Our Festival, the Afrobanana Festival, is a significant cultural event in Cyprus that promotes music with African roots. It showcases local and international artists in genres like old school afrobeat, funk, disco, and new manifestations. The festival has become a platform for emerging artists and has contributed to launching the careers of many musicians. It not only revitalizes decentralized areas but also brings tourism, supports the local economy, and creates job opportunities for locals. The festival attracts a diverse audience, with 20% coming from abroad and a wide age range of 18-45 years. We also provide cultural activities for children, making it a family-friendly event. While the festival has been recognized with an EFFE label for its community-building efforts, after a decade of organizing, we are now focusing on its sustainability. We have moved to a new location and aim to adopt an ecological approach.
We understand that festivals, due to their logistics, often have a significant carbon footprint, impacting the environment and placing organizers in challenging positions. Therefore, we are committed to implementing sustainable practices to minimize environmental damage and expenses.
The Afrobanana Festival on Cyprus is an annual celebration of music, culture, and community that has become a prominent cultural event in the region. Its main objective is to showcase artists who promote African-rooted music, creating a dynamic fusion of genres that resonates with a diverse audience. The festival encompasses a wide variety of musical styles, including afrobeat, funk, disco, and contemporary interpretations of these genres. It provides a platform for local and international artists to share their talents and connect with an enthusiastic and passionate crowd. By highlighting artists who often go unnoticed by mainstream channels, the festival offers them a unique opportunity to shine and gain recognition.
Over the years, the festival has served as a launching pad for many artists, propelling their careers to new heights. Notable success stories include Balaphonics from France and Roots Crew from Cyprus, who garnered acclaim and success following their performances at the festival. In addition to its musical offerings, the Afrobanana Festival has a positive impact on the local community and economy. By selecting decentralized venues, the festival revitalizes these areas and stimulates cultural development. It attracts tourists from both Cyprus and abroad, providing a boost to local businesses and generating employment opportunities for the local workforce.
While the primary audience of the Afrobanana Festival falls within the 18-45 age range, the event also includes cultural activities for children during the day, ensuring it remains a family-friendly experience. These parallel activities provide additional opportunities for artists to showcase their unique talents and contribute to the dissemination of music culture. The festival’s commitment to excellence and community engagement has been consistently recognized with the prestigious EFFE label since 2017.
This esteemed accolade acknowledges the festival’s dedication to artistic quality and its valuable contributions to both local and international cultural landscapes. As the Afrobanana Festival evolves, organizers are now placing a greater emphasis on sustainability. Following a recent relocation, they are striving to adopt an environmentally conscious approach by implementing sustainable practices. The goal is to provide a rich cultural experience while minimizing the festival’s environmental impact and exploring innovative methods to ensure long-term sustainability.
The Afrobanana Festival remains a vibrant and influential cultural event, bringing together music enthusiasts, artists, and communities to celebrate diversity, creativity, and the rich heritage of African-rooted music.
Also for the culture part of the project, we are aiming to reach as many possible participants (artists) from diverse backgrounds as we can. With that in mind, we will contact and disseminate an open call among our work and collaboration networks and contact other organizations active in the region, the local authorities of the municipality, youth and social workers, and educators. In other words, the selection of participants will take primarily place within the communities with which we work and who are part of our network of collaborators. We have established indicative selection criteria to ensure representativeness:
• Inclusion Profile
• Members of the Cooperative Society who are involved in entrepreneurship facilitation for codesigning the workshop and then mobilise the local and national artists and creatives who are entering in the definite target of the project.
• Based on their interests (Learners in strategic development of a creative/artistic company/ on digital and communication tools)
• Motivation We will select the profiles that best fit the project and that may benefit the most from being in a situation of vulnerability or even risk of exclusion.