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.
The Zentralrat der afrikanischen Gemeinde in Deutschland (Central Council of the African Community in Germany or ZAGD) has relaunched its website and introduced a new logo on Tuesday.
The move by the organisation, an umbrella body for African associations in Germany, is part of its efforts to increase its visibility in the country.
The relaunch ceremony, held by video conference and moderated by Adetoun Küppers-Adebisi of Afrotak, was attended by members of the organisation and officials of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), Kienbaum and IMAP.
Maïmouna Ouattara of moveGlobal e.V. delivered a talk on the Importance of Association Work in the African Community in Germany.
Among the features of the relaunched website is one that enables interested groups to to register as members of Zentralrat.
According to the organisation, the relaunch seeks to reposition the Zentralrat for a more effective pursuit of its objective, which is to represent the interests of people of African descent in the country.
Rebranding an organisation has plenty of benefits, such as reshaping public perception or refreshing a tired image. After a period of crisis in the Zentralrat, the rebranding campaign is expected to breathe new life into the organisation.
Zentralrat recently moved its office to Berlin from Hanover where it has been based since its founding in 2012.
READ ALSO Zentralrat – African Central Council moves to Berlin
The chairman of Zentralrat, Abayomi Bankole, said moving to the federal capital would enable the organisation to work more closely with similar groups, most of which are headquartered in Berlin. The relocation would also make it easier to engage federal ministries and agencies more actively, he added.
Mr Bankole was recently elected into the Federal Board of the Zentralrat, which also includes Yonas Endrias (Secretary) and Akinola Famson (Financial Secretary).
Zentralrat receives support from the Federal Agency for Migration and Refugees (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge or BAMF) under its structural funding (Strukturförderung) program for migrant organisations in Germany.
Under the scheme, BAMF supports umbrella organisations representing people with a migration background to professionalise their work and build an effective administrative capacity.
Sola Jolaoso
More about Zentralrat at: http://www.zentralrat-afrikagemeinde.de/
