The “African Capitals of Culture” program, carried by United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa), was instituted by the elected officials and leaders of Africa’s local authorities at the 8th edition of the Africities Summit held in November 2018 in Marrakech, Morocco. This program manifests the will of the elected officials and leaders of Africa’s local and regional governments to make culture the fourth pillar of sustainable development, alongside the economic, social and environmental pillars.
For two consecutive years, the city designated African Capital of Culture is the place to celebrate the artistic, cultural and creative excellence of the African continent, in addition to being the meeting place for reflection around the place of culture and the arts in the public policies of cities and territories and on the best way to encourage and enhance the cultural and creative industries as an essential contributor to wealth and job creation, particularly for women, youth and people with disabilities.
The African Capital of Culture celebrates African culture and creativity through a series of events, shows and activities covering a wide range of artistic and cultural fields, highlighting the tangible and intangible heritage of the continent.
For two years, each celebration of the African Capital of Culture offers a time of global visibility for professionals and players in the continent’s cultural and creative industries, with the support of African local governments.
As part of this celebration, an artistic and cultural week of the city designated African Capital of Culture and its country is also hosted by a volunteer city of each of Africa’s five regions. In this way, Africans can discover the richness and diversity of their artistic and cultural heritage, laying the foundations for greater mutual understanding through artistic and cultural exchanges.
The celebration of the African Capital of Culture also offers an opportunity to strengthen links between elected officials and leaders of cities and territories with arts and culture professionals and players in the cultural and creative industries, and to network at regional and pan-African level.
Through the celebration of African Capitals of Culture, elected representatives and leaders of local and regional authorities have the ultimate goal of creating cultural hubs in Africa, which will be the destination for all those who want to come and experience African culture on the African continent; and to ensure that the creations of professionals in the cultural and artistic industries are protected by copyright and related rights, and are promoted in such a way as to enable them to make a decent living from their activity.
Our Vision
Africa is the cradle of humanity. Its unrivalled cultural depth has faded; it’s time to revive it and rediscover its pride. The ambition of the African Capitals of Culture is to affirm and promote the continent’s cultural identity and the cultural reappropriation of Africans by and for themselves, in order to restore their awareness and mastery of their creative power and destiny.
Restoring culture to its rightful place within Africa’s local governments means first and foremost promoting the definition and implementation of cultural policies at local level, and developing mutually beneficial partnerships between local governments and players in the cultural and creative industries with a view to developing public and private ecosystems capable of making the most of culture to regenerate self-esteem and citizenship, and develop decent employment, drawing in particular on the unique vitality of young people and the singular urban cultures they bring.
Because they have the capacity to articulate local policies with national, regional and global strategies, African cities and territories are particularly well placed to help African and Afro-descendant culture shine internationally.
Our Mission
The “African Capitals of Culture” program aims to play a major role at continental level, through:
- Reinforcing the contribution of culture to the development of cities,
- Stimulating and easing the barriers surrounding endogenous reflection for sustainable urban and human development,
- Facilitating the circulation of artistic expression, ideas, knowledge and skills across the continent,
- Structuring, empowering and networking the continent’s cultural and creative players within local authorities and on the African continent as a whole, with a view to developing public and private ecosystems capable of making culture a sector that creates wealth and decent jobs, and promotes African cultural authenticity and identity.
Our Objectives
The African Capitals of Culture program is positioned as a strategic tool for African local governments with a threefold ambition:
- To be a showcase for Africa’s cultural heritage and creativity, so that Africa regains its rightful place in the plural cultural heritage of humanity;
- Promote the adoption of cultural policies within African local authorities to make culture the fourth pillar of sustainable development, relay national cultural policies at local level, and develop new, mutually beneficial relationships between local authorities and professionals in the fields of culture, the arts and the creative industries;
- Contribute to the emergence of a network of cultural hubs in Africa capable of stimulating the production of cultural works and creative activities, and acting as regular meeting places for Africa to play a more significant role in the global arts, culture and creative industries market, currently estimated to be worth $2,500 billion a year, with Africa accounting for just 1% of this global market.
