Algeria is preparing to host the second Pan-African Cultural Festival, and the first in 40 years. The Festival will be taking place in Algiers from July 5 to 20, 2009.  The event hopes to draw hundreds of thousands of people to Algiers this July to celebrate Africa's artistic renaissance.

In 1969, Algiers was briefly transformed into the Continent's culture capital. That first Pan-African Cultural Festival made a lasting impression. The 2nd Pan-African Festival will celebrate the revival of Africa's artistic greatness.

The Pan-African Cultural Festival is a great opportunity for Algeria to make a significant contribution to the cultural renewal of Africa and to reiterate its indefeasible commitment to the values of pan-africanism, strongly affirmed by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in the framework of the NEPAD program and in international fora.

Algeria is honored and privileged to host a gathering of major significance where folksingers and dancers will share the stage with musicians, writers, poets, theater performers, and many artists hailing from different regions of the world and united by their interest in our Continent’s history, culture and civilization.

The Algerian Ministry of Culture was put in charge of the preparation of this continental event. The Minister of Culture, Mrs. Khalida Toumi, said every African art form will be welcomed at this two-week celebration. "Africa is in full renaissance.

A renaissance at full swing. This is why the slogan of the second Pan African Cultural Festival is The African Renaissance, and as we say in English, Africa is back," Mrs. Toumi said.

"This celebration will have both aspects, tangible and intangible, as well as the visual arts, paintings, culture, art, photography and fashion, since there is a whole movement in Africa geared towards creating fashion art,” the Minister added.

The African Union’s Social Affairs Commissioner Bience Gawanas declared that the pan-African body is backing the cultural festival as a statement of Africa's resurgence. "It is part of our very, very broad mandate, and that is to create an image of Africa, an image of Africa that does not only speak of conflicts, an image of Africa that does not only speak of diseases, but an image of Africa as the cradle of humankind," Gawanas said.

The various African governments had already been mobilized in preparation for this fantastic event.

The Festival provides the perfect platform for Africa to show just how diverse and creative her people were in the various artistic and cultural fields. The program includes many cultural activities such as performances, musical concerts, displays, meetings with writers and poets, workshops, conferences, shows, visual arts and books exhibitions will take place during the course of the festival.

Officials say the gathering will feature thousands of artists from Africa and the African diaspora, from wherever people of African origin may be. They say the hope is that it will become more frequently scheduled, not something that happens every 40 years.

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