There is always something quite special about November. Apart from it hosting my birthday, the penultimate month of the year sees an acceleration of activity to meet goals and aspirations launched with much hope and faith 10 months ago. Therefore this month, I have a few calls to action for us.

November saw The Africa Centre celebrate its 60^th anniversary. While we have a lot to celebrate, unfortunately, a series of financial shockwaves from recent endeavours and disappointments with our anticipated income generation plans meant that we have been unable to mark this occasion with the vim we had anticipated. In every disappointment, a blessing though, and our current challenges have served to remind us of the immense goodwill and appreciation that so many people all over the world have for us. I seize this opportunity to express my heartfelt appreciation, on behalf of the Board and staff of the organisation, to everyone who has responded so positively to our recently launched fundraising appeal. This is the beginning of a campaign to establish the long-term financial sustainability of the organisation. Please support us and share details of the campaign.

Still on the issue of seminal anniversaries, November was also the 140^th anniversary of the beginning of the Berlin Conference. This conference, attended by representatives from 14 nations, including the United Kingdom, France, Belgium and Portugal, established territorial claims among European powers, marking the beginning of Africa’s colonial period. We were pleased to host a press conference with our partners The Fatherland Group to announce our intention to run a programme of activities from February 2025 that will culminate in a conference to be hosted at the University of Lagos, Nigeria in November 2025. The Africa Centre’s programme ‘Beyond Berlin: Africa Reimagined’ seeks to not just educate about the past, but to also engage interested people in a dynamic repositioning of Africa, focusing on genuine economic, cultural and political emancipation. We are thrilled at how this initiative is capturing people’s imagination and we have already received some great ideas and initiatives for this programme. If you have any, please do drop us a line.

Moreover, to complete the full gamut of good-bad-ugly November anniversaries, we have the 40^th anniversary of Band-Aid’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ single. This has rightly elicited criticism from several quarters, most notably led by the musician Fuse ODG. It is quite remarkable that the organisers of Band-Aid have so adamantly refused to listen to the legitimate concerns about how this initiative perpetuates negative stereotypes about Africa, with devastating consequences, and is not helping Africa to resolve the structural inequities that results in the devastation the likes of Band Aid seek to helicopter in to assist. How much more powerful would it have been for Geldof and co to have called a summit of African creatives and asked them how he can work with them to put together an African-led initiative fit for these times? Our partners Africa No Filter have launched an online petition on this issue here.

It was also sad to learn this month that the British Film Institute (BFI) is seeking to close its very popular African Odysseys Film programme. This 17-year-old initiative was borne out of the 100 Black Men of London’s Education Through Film Programme, and has been a key platform for BFI to attract a new audience of Black film-makers and enthusiasts. Please lend your voice to redress this here.

Here’s to another great month - you still have time to make all your 2024 dreams come true, so go for it!

Olu