About us

AEPC advances cultural cooperation, creative industries and cultural heritage across Sub-Saharan Africa as well as between Africa and Europe, backed by over €70 million in EU funding. The program is purely built on a foundation of equal partnerships and mutual learning. African artists, cultural professionals, festivals and museums co-design projects, lead the proposals and set the agenda for what cultural cooperation within and between the two continents looks like.

AEPC's EU-funded portfolio spans seven components. The Goethe-Institut implements four projects. Each of them are detailed below with their own page:

The Continental Component (€8 million, 42 months) connects spaces of arts and culture in Sub-Saharan Africa. It thrives to magnify cultural production and exchange across Sub-Saharan Africa, strengthening the capacity of artists and cultural professionals to co-create and collaborate internationally.

The Southern Africa Component (€6 million, 36 months) connects heritage organisations, artists and cultural professionals across Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, reframing heritage as a living resource for shaping new narratives.

The West Africa Component (€10 million, 36 months) connects festival organisations, festival professionals and individual artists across 15 West African countries, building sustainable international relations within the region as well as with Europe.

The Museum Partnerships Component (€19.9 million, 60 months) connects the museum landscapes of Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe, to co-create permanent and temporary exhibitions, build accessible collections and build the next generation of museum professionals through peer exchanges and fellowships.

Two further EU-funded components, Procultura II and the Audio Visual Component, complete this portfolio. A seventh project, Creatifi, extends the programme's reach with €20 million in financing from the World Bank, the African Development Bank and Proparco, sitting outside the EU funding envelope.

AEPC was built with African artists and cultural professionals. Their voices shape every component.

Funders, Co-funders and Implementers
AEPC is funded by the European Union, with the Museum Partnerships Component additionally co-funded by France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. These projects are implemented by Goethe-Institut, Expertise France,Institut Francais, UNESCO, EUNIC Global, Camões and GIZ. Creatifiis delivered separately through the World Bank, the African Development Bank and Proparco.

Contact Information:

eMail: EUP-SSA@goethe.de

Project Office Sub-Saharan Component
Project Office Southern African Component
39 Seventh Avenue
Parktown North
Johannesburg, South Africa

Project Office Western African Component
Goethe-Institut Burkina Faso
192, University Street
BP 1226 01 Ouagadougou
Burkina Faso