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.
Hundreds of participants will gather on 22-23 August in the German city of Cologne to take part in activities marking the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.
The night of 22 to 23 August 1791, in Santo Domingo (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic) marked the beginning of the uprising that would play a crucial role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. In 1997, UNESCO declared 23 August each year as the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition – also known as World Day Against the Trade in Slaves.
It’s against this background that hundreds of people of African descent will gather in Cologne to commemorate the Day but also to demand reparations. Hence, the event is tagged PAY DAY AFRICA 2020, which is organised by Africa Committee Cologne (an alliance of Cologne-based activists and artists from Africa), Mutualité Bosangani e. V., United Africa Germany, African/Black Community Berlin, Jàppoo NRW e. V., Oury Jalloh Initiative and many others.
The objectives of PAY DAY AFRICA 2020 are:
- To honour all victims of the transatlantic slave trade and all African liberators and freedom fighters in Africa as well as in the diaspora
- To pay homage to all victims of racism, segregation and White supremacy
- To create a general awareness of the unbearable, non-quantifiable effects of the transatlantic slave trade, colonialism as well as colonial continuity, racism and White privilege
- To promote true and transparent retrospective measures and reconciliation and demand for reparations
- To promote intercultural understanding, including international understanding, and thus peaceful coexistence
“The event seeks to clarify, accuse and demand, yes, but it also seeks to open wide doors for equal dialogues and the reconciliation process in general,” the organisers said.
The event is taking place amidst worldwide debates about slavery, colonialism, colonial continuity and systemic racism sparked by the murder of George Floyd.
The two-day PAY DAY AFRICA 2020 offers a colourful programme of activities ranging from a vigil, speeches, multimedia panel discussion, poetry slam, live graffiti act to live music, etc.
The panel discussions, part of the activities of the 2-day event, will be streamed live on some local and nationwide radio stations as well as via YouTube and Facebook. The radio stations include Radio Unerhört (Marburg), Radio Covax (Halle an der Salle), The Voices – Reboot FM (Berlin), Radio Dreyeckland (Freiburg), Campus Radio, Deutsche Welle, Cosmos Radio, Eldradio (Dortmund), Radio Flora (Hannover) and Weltnet TV.
Sola Jolaoso
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PAY DAY AFRICA 2020
Live Music, Speeches, Podium Discussions etc
– Saturday, 22 August, 1pm – 9pm
Venue: Deutzer Werft am Rheinufer, Cologne
– Sunday, 23 August, 2pm – 6pm hours
Venue: Neumarkt Cologne
More information about the event HERE
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