Programme

After months of preparation the time was there: Africaday 2011! On the 29th of October young, old, Dutch and Africans travelled to the The Hague University to debate, network and enjoy the African vibe! With more visitors then last year the Africaday showed that Africa and development coorperation is a hot issue in the Netherlands.

Max van de Berg, president of the EVS, opened the day with a speech about the new world order and the role of the Netherlands. Next, State Secretary Ben Knapen shared his vision on development cooperation after 2015. It became clear that we need to give room to new players and that commitment of businesses, NGO’s and citizens is required.

After these wonderful speeches the day was ready to begin. Strong discussions were held in de different organised workshops. For instance in the workshop Revolutions in North Africa participants shared their experiences about the recent revolution and the effects of it for Africa as a whole. And in the workshop We eat Africa the complexity of large scale land deals was discussed.

New this year on the Africaday was the flexible programme. Here, Kasha Nabagesera and Kirsten van den Hul spoke about similarities and differences on gender activism in The Netherlands and Uganda during the interview programme. Rowland Jide Macaulayn shared his vision on homosexuality and religion during the inspirational speeches and visitors could speeddate with Sister Fa and Princess Kofa.

During the plenary afternoon programme the floor was given to two inspiring women: Kasha Nabagesera (LGTB activist-Uganda) en Esraa Abdel Fattah (Egyptian facebookgirl) told how they strive for political change.

But there was more… African art was exposed in de side programme, dance moves were shown in the African Silent disco on the main stage and delicious African dishes were served. At the different markets visitors became inspired by organisations and business companies about their role in development cooperation and business in Africa.

The day ended with a show of Sister Fa, a Senegalese hiphop star. With African beer and this spectacular music, we could all enjoy the afterglow of this beautiful day.

With more than 2000 visitors, a diverse programme and lots of positive reactions, the EVS looks back at a successful Africaday, and we would love to see you again in 2012!

Programme