For #BlackHistoryMonth2020 Facebook and we at AFFORD are proud to celebrate a day of recognising where we are as a #diaspora, where we want to go and how we can get there collectively. In this digital world social platforms offer us a way of connecting with our diaspora family all over the globe with the click of a button. We have seen how an idea can spark a movement that creates a shift in mindset and a recognition of the collective power groups have. Examples can be seen in the Black Lives Matter movement sparking interest in creating practical and material change through initiatives like Black Pound Day.

There is a saying I am, because we are.

This BHM we will have a day exploring how our heritage shapes our identity and impacts on the actions and decisions we make. The role of technology in this cannot be ignored or understated, to look at ways of how diaspora and Africa can work more cohesively we should look to technology as a means to strengthening links and exhilarating actions for change, growth and progression.

We have an amazing roll call of speakers.

For more details and how to register, head here.

Open Society’s Mai Lynn Miller Nguyen recently spoke with Onyekachi Wambu, our executive director, about why the restitution of cultural heritage is so important.

What is restitution, and what are the goals of the movement behind it?

Demands for restitution are part of a series of connected movements, led by Africans and diasporic communities, in response to the economic, social, cultural, political, and spiritual legacies of slavery and colonialism and towards constructing a more just future. By calling for restitution, we are asking for the return of objects that were taken from the African continent through conquest, plunder, theft, and colonialism. We also believe that objects that were taken through legitimate-but-unfair trade deals need to be reassessed. 

[Read more…] about Racial Justice & Restitution

Our latest campaign from the AFFORD Institute #returnoftheicons features in Gary Younge’s illuminating special feature The Empty Cases on BBC Radio 4 this week. Ranging from the Black Lives Matter to the detoxification of British Museums, he also talks about our report and seminar we conducted last month with Professor Dan Hicks from the Pitt Rivers and Tristram Hunt from the V&A amongst others. You can listen back here.

You can also read our full report here

AFFORD gives evidence in report calling for fair visa policy, lower remittance costs and more trade

The House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee has criticised the lack of a coherent UK strategy on Africa saying the current approach is just a collection of broad ideas with little clarity on how to put them into action.

In a new report published today – The UK and Sub-Saharan Africa: prosperity, peace and development co-operation – the Committee calls on the UK Government to develop a new approach to African countries and regional institutions such as the African Union, based on ‘genuine partnership’.

Onyekachi Wambu, AFFORD’s Executive Director, and Professor Gibril Faal OBE, former Chair and current member of AFFORD’s Investment and Bond Advisory Committee, were among scores of individuals and organisations – politicians, NGOs, academic institutions, thinktanks – who gave evidence to the committee as it compiled the wide-ranging report.

[Read more…] about House of Lords committee criticises UK’s Africa strategy

Update

AFFORD would like to thank our AD3 partners UNDP and Chatham House for enabling us to hold such a well-attended and interesting event despite the current circumstances. We would also like to thank all of you for attending. For those of you who missed it, you can watch it here. 

There is also an event brief capturing the key points that came out of the event which you can find here. We are very grateful for the robust and thoughtful questions and comments that were shared.

AFFORD in conjunction with our partners Chatham House and UNDP will host African Diaspora and Development Day (AD3) 2020 on Friday, 3 July, at 14:00 BST.

The theme this year is Scaling Fences: Exploring New Pathways for African Migration and the event will explore UNDP’s Scaling Fences – Voices of Irregular Migrants to Europe report.

Register for the event here.

[Read more…] about African Diaspora and Development Day (AD3) 2020