Burkina Faso is a small country in West Africa, rich in cultures, diverse ethnic groups, known for music, art, culture, Thomas Sankara and the extraordinary revolution of 2014/15.
On the history of the association:
Founding member Abdoul Aziz Sinka came to Germany many years ago and after some time began to invite mainly friends and contacts to his home country. In cooperation with the Association Woka-Kuma Burkina Faso, this has led to a partnership for educational sponsorships since 2003, in which committed people from France and Germany take over the costs for the school education of boys and girls from Bobo Dioulasso. During the regular visits of friends to Bobo Dioulasso, a number of fundraising campaigns were organised and cooperations were established. The annual visit to Bobo Dioulasso also includes participation in the FESTICO (Festival de musique et danse traditionelle de Colsama) cultural festival held there. For years, the cooperation with AHOI Kultur (Lanaya Management) and Lange Tafel e.V. has been the main source of ideas and cultural exchange. This has promoted ideas and cultural exchange on the ground.
Abdoul Aziz Sinka is a musician himself, band leader of the group Lanaya, and he is particularly interested in the presentation and dissemination of Burkinabe culture. Through many positive feedbacks and experiences during his musical performances all over Europe, the desire to make a difference in a collective grew more and more. In 2013, the Woka-Kuma Festival took place in Berlin for the first time. Artists from Burkina Faso filled the stage of the former Werkstatt der Kulturen (Workshop of Cultures) in Neukölln with music and dance and delighted the German and international audience. Burkinabe culture was thus also made tangible in Germany, and the festival was repeated in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020 in ever larger formats.
In 2018, the time had finally come. For the 4th edition of the Woka-Kuma Festival, the founding meeting for the Woka-Kuma Deutschland e.V. took place. In the meantime, the association has 8 active members from all over Germany, Nuremberg, Kassel, Berlin are represented. The association consists of 8 committed people from various backgrounds who want to further their commitment in the field of promotion or culture. Regular meetings and general assemblies strengthen the cooperation and bring forth new projects. Every year, a delegation of the association visits Bobo Dioulasso and takes part in the fundraising activities and the FESTICO in Bobo Dioulasso. Due to the regular and constant activities and the commitment for the German-Burkina cooperation, the association has a good connection to the German embassy in Ouagadougou as well as to the mayor Mr Hermann Sirima of the arrondissement No 7 in Bobo Dioulasso.
The current board consists of
Abdoul Aziz Sinka, Chairman Woka-Kuma Deutschland e.V.
Nora Palm, Deputy Chairperson
Johannes Kirch, Treasurer and Treasurer’s Office.
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