First annual Africa Day promotes lively alternative image of continent

AFRICAN FOODS, drinks, music and crafts were on noisy, uptempo show yesterday at the first annual Africa Day, held in Dublin Castle.

With 24 music acts on the main stage under a sunny Irish sky there was a music festival atmosphere on the grounds in front of the Chester Beatty Library.

As well as the music there was a children's play area with trampolines and soft-ball tennis, a spoken-word area, arts projects and poetry readings.

The event, which was supported by Irish Aid, was held in part to meet a Government commitment in the White Paper on Irish aid, to promote a positive image of Africa. A spokesman for Irish Aid said the day was an opportunity to promote an alternative picture of the continent. "And to show people it's a continent of 54 countries, 2,000 languages and with a huge, rich diversity of cultures."

All the African embassies in Ireland had stalls, with most promoting food and crafts. The Nigerian embassy was offering free meals including puf-puf, a deep-fried dumpling; saya, a spicy chicken dish; and nkuobu, a cow's hoof stew."The Irish people have always been at home in Africa and integrate well and I think Ireland is one of the few countries where African people quickly get used to being," said the embassy's Mansur Bamalli.

At the Moroccan stall, honey and almond biscuits were being given out by the embassy's chargé d'affaires, Maria Toursi. "This is a great, beautiful day," she said.

Deputy chief of the Egyptian embassy Maged Abdel-Rahman said it was a "great opportunity for the Irish people to see a different African to the one they see on the television, which is often not so pleasant. We are giving hibiscus juice and also distributing CDs and books on the sites you can visit in Egypt."

Among those enjoying the day were Kevin and Miriam Ball. "We saw a piece about it in The Irish Timesmagazine yesterday, so we thought we'd come along and see it. It's very good, very enjoyable and very educational, for adults as well as kids," said Kevin.

Eloho Egwuterai, a Nigerian living in Dublin, said she was "pleasantly amazed so many Irish people are here to celebrate Africa". She said the day showed "how welcoming the Irish people are to Africa. Well, I know some people are not welcoming but I don't bother with them, to be honest. This is great."

Sitting on the grass with her, Joseph Mwaura, from Kenya and living in Belfast, said part of his work in Belfast entailed trying to encourage people to be receptive to African art and culture.

"This is very good to see, to see how enthusiastic people are about African music and art. It's a great opportunity to see what we could be doing in Belfast."