Writers' Residency Burkina Faso
About the programme
In 2019, the Goethe-Institut Burkina Faso set up a writing residency for young (under 40) African writers. The impetus for this residency was the observation that there are not enough programmes offering writing residencies on the African continent. The majority of residencies focus on the development of film or theatre scripts, but literature as such, including residencies, funding and publishing houses, seems to be more difficult to navigate on the ground.
here are many opportunities that focus on African artists/writers, but the programmes are often based outside the continent (notably Europe and North America).
Beyond offering a platform for African literature and African writers, the residency wanted to focus on relevant themes to encourage dialogue and reflection on the often problematic social and political situations in many African countries. It is also an invitation to writers who project a vision of an (other) future in their writing or who have restrictions of expression in their countries of origin or activist writers to express themselves in relation to the social and/or political transformations and challenges in their countries.
The pan-African orientation of the residency was also an important aspect. On the one hand North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa do not meet so often in cultural exchange and on the other hand the linguistic borders of the continent often hinder opportunities for sharing. Many programmes focus on either the North, East, West or South, but rarely the whole continent.
This residency aimed to invite writers from the continent and the diaspora to a synergy of experience, discourse and stories and to give them a moment dedicated to sharing and writing to advance their promising projects.
here are many opportunities that focus on African artists/writers, but the programmes are often based outside the continent (notably Europe and North America).
Beyond offering a platform for African literature and African writers, the residency wanted to focus on relevant themes to encourage dialogue and reflection on the often problematic social and political situations in many African countries. It is also an invitation to writers who project a vision of an (other) future in their writing or who have restrictions of expression in their countries of origin or activist writers to express themselves in relation to the social and/or political transformations and challenges in their countries.
The pan-African orientation of the residency was also an important aspect. On the one hand North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa do not meet so often in cultural exchange and on the other hand the linguistic borders of the continent often hinder opportunities for sharing. Many programmes focus on either the North, East, West or South, but rarely the whole continent.
This residency aimed to invite writers from the continent and the diaspora to a synergy of experience, discourse and stories and to give them a moment dedicated to sharing and writing to advance their promising projects.