August 08/22/23, 2023
OUR COMMON CREDO. »The drum knows no borders, no countries, no skin color, the drum speaks the language of the heart and connects people.« (Damien Bilondo, founder of the ensemble ›Ndungu Kina‹ and one of more than 120 musicians who have taken part in the Festival of 1000 Drums so far.)
THE AFRICA FESTIVAL ›1000 Drums‹ (one year, in 2021, interim as ›African Nightlife‹) has been inviting drummers and guests to a joint event every year since 2019 to the City of Leipzig to make music, to concerts and workshops and thus enables artists, residents and guests to meet in this forum : in addition to barrier-free as possible African music concerts in an emphatically non-commercial or less commercial format, DJ music, dance, talks, drumming and other workshops for children, young people and adults an African bazaar is created at a public location in the city for two days with information stands, culinary offers of food and goods : African clothing, handicrafts, musicalia, accompanied by actions for children, on seating, standing and a stage. Accredited photojournalists are permitted to document the events in accordance with the law ; audio recordings and, in part, moving image recordings of the concerts are made for quite a number of those who are interested in Germany and abroad and are later processed and published for them. Within the annual Interactive community concert, after instruction and under the guidance of experienced musicians, the 1000 (rather 50) drums unite guests present in a shared play : all our guests are expressly invited to play along, bring their own drums and other musical instruments to the concert and thus one jam session, are invited to dance. Target group are / the festival is dedicated to and organized by : people with an African migration background and Roots, citizens of Leipzig and inter-/national guests, who thus make an important contribution to integration, but above all music lovers : adults, young people and families with children, all people interested on the continent of Africa antera. Announced and advertised, documented and virtualized in good time, the festival should go beyond Leipzig and the Free State of Saxony, as international music event be perceived in the long term and can have a touristic effect. As a community, we can, that is the goal, strengthen acceptance of African citizens in Saxony and Leipzig through the now regular open and mostly non-commercial event in which new perspectives on the continent of Africa are shown : still existing clichés and stereotypes about Africa should and can experience a change towards cosmopolitanism. Democratic culture, exchange and free participation are demonstrated, mutual acceptance and one’s own dignity are promoted. The festival also opens a forum of African Music in Europe and Overseas, one of her listeners and promoters, and invites you to the dialogue who seek to change prejudiced attitudes across generations and let them experience Africa’s cultural diversity. The culture of Leipzig, that of the Free State of Saxony and that of the Federal Republic of Germany contribute by this a celebration of peaceful encounter barrier-free music combining artistic genres, they create better understanding and general charity. In doing so, we are trying to reach an increasing number of guests, observers and interested parties in a better prepared manner every year and hope that the project will one day be classified in the context of larger, existing ones African Festivals in Germany and in Europe.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS AND ENSEMBLES, BANDS, COMPANIES: cf. https://1000drums.yilp.de/category/kuenstlerinnen-information/
VIRTUAL CONCERTS AND RECORDINGS SO FAR: cf. https://1000drums.yilp.de/virtuelle-konzerte/
ON THE 5(2023) 1000 Drums Africa Festival on August 26/27th, 2023: cf. https://1000drums.yilp.de/
DEVELOPMENT AID FOR CHILDREN, YOUNG ADULTS AND THEIR FAMILIES IN NEED IN THE GAMBIA: cf. https://1000drums.yilp.de/category/kinderhilfsprojekt-gamkids/
Y.I.L.P. International e.V.,
West-African Diaspora Association in Leipzig and other cities,
on August, 2023 — see also other ressources at https://www.yilp.de, https://1000drums.yilp.de, https://soundcloud.com/yilp, https://twitter.com/yilpinternatio1 !
Direct contact: mailto:info@yilp.de / tel:00493412282399.
