AfricAvenir in Germany emerged from the internationally oriented work of the AfricAvenir International Foundation in Douala, Cameroon. Initially organized as a student group at the Otto Suhr Institute for Political Science at the Free University of Berlin, the association has been officially registered as a non-profit and politically independent organization under the name AfricAvenir International e.V. since January 2004.

Our Vision

AfricAvenir stands for a confident, peaceful, and prosperous Africa in a just world order. We advocate for equal coexistence of all people, free from colonial or racist thinking, actions, and resulting power structures. We support the pan-African values of the African Renaissance. We work for a Europe that consciously acknowledges and actively addresses its responsibility in history and the present. We call out injustice and advocate for reconciliation.

Our Goals: Processing – Recognition – Exchange

AfricAvenir International e.V. creates spaces for knowledge production and dissemination from African and migrant-diasporic perspectives. Raising awareness and shifting perspectives in the sense of critical whiteness form the basis of our work. We offer interdisciplinary programs in the areas of cultural and political education.

Processing

We advocate for a (self-)critical examination of African-European history and the overcoming of current power structures and (neo)colonial behavioral patterns in all areas, especially in politics, economy, science, society, and culture. We create spaces and public forums to enable a confrontation with Europe's colonial and imperial past and present. In doing so, we pursue an honest and solidarity-based reconciliation policy, in which we specifically name injustices and advocate for reparation. The goal is to correct the relationships with Africa, enabling the people of the continent and its diaspora to develop independently at all levels and to create a framework in which Africa's wealth primarily benefits its own people.

Recognition

We contribute to the renaissance of the African continent. This includes supporting African societies in developing their own state and social forms based on their own traditions, values, and historical experiences, serving the well-being of the majority of African societies. Africa's development has been dictated from the outside for too long. To counter this dominant "white expertise" and the associated reproduction of paternalistic and (neo)colonial power structures, we create spaces for African and diasporic scholars, activists, artists, and cultural creators, whose structurally underrepresented perspectives we systematically and consistently bring to the forefront of the debates. Instead of speaking about Africa, we promote dialogue with Africa and the diaspora. Our goal is a solidarity-based collaboration that respects and supports the priorities of the people in Africa and its diaspora.

Exchange

Intercultural dialogue, cooperation, and direct exchange are both our goal and our means. They are not a one-way street: listening, recognizing, and especially learning from African positions form the foundation of our work. In this sense, we strive for stronger networking between people, organizations, and institutions from Africa, the African diaspora, and Europe. AfricAvenir International itself stands for such networking with its various sections and is part of a constantly growing larger network of cooperation partners. Through diverse event formats such as exhibitions, performances, conferences, and dialogue forums, we offer different platforms as learning fields for exchange and networking, encouraging the audience to learn from African and diasporic perspectives.