 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) – Vincent Chukwuemeka Ike, novelist extraordinaire, passed this month into eternity, writes Nigerian author Okey Ndibe.
Born April 28, 1931, he had a rich life as an academic, bureaucrat, father to an only son, Osita Ike (who preceded him in death), husband (to Adebimpe Olurinsola Ike, nee Abimbolu, who survives him), and traditional leader of his community, Ndikelionwu.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) – Over the last 100 years, Africa has been the eternal donor to the West but has been represented as always reliant on aid from the Western community.
“We must find a way of reversing this by becoming makers of our own raw materials,” asserts Kenyan author and academic Ngugi wa Thiong’o who picked up a distinguished German Peace Prize named for Erich Maria Remarque this year.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) – One of the more ambitious exhibits of African art to showcase French-speaking, English-speaking and Portuguese-speaking Africa, including North Africa, is scheduled to open June 2020 and run for six months.
The occasion will also mark the passing this year of Bisi Silva, an adventurous curator who, with her own money, founded a nonprofit art gallery and education center in Lagos, Nigeria, that has nurtured the growth and recognition of contemporary African artists. Silva died on February 12 in a hospital there. She was 56.
Might Become Dalai Lama’s New Home
By Kalinga Seneviratne
This article is the 36th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous articles.
LUMBINI, Nepal (IDN) – Tens of thousands of Buddhist pilgrims from Asian countries, especially Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar, visit Buddha’s birthplace Lumbini to pay homage to its teacher who preached a philosophy of eradicating greed and being contented with what you have. But, recent construction activities here, mainly fuelled by Chinese investments, to attract more tourists run contrary to this philosophy and some argue may have a sinister motive.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) - England’s most prestigious literary prize has been awarded to Bernadine Evaristo, an Anglo-Nigerian writer, for her eighth work of fiction, to be shared with Margaret Atwood, author of “The Testaments” in a surprise double award approved by the judging panel.
Of Nigerian and British parentage, Evaristo is the first black woman to win the Booker Prize, which honors the best novel of the year written in English and published in the UK and Ireland.
NIAMEY (IDN | ACP) – The African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, in partnership with the European Commission (EC), launched a new Programme to support the cultural sector, ACP-EU Culture.
Themed, "Towards a sustainable cultural industry", the programme was officially launched and presented by Léonard-Emile Ognimba, Deputy Secretary-General of the ACP Group, at the 5th meeting of ACP Ministers of Culture, which was held in in Niamey, Niger from October 19 – 20, 2019.
NIAMEY (IDN | ACP) – Senior Technical Officials of some 50+ ACP countries will meet over the next two days at the Palais de Congrès in Niamey, Niger to prepare for the 5th Meeting of ACP Ministers of Culture and assess the implementation of the 32 commitments made at the 4th ACP Ministerial Meeting in Brussels, Belgium in November 2017.
“Strengthening and Diversifying Partnerships for ACP Cultures” is the main theme of the meeting from October 17-20. The meeting also aims to explore viable financing mechanisms for culture and reach a strong ACP Group position on culture's contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
BRUSSELS (ACP Press) – Cultural Ministers throughout the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States will meet at the Palais des Congrès in Niamey, Niger from October 19 to 20 for the 5th Meeting of ACP Ministers of Culture. The Ministerial meeting will be preceded by a two-day preparatory technical meeting of ACP Senior Officials in charge of Culture.
The main theme of the meeting will be Strengthening and Diversifying Partnerships for ACP Cultures. The meetings will help to assess the implementation of the commitments made by ACP Ministers in Brussels in 2017 and to reach a strong ACP Group position on culture's contribution to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Trumpet Is a ‘Cool’ Instrument to Unite People
By Franck Kuwonu from Africa Renewal
NEW YORK (IDN) – Each year, on April 30, music lovers around the world celebrate International Jazz Day to “honour jazz and its enduring legacy, as well as its power to bring people together,” says Audrey Azoulay, the director-general of the United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), which works to promote global peace, justice and rule of law.
Jazz events held each year in different countries around the globe culminate in the International Jazz Day, a star-studded musical concert in a major city. This year it took place in Melbourne, Australia. Other cities have hosted the event since 2012, when the UN headquarters in New York City hosted the inaugural.
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power
LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – “In the beginning there was a river. The river became a road and the road branched out to the whole world. And because the road was once a river it was always hungry.”
This must be one of the best opening lines ever penned by a novelist. It’s the work of the Nigerian novelist, Ben Okri, who won English literature’s premier annual award, the Booker prize, for his book, The Famished Road.
We promote a sustainable future and culture of peace through our news reports, analyses, feature stories and viewpoints. We focus on UN’s sustainable development goals and a nuclear-weapons free world. We contribute to international understanding.
