Earlier this month to open the Annual Museums Association Conference in Liverpool, our Executive Director Onyekachi Wambu was part of the keynote plenary panel discussing African Cultural Restitution.

The past year has seen numerous cases of restitution of objects from museums to African nations. From Germany to Ireland, museums and governments have committed to a proactive approach to building relationships with communities of origin and returning cultural objects. Three years on from the publication of the Sarr-Savoy Report, an expert panel discusses restitution as an essential part of museum practice and investigate where progress has been made and where work still needs to be done.

Chair: Bryan Knight, Journalist and Oral Historian

Speakers: Monica Hanna, Archaeologist, Egypt Mary-Ann Middelkoop, Researcher, Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford Ciraj Rassool, Professor of History, University of the Western Cape Onyekachi Wambu, Executive Director, African Foundation for Development

You can watch the whole thing here:

Following the successful conclusion of our pilot programme with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation – ABC Benin has been expanded to include Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal over the next four years. ABC West Africa is open for business.

You can read more about it here and how you can get involved.

We are looking for a young and ambitious professional looking to step into the role of Communications and Marketing Executive who will play a pivotal role in leading and supporting all marketing campaigns, business support and brand activation across the charity. 

You will have excellent communication and organisational skills, be proactive, creative, and eager to learn with the ability to guide, provide upward-management, motivate others, and sell a vision. You will be comfortable working independently and as part of a team. 

This is a great opportunity for an enthusiastic and motivated marketing professional with knowledge of the full marketing function to join an organisation where no two days are ever the same, and where you can continue to grow your career within the development sector with a focus on Africa. If you are passionate about marketing and Africa, and if you like bringing people together for a common goal and creating the best outcomes, then we would love to hear from you! 

Please email CV and covering letter to sylvia@afford-uk.org. Deadline for applications is 16th November 2021.

Full details below.

Communications-and-Marketing-Exec-1021-2

in conversation with Onyekachi Wambu (AFFORD) and Neil Curtis (Aberdeen University)

These icons, cultural and human, left the continent at a period of a great imbalance in power. As we seek a new equitable and rebalanced relationship between the UK and Africa, this is an important moment to seek win/win opportunities not just in trade but also cultural and human interactions.

Onyekachi Wambu

Welcome to the first in an occasional series of video/podcasts dedicated to the Return of the Icons.

On behalf of the African Foundation for Development (AFFORD) and our partners in the Commonwealth, we send our sincere condolences to HM Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family on the passing of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. May he rest in perfect peace.

Ndidi Njoku Chair, AFFORD Board of Directors.

AFFORD together with the African Union and the United Nations Population Fund hosted a panel discussion to commemorate International Day of Remembrance of Slavery victims and the Transatlantic Slave Trade on March 25th.

There were opening remarks from Dr. June Bam-Hutchison (Moderator) – University of Cape Town, Centre for African Studies, H.E Mrs. Amira Elfadil, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, African Union Commission Dr. Natalia Kanem, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director, UNFPA and our very own Onyekachi Wambu, Executive Director, AFFORD.

The panel assembled by Dr Janice Cheddie reflected on Culture in times of crisis: role of cultural, heritage, and tourism sectors in building forward better post-COVID19. The panel was made up of Akwasi Awua Ababio, Director of Diaspora Affairs, Office of the President. Lead for the Ghana Diaspora Engagement Policy, Alissandra Cummins, Director of Barbados Museum & Historical Society, Chairperson of UNESCO Executive Board (2011-2013) Molemo Moiloa, Head of Research at Andani.Africa and Abdul Karim Abdullah Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Culture Management Group (CMG) and Afrochella Festival.