After two years of break, the International Africa Festival took place in Würzburg on the last weekend in May (26th to 29th of May). For three decades, the Africa Festival, the largest of its kind in Europe, has been a permanent fixture in the cultural events calendar of the city of Würzburg.
In addition to the cultural program, the University of Würzburg was represented with a scientific contribution on Africa-related research. As a unique feature this year, there were two exhibitions.
One collection was dedicated to the Benin bronzes. The stories of the Benin bronzes were retold scientifically, and background information, e.g., on the subject of restitution, was conveyed. The curator was Dr. Julien Bobineau, speaker of the Forum Afrikazentrum at the University of Würzburg, and Prof. Dr. Guido Fackler and Regina Reisinger (Museology, University of Würzburg)
The second exhibition, “Africa in Global Change,” presented a panorama of selected Africa-related projects at the University of Würzburg. The focus was on remote sensing-based research within the WASCAL-DE-Coop project (BMBF) and the international cooperation with the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL).
On the festival’s opening day, Ms. Claudia Roth, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, visited the exhibitions and discussed with the exhibition organizers. On all four days of the festival, the visitors welcomed the exhibited contributions with lively interest. In addition, staff members of the Department of Remote Sensing were available for exchange and discussion.
