Collective Exhibition in Fez

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54 African countries united under single domain name

It is now possible to own an Internet address or domain name with the .africa (dot africa) extension and already more than 8000 brands and companies as well as individuals, have registered for the .africa Internet address

54 African countries are now united under a single domain name that extends to the entire continent and is seen as  one of the most important initiatives of Africa in the last twenty years.

Organisations, including banks and media companies currently register domain names .africa.

dotAfrica (.africa) is the new generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) for the African continent. It is an opportunity to forge a unique online identity which will associate your products, services and/or information with the continent and people of Africa.

According to Lucky Masilela, CEO of ZACR, the non-profit corporation which administers the new domain .africa, "Continental and international leading brands are adopting domain names with the extension .africa because they realise the importance of being associated with the bright future for Africa. Initiatives like .africa help leverage new technologies to solve old problems. The .africa extension is unique because it gives Africans a sense of pride very important to encourage them to make every effort for the good of the continent and of themselves."

Domain names with the extension .africa are now available and everyone can register: http://Registry.africa/registrars .

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Songhai – Andalusian gypsy to Mandinka - Review

Toumani Diabaté - all smiles for Fez

At its peak in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Songhai Empire, based in the Sahel region and including - among many others - the territories of modern day Mali, Mauretania, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal, was one of the largest states in the history of Africa. Its rise coincided with the fall of Al Andalus. One might imagine, therefore, that a collaboration between Malian and Spanish flamenco musicians might draw a geographical and historical line from Spain down to the Niger basin, passing directly through Morocco.

Juan Carmona

The Songhai Project, a musical experiment begun in London between Malian kora maestro Toumani Diabaté and flamenco musicians from the band Ketama in 1987, is so much more than the sum of its extremely talented parts. And so much broader than a journey from North to South (or vice versa). As Toumani explained, Songhai is about "breaking down borders." In thirty years, he claimed, he has neither learned Spanish, nor have his Spanish colleagues learned French, because they don't need to; they communicate through their music.

José Miguel Carmona

Apparently the original members (Diabaté and the Carmona brothers) have not played together since 1987 when the two Songhai albums (released in 1988 and 1994) were recorded. But that communication is still strong and has infected the newer members of the project. Whether singing a trilingual call and response, improvising a jazzy number or jamming between the kora and Spanish guitar, the artists had a constant connection.

The talented backing singers

The set opened with a flamenco number, featuring José Miguel Carmona on guitar alongside a Spanish vocalist. Then the double bass of Javier Colina, a further guitar (played by Juan Carmona) and a percussionist joined the stage for a mellower, jazzier number as the vocalist also became a percussionist. The first track with the whole ensemble (adding the Malian contingent to the mix - three vocalists plus Toumani Diabaté on kora) had a distinctly Afro-Cuban beat, featuring the five beat rhythm common to the salsa and son of the Caribbean as well as to the music of their African heritage. In fact, had the vocalists not been wearing traditional Malian costume, they movements would have suggested they were the backing singers in a Cuban timba band. This Afro-Cuban heritage will be further explored by Aziz Sahmaoui on Saturday at the Jnane Sbil.

At Bab Makina tonight, this was only the first inkling that we were in for a real adventure which would take us not only from the Iberian Peninsula down through North Africa through the Sahara, but also over the Atlantic and back again. We were treated to a bluesy track reminiscent of the desert blues of Tinariwen, pieces where the tinkling kora shone out like a waterfall, while in others the flamenco guitar was centre stage.

Javier Colina - his double bass produced the sound of a guembri

In another still, Diabaté and Carmona had a battle, kora vs. guitar, the tempo increasing in pace until neither could pluck any faster. A slower ballad, Diabaté told us, was a tribute to the Fes audience, as it had been written by none other than Ahmad al-Tijani. If most of the audience had missed that reference, they could not ignore the first piece of the encore, as Colina turned his double bass into a guembri to play a popular gnaoua song. After that, the audience was on their feet for the final flamenco/salsa crossover number and the band left the stage to shouts of "otra" and "encore".

Music so infectious a crew member was up and dancing

A 30 year reunion - for nostalgia's sake!

Review and photographs: Lynn Houmdi

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African Art to be On Show in Rabat

Morocco's National Museum Foundation (FNM) is preparing for a major exhibition of African art and culture in Rabat. The exhibition, entitled "Afrique en Capitale", will open on March 28th and run through until April 28th, 2017

The major multidisciplinary artistic event is being prepared in the wake of King Mohammed VI's speech at the 28th African Union summit, the FNM said, and will include exhibitions, concerts, film screenings, street art and conferences.

"It will host a whole continent of vibrant and contemporary creativity, positioning Rabat, "the City Light", as a great cultural capital of Africa, claims the FNM. "The work already begun by the Foundation for several years to enhance the Moroccan heritage abroad is now naturally extended to a continental dimension," said FNM President Mehdi Qotbi.

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Morocco Rejoins African Union

Thirty-nine countries have voted to let Morocco rejoin the Organisation of African Unity. It is thirty-three years since Morocco withdrew form the African Union in protest, following the admittance of the self-proclaimed Algerian backed Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) as member of the organisation

“Morocco is now a full member of the African Union. There was a very long debate but 39 of our 54 states approved the return of Morocco, even if the Western Sahara question remains,” Senegalese President Macky Sall told journalists.

At the same time, Chadian Moussa Faki Mahamat was elected, chairman of the African Union (AU) commission, replacing South African Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

Moussa Faki Mahamat beat Kenyan candidate Amina Mohamed in the final round.

The African Union also elected Alpha Conde as the new chairperson of the pan-African organisation, succeeding Chadian President Idris Deby. Morocco will welcome this development as the Guinean president, Alpha Conde, has a good relationship with Morocco.

Conde met the Moroccan Monarch, King Mohammed VI, on Sunday, during a royal dinner King Mohammed VI hosted in the presence of African Leaders.

The meeting between the Moroccan Monarch and the newly elected chairperson of the AU purportedly went on longer than meetings with other heads of states.

The election of Conde, by the Assembly of Heads of State, was expected as the position rotates among the five regions of the continent; North, Central, East, West and Southern African regions. This year it was the turn of West Africa with which Morocco has very good relationships.

The 28th AU Summit was held in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa

Criticism of President Trump

The out-going head of the African Union has criticised Donald Trump’s ban on immigration from some Muslim-majority countries, saying it presents “one of the greatest challenges” for the continent.

As representatives of the AU’s 53 member states met in Addis Ababa for a two-day summit, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said the bloc was entering “very turbulent times” after the US President’s election.

“The very country to which many of our people were taken as slaves during the transatlantic slave trade has now decided to ban refugees from some of our countries,” said Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

Donald Trump announces a ban on refugees and all visitors from Muslim-majority countries “What do we do about this? Indeed, this is one of the greatest challenges to our unity and solidarity.”


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