Africa’s Renaissance Will Come Through Culture

when many observers believe that Africa’s growth in global balances will be an inevitable process in the 21st century^e century, we must take up the issue of African culture. It seems reductive to me to consider that the growth of our continent, in its immensity and diversity, can only go through simple economic or geopolitical development. Or rather, it would be absurd to believe that these two phenomena can be distinct from a flourishing culture which would have all its centrality in our societies.

Africa, source of inspiration

The African continent is rich in a varied cultural heritage whose influence on world culture is well established. African music, through a circulation of the terrible traumas that we have suffered during our history, have inspired almost all the musical styles that flourish on the planet. The African arts had a decisive influence in the aesthetic revolution which, at the beginning of the XX^e century, saw the emergence of modern art in Europe and the United States. Finally, our continent is rich in places and monuments which, like Timbuktu, were – and remain – real beacons for humanity. We must rediscover the pride of this past by highlighting it through a real heritage conservation policy and by continuing to work for the return of works that were torn from the African continent during the colonial period.

Rediscover the heritage of Africa to give it back all its breath, all its power

This return to heritage is necessary. It is the foundation of a cultural renaissance of the African continent which should make us work for the present and for the future. The future of Africa is embodied in our youth who, everywhere on the continent, are the first of our resources. Incredibly creative, this youth is embodied in all areas. Musicians, dancers, painters or fashion designers: there is no art in which African talents are not expressed.

While the digital revolution has given the means to young Africans to make their work known with a speed and an echo unprecedented in the history of global culture, we must do everything to give it the means to flourish artistically and economically on the continent that saw them be born. Today, the situation is gloomy. Our artists are poorly protected and poorly supported by States, even though the culture sector can be lucrative and participate in the economic development of the continent. Moreover, a brilliant culture is an element of prestige, a factor of attractiveness for our cities – and a way of attracting to us a different tourism, respectful of what constitutes us, of this spirit of which Senghor spoke.

Let us be aware of the immense opportunity that opens before us. The XXI^e century worried. The upheavals of the digital revolution have been a tremendous source of growth. They have also confused our societies and destabilized our political organizations. All over the planet, women and men look to the future with concern. African culture – its arts, its customs, its deep connection to dialogue and interpersonality – can appear as a response to these fears and anxiety that are expressed everywhere on the planet. Our voice can be one that will define the XXI^e century by giving back to the world a meaning that it seems to have lost. For that, let us commit ourselves in a resolute way. African culture will only prosper if we empower it to do so. Let us take this ambition seriously, it is one of the conditions for the rebirth of Africa.