Migrants
Spain has taken a bold step toward legalising the status of hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants, marking a sharp contrast to increasingly restrictive migration policies elsewhere in Europe. Announced in late January 2026, an extraordinary regularisation scheme aims to grant legal residence and work rights to migrants already living in the country without authorisation—among them many Africans who arrived …
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2 February
Housing Discrimination Unlawful, Germany’s Top Court Rules
In a landmark judgment that strengthens protection against discrimination in Germany’s housing market, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has ruled that real estate agents may not reject housing applicants because of their names. Turning down a prospective tenant solely because their name sounds “foreign,” the court, which is the country’s highest court on civil matters, held, constitutes unlawful ethnic …
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2 February
Germany’s New ‘Safe Country of Origin’ Rule Sparks Legal Controversy
From 1 February 2026, Germany will apply a new regulation that fundamentally changes how so-called “safe countries of origin” are designated in asylum procedures. The federal government says the move will speed up decisions, ease pressure on authorities and courts, and send a clear signal that asylum applications from certain countries have little chance of success. Critics, however, warn that …
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January, 2026
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31 January
Milestone: Dr Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana Inducted as Honorary Citizen of Erlangen
When the City of Erlangen formally honoured Dr Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana at a solemn ceremony on 13 January 2026, it was more than a celebratory moment. Held at Erlangen City Hall during a special session of the City Council, the occasion marked the recognition of a life dedicated to social justice, civic engagement and the long, often difficult struggle for equality …
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