This is my 12th blog as the 5th Director/CEO of The Africa Centre, marking my first anniversary. The past year has been exciting, maddening, and full of highs and lows. I've learned the importance of heritage, dreams, partners, resilience, and identity. We’re celebrating Wole Soyinka's 90th birthday with a cultural extravaganza. Thanks to everyone for their support. Highlights include the PALOP Day event and partnerships with 14 African organizations. Read more
Being asked to partner in major projects is both heart-warming and challenging. Recently, we received fourteen collaboration requests, mostly from unfamiliar entities. Partnerships are crucial for marginalised organisations, enabling significant impacts and cultural exchanges. However, power dynamics can be problematic, especially between Global South and North organisations. The Africa Centre focuses on equitable partnerships, preferring collaborations with its Affiliate Network. Read more
Education is embedded in the mission of The Africa Centre and is at the heart of all our programming. This means everything we do has a basic output of enriching and uplifting all who engage with us. Here's the latest monthly CEO’s blog. Read more
A personal monthly blog by Olu Alake, The Africa Centre's recently appointed CEO. Featuring insights, inspiration, thought leadership, and personal opinions and experiences of the CEO. Read more
The Africa Centre’s enduring byline has been ‘A Home Away From Home’ for Africans in the UK. Throughout our history, this framing of the physical space of home as a place of refuge from the outside world, where people gather together as a family in safety to connect, celebrate, and find a sense of belonging and friendship has been of great importance. Read more
A sobering reflection on the recent spate of knife crime deaths of several young Black people across the City. What's the way forward? Read more
Looking back to look forward. Taking inspiration from Sankofa - the Bono Adinkra symbol of the Akan people (modern-day Ghana), which depicts a bird flying forward with its head turned backward and a pebble in its beak. Read more
Do you remember George Floyd? Some may remember it as the birth of Black Lives Matter and all the different things this meant to us. Other readers may point to it as the moment of their political awakening. For those of us slightly longer in the tooth, we may recall it as another ‘moment’ in global racial politics, where the optimists amongst us hoped that this time would be different while the skeptics rolled their eyes with a resigned ‘Here we go again’ sigh. Read more
2024 is going to be a seminal year as it not only marks the 60th anniversary of The Africa Centre's founding, but three African countries will also be celebrating their sixth decade of existence as independent nations – Tanzania, Malawi, and Zambia. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of African Remembrance Day. Read more
It is easy to be so engrossed in the day-to-day realities of overseeing the operational and governance challenges of an organisation such as The Africa Centre to the extent that we hold detail too close to our face and we don’t step back often enough to appreciate the true magnificence of the heritage and potential of the institution. Read more
For those old enough to remember watching the moment live, there would have been fewer geopolitical moments as poignant as South Africa’s first free elections in 1994. That this seminal event is now three decades old, - an entire generation – is a sobering reminder of the inevitable passage of time. Read more
Cultural institutions like The Africa Centre are vital, yet sustaining them is challenging, especially with reliance on one main funder vulnerable to governmental changes. In the past year, The Africa Centre has hosted diplomats, promoted African culture, and facilitated intercultural exchanges, but faces economic and technological barriers. Inspired by Marcus Garvey and W.E.B. DuBois, they advocate for community self-sustaining models. To ensure lasting impact, they've created a Community Forum Read more