Bridging the Gap and Consolidating Africa’s Cultural Diplomacy with Russia -By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh

Exhibiting African culture has increasingly become the commonest essential feature in consolidating the current relations with Russia. In mid-February, under the auspices and initiative of Hello Africa, a well-established non-profit organization, “Window to Africa” was another pivotal step to showcase Africa’s diverse culture to high-ranking Russian politicians, entrepreneurs and business community, and the public representing different backgrounds in a fully-packed concert hall in central Moscow.

“Window to Africa” aimed at fostering increased interaction and understanding the significance of culture as an immense potential instrument for promoting bilateral relations between the peoples of African diaspora and Russia. While taking unprecedented measures these few years in promoting the culture as an aspect of building positive image of Africa, Hello Africa also shares its unique corporate business models in the fashion and hospitality industry to potential investors in the Russian Federation.

As the first group in ethnic-designed costumes appeared on stage, the combination of sounds from traditional drums and an unexpected ear-deafening applause filled the entire hall in the Moscow House of Nationalities. The festival program included: master classes on wearing an African scarf, carrying children on the back, braiding braids with kanekalon, playing the “djembe” drums. Quite interestingly, the festival guests were able to play African board games – “Awale” and “Bumuntu”, taste tea and coffee from the Republic of Cameroon, the Republic of Congo and the Republic of Kenya, and wholeheartedly enjoy traditional African donuts “puff-puff” and many other fried products.

Festival guests were also able to take part in exciting master classes in traditional African dances, such as “Zumba”, “Kizomba”, and “Nzango” – a unique combination of play and dance, which is the hallmark of the Republic of the Congo. The festival included an exhibition of African clothing and a fashion show of national costumes, where festival guests saw all the beauty and diversity of the African style. The festival ended with a concert of African music, which was attended by leading African performers.

The guests and participants of the festival were greeted by: Director of the Moscow House of Nationalities, Sergey Sergeevich Anufrienko, and the President of the Cameroonian Diaspora, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the “Window to Africa” festival, Louis Gouend.

“Cultural exchange is an even more important foundation for economic, political and sports relations. We are glad that we can contribute to the formation of interstate cooperation,” said Anufrienko.

Speaking about the significance of the event, Louis Gouend emphasized its practical benefits. “Our task is to make sure that we are understood in the language we speak. When talking about business, it is particularly important to take into account the distinctive cultural peculiarities so that our partners understand how to interact with us,” he explained.

Among the honorary guests of the festival were: Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Anzhelika Yegorovna Glazkova; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Mali to the Russian Federation, General Seydou Kamissoko; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kenya to Russia, Matuki Peter Mutuku; Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Republic of Madagascar, Ms. Judith Deniz Tafangi; Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Republic of Tunisia, Mohammad Mehrez Othman; Cultural Counselor of the Embassy of the Republic of Cameroon in Moscow, Ms. Celestine Charlotte Ndong Tung; Cultural and Educational Attaché of the Embassy of Burkina Faso, Vital Sempore; President of the Union of African Diasporas in the Russian Federation and Head of the Association of Ethiopian Community in Russia and the CIS, Professor Kinfu Tafesse Zenebe; President of the Malagasy Diaspora in the Russian Federation, Said Ali; President of the Congolese Diaspora, Patrick Bozi Boyanga; Representative of the Association for Cooperation and Socio-Economic Development of Chad with Russia, Abakar Tor Fode; Head of the International Development Project of JSC – Russian Export Center, Pavel Shibilov and General Director of the “My Family Tree” Foundation, Ivan Anatolyevich Kulnev.

The festival “Window to Africa” ​​was held in the Moscow House of Nationalities as part of the project of the State Budgetary Institution “MDN”. Organizers of the event: State Budgetary Institution “Moscow House of Nationalities” with the support of the Autonomous Non-Commercial Organization for the Promotion and Development of Cultural and Socio-Economic Relations of Cameroonian Compatriots “Diaspocam”. Information partners of the project were: TV BRICS channel, Moscow-24 TV channel, international TV channel “RT”, information portal “All Russia”, magazine “New Eastern Review”, online publication “RIA Novosti” and information agency “African Initiative”.

The organizers expressed special gratitude to the partners of the “Window to Africa” ​​festival, who provided invaluable support in the implementation of this initiative: the Russian-African Club of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, the Peace Foundation, the Faculty of Economics of RUDN, representatives of African diplomatic missions of Kenya, Madagascar, Tunisia, Cameroon and Namibia, the ANO “Center for Public Diplomacy”, Tatyana Jolivet for organizing a wonderful exhibition, the Amadi brand for providing exclusive premium quality African clothing from the brand’s designer Lisa Amadi and African television in Russia, the DrafTV.

This festival was acknowledged as truly unique. Many had the opportunity to get acquainted with the culture of a wide variety of African peoples. Such diversity in the presentation of African culture in Russia has never been before! The organizers plan to hold the “Window to Africa” ​​festival regularly!