In the context of the 4th EU-Africa Summit that took place in Brussels on 2 and 3 April, a group of around 40 leasing specialists and thinkers from international organisations, pan-African organisations, academia, civil society and the private and public sector gathered in the beautiful BOZAR building in the afternoon of 3 April, to discuss what route the EU-Africa collaboration could follow to stimulate inclusive development in the African urban reality. After intensive and lively round table sessions in the afternoon, the resulting concrete recommendations were presented to José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission. You can reach his reaction here. The round table was Initiated by BOZAR, in collaboration with UN Habitat and EuropeAid. It can be seen as a next step following the ‘Art and Architecture at Work’ project that took place in the previous years in several major cities in Africa. ArchiAfrika and AAmatters contributed to the programme by bringing in key nodes of their network. Joe Addo (ArchiAfrika) and Berend van der Lans (AAmatters) were leading round table sessions together with Lesley Lokko and Sylvain Haon. A short video can be found at the BOZAR website.

Over the last 6 years, Dutch photographer Lard Buurman visited 14 cities in 12 countries on the African continent. His careful compositions of the everyday life in the urban context give an interesting insight on how these cities work. Between 12 April and 3 May, the exhibition Africa Junctions is presented by Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam and Looiersgracht 60, a new project space for art, design and architecture in Amsterdam. On 23 April, his Buurman’s book Africa Junctions, Capturing the City, published by Hatje Cantz Verlag, will be launched in the exhibition. Next to Buurman’s work, the book includes reflections on the work and the cities by N'Goné Fall, Chris Abani, Alexander Opper and Chris Keulemans. Introductions by N'Goné Fall and Berend van der Lans lead to a debate with aforementioned and Lard Buurman, moderated by Marcia Luyten (author of Dag Afrika and presenter of the TV programme Buitenhof). The event starts at 20:00hrs and can be attended if you register. Exhibition Africa Junctions - 12 April - 3 May 2014 (Wed-Sun 12:00 - 20:00hrs) - Looiersgracht 60, Amsterdam Book presentation - 23 April 2014 - 20:00hr - Looiersgracht 60, Amsterdam - please register #Publication #Presentation

Hifadhi team member Hassan Ali Juma and Director of the Department of Urban and Rural Planning Muhammad Juma are accompanying Dutch Minister of Trade and Development Liliane Ploumen in Stone Town (photo Daniel Hayduk) Heritage constitutes an important source of identity and cohesion for communities. Well maintained heritage offers a physical testimony of its past, but it also serves as a precious resource for social and economic development. This is what the founders – representatives of a couple of large companies - of Stadsherstel Amsterdam NV had in mind, when establishing the Limited Liability Company in 1956. Stadsherstel had an important role in maintaining the historic character of Amsterdam over the years. This example will now be followed by Hifadhi Zanzibar (Preserve Zanzibar), a Limited Liability Company that will soon be established to acquire, restore, rent out and maintain historically valuable buildings in Stone Town and other urban areas in Zanzibar. The shareholders, a majority being local investors, will receive a moderate dividend, so the remainder of the profit can be re-invested. Hifadhi Zanzibar will be instrumental in keeping Stone Town and other parts of Zanzibar vital, ultimately developing it into a healthy social and economic urban environment. Representatives from the local private and public sector work together to realise Hifadhi Zanzibar, with assistance of Stadsherstel Amsterdam, City of Amsterdam. AAmatters is facilitating the process through project manager Berend van der Lans. The establishment is supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Tanzania. On 20 February 2014, as part of a Dutch trade mission, the Dutch Minister of Trade and Development landed on Zanzibar and was toured through Stone Town, Ng'ambo and Mtoni Palace by Hifadhi Zanzibar. Some potential Hifadhi projects were visited, as well as Mrembo Spa, a socio-economical initiative that could well be a tenant of Hifadhi in the future. Mtoni Palace was visited as a successful private public partnership and exemplary case of development through conservation of heritage. See impressions of the visit below. Liliane Ploumen in Mrembo Spa with Jane Ackermann (Mrembo) and Berend van der Lans (photo Daniel Hayduk) Stop over in Kisimamajongoo, Ng'ambo. ‘Sultan Saidi’ leads the Minister through the rich history of Mtoni Palace (photo Daniel Hayduk) #Zanzibar #heritage #heritagemanagement

Ng'ambo: this is what we want! On 8 and 9 February, the TOS research team is organising an event in the Kisiwandui and Kisimamajongoo neighbourhoods in Ng'ambo, to conclude the process of research on assets and values of the area, taking place in the recent months. Th inhabitants of the area are consulted on their visions for the future of the this part of the buffer zone of the ‘Stone Town of Zanzibar’ World Heritage Site. The outcomes will form the basis of a number of tools for a heritage-based regeneration proposal. You can follow the event via www.facebook.com/ngambotuitakayo. An expert workshop and stakeholders conference later in the week will take stock of the results reached and the steps forward will be discussed. Together with the Department of Urban and Rural Planning of the Government of Zanzibar, UNESCO, City of Amsterdam and Stadsherstel Amsterdam NV, AAmatters has been involved from the conception. Background The UNESCO Recommendation on Historic Urban Landscapes, adopted in 2011, proposes a comprehensive approach to urban regeneration, which addresses the need to better integrate and frame urban heritage conservation strategies within the larger goals of overall sustainable development, in order to support public and private actions aimed at preserving and enhancing the quality of the human environment. It suggests a landscape approach for identifying, conserving and managing historic areas within their broader urban contexts, by considering the interrelationships of their physical forms, their spatial organization and connection, their natural features and settings, and their social, cultural and economic values. Zanzibar has been one of the cities with early exposure to HUL, cooperating with UNESCO in the development of the HUL approach and hosting two international expert workshops in 2009 and 2011. The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar has since then been keen to implement the HUL approach. The project Ng’ambo | The Other Side | Heritage-Based Urban Regeneration has been established in 2013 through common efforts of UNESCO, the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar and a number of other partners. The project aims at putting the HUL approach to practice and create a learning exercise for Zanzibar and the HUL network of cities. A pilot area has been selected to demonstrate and adapt the HUL approach to the situation of Zanzibar and East Africa. The area chosen is located in Ng’ambo, the buffer zone of Stone Town World Heritage property. It includes a variety of buildings and public spaces that is part of the Kisimamajongoo and Kisiwandui neighbourhoods and is bordering Michenzani. The process of desktop, archival and field research, as well as community interviews, has started in December 2013 and will culminate in the community-based visioning event on 8 and 9 February 2014. During this event, the research output will be exhibited and presented. Participatory exercises will be conducted to jointly develop visions on how to conserve, regenerate and develop the area based on its economic, cultural (physical and intangible), social and natural values, characteristics and assets. An International Expert Workshop, inclusive a Stakeholders Conference, is planned right after the visioning event, to evaluate the preceding phases and to develop recommendations for the next steps in the project. The visions will serve as the basis and be translated into the following policy and planning tools: Recommendations for the buffer zone of the ‘Stone Town of Zanzibar’ World Heritage Site in the Zanzibar Master Plan that is currently developed Roadmap for housing models in the buffer zone Ideas for socio-economic development in Ng’ambo Concrete results will be developed in the form of: A design and roadmap for realisation for an open space in Kisiwandui A proposal to Hifadhi Zanzibar (a company that is locally being established following the model of Stadsherstel Amsterdam) to include a historic building in their portfolio for restoration and use for a mix of private and public functions Feedback will be given to contribute to the further development of the UNESCO HUL approach: Recommendations on community involvement Recommendations on desktop, archive and field research Recommendations on how to put the HUL approach into practice Currently, in a parallel initiative by Department of Urban and Rural Planning DoURP, the Master Plan of the Zanzibar Town is being prepared. The Department has invited both teams to exchange and cooperate. As part of the Master Plan, DoURP wishes to create pilot sites where the integration of culture and heritage can be approached and tested as one key step towards implementing the HUL approach in upgrading N’gambo area as a part of Government’s objective to provide affordable and accessible housing to all. Donors The project’s first phase has been funded by the Government of Zanzibar and the Netherlands Fund-in-Trust of UNESCO. It is further supported by the Zanzibar Municipal Council (ZMC), Zanzibar Social Security Fund (ZSSF), the Swiss Association of Landscape Architects (SBLA), the City of Amsterdam and Stadsherstel Amsterdam NV. #Unesco #Zanzibar #HistoricUrbanLandscape

Around the Nike Football Centre in Soweto, Johannesburg (photo Iain Low, 2012) In September 2012, the book ‘African Perspectives - [South] Africa. City, Society, Space, Literature and Architecture’, edited by Gerhard Bruyns and Prof. Arie Graafland, was launched at the AZA conference in Cape Town. The book is a reflection of the presentations and debates that took place in the Urban Development programme of the African Perspectives manifestation that took place in Delft in December 2007. Berend van der Lans met Bruyns in the course of 2013 to discuss the contents, the reactions on the book and the results of African Perspectives 2007 for the Faculty of Architecture of the Delft University of Technology. The interview is published in the December 2013 issue of ’Maandblad Zuid-Afrika’ and can be read in Dutch here.

AFFR Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam, Africa in the Picture and African Architecture Matters present Urban Transformations in Africa Sunday 13 October 15h00: Urban Transformations in Africa: Africa Shafted – Ingrid Martens, South Africa, 2011 Jonah – Kibwe Tavares, UK / Tanzania, 2013 discussion with Ingrid Martens, Kibwe Tavares, Lesley Lokko and Berend van der Lans. Sunday 13 October 17h00: Jerusalema – Ralph Ziman, South Africa, 2010 (Screenshot Africa Shafted) On Thursday 10 October, the 7th edition of the Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam will take off in film theatre LantarenVenster in Rotterdam. On Sunday 13 October, AFFR is programming, together with the Amsterdam based Africa in the Picture film festival and African Architecture Matters, a series of films about current developments in African cities: Urban Transformations in Africa. Africa Shafted is a revealing portrait of the inhabitants of Ponte Tower, the tallest building in the notorious district Hillbrow, Johannesburg. While standing in the elevator, they talk openly about their lives as African immigrants in South Africa. Jonah is an amazing animation film in which two youngsters in Zanzibar inadvertently photograph a gigantic fish, turning their town into a big tourist attraction. Jerusalema is a spectacular film based on the true life story of Lucky Kunene, who took over all the real estate in Hillbrow, Johannesburg in the nineties. (Screenshot Jonah) Directors Ingrid Martens and Kibwe Tavares will attend the screening. With the Ghaniain-English writer and architect Lesley Lokko and Berend van der Lans, co-founder of African Architecture Matters and AITP board member, they will discuss the consequences of migration, informal economy and self-regulation for the African city and the way in which film throws light on these themes. program Urban Transformations in Africa AFFR2013 Films and discussion in English; please buy your tickets online at www.affr.nl #Urban

As co-founders of ArchiAfrika, we are proud to see how ArchiAfrika is spreading its wings now it is based in Accra and very successfully expands its network with key architects and partners on the continent. This month, if you take a plane of Ethiopian Airlines, you will find Michele Koh Morollo’s article on the Rise of African Architecture in your inflight magazine, based on interviews with David Adjaye, Jean Charles Tall, Francis Kéré and Joe Osae-Addo. The article was prepared with the help of ArchiAfrika and African Architecture Matters. If you do not fly Ethiopian Airlines, you can still read it on the Selamta Magazine website.

Join us at the University of Nairobi on 18 April at 14h30 for a presentation on the Art & Architecture At Work project, with examples of inclusive urban development. A special showcase is Nai Ni Who?, the city festival taking off in Nairobi in a couple of weeks. Speakers will be Joy Mboya, director of GoDown arts centre, Joe Osae - Addo, chairman of ArchiAfrika and Berend van der Lans (ArchiAfrika / African Architecture Matters). The presentation will also reflect upon the workshop held at GoDown on 16 April and the presentation held at the UN Habitat governing council meeting on 17 April in Nairobi. The presentation will be held in the Faculty of Architecture (City Square, add building, off State House Road, opposite the YMCA), level 6, in the architecture studio for 5th level students. #Presentation

Be aware, the presentation at the University of Nairobi of inclusive urban development is taking place on 18 April and not 19, as was mistakenly announced. See also below post. We hope to welcome many of you.

The UN Habitat Governing Council Meeting takes place in Nairobi from 15-18 April 2013. In collaboration with the European Commission and the Centre for Fine Arts (BOZAR) in Brussels, as well as GoDown Arts Centre, ArchiAfrika and Wolff Architects, AAmatters is organising a workshop and a consequent presentation in the ‘off’ programme of the council meeting. At the invitation of UN Habitat, the EC/BOZAR project Art at Work (expanded since the Kampala Regional conference into Art § Architecture at Work), will advocate in this high-level official forum the role of artists and architects for urban resonance: dream, inclusiveness, and creativity for urban welfare. Since independences, African artists, particularly photographers, have documented urban life on the Continent, from daily pleasures and struggles, to critical urban, political and environmental issues affecting city life. New aesthetics have emerged, as well as a conscious will by artists to engage in urban development. The growth of contemporary art centres and art biennials in the last 20 years all over the Continent, and their urban programs, attest to this thirst for expression and commitment to the city. A new young generation of African architects is equally socially, culturally and environmentally conscious, placing priority on Africa-relevant resources, design, employment, and sustainability. They offer new approaches to urban planning and development, in tune with urban cultures and environmental issues. A few best practice cases - researched and compiled by Berend van der Lans of African Architecture Matters and BOZAR - are presented, in the form of an exhibit and a side event, as inspirations for urban planning approaches that enhance social cohesion and stability in the city. A publication has been prepared that can be downloaded as pdf as well. #art #Architecture

Antoni Folkers, mede-oprichter van AAmatters, is samen met Heinz Kimmerle, emeritus hoogleraar filosofie aan de Erasmus Universiteit te Rotterdam en in het verleden gasthoogleraar aan universteiten te Kenia, Ghana en Zuid Afrika gedoken in Marten Toonders universum. Het religie en geloof daarin hebben zij vergeleken met het Afrikaanse animisme. Religie en geloof zijn niet veelvuldig aanwezig in het werk van Marten Toonder. Uit terloopse opmerkingen van Heer Bommel en Tom Poes, maar ook van Zwarte Zwadderneel, de Grote Onthaler, Wammes Waggel e.a., en uit Toonders autobiografie blijkt echter dat hij hierover veel heeft nagedacht en tot duidelijke conclusies is gekomen. Zo lijkt er zelfs een toevallige maar opmerkelijke verwantschap te bestaan met de Afrikaanse spiritualiteit en de daarin aanwezige animistische opvattingen. Deze parallelliteit heeft een wederzijdse verklarende waarde voor het universum van Toonder en voor het Afrikaanse beeld van de wereld. Het boek is te koop bij iedere goede boekwinkel. #Publication

The Dutch architecture magazine ’De Architect’ dedicated their February 2013 issue to building in Africa. Next to attention for architecture on the urban edge, a clinic in Port Sudan and a master plan for Aksum in Ethiopia by Peter Rich, it also features a large interview by Harm Tilman with Belinda van Buiten, Antoni Folkers and Berend van der Lans on their experiences as architects in Africa and on developments on the continent. #magazine