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About AfricAvenir Douala
AfricAvenir is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation founded in Douala, Cameroon, by Prince Kum' a Ndumbe III in 1985. The foundations offices are located in Bonabéri, in Douala, and comprise multipurpose hall used for lectures, exhibitions and all kind of events, a library featuring a unique collection of books by African authors and in many Cameroonian and African languages and the "Génie Africain" book- and artshop. The foundation engages in political and cultural education from African and Afrocentric perspectives.
Mission of AfricAvenir in Douala
The mission of AfricAvenir International in Douala is to educate the population and the intellectual elites of African as well as European countries by gaining a better understanding of African Affairs. We try to contribute towards answering the following question: what are the deeper causes for the state of mal-development the African continent finds itself in? What are the classical and alternative ways of understanding and analysing this question and what the respective strategies formulated to get out of this situation? How can we make African people and their partners conscious of their own history from an African perspective? How can this new understanding help to substantially improve the living conditions in Africa and foster a frank dialogue between Africa and its partners in the world? Our method: Education through dialogue and exchange.
Our fields of activity to accomplish the mission of the Foundation :
African Renaissance
This is to enable Africans and their international partners to learn about the enormous contribution of Africa in the history and evolution of the world, to enable every African to be conscious of the extensive African legacy in all domains of science, economy, political organization, education, culture, etc. Due to the fact that schools today generally do not give access to this information, AfricAvenir collects these knowledges and puts them at the disposal of everyone, physically at the Cheik Anta Diop library, digitally on our website www.africavenir.org and orally through the organisation of a variety of events like dialogue forums, film screenings etc.
Development
Under- or maldevelopment is not a fate, there are instruments and mechanisms which allow to overcome this state. Our work consists in offering all citizens access to the results of recent research and analyses, to allow a permanent debate about the mechanisms of development or mal-development and to offer the space for the elaboration of different perspectives. Also, development projects are analyzed and discussed in view of their efficiency in promoting development. Particular attention is given to the informal economic sector (also coined "real economies" by CODESRIA).
International Cooperation
International cooperation has a quasi permanent impact on the lives of Africans and on African Affairs. AfricAvenir supports citizens in analysing and understanding the mecanisms allowing for cooperation projects to engender development.
Peace
Without peace, neither good governance nor development is possible on the long-term, and the Central-African region is particularly threatened. AfricAvenir organizes seminars and workshops on the prevention and the resolution of conflicts, on democratization and on corruption. On our website www.africavenir.org we regularly publish the results of our discussions about these crucial questions, as well as the findings made by other organizations. Assessments on these questions were entrusted to us by the international organizations in Rwanda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, Togo and in Mali.
