Arts + Culture
The carved doors of Lamu and Zanzibar: Swahili craftsmanship in wood and brass
The heavy wooden doors of Zanzibar's Stone Town and Kenya's Lamu are famous for their carved frames and…
unesco
Arts + Culture
Francis Bebey: the Cameroonian musician, writer and thinker who played the world’s instruments
Francis Bebey was a Cameroonian guitarist, composer, novelist and musicologist. He wrote the prize-winning novel Agatha Moudio's Son,…
Arts + Culture
Gelede: the Yoruba masquerade that honours the power of mothers
Gelede is a masquerade of the Yoruba and Yoruba-Nago peoples of Benin, Nigeria and Togo that honours mothers,…
Arts + Culture
The balafon: the West African xylophone and the legendary Sosso Bala
The balafon, a wooden xylophone with gourd resonators, is one of the oldest instruments of the Mande world.…
Arts + Culture
Lalibela: the rock-hewn churches carved downward into Ethiopian stone
The eleven rock-hewn churches of Lalibela in northern Ethiopia were carved out of solid volcanic rock, tradition says…
Arts + Culture
Great Zimbabwe: the stone city that gave a nation its name
Great Zimbabwe, a vast stone city near Masvingo built between roughly the 11th and 15th centuries, was the…
Arts + Culture
The Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove: the forest shrine and sculptures of Susanne Wenger
The Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, a forest on the banks of the Osun River in Osogbo, is dedicated to…
Arts + Culture
Three strings, iron castanets and a trance that lasts all night: Gnawa music of Morocco
Gnawa is a Moroccan musical and spiritual tradition with roots in sub-Saharan Africa, brought north by enslaved people.…
Arts + Culture
More than 600 songs and a UNESCO listing for his genre: Franco and the Congolese rumba
Franco Luambo Makiadi led TPOK Jazz for almost three decades and recorded more than 600 songs before his…
News
UNESCO Taps Nigerian Professor for Global AI Ethics Role
UNESCO appoints Nigerian Professor to lead global AI ethics, promoting responsible innovation worldwide.