By Firmain Eric Mbadinga and Franck Noudofinin in Ségou.
The Ségou Festival, one of Mali’s largest cultural events, is holding its 21st edition on the banks of Niger River in a celebration of Africa’s diverse art and music.
Art enthusiasts and lovers of African culture have descended in Ségou town, in south-central Mali for the five-day festival that kicked off on Monday.
The town of 150,000 inhabitants has been given a facelift and the venue of the festival has been decked out in bright, sparkling colors to the delight of visitors, participants and festival-goers.
On walls of building across the town are messages written in local languages or French as part of the welcoming strategy devised by the event’s organizers.
“Ségou Art 2025. Semaine de l'africanité de l'AES” read out one such message.
The theme for this year’s festival is "Cultural diversity, peace and unity".
It is being held in conjunction with the Semaine de la fraternité (Brotherhood Week) organized by the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
This year’s edition has drawn musicians, craftspeople, painters, sculptors, and art restorers from Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali as well as other African countries.
They will be celebrating and promoting Africa’s cultural diversity and using their artistry to strengthen the bonds of peace and unity that have united communities in the Sahel region for centuries.
The first day of the festival got off to a flying start with a ballet of giant puppets dancing to the sound of drums in many of the alleys of Rue El Hadj Oumar Tall, the district that houses the headquarters of the Festival sur le Niger Foundation.
Yacouba Magassouba is a member of the Nama company from Mali. The 30-year-old says he is proud to be promoting his country's culture at home.
He seemed satisfied with the performance he gave on Monday.
“Our job is to make and handle these giant puppets. Before the festival even started, we did a lot of outreach to attract the public,” Yacouba tells TRT Afrika.
Dancer and choreographer Kadidja Tiemanta from Burkina Faso is hoping that the awareness-raising efforts of Yacouba and the other festival organizers will attract large numbers of people to the festival.
She plans to perform some of the best dance routines of which only she has the secret.
Yacouba is also delighted with the community interaction that the festival offers as a platform.
“Given that this year culture is included in the theme of the celebrations, I hope it will be really fruitful for us,” she tells TRT Afrika.
Djibril Guissé, General Delegate of the Ségou'Art - Festival, and the Malian authorities in general are hoping to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors at this year's festival.
Depending on their tastes, visitors will be able to sample dishes such as Mafé du Mali or drink tea in the Tuareg tents.
In addition to these tastings, participants will also be able to take part in the various symposia planned at this festival, such as the one on ‘the construction of a confederal state in the Sahel: challenges and prospects’.
As for music lovers, they have already seen and will continue to see artists such as Mamar Kassey from Niger, Salif Keita from Mali, Alif Naaba from Burkina Faso and Lamine Diabaté from Guinea, with their original melodies set to the rhythms of the balafon, drums, and Kora.
Ségou'Art - Festival sur le Niger was created in 2004 to highlight Malian artists and their work, and this year's twinning with AES's Fraternity Week should benefit a wider community of musicians, sculptors, and other artists who have remained true to African authenticity.
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