Towards pluralistic voices – On funding systems and the work on archives in European-African cultural relations

3rd DECONFINING hybrid Conference • 18 June 2025 • Online & Gothe-Institut Madrid

→ Zoom link: https://goethe-institut.zoom.us/j/84767019476?pwd=4jFhdhkjEhC00Ee5ldcpRwIAdxSPbD.1 ←

The third Deconfining hybrid conference organised by the Goethe-Institut Madrid, continues our mission to develop sustainable, fair, and meaningful intercontinental cultural exchange between Europe and Africa. In this edition, we explore the political nuance of deconfinement—particularly in relation to funding systems and archival work across African-European contexts. In both dimensions, the inclusion of pluralistic voices is necessary to enable a change in European-African cultural relations.

The topics will be explored through a programme that blends debate, artistic expression and celebration – including two key panels, performances and exhibitions. including the inauguration of the Dynamic Memory Lab »Cycles of Decolonisation« in collaboration with CPPD* and the presentation of the new artistic residencies in collaboration with Conciencia Afro and Osikán Vivero de Creación e Imaginación Social. We will also be connecting with the opening of the SURVIVAL 23 festival, organised by Art Transparent, Deconfining partner from Wroclaw.

↓ Find the whole program below ↓

DECONFINING Conference Program

• Please note that the programme and times are according to Central European Time.
• 18:00 (CET) Welcome and introduction
  Dr. Antonia Blau (Goethe-Institut Madrid)
• 18:10 (CET) On funding systems: existing tools, opportunities and limitations
  Panel discussion with:
  • Ouafa Belgacem (CEO Culture Funding Watch)
  • Philina Wittke (Goethe-Institut Johannesburg / Sub-Sahara Africa)
  • Eloisa Vaello Marco (AECID – Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation)
  Moderated by Sylvia Amann (inforelais)
  In English and Spanish (with simultaneous translation)
  
• 19:10 (CET) Heritage, territorial memory and resilience through the intangible forms of socio-cultural symbols
  Panel discussion with:
  • Isabel Raabe (TALKING OBJECT project)
  • José Ramón Hernandez (Osikan / Residencia Afronteriza)
  • Patrick Acogny (École des Sables)
  • Live connection with the official opening of the SURVIVAL 23 festival, Art Transparent (Poland)
  Moderated by Vydia Tamby (Cultural advisor to the Mayor of Dakar)
  In English, Spanish and French (with simultaneous translation)
  
• 20:10 (CET) Closing words
  Dr. Max Czollek, curator of the Coalition for a Pluralistic Public Discourse (CPPD*)
  
• 20:30 (CET) Opening: CPPD Dynamic Memory Lab »Cycles of Decolonisation«
  Curated by Dr. Cátia Severino
• 20:50 (CET) Presentation of the artists-in-residence from the programme Residencia Afronteriza
  In collaboration with Conciencia Afro and Osikan Vivero de Creación e Imaginación Social:
  • Yola Balanga – BAKAMA: Una reivindicación del espíritu – “Siempre hemos estado aquí”
  • Samuel Ramírez – No soy de aquí, pero mi cuerpo está aquí
  • Iren Márquez Dos Santos – Zouk-la Sé Sèl Médikaman Nou Ni
  • Galina Rodríguez – Trenzar la existencia: semánticas de la memoria
  • Yazel Parra Nahmens – Pidiendo cacao – ¿de quién es el chocolate?
  • Leandro Zulueta Campillo – El Cañaveral
• At the end of the conference, a vino español will be offered in the garden of the Goethe-Institut.

Conceptual focus

Culture, as a form of collective expression and shared memory, has the capacity to reconnect communities with historical narratives that are often neglected or misinterpreted. In order to foster constructive dialogue, it is essential to include diverse voices and polyphonic, non-linear and multidimensional perspectives. This approach has the potential to enhance mutual understanding and promote innovative solutions to emerging challenges.

This represents a guiding principle in the design of the 3rd Deconfining conference, focused on the political nuance of deconfinement within African-European cultural relations.

The panel On funding systems: existing tools, opportunities and limitations will explore the tools and limitations of current intercontinental cooperation models, which represent the  main areas of intercontinental cooperation projects that need to be addressed. A significant  number of access barriers need to be overcome including differences in access to infrastructures,  information, visa as well as training and skills on the two continents. What mechanisms are currently in place? What are the opportunities and limits of platforms aiming at facilitating access to funding? What could ideal support systems for Africa-Europe / Europe-Africa cultural cooperation look like?

The roundtable Heritage, territorial memory and resilience through the intangible forms of socio cultural symbols will foster dialogue on heritage and memory through forms of socio-cultural symbols, the role of art in cultural identity and social issues, and how sustainable cultural policies are implemented in different territories. It also aims to offer insight into how artists’ experiences shape cultural policies and practices across territories.
Together, these elements underscore the need for equitable frameworks and pluralistic narratives to support sustainable African-European cultural exchange.

About the participants

First panel discussion

Ouafa Belgacem

Founder of CFW, CCiboost, RMdigithon & Artnstay, Ouafa is a strategist and expert in financing for the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI). She works across Africa, Asia, and MENA, advising on smart CCI funding policies and connecting creatives with funders. She is part of UNESCO’s 2005 Convention expert facility and serves on multiple global expert panels. Recognised among the 100 Most Influential Creatives of African Descent (2021), she champions equitable ecosystems for the CCIs.
culturefundingwatch.com

Eloisa Vaello Marco

Systems engineer and cultural cooperation specialist, Eloisa has led Spanish Cultural Centres in Equatorial Guinea, Paraguay, and El Salvador, launching cross-border initiatives like Chaco Ra’anga and Experimenta Ciudad. She currently heads Cultural Cooperation and Promotion at Spain’s AECID, promoting dialogue through art across Latin America, Africa and Europe.

Philina Wittke

A cooperation strategist at Goethe-Institut Johannesburg, Philina manages large-scale EU projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. Formerly with DAAD and BMBF in Germany, her work focuses on equitable North-South partnerships and innovation networks. She advocates for decolonising development funding and has contributed to major academic and policy forums.

Sylvia Amann

Director of inforelais, Sylvia is a cultural policy expert with 20+ years shaping European CCI strategies and international cultural relations. She co-chaired the EU expert group on CCIs, contributed to Urban Innovative Actions, and focuses on linking culture with climate, local-global cooperation, and transformative policy-making.
inforelais.org

Second panel dicussion

Patrick Acogny

Choreographer and teacher rooted in contemporary African dance, Patrick’s practice blends somatics with rhythm, memory, and decolonial pedagogy. He teaches at École des Sables and works globally across Brazil, Senegal and Europe, foregrounding embodied knowledge through movement and intercultural exchange.

José Ramón Hernández

Afro-Cuban artist, curator, and founder of Osikán, José explores Afro-descendant rituality, memory, and peripheral bodies through performance and pedagogy. Known for the I Love Cities and Opira series, he activates social processes with affective, site-specific creation and is a key figure in Havana’s independent scene.

Isabel Raabe

Interdisciplinary curator and founder of RomArchive and Talking Objects, Isabel works at the crossroads of digital archiving, decolonial practice, and transcontinental collaboration. She is based in Berlin and collaborates with teams in Senegal, Kenya, and Germany. In 2024, she was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit. She is also member of the curatorial team of the decolonial “artivistic” project BARAZANI.berlin and associated member of the ERIAC.

Vydia Tamby

Cultural advisor to the Mayor of Dakar and founding member of African Capitals of Culture, Vydia designs structural cultural policies and fosters global-local networks. She is also an editor at Vives Voix and a member of Senegal’s Fonds d’archives, focusing on memory and narrative preservation through arts.

Closing session

Max Czollek

Poet, essayist and curator of the Coalition for Pluralistic Public Discourse (CPPD), Max’s work interrogates memory, identity, and social narratives.
More: Verlagshaus Berlin / Hanser Verlag

Exhibition opening

Cátia Severino

Linguist and anti-racism activist, Cátia explores postcolonial identity and memory within Afro-descendant communities in Portugal, focusing on racism, colorism, and belonging.

Artist residency – Afronteriza

Yola Balanga

Multidisciplinary artist born in Luanda, Angola. Her work traverses performance, painting and photography as languages to explore the black body, the spiritual, territory and nature. She has participated in international residencies in Madrid, Luanda and Amsterdam, and has shown her work in various venues in Spain and Angola.

Iren Márquez Dos Santos

Afro-descendant artist, producer and researcher who works with sound archiving and music making as tools for resistance and healing. Their practice combines sound design, workshops and performance, bringing the experiences of diasporic Afro-descendant communities into bodily and historical resonance.

Yazel Parra

Venezuelan performer, researcher and cultural mediator based in Barcelona. Her performance practice explores the intersection between voice, body, oral storytelling and gastronomy as performative, political and poetic tools. Trained in the Independent Studies Programme at MACBA, she is currently researching artistic mediation through gastronomy at the Centro de Artes Santa Mònica, activating bodily and collective memories linked to diasporas, identity and resistance.

Samuel Ramírez

Dominican dancer, performer, art director and cultural manager. A creator who explores bodily forms of healing, creation and memory through improvisation, using diverse artistic media. His approach is hybrid, abstract and allegorical, moving between the past, the present and possible futures.

Galina Rodriguez

Afro-Colombian dancer, choreographer and performer, trained at INCOLBALLET and Provisional Danza. Her work interweaves contemporary dance, physical theatre and folkloric tradition to activate bodily memory. She has participated in international festivals and collaborated with leading companies in Spain and Latin America.

Leandro Zulueta

Dancer, choreographer and researcher born in Cienfuegos, Cuba, currently living in Madrid. He has developed his career as a performer and creator in renowned international companies and shows, standing out as a leading dancer on stages in the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands and Lebanon. His choreographic work combines contemporary dance with committed social research, exploring the body as a language to address social, emotional and political conflicts from a critical and transformative perspective.