Black History Month 2011 - The Association of Students of African Heritage (ASAH) Netherlands
The Association of Students of African Heritage (ASAH) in The Netherlands cordially invites you to the fourth edition of Black History Month on 18th and 25th February 2011.About ASAH
ASAH was founded by and for students who can directly and indirectly distract their roots from Africa and for those who have affinity with the African continent. ASAH activities are geared on providing members with opportunities to further develop themselves on a personal, professional, social and cultural level during the course of their studies. The activities organized by ASAH include Black History Month, Movie nights, Africa Rising, Social Lounges, Excursions and ASAH’s first trip abroad to London in 2010. The Student Association is based at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam.Black History Month 2011
Theme: “The Economics of Culture – the way we dress, eat and express ourselves from an economic perspective”
Many African and Afro-Caribbean countries are endowed with resources that could stimulate economic stability and independence. However, many of those are plight by economic inefficiencies coupled with a constant dependence on global resources. For example, “one may see a black woman elegantly clothed with traditional attire. But her cloth may be from Vlisco (the Dutch manufacturer of African prints), shoes/slippers from Italy and earrings/jewelleries from Thailand. Instead of local manufactures many prefer Hollywood movies over Nollywood/Ghallywood/Black films or even opt for Indian Basmati or American Uncle Sam rice instead of locally cultivated rice etc”.Considering the trends of commerce, “to what extent are we (Blacks) economically independent when we portray the African/(Afro-) culture”?
Programme Outline
Day 1: Friday February 18th – Culture and Entrepreneurship
The first day of BHM 2011 focuses on culture and the similarities between Blacks from the Diaspora and the African continent. It also provides an opportunity to explore the economic aspect of culture. Furthermore, day 1 serves as a window to showcase and promote Afro-businesses, as well as a means to network. The day is set up as follows:
• Through the conceptualization of culture and what constitutes the African/(Afro-) culture, a “Black Cultural Expert” will enlighten us with reference to the theme. The expert will talk about various developments in the Black culture over the years.
• Fashion show: Traditional clothing from the African continent and the Diaspora will be displayed. Two different kinds of clothing from the following areas is to be modelled:
o West Africa
o East Africa
o Southern Africa
o Former Netherlands Antilles
o Suriname
During the fashion show, information will be provided about the attires, their origins, designer etc.
• Entrepreneurs: After the fashion show, Mrs. L. Echtelt of Mariposa Import, will share her views on “Black consumerism and entrepreneurship”.
• Cultural treats/snacks: There will be cultural snacks to enjoy. Information will be provided about the ingredients used, its origin, the caterers and/or where to buy them.
• There will also be a spoken word performance by T. Martinus. The day ends with a Musical performance!When: Friday, 18th February 2011
Venue: Surinaamse Jongeren Centrum Samen Sterk,
Zieken 103, 2515 SB Den Haag
A 3 minute walk from train station The Hague HS
Parking is available, free parking from 17:00
Doors open: at 17.30
The programme starts: at 18:00
Entrance: Free
Language: English and Dutch
Pre-Registration is appreciated, please sent a mail to info@asah-eur.nl
Day 2: Friday February 25th – Presentation and workshop entrepreneurshipThe second day of BHM 2011 consists of a workshop and an interactive presentation at the Erasmus University.
• Workshop: To encourage the youth and BHM participants of African heritage to take initiative to become entrepreneurs, Ms. W. Gillis-Burleson – managing director of Legato B.V. and the best Black Business Woman 1997 – will give a workshop on empowerment and entrepreneurship. This workshop aims to equip participants with some fundamental knowledge, tools and skills essential for business for starters.
• Presentation: Mr. T. Kofi – Director of the Foundation Africa Next Door – will talk about the consumption trends of Black people and its consequences. Mr. Kofi will show the correlation between the African continent and Black communities worldwide. Participants or the audience will have an opportunity to ask questions or share their opinion. Amongst others, there will be a debate/discussion on “Does our culture inhibit us to enterprise?” during the discussion round.When: Friday, 25th February 2011
Venue: Erasmus University Rotterdam,
C-Building, Room CB-109
Doors open: at 16.30
The programme starts: at 17:00
Entrance: Free
Language: English and Dutch
Pre-Registration is appreciated, please sent a mail to info@asah-eur.nlWe, ASAH, look forward to celebrate Black History Month 2011 with you! For further info: visit www.asah-eur.nl
Black History Month 2011 is presented in collaboration with NiNsee (Nationaal instituut Nederlands slavernijverleden en erfenis) see: www.ninsee.nl
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By Zena Edwards
LOVING MY JOB
Bart Scheeman & the NBE
Podium Mozaik is a really cool building. Situated close to the heart of Amsterdam , Maarten Gulickx and the Podium crew champion multi-cultural performance. The amazing Imani Uzuri is programmed there in March. Facebook them.
I was invited in September ’10 to celebrate the buildings 5th birthday, and to collaborate and perform with the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went out there but was excited about writing poetry in collaboration with a wind orchestra. What blew me away (‘scuse the pun) was the global diversity in the the music and the inclusiveness of the musical collaboration.
Bart Scheeman is the musical director of NBE and an incredible composer in his own right. As an extremely laid back guy I wondered when the rehearsals were going to launch. I must have underestimated the chilledness of the Holland vibe. Rehearsals were in full flight and it was going over my head on day one. So I chilled and got into some photography, taking pics of the rehearsals. No one seemed to mind. Click images to enlarge them.
- Dhroeh Nankoe
There was an interesting moment with a clash of cultures when the timing of Dhroeh Nankoe‘s Indian Sufi composition clashed with a restrictive count of European rhythm. But this is where the beauty occurred. As the rehearsals progressed layers of musical cultural restriction dropped away embracing a new way of being and the magic began to sparkle and spangle about the room.
Rosie Ntjam
The beautifully smooth vocals of Antillian born Izaline Calistersent goose bumps up my spine and the glamourous afro-jazz Congolese funkiness of Rosie Ntjam brought a African feminine vibe to the event that I was proud of.
- Vasile Nedea
The life and soul of rehearsals had to be Vasile Nedea. During performances, his high energy character amped up filling all corners of the room as he took us on a vibrant multi-layered musical journey through the Balkans playing percussion, accordian and an instrument of his heritage – the Cymbalom. Beautiful…
Haytham
The enchanting compositions for the Middle Eastern instrument called the U’d played with a haunting spirituality by Haytham Safia almost brought tears to my eyes on both shows. We were programmed to play together straight after his solo. Had to swallow those tears back… but this only added to my performance as the emotion behind the piece came from an even more genuine place in my gut.
“The Artist is a Piece I wrote dedicated to all artists on the planet and to the dormant artist within us all. I guess it is an homage to Creativity. Myself, Haytham and Peter Prommel on percussion immersed ourselves in the piece in a way that moved me profoundly, reminding me how much I love my job.
Here is the promo video of the whole event. It was 3 days of trans-global bliss. (Grin.)
>via: http://goodnewzee.wordpress.com/2010/09/22/loving-my-job/