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Africa

Ghana. ‘Dipo’ Puberty Rites: Transitioning into Womanhood.

The Dipo rite is an integral part of the Krobo culture. Over the years it has been used to inculcate useful values into adolescent girls as they prepare to assume their marital responsibilities. The Krobos are part of the Ga-Dangbe ethno linguistic group and they are the largest group of the seven Dangbe ethnic groups…

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Electronic Africa Continues to Evolve.

The way electronic music entered the African scene in the 1990s, how it was developed, and how it is becoming increasingly relevant. From kuduro in Angola to gqom in South Africa. Two factors occurred in the 1990s that created the space for the entry of electronic sounds into the African musical panorama. Since the 1980s,…

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Tanzania. Maasai Colours.

Red and black are two of the fundamental colours in the Maasai culture and symbolize God’s two main traits. Red depicts anger and benevolence, and black (or dark blue) the sanctity of a person or object. Above all, they invoke God himself as Papa Jai Orok (the Black father) and they ask him to cover…

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African Music. Creativity and the Internet.

Afrobeats, bongo, amapiano, rumba, and gengetone are genres that are now heard everywhere. Thanks to social media and the growing investments of the recording industry. The world has never heard so much African music as today. Over the last decade, African music has risen to the forefront of the international scene. Out of all of…

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Mali. The Mieruba label. ‘Music, our raw material’.

A collective runs a cultural centre and a record company in Ségou, an unstable area of Mali. To keep the art scene alive and because ‘music and the desire to live cannot be stopped’. Now with eight titles, available digitally, The Lost Maestros is a series from the Malian label Mieruba intended to enhance the…

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The meaning of the sacrifice in the African culture.

Every religion has some form of sacrifice. In fact, sacrifice is the most universal of all rituals. Most rituals imply an offering and quite often a blood sacrifice. A blood sacrifice is a displacement of mystical forces made possible by God himself, thanks to the intercession of a spirit, divinity or ancestor and the mediation…

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Burkina Faso, Mali e Niger: the New Military Alliance in the Sahel.

The military juntas of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have signed the Liptako-Gourma Charter, establishing the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). The objective is to establish an architecture of collective defence and mutual assistance against common challenges. The unknowns. On 16 September Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger signed an agreement by signing the Liptako-Gourma Charter…

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The Pop Music of Nigeria. Afrobeats.

For some years now, the Nigerian and Ghanaian Afrobeats music scene has taken on global dimensions in terms of reach, acceptance and impact. Increasingly, the yardstick for measuring the success of an Afrobeats artist is the level of international success he or she enjoys. It means not only collaborating with leading music superstars from around…

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Comoros. The ‘Next Djibouti’ for Beijing.

The World Bank continues to finance the upgrading of the ports of the Comoros islands, where China has put its eyes on for years in search of a new safe haven for its military expansion strategy in the southern Indian Ocean. Fifteen million dollars to upgrade the three main ports of the Comoros islands. This…

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The new, Pharaonic Capital of Egypt.

The Cairo metropolis, one of the most populous in the world, is collapsing. So, President al-Sisi has ordered the construction of a new capital, as yet unnamed. The lavish $50+ billion project. But the rising skyscrapers and monuments are already casting sinister shadows. Along the ultra-modern twelve-lane highway from Cairo across the desert to Suez,…

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The Growth of Fashion in Africa.

If there is a sector in Africa that is giving great satisfaction not only to the economy (and therefore to the GDP) but to the image of a continent rich in creativity, this is the fashion sector. An industry, that of fashion, a source of pride for those who work in it, for Africans on…

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Africa. Alternative Energies.

Many African governments continue to focus on fossil fuels. And, despite enormous potential, investment in renewable sources by multinationals is not taking off. The next international climate conference is scheduled in Dubai from 30 November until December 12th. Over the past two decades of the $2.8 trillion invested globally in renewable energy, only 2% has…

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Advocacy

Mari Luz Canaquiri Murayari. A Steward of the Marañón…

The river is sacred to the Kukama people, who believe that their ancestors reside on the river floor.  They are ready to protect the Marañón…

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Baobab

A Wise Grandmother.

Like the other farmers, Taro also grew rice, wheat, and vegetables, living in peace and contentment. However, things never remain the same. One time, there was no rainfall,…

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Youth & Mission

Comboni Youth Jubilee. To live is to hope.

From 24 to 27 July, hundreds of young people from the Comboni youth movements across Europe will gather in Milan, Verona, and Florence, Italy, in preparation…

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