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| An evening with exotic African foods, African music and a
fashion show was organized by the Cameroonian Union in
Dortmund/Ruhr-Area on Saturday November 8, 2003. With support from the
Academic Foreign Office of Dortmund University and Fachhochschule, the
event took place at the Gallerie-Treff on the University’s campus.
Afrtopic was there and reports below.
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| The event opened with
a welcome speech by one of the organizers who explained the motivation
and aim of the event. The event, according to the speaker is intended to
provide people from other cultures in particular the German culture a
chance to gain an insight into the African culture. Following the
welcome speech, the speaker then called on the patroness of the event,
the mayor of Dortmund, Marianne Wendzinski. Wendzinski informed the
audience on how Dortmund being the Ruhr-Area’s metropolis, has
attracted people of diverse nationalities since the beginning of
industrialization. She stated that, with about 75,000 foreigners
including a population of approximately 5,000 African descendants living
in Dortmund, tolerance, understanding and integration should prevail.
The efforts of the organizers to make the event a reality were commended
by her and the guests were invited to make the evening a swell one. -->continue
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Four models in designer look
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A model in a jet-set outfit
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The fashion designer and her models
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| The
list of august guests included Cameroonian diplomats, the chancellor
of Dortmund University, professors and African celebrities from the
fashion and media sectors. Some of these guests also gave speeches to
emphasize the necessity of such events in promoting understanding of
African culture. The musical group called Sintch and Friends from
Cologne provided a musical collage of Cameroonian (Makossa Bikutsi) and
Jazz rhythms. Another group called Sam performed using the African
instruments kora and balaphon. The culinary African dishes served
included black-eye beans, fried plantain, fried rice and fish and other
typical West African recipes.
The highlight of the event started at
about midnight with a fashion show displaying the collections of the
Ivorian designer, Nathalie Konan, who lives and works in Paris. Using
modern fabrics, the fashion designer combined European styles with
African elements. Some of the designs urban-like and could be worn
casually while others fit into the classical jet-set party wear. Doing
the catwalk, the beautiful models of African descent presented the
designs in highly accomplished forms, which were acknowledged with long
applauses by the guests. The dancing floor was declared opened after the
show and dancing continued till dawn. End.
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