On the occasion of his concert at Bercy in June, Tiken Jah Fakoly is launching the African and Solidarity Week from 13 to 18 June in Paris. A week of cultural and community events that will culminate in his big concert at Bercy on 18 June.
It is his own 18 June appeal: Tiken Jah Fakoly is calling on the young people of the African diaspora to come together and exchange ideas. For a week, ahead of his concert at Bercy, he will present a series of cultural events and a large community forum.
Backed by Barclay, France Inter, MK2 and Live Nation, this is heavy artillery being deployed for this African and Solidarity Week. "A week during which we will talk about the positive sides that are not much talked about, about the negative sides, and about how the young generation will rise to these challenges," explains the singer. "It is an important event in a career. It is an opportunity to talk about this continent in a process of democracy and development. A continent that is emerging from 400 years of slavery and several years of colonisation."
Burning issues
A message that is all the more important as events in Côte d'Ivoire and Tunisia make the subject of the continent's governance a burning one. "There will be 15 official elections in Africa in 2011 and 2012," says Tiken Jah Fakoly, who fears a ripple effect from the post-election crisis shaking Côte d'Ivoire since Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept the victory of his opponent Alassane Ouattara. "The process must not stop, the coup d'état must not succeed. It is important to assert universal suffrage, the vote of the Ivorian people must be respected." And he added: "I do not support Ouattara but democracy."
"Unity, he insists, is the only way out", calling on people to rise above ethnic groups and religions. "Only the African people can rise up to change all this. Tunisia gives great hope: it rose up to say no and won the fight."
Meetings and exchanges
The African and Solidarity Week will thus begin on 13 June with a film season at the Mk2 Quai de Seine / Loire, which will offer, as its opening-night event, a meeting with Tiken Jah Fakoly and one of the season's guest directors, such as Souleymane Cissé, Abderrahmane Sissako or Mahamat Saleh Haroun, whose films (and others) will be screened over two weeks.
Also on the programme is an exhibition by the photographer and writer Philippe Bordas, author of the book "L'Afrique à poings nus" in 2004, and of the photographs from Tiken Jah Fakoly's latest album, "African Revolution". Finally, a pop-up shop devoted to African culture will be set up at MK2 Bibliothèque, with a selection of books, DVDs and magazines but also jewellery, food products and textiles…
Finally, on 18 June, the day of the concert, a large community forum will round off this week of meetings and exchanges from 9am to 6pm. Then it will be time for the show: with orchestras and dancers, and Asa and Soprano as guests, Tiken Jah Fakoly will tread the Bercy stage for the first time. True to his convictions, €1 per ticket will be donated to his association to fund his "Un Concert une École" project, developed in Africa. He who told us in an interview that he was looking for soldiers to carry on his cause now has them.
Backed by Barclay, France Inter, MK2 and Live Nation, this is heavy artillery being deployed for this African and Solidarity Week. "A week during which we will talk about the positive sides that are not much talked about, about the negative sides, and about how the young generation will rise to these challenges," explains the singer. "It is an important event in a career. It is an opportunity to talk about this continent in a process of democracy and development. A continent that is emerging from 400 years of slavery and several years of colonisation."
Burning issues
A message that is all the more important as events in Côte d'Ivoire and Tunisia make the subject of the continent's governance a burning one. "There will be 15 official elections in Africa in 2011 and 2012," says Tiken Jah Fakoly, who fears a ripple effect from the post-election crisis shaking Côte d'Ivoire since Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept the victory of his opponent Alassane Ouattara. "The process must not stop, the coup d'état must not succeed. It is important to assert universal suffrage, the vote of the Ivorian people must be respected." And he added: "I do not support Ouattara but democracy."
"Unity, he insists, is the only way out", calling on people to rise above ethnic groups and religions. "Only the African people can rise up to change all this. Tunisia gives great hope: it rose up to say no and won the fight."
Meetings and exchanges
The African and Solidarity Week will thus begin on 13 June with a film season at the Mk2 Quai de Seine / Loire, which will offer, as its opening-night event, a meeting with Tiken Jah Fakoly and one of the season's guest directors, such as Souleymane Cissé, Abderrahmane Sissako or Mahamat Saleh Haroun, whose films (and others) will be screened over two weeks.
Also on the programme is an exhibition by the photographer and writer Philippe Bordas, author of the book "L'Afrique à poings nus" in 2004, and of the photographs from Tiken Jah Fakoly's latest album, "African Revolution". Finally, a pop-up shop devoted to African culture will be set up at MK2 Bibliothèque, with a selection of books, DVDs and magazines but also jewellery, food products and textiles…
Finally, on 18 June, the day of the concert, a large community forum will round off this week of meetings and exchanges from 9am to 6pm. Then it will be time for the show: with orchestras and dancers, and Asa and Soprano as guests, Tiken Jah Fakoly will tread the Bercy stage for the first time. True to his convictions, €1 per ticket will be donated to his association to fund his "Un Concert une École" project, developed in Africa. He who told us in an interview that he was looking for soldiers to carry on his cause now has them.
Report written by Sébastien Jobart
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