(Photo: courtesy of Afro-Canadian Initiatives Association)

There are hopes for an African Canadian Cultural Centre in New Brunswick.

The Afro-Canadian Initiatives Association says it will create a space so others can learn more about their culture.

Project Manager Marie-Sephora Amankou says, “A sort of space so that they can practice different types of art, maybe painting, so that Acadians can know more about our culture too.”

The main goal of this initiative is to add value to New Brunswick’s cultural life in general,  contribute to the well-being of New Brunswick’s Afro-descendant community, and to the
conditions of reception, retention and development of newcomers of diverse origins.

Their Association was created in 2020, “Because of the COVID situation we didn’t have the chance to work on our project. In 2022, we decided to work on it.”

Amankou says their first step is a feasibility and viability study, which will lead to a decision as to where in the province the Centre should be located.

More than 40 participants were involved in discussions last month, including representatives of ethnocultural associations, groups, and Afro-descendants from several New Brunswick cities and artists who took part in the exchanges.

The next stage of the study is to be followed in September 2022.

The following organizations have already given their support to the project by a letter of support:
1. Le Conseil multiculturel du Nouveau-Brunswick (CMNB)
2. L’Association des Sénégalais de Moncton (ASM)
3. Rwanda Community Abroad – New Brunswick (RCA-NB)
4. L’Association des Guinéen(ne)s et Ami(e)s de Moncton (AGAM)
5. La communauté burundaise du Nouveau-Brunswick INTORE (CBNB Intore)
6. L’Amicale du Burkina à Moncton (ABMON)
7. The New Brunswick Black Artists Alliance (NBBAA)
8. We Are One NB INC.
9. La Communauté des Congolais de Brazzaville au Nouveau- Brunswick
10. La Communauté Ivoirienne du Nouveau Brunswick (CINB)
11. L’Amicale des Camerounais de l’Atlantique
12. L’Association des Congolais du Congo Kinshasa de Nouveau Brunswick (ACCKNB)
13. Solidarité Mont Carmel