Kenya celebrates pan-African art at Festac festival

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00:00These Ugandan dancers have come to Kenya to share their art with the continent.

00:05Many performances at this year's FESTAC festival are inspired by the renowned 1977 Nigerian

00:11edition, which at the time was the largest ever Pan-African gathering, bringing together

00:16hundreds of thousands of people.

00:18We need to have people who are vibrant, who look at Africa in a different way.

00:24We need to see a unified Africa because that is generally the main reason why we are coming

00:30together.

00:31The last two editions of FESTAC were held in Tanzania.

00:34Before that, there had been a 45-year pause.

00:37The festival's revival has attracted participants from across Africa, but audience numbers are

00:42still relatively small.

00:44Still, many creatives here say that their priority is networking.

00:48It fits very well with the work that we do.

00:51We are showcasing products from Africa, promoting inter-African trade, because we've realized

00:57that Africans, we rely so much on products that originate outside the country, outside

01:04Africa, outside the continent, yet we have the manpower, we have the skills.

01:09Before the weekend concerts, which are expected to attract more visitors, artists can meet

01:15and create together.

01:22The whole idea is you can have a better life and better networking globally without having

01:30to be in a very serious environment.

01:32So the culture and art is what we use as a platform for people to connect.

01:37The free festival runs until September 1st.

01:40Organizers have not yet announced where the next edition will take place.

01:51Happy Birthday!

01:52Happy Birthday!

01:53Happy Birthday!

01:54Happy Birthday!

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