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By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — Distinguished philosopher, writer, and teacher Kwasi Wiredu, born in Ghana and recognized on three continents, has passed away at the age of 90.
The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy cites Wiredu for his decades-long study of “conceptual decolonization” in contemporary African systems of thought.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — Not long ago, movies made in Hollywood filmed in major cities in Africa displayed an unapologetic ignorance of even minimal facts about the continent.
Cities named Lagos, Nairobi or Johannesburg became “somewhere in Africa”, anti-colonial sentiments became a “coloured struggle”, and the continent became a “setting and backdrop which eliminates the African as a human factor.”
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — A World Heritage Site and Ethiopia’s holy city of Lalibela is welcoming pilgrims once again. Throngs of Ethiopians recently flooded the streets of the town caught up in the fighting between the government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front.
Ethiopia’s Orthodox Christians celebrate the birth of Christ on January 7.
By Lim Mah-Hui and Michael Heng Siam-Heng
SINGAPORE (IDN) — This is clearly an ambitious book spanning over 200 pages and covering the history of economic and philosophical thought, pandemics, climate change, different economic and political systems and recent financial developments. The authors’ objective is to argue that these subject matters are not separate but are all intertwined. In doing so, the three authors’ years of experience in academia, public and private sectors are clearly discernible in each of the six chapters. By entitling the book ‘COVID-19 and the Structural Crises of Our time’ the authors are aiming to ride on a topical issue and hence appeal to the broader general public.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — A golden bowl, a ceremonial libations vessel, a marble statue and a small chest for human remains were among the 180 reputedly stolen antiquities that decorated the homes and offices of a Brooklyn billionaire whose collection of the ancient artefacts was valued at $80 million.
Under a deal struck by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., a multi-year, multinational investigation of artefacts in the possession of hedge fund pioneer Michael Steinhardt will not be prosecuted.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) marked its 75th anniversary with a star-studded cast of artists and world leaders. Among the participants was American actor Forest Whitaker, a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Peace and Reconciliation since 2011.
His organization, the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI), works jointly with UNESCO in South Sudan, Uganda and Mexico—areas affected by conflict and violence. In 2012, the WPDI launched the Conflict Resolution Education program in the U.S. In South Sudan, the WPDI trained former child soldiers and orphans to become peacemakers for their communities.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — “Fortune Men” is the third novel by acclaimed novelist Nadifa Mohamed and the first by a British Somali to be shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize.
Her latest book tells the story of a notorious miscarriage of justice and the real-life wrongful conviction of British Somali sailor Mahmood Mattan for a 1952 murder in Cardiff, capital of Wales.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — A Finnish-Somali filmmaker has scooped the grand prize at the Pan-African film festival known as FESPACO in Burkina Faso. The head of the prize jury called the winning feature a courageous film.
Director Khadar Ahmed’s film, The Gravedigger’s Wife, explores what people will do for love. It focuses on Guled, whose job it is to wait outside the hospital to bury the dead, and what he does to save his sick wife.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — The much-awaited pan-African film festival opened on October 16 in Burkina Faso's capital city of Ouagadougou at the Palais des Sports with dancers, acrobats and celebrities, including Senegalese Grammy nominee Baaba Maal.
This year’s theme was Cinemas of Africa and the Diaspora: New perspectives, new challenges.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information News
NEW YORK (IDN) — Rooted in healing rituals and Sufism, the hypnotic sounds of Gnawa music have attracted artists and musicians of all stripes—from Jazz Age poet Claude McKay to Archie Shepp, Ornette Coleman and the legendary Randy Weston.
Dar Gnawa—or Gnawa House—is a one-of-a kind three-story Moorish-style building built in Tangier, Morocco, in the 1850s. It’s a cultural center for Gnawa music, making it the first officially recognized center devoted to celebrating and preserving the music of the descendants of slaves in Morocco.
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