This week, our reporter Patrick has been walking the streets of a Dutch city again with the intend to get people to start a new kind of conversation again. “What does culture mean to you?” is the question that has been asking the people of Utrecht.
Every week, one of our reporters is going to visit one of the cities in Holland to ask people on the street about their opinion about certain subjects. For this first week, I, Patrick, walked the streets of Leiden to ask people about our festival and what they thought of it.
I was curious if random people would understand and value the meaning behind the festival and of course if they would come. I purposefully didn’t tell them too much about our vision. I wanted to find out if people would think of it themselves. I took the streets with the question: “What do you think of the Citizens of Alkebulan festival, a festival that celebrates all kinds of African cultures”
For the past few months, a group of young creatives have been working non-stop to put together the ultimate celebrational day: Citizens of Alkebulan Festival. On the 8th of July, the Tolhuistuin in Amsterdam will be the place to be! Music, film, art, food, spokenword and so much more will be there to find and to enjoy. Explore the gardens and take everything in, because you will only get to experience this once a year.
Today, March 21st, is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which started years ago in South Africa. In 1960, on the exact same date, 69 people were shot and killed during a peaceful demonstration against the apartheid pass laws. Causing an one of the most memorable uprising and call for change.
Alkebulan has been on the interwebs for some time now and in order to do what we do, which is changing the image of Africa, we need to be inspired! These are the people that inspire us daily with their awesomeness – in no particular order.
We are very proud to say that Philou Louzolo, family member of Alkebulan since day one, will be curating his very own playlist on 22tracks in Amsterdam.