African Connections CIC

Year in Review In this financial year, African Connections CIC was awarded continued Strategic Partnership funding from the City of Edinburgh Council to deliver Edinburgh Multicultural Festival, a multi-cultural event in the northern localities of Edinburgh. This annual grant award of £43,000 was made in principle for the period 2024/25-2026/27. In addition to the annual festival funding, following the receipts of the Council’s Edinburgh900 Civic Fund project grant, the company focused on the development stage of the Edinburgh900 project ‘Living Statues’ exploring the legacies of the slave trade and colonialism through dramatized stories of those whose lives were affected by that chapter in history with the docus on Edinburgh’s role in the slave trade and its abolition. Edinburgh Multicultural Festival, led by the company Artistic Director, Morgan Njobo, and Production Manager, Morgan Withers, engages local audiences through music dance, poetry, storytelling and visual arts that represent Edinburgh’s diverse cultures, including African, Asian and Eastern European. The live and online programme offer hosted at Lauriston Castle on 15 September 2024 was made available to all participants free of charge. Launched on 29 July 2024, the 2024 Edinburgh Multicultural Festival brought an eclectic mix of music, dance, poetry and theatre to Lauriston Castle on Sunday, 15 September. From family cultural experiences at the Edinburgh-Kyoto Friendship Garden, to thought-provoking poetry at the Stewards House to a unique blend of musical genres and influences on the Main Stage, this year's programme featured local diverse performance artists that will entertain and inspire. The Japanese Tea Ceremony with Mio Shudo returned to the Edinburgh-Kyoto Friendship Garden by popular demand. So did Josephine Morton with a Chinese Knotting exhibition and workshop. Live music by the Sitar Project and cultural dance performances featuring the Chinese Community Dance Group and Ahalya Dance Academy harmoniously complimented the experience of the garden. Inga Dale Steyn hosted a poetry reading and performance poetry event that featured local poets capturing their lived experience and reflections in their original verses. Diverse voices of the new generation of poets shared their understating of the past, present and future. The Main Stage shared by an electro-pop and Afrobeat singer-songwriter Fifidiny, an Alternative Latino singer-songwriter Oriana Setz, Celtic-inspired harp-led indie-pop performer Dara Dubh and the household name Samba Sene & Diwan bringing their signature Senegalese rhythms. 25 musicians, 4 poets, 10 dancers and choreographers, 5 cultural engagement facilitators, as well as 2 photographers/videographers contributed to this year's programme at Lauriston Castle. The festival launch and festival event were attended ca 1,000 direct participants/audiences across ethnic backgrounds and age groups offered free of charge to all attendees. Financial Review The company continued delivering the annual contract with the City of Edinburgh Council (£43,000) as well as managing the development stage, including research and music composition, of the Edinbugh900 Living Statues project awarded funding of £14,883.75 towards project delivery in 2024-25 and 2025-26 company financial years. All grant awards were allocated to restricted funds towards the specific project activity agreed with the funders. Additional resources were generated through Library performances that directly supported contributing artists with no commission paid to the company. Plans for Future Periods The company will continue delivering the Edinburgh Multicultural Festival as per extended contract with the City of Edinburgh Council. Further funding is being sought to support additional activities, including commissioning new work and producing events promoting diverse talent and access to arts and culture for all. The company received further funds from The City of Edinburgh Council to deliver its Edinburgh900 project entitled ‘Living Statues’. The project delivery, including public in-person and online engagement, will continue into the next financial year as per project timelines.