A strong delegation of the Union of African Women (UFA) of Belgium has been welcomed at the Headquarters of CERDOTOLA on March 10th, 2017. The visit, whose climax was the discussion with the Executive Secretary, Professor Charles Binam Bikoi, started with talks between the renowned visitors and officers of the Institution.

The delegation of UFA was headed by it chairwoman from Zambia, Mrs. Regina Mukondola, accompanied by Mrs. Nouind Delphine, in charge of the legal unit, Viviane Ngrime, in charge of international relations, Nouind Gisèle, leader of the association “ Femmes de bonne volonté (good – will women)”and Anne-Valerie Nouind, in charge of the legal unit.

The rank and position of the guests accounted for the choice of the room of acts as hosting place and talks.

According to the usage, the meeting started with warm greetings and welcome address to the members of UFA from the CERDOTOLA team headed by Mr Hans Epale. A round table follow to introducing each and everybody present at the meeting whose main focus was the household introduction and possible relationships between UFA and CERDOTOLA.

The welcoming team of CERDOTOLA was made of: Mr Hans Epale, Deputy Director of general affairs and logistics, Mr Kladoumadje Nadjaldongar, Director of the Development and Productions department, Dr. Pascal Touoyem, General Coordinator of programmes in the Scientific Department and Mrs Sophie Dibounje Etame, in charge of the Archives Unit.

After the polite greetings, Mr Epale presented CERDOTOLA in its missions and activities, emphasising on the constitutional instrument making provision for the creation of the Inter-States Institution. Then, Dr. Pascal Touoyem presented research activities of CERDOTOLA through the Scientific Framework-Programme of the Institution. He got across the idea that, CERDOTOLA is a scientific cooperation, cultural and diplomatic Inter-States Institutional platform for the development and protection of African patrimonial identities. The speaker went on, enlarging on the axis of the Scientific Framework-Programme of CERDOTOLA. They have been closely carried out both in their theorical approaches and in their practical application by the General Coordinator of Programmes, who has always paid attention on the contribution women could make for its achievement. He henceforth seize upon the occasion to announce the workshop on the patrimonial feeding; which will take place in the up-coming days in CERDOTOLA, and whose aim could be building up a catalogue of traditional art of cooking and their nutritional values. He talked of PADETRA and ended with the presentation of the scientific documentation as concretisation of all the scientific action of CERDOTOLA.

Mr. Kladoumadje Nadjaldongar, on his part, genuinely presented activities of development, the project of developing the African musical pool, ALORA for the protection of digital resources of Africa, the project of digitisation of tales and legends. He has also mentioned the partnership CERDOTOLA elaborated upon with some local radio stations for a large spread of the African cultural resources, the support granted to cultural festivals, the partnership with the council of african traditional rulers as keepers of tradition. He has noticed the presence of CERDOTOLA at the level of International Institutions, mainly the OIF, UNESCO, the African music council; platforms which take it at the International level.

The manager of the Archives unit presented, at her turn, the documentation centre of CERDOTOLA, its collection as well as the regional project of popularisation of the documentary pool which are being shaped up.

The chairwoman of UFA recounted the motivations of their action which lay essentially on the protection of African traditions. “We need to bring back our traditions.”  After a short history of UFA, she stressed out the aim of their visit to Cameroon which was the meeting in the framework of talks with rural women associations in repositioning the rural woman in her role of protection and transmission of African traditions. Indeed, the UFA was created in Belgium in 2008 and it works for the promotion and the profiling of African women.

To keep going on the same track, members of the her delegation have in turn, encouraged actions carried out by the Institution and intend, with CERDOTOLA, to connect Africa with itself. It was the right occasion to introduce to CERDOTOLA and express their availability to contribute to the different building site of CERDOTOLA, especially the celebration of the 40th anniversary.

The announced simple visit changed into a working session with officer of the Institution before the arrival of the Executive Secretary.

Indeed, Professor Charles Binam Bikoi closed the encounter. He recalled the missions and mandate of CERDOTOLA which he referred to as “the fallow of Africa.” Then he maintained that the Institution will celebrate its 40th anniversary this year and he presented the pick points mainly the Great exposition named Ubuntu Village. In its scheduled tasks, CERDOTOLA involves in the intellectual and ideological calling up so as to commit resources of traditions and the African pool in the current policies of emergence, sustainable development and Renaissance, placing the African Man at the centre of any strategy. For that purpose, he accepted the request of UFA to take part to the celebration inviting its members to rise up for its success. The team of CERDOTOLA thanked the visitors handing them some productions of the Centre. The visit ended with a family photo session in a pure friendly tradition of CERDOTOLA.

The frequency and regularity of visits to CERDOTOLA by members of the African Diaspora of Europe, afro-descents of America, Brazil and West Indies since quite some years portrays the renewal and the vitality of the affection feeling to African civilisational values, whose protection and development are at the centre of activities of the Institution. This abides CERDOTOLA by its ambitions.