African Foundation for Development (AFFORD)

APPG - Afrikan Reparations, African Restitution
2022-04-20 17:00 - 19:00 (Europe/London)
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Afrikan Reparations discussion on the restitution of African artefacts held in UK heritage collections.

About this event

All-Party Parliamentary Group on Afrikan Reparations (APPG-AR), invites you to explore the issues, concerns and desires for the restitution of African artefacts held in UK heritage collections. AFFORD shares secretariat responsibilities for the APPG Afrikan Reparations, focusing on issues of the restitution of cultural artefacts and ancestral remains.
Estimates suggest that up to 90% of sub-Saharan Africa’s cultural heritage is held outside the African continent. A result of conquest, plunder, colonisation, as well as legitimate trade and exchange, although this figure is disputed by some experts.
Most of the UK’s African artefacts are held outside the national museums and collections, and not governed by UK legislation. Currently, there are no accurate figures of the total number of African artefacts and human remains held in UK museums, libraries, palaces, and other public collections. The vast majority of these artefacts are held in storage and not on public display.
Join us to explore ways forward on these important issues and learn more about the work of the APPG-AR on African restitution.
Hosted by African Foundation for Development (AFFORD)
Chair
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP – Chair of the All-Party Group on Afrikan Reparations
Speakers

Onyekachi Wambu, Executive Director of AFFORD
Elsie Owusu OBE RIBA FRSA, Architect and Specialist Conservation Architect, interior and urban designer
Yvette Abrahams Ph. D. in Economic History, Consultant for government and various NGOs

The Restitution Debate - Where Are We Now?
2022-11-14 18:00 - 20:00
Chaired by Onyekachi Wambu, Return of the Icons Programme, AFFORD
Speakers
Dr Monica Hanna, Associate Professor and Acting Dean of the College of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, Arab Academy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT) in Aswan, Egypt. She is an international figure in the world of Archaeology. Dr. Monica Hanna, did her undergraduate studies in Egyptology and Archaeological Chemistry at the American University in Cairo (AUC), 2004. Dr Hanna then pursued an MA TEFL 2006 at AUC as well. She later joined the University of Pisa, Italy to complete her doctorate in archaeology entitled ‘Problems of Preservation of Mural Paintings in the Theban Necropolis: A Pilot Study on the Theban Tomb 14 using 3D Scanning Techniques’.
Dr Hanna has been granted numerous awards including the SAFE beacon award for 2014 for her efforts in the salvage of antiquities under conflict and was named by UNESCO the Monuments Woman of 2014. She has also received ‘Distinguished AUC Alumna’ two times, once in Cairo 2014 and the other in New York 2015. Her current research focuses on decolonizing archaeology, repatriation and restitution amongst methods for accessibility for the wider public to archaeology and heritage with a particular interest in digital humanities.
In 2020, she was chosen from the 50 most influential women in Egypt under the auspices of the Egyptian Prime Minister. She was also awarded a research grant as part of Action for Restitution in Africa in collaboration with University of Oxford where she is working on starting a solid discourse of decolonizing western museum collections.
Dr Johanna Zetterstrom-Sharp, was recently appointed Associate Professor in Heritage Studies, UCL Institute of Archaeology. Prior to this, she was Senior Curator of Anthropology at the Horniman Museum, Lecturer in Anthropology at Goldsmiths, and has over 10 years of experience working in museums. The focus of her museum practice is opening up museum collections to community-led research and projects. Her research explores mid-century museum practice, and its intersection with colonialism, as well as the colonial history and inheritance of milk and dairy. Johanna is Chair of the Museum Ethnographers Group, the primary SSN for museum practitioners working with cultural collections.
Professor Kodzo Gavua, Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies University of GhanaUniversity of Ghana, is an Associate Professor of Archaeology and Heritage Studies and Director of the Leventis Digital Resource Centre at the University of Ghana. He holds an MA and a Ph.D. from the University of Calgary, and an MA in International Affairs from the University of Ghana. He researches the effects of early cross-cultural interactions on society, culture, cultural heritage, and economic development in West Africa. Gavua is the founding Dean of the University of Ghana’s School of Arts, a Trustee of the Ghana Culture Forum, and chairperson of the Ghana Heritage Committee’s Technical unit.
Phumzile Nombuso Twala, Heritage professional (South Africa) Virtual Attendance.In 2020 Phumzile Nombuso Twal was awarded a DAC Heritage-related studies Bursary as well as the Robben Island Museum Bursary and RIM Education Internship.
In 2020 Phumzile Nombuso Twala was a Visiting Lecturer for the University of the Underground New Politics and Afrofuturism Programme. Phumzile Nombuso Twala’s presentation titled “Umsamu womlando wama-Taxi” expanded on the impact of colonialism on vehicle mobility in South Africa- through the lens of the history and heritage of the minibus taxi industry in SA.
In 2020 Phumzile Nombuso Twala was co-curator(alongside Teresa Lizamore) of the Give Her A Crown Campaign, led by The Change Collective Africa.
In 2021 Phumzile Nombuso Twala was Research Assistant for the Brandfort Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Interpretive Centre/Museum Exhibition Design Project and the When Rain Clouds Gather Exhibition at Norval Foundation.
She is currently a Research Coordinator at Andani.Africa.
Dr. Lennon Mhishi, Pitt Rivers Museum, (UK) is a Project Researcher on the project Reconnecting “Objects”:Epistemic Plurality and Transformative Practices in and Beyond Museums funded by VW Stiftung. Mhishi is an anthropologist whose interdisciplinary work spans interests in Africa and its diasporas, the afterlives of slavery and colonialism, and the approaches to contemporary forms of exploitation forced labour and human rights in different African countries. Mhishi has experience in migration and diaspora, heritage, music, and other arts-based, creative approaches to knowledge-making and engagement. Mhishi is keen to pursue a research agenda, curatorial and museum practice that centres community-engaged, collaborative, antiracist, and inclusive practice.
For the Reconnecting “Objects” project, Mhishi will be collaborating with partners in Oxford (UK), Cape Town (South Africa), Dakar (Senegal), Dschang (Cameroon) and Berlin (Germany) to, among other things, explore colonial collections and to deliver two major exhibitions, opening simultaneously in Dakar and Oxford in 2024. In addition, Mhishi will be co-producing written work and other outputs from the research.
Dr. Frezer Getache. Haile is an experienced communications strategist and foreign policy expert with a decade of experience advising public sector and international organisations in Africa, Europe and Asia.
Dr Haile is currently a strategic adviser at Project Associates, a boutique consultancy firm, helping clients navigate complicated, transnational challenges of a political nature, involving policy issues, litigation, investments, elections or major crises.
Prior to this, he served as a senior advisor at the Ethiopian Embassy in London, during which time he was responsible for the Ethiopian Government’s work on restitution in the UK and led its negotiations with a variety of UK cultural institutions. He holds a doctorate in political geography from King’s College London.
This event has been created in partnership with SOAS University

IN CONVERSATION WITH ONYEKACHI WAMBU
2023-07-28 17:30 - 20:00
The next big moment in the year of AFFORD@30 celebrations will be the In conversation with Onyekachi Wambu event at SOAS University of London on Friday 28 July from 5.30 to 8.00pm.

Onyekachi is the former executive director of AFFORD, a celebrated diaspora transformer, journalist and writer. For 21 years, Onyekachi has worked with great vision, creativity and commitment for the African Foundation for Development (AFFORD) and for diaspora impact in Africa. This will be an intimate and illuminating evening with the former executive director of AFFORD, covering his journey from journalist and writer, to diaspora and development, and culture and restitution.

Onyekachi has recently published the second edition of Empire Windrush – reflections of 75 years and more of the Black British experience. In this newly-published, ground-breaking anthology, Onyekachi collates some of the best and most significant writing from the 75 years following the arrival of Empire
Windrush.

Featuring a preface by Margaret Busby and new writing from Bernardine Evaristo, Mike Philips and Dan Hicks, Empire Windrush conjures a unique journey through the British past, present and future, via the prism of the Black imagination. Several chapters tackle issues of restitution. Copies of Empire Windrush
will be on sale at the venue, courtesy of Round Table Books.

In conversation with Onyekachi Wambu will be moderated by AFFORD chair Ndidi Njoku and Professor Gibril Faal of LSE. Onyekachi will be introduced by Ra Hendricks, founder of Jazzzmo’thology, a platform promoting and staging live events to illustrate the breadth of music created and performed by African peoples.

Download Programme: IN CONVERSATION WITH ONYEKACHI WAMBU

The Inaugural UK Reparations Conference 2023
2023-10-21 - 2023-10-22
FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE 12 October 2023

REPORT EMBARGOED – 18 October 2023

[London, 10.00am BST, 18 October 2023] – At a press conference by the main entrance of the British Museum, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Streatham MP and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Afrikan Reparations (APPG-AR), will launch a week of reparations themed events and activities organised by APPG-AR. These include:

The publication of a summary briefing report: Hearings of the APPG-AR on the Restitution of Stolen African Artefacts and Human Remains.

An Early day Motion (EDM) and lobby in Parliament on the restitution of stolen African artefacts and ancestral remains
The Inaugural UK Reparations Conference 2023 from Saturday 21st – Sunday 22nd October 2023 at Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Afrikan Reparations (APPG-AR) brings together parliamentarians, campaigners, communities and other stakeholders to examine issues of African reparations and the restitution of cultural artefacts and ancestral remains. APPG-AR explores policy proposals on reparations and development and how best to redress the legacies of African enslavement and colonialism.

The kick-off press conference outside the main British Museum entrance launches the summary briefing report of two APPG-AR hearings and a policy roundtable over 2022-2023, bringing together diverse perspectives from parliamentarians, senior museum experts, lawyers, academia and diaspora heritage practitioners, on the legal and global best practice on restitution. The experts highlighted the need for proactive measures and collaboration to address the challenges associated with restitution, such as the lack of a proper audit or cataloguing of collections, exposed by the recent scandalous theft and sale of classical items at the British Museum.

Expert recommendations in the report include: The Department of Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) should provide resources for provenance research, negotiation of claims and cost of return; enhanced guidelines for the treatment and restitution of ancestral human remains within heritage/museum settings in England; The CMS Committee should undertake an urgent and comprehensive hearing into provenance and restitution; and Parliamentarians should consider proposing new legislation that applies similar provisions of the 2009 Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) to stolen African artefacts and human remains in UK collections

In response to the report Bell Rebeiro-Addy, APPG-AR Chair, noted: ‘in supporting restitution efforts and implementing necessary changes to legislation and museum practices, the UK government can take significant steps towards rectifying historical injustices and fostering a more equitable and inclusive approach to cultural heritage.’

She continued: ‘The hearings and the roundtable further underscored the urgency of the issue, emphasising that the countries of origin must be given the opportunity to care for their own cultural heritage, which requires a comprehensive understanding of what items are in possession, especially when after recent events we take note of the questionable safety record at the British Museum. I will be launching an Early Day Motion on this subject and we will be exploring broader issues of reparatory justice at our 2 day conference on 21-22 October at Friends House in Euston.’

Ends

For media inquiries, please contact:

Bell Ribeiro-Addy – bell.ribeiroaddy.mp@parliament.uk

or

APPG co-Secretariat

Onyekachi Wambu – onyekachi@afford-uk.org

NOTES

1. The summary report is available for free download on the APPG-AR website, UK Reparations Conference 2023 — APPG for Afrikan Reparations (appg-ar.org), ensuring accessibility to a global audience. It is also available on the AFFORD website – www.Afford-uk.org. APPG-AR acknowledges that this summary report is part of an ongoing process, and it does not provide definitive answers to the complex issues it explores. Instead, it serves as a catalyst for further research, dialogue, and collaboration among museums, source communities, and relevant stakeholders. APPG-AR invites scholars, museum professionals, policymakers, and the public to engage with the findings and participate in the ongoing conversation regarding the restitution and reparations of cultural objects.

2. Other events following the press conference and publication launch include: the APPG-AR organised UK Reparations Conference 2023 from Saturday 21st – Sunday 22nd October 2023 at Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ. The conference brings together campaigns, institutions, and individuals to discuss the issue of reparations for colonisation, the transatlantic kidnap, trafficking and enslavement of Africans, theft of looted artefacts and ancestral remains, and continued exploitation of peoples of African descent across the world. The conference will be free to attend and will feature sessions on a range of policy issues as they relate to reparatory justice – from the restitution of artefacts to land rights, education, employment, environmental justice, economics, law, culture, and many other areas beside. Speakers include international government representatives, national and international dignitaries, Independent UN experts, campaigners, academics, Members of Parliament, legal experts, and youth voices. To register and for further information please go to. UK Reparations Conference 2023 — APPG for Afrikan Reparations (appg-ar.org)

3.The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Afrikan Reparations (APPG-AR) brings together parliamentarians, campaigners, communities and other stakeholders to examine issues of African reparations and the restitution of cultural artefacts and ancestral remains. APPG-AR explores policy proposals on reparations and development and how best to redress the legacies of African enslavement and colonialism. The APPG-AR seeks to continue the work of honourable Bernie Grant MP (1944-2000) on the restitution of African artefacts and ancestral remains to enable the restitution of stolen African artefacts and human remains. We look forward to exploring new ways to progress the restitution dialogue we hope to contribute to a constructive and informed global dialogue

4. The African Foundation for Development (AFFORD) is an international organisation established in 1994, with a mission ‘to expand and enhance the contributions Africans in the diaspora make to African development’. AFFORD’s mission is achieved through programmes and projects within the following overlapping themes: enterprise and employment, diaspora remittances and investments, diaspora engagement and capacity and action research, policy and practice. AFFORD acts as a co-secretariat for the APPG-AR, and complied this report through its Return of the Icons programme which focuses on restitution of looted African artefacts and human remains to their country of heritage.

Website: African Foundation for Development – African Foundation for Development (AFFORD) (afford-uk.org)

Global Forum on Migration and Development
2024-01-23 08:00 - 2024-01-25 17:00 | Geneva
ABC Materials EN

ABC Materials FR

Diaspora Engagement Forum and African Diaspora & Development Day 2024
2024-07-06 08:30 - 17:30 | Holiday Inn, Wrights Lane, Kensington, London W8 5SP, UK, Wrights Lane, London, United Kingdom
Diaspora Engagement Forum and African Diaspora & Development Day 2024

Join us for the Diaspora Engagement Forum (DEF) and African Diaspora & Development Day (AD3) 2024!

Theme: “The next 30 years: Harnessing diaspora resources for sustainable socio-economic development and investment in Africa: contributions of the African diaspora in the United Kingdom”

Date: July 6, 2024Location: Holiday Inn, Wrights Lane, Kensington, London W8 5SP, UKTime: 8:30am – 5:30pmProgramme: Download

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to connect with policymakers, diaspora communities, development partners, and the private sector. Be part of impactful discussions and collaborations aimed at driving sustainable development in Africa.

Themes covered will include:

Diaspora investments and philanthropic channels

Collective diaspora initiatives: experiences, opportunities and the role of technology

The role of remittances in emergencies and humanitarian action

Breaking through the barriers of impact first and investor markets to develop diaspora-targeted investment products

Please register to attend here.

As AFFORD celebrates its 30-year milestone and looks ahead to the next 30 years, we invite you to support our mission of fostering sustainable socio-economic development and investment in Africa through the diaspora. Your donations, big or small, can make a significant impact. Please consider donating to support AFFORD’s work.

Donate NOW!

This event is brought to you by African Foundation for Development (AFFORD) in partnership with the African Union Commission’s African Institute for Remittances (AIR).

#DEF2024 #AD32024 #AfricanDiaspora #SustainableDevelopment
