Co-Sponsors
Richard Wright, Paris bookshop,
1956,
Michel Fabre Collection
The 50th Anniversary of the 1st International Congress of Black Writers and Artists 1956 2006 is co-sponsored by the following organizations:
Communaut Africaine de Culture
http://www.presenceafricaine.com
In founding the journal Prsence Africaine in November 1947, Alioune Diop, the young Senegalese intellectual, established that he was part of a long progression of remarkable identities who made their mark on the history of the emancipation of black people. The editorial of the first issue was reflective of this tradition and defined the spirit of the work. For the first time, black Africa, and black people as a whole, expressed their perspective to a large audience. Seven issues were published between 1947 and 1949; They marked a heroic epoch of courage which was indicative of a particular consciousness, affirmation, and generosity which fueled a dialogue between free men.
In 1949, Prsence Africaine opened its doors. It was within this intellectual space that novelists, story-tellers, essayists, poets, and thinkers of the black world were finally able to express themselves and circulate their work. La Philosophie bantoue du Rvrend Pre Placide Tempels, which incited numerous heated debates and controversies, was the first work published by Editions Prsence Africaine. Before long, Alioune Diop reflected on the creation of an African Society of Culture which would bring together black men of culture under one organizational umbrella. As this idea was confirmed as an absolute necessity, Prsence Africaine organized the 1st International Congress of Black Writers and Artists (19-22 September 1956). One critical resolution of the Congress was to create a space for reflection and exchange, one that was necessary to facilitate a renaissance of the black world and the African Society of Culture was founded as a result. The journal published the proceedings of the Congress and became the legitimate organ of communication of the African Society of Culture (SAC). Three years later, the SAC organized the 2nd Congress of Black Writers and Artists in Rome, 26 March 1 April 1959.
Today, the African Society of Culture has become the Communaut Africaine de Culture (CAC), and Prsence Africaine. Both of these entities, motivated by their founder, continue to mount Congresses, colloquia, and festivals in order to support and promote black culture.
W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research,
Harvard University
http://dubois.fas.harvard.edu/index.html
The Du Bois Institute is the nation's oldest research center dedicated to the study of the history, culture, and social institutions of Africans and African Americans. From its inception, the Institute has supported the development of over 250 scholars, including such leading figures as Kathleen Cleaver, Cathy J. Cohen, Thomas Cripps, St. Clair Drake, George Frederickson Nellie McKay, Arnold Rampersad, Cornel West, Wole Soyinka, and Dorothy Porter Wesley.
The Institute awards up to twenty fellowships annually to scholars at various stages in their careers and is home to a variety of research projects that reflect the interdisciplinary complexity of the field. In addition, the Institute is actively involved with the community at large through its
W. E. B. Du Bois Society which is focused on the academic development of African American youth.
UNESCO
http://portal.unesco.org
UNESCO - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded on 16 November 1945. For this specialized United Nations agency, it is not enough to build classrooms in devastated countries or to publish scientific breakthroughs. Education, Social and Natural Science, Culture and Communication are the means to a far more ambitious goal : to build peace in the minds of men.
Today, UNESCO functions as a laboratory of ideas and a standard-setter to forge universal agreements on emerging ethical issues. The Organization also serves as a clearinghouse for the dissemination and sharing of information and knowledge while helping Member States to build their human and institutional capacities in diverse fields. In short, UNESCO promotes international co-operation among its 191* Member States and six Associate Members in the fields of education, science, culture and communication.
