The 12th edition of Africa’s foremost reward and recognition scheme for filmmakers, Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), holds on 11 June in Port Harcourt, the capital of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. This is following successful nine consecutive editions in Yenagoa, one each in Abuja, Lagos and the South African city of Port Elizabeth, respectively. The government of Rivers State …

Do what you are good at, says Ha-Joon Chang “Countries can decide their development path. Countries become good at things because they want to excel at making those particular things,” renowned development economist Ha-Joon Chang told an audience on 3 April at the second Annual Adebayo Adedeji Lecture, part of activities marking the 2016 Africa Development Week, which took place …

March 22, 2016 was a black day for Brussels Airport because of the terror attacks of that day. It was also a tragic blow to Brussels Airlines, which has its home base at the airport, with the carrier’s flight operations massively disrupted by the closure of the airport for clean-up and security review and upgrade.  The airport is now slowly …

April-June 2016The annual summer season of African music and culture in Germany kicks off in May with various events, including live concerts and parading the crème de la crème of artistes from the continent and the Diaspora.   Black International Cinema 13 – 15 May / Berlinwww.black-international-cinema.com Afrika-Festival Birkenried13 – 16 May / Birkenried, Kulturgewächshauswww.afrika.birkenried.de Carnival of Cultures Berlin 13 – 16 May / Berlin, …

In 2000, Alberto Adriano, 39, from Mozambique, was brutally killed by drunken neo-Nazis in East Germany, in the city of Dessau.

Cameroon-born visionary entrepreneur introduces innovative immigration security system Bridge Corporation is a Berlin-based leading biometric technology company that has evolved from a traditional visa application-processing company to implementing finger print scanning technology, to employing biometric technology and finally providing consultancy services on security issues related to immigration. In an exclusive interview with The African Courier, the Cameroon-born entrepreneur and the CEO …

Where corruption is involved, African leaders seem to be utterly beyond shock. Black folks in office often regard as normal business the kind of infractions that draw alarm and apologetic resignations in other parts of the world.

Images of people escaping their homes to search for safety have in a very short amount of time become part of our daily routine. The most severe humanitarian crisis since the Second World War is challenging nation states as well as civil society organisations and reinforces the question of immigration with a vehemence, which for a long time has not …

The controversial bill passed by French parliament in February making it possible to revoke the citizenship of people convicted on terrorism charges has been withdrawn by President Francois Hollande. The action followed the rejection of the bill by the Senate on 30 March. The bill, presented by Prime minister Manuel Valls in the wake of the Paris attacks of last …

The annual summer season of African music and culture in Germany kicks off in May with various events including live concerts performed by top bands and musicians. This year gets to an exciting start as visitors to the 28th International Afro Music Festival, holding on 26-29 May in the Bavarian town of Würzburg, can expect to enjoy a very diverse …

The 50th anniversary of the International Tourism Bourse (ITB) Berlin, the world’s largest travel trade fair, took place on 9-13 March on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds ICC.Many of the stands were very busy. Remarkably, the mood at the fair this year was buoyant in spite of the many different challenges facing the sector. African destinations, such as Egypt and Tunisia, …

The Africa 2016 Forum, which took place in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el Sheikh on 20-21 February, has called on African countries to create greater trust and co-operation between governments and the private sector. The Forum, the first international business and investment forum of its kind and that was aimed at strengthening business ties within Africa, also charged …

Zambian Minister:  “The only sector that assuredly alleviates poverty is agriculture. Our focus is to grow this industry that is the future of this country.” Zambia’s premier agricultural trade fair Agritech Expo takes place on14-16 April at the Gart Research Centre, Chisamba. In the run-up to the important event, Spintelligent interviewed the Zambian Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, the Honourable …

German Minister for Development and International Cooperation, Dr Gerd Müller, began a five-day tour of the East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Djibouti on 29 March. With this trip, the German government wants to raise global awareness about the crises in the region. The most notable stop on the minister’s tour is the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, the …

A former member of Nigeria’s Federal House of Representatives has been appointed the Senior Special Assistant on Foreign and Diaspora Affairs to the President. The appointment of Abike Dabiri-Erewa, a leading member of the ruling APC, is interpreted as a sign of the government’s recognition of the enormous contributions of the Diaspora to Nigeria’s development. The World Bank Migration and …

Eric Chinje, the chief executive of the Nairobi-headquartered African Media Initiative, was in Germany recently and took part at the conference Media and Migration: Perspectives from Africa – Challenges for Europe, held at the Erich Brost Institute for International Journalism in Dortmund. In an exclusive interview with our correspondent Ousainou Bayo, Chinje talks about a plethora of issues ranging from …

Efosa Ogieriakhi mobilises diaspora Nigerians for Edo governorship election A group of Europe-based indigenes from Edo State, Nigeria, has endorsed the governorship aspiration of Godwin Obaseki, a member of the governing All Progressives Congress, and pledged to campaign for him at the forthcoming election in the state later in the year. The decision was made in Berlin in March at …

Our correspondent Ousainou  Bayo was recently in Brussels to attend the 51st National Day celebrations hosted by the country’s ambassador to the European Union. He reports. The Gambian ambassador to the European Union, Her Excellency Mrs Teneng Mba Jaiteh, has invited friends of The Gambia and travel enthusiasts to visit the country. “The Gambia prides itself as a choice destination …

Nigerian psychologist, Prof Erhabor Sunday Idemudia, talks about migration from Africa A conference of European and African leaders took place in the Maltese capital, Valetta, in November to find a solution to the refugee crisis. The EU offered African countries aid amounting to 1.8 billion euros to fight the causes of emigration and relieve Europe of the pressure of young …

Dancers from Europe and Africa will converge on the German capital city of Berlin from 11 to 14 May to participate at the first World Best Afro Dance Championship. The new contest, the brainchild of Cynthia Zombou, offers a platform for Afro dancers to showcase their talent, creativity and passion to an international audience. According to Zombou, the contest should …