ON THE RESTITUTION OF AFRICAN CULTURAL HERITAGE

In November 2018, one year after French President Emmanuel Macron announced the restitution of African cultural treasures by France during his state visit to Burkina Faso, the experts commissioned by him Felwine Sarr (Senegal) and Bénédicte Savoy (France) published their groundbreaking report “Restituer le patrimoine africain”.

The publication is attracting a great deal of attention worldwide. Based on a precise evaluation of the inventories and archives accessible in Paris, it reconstructs the colonial appropriation history of the African collections in France. The report therefore makes a clear recommendation for the unconditional restitution of entire groups of objects if they are claimed in whole or in part by African states. By clearly naming colonial collecting as a form of cultural exploitation with far-reaching consequences, the authors want to contribute to a new relationship between Africa and Europe.

The DECOLONIZE BERLIN alliance and the Centre Francais de Berlin invited Felwine Sarr and Bénédicte Savoy to talk about the results and recommendations of their report, which are often taken out of context or even misrepresented. The consequences for Germany and other Western countries will also be considered.

The discussion will be moderated by historian Manuela Bauche and journalist Arlette-Louise Ndakoze. An event in cooperation with Each One Teach One (EOTO) e.V., Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland (ISD) and Berlin Postkolonial.

With the support of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation.

Monday, 14 January 2019

Starts 7 p.m.

Centre Francais de Berlin

Müllerstraße 74

13349 Berlin

Admission: free

Admission : from 18:30 (please arrive in time, the number of seats is limited to 220)

Languages : French, German and English (simultaneous translation)