By Tabora Bojang
President Adama Barrow yesterday launched the weeklong biennial international Soninke festival,Fiso, which has attracted thousands of guests from across the region in a bid to revive, advance and develop the Soninke cultural heritage.
President Barrow who donated over D1 million to fund the organisational expenses of the festival, was joined by the former Malian interim president, Dioncounda Traoré.
Delegates and dignitaries from Europe and other parts of the African continent including Senegal, Mali, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire, Angola, Guinea and Guinea Bissau are in attendance in their large numbers, Abubacarr Sankanu, a member of the organising team told The Standard. The festival is regarded as the biggest Soninke cultural event in the world.
Sankanu, himself a journalist and filmmaker, said Fiso 2020 is being marked with a trade fair, religious conferences and traditional and cultural competitions among other activities.
The jamboree is being held under the theme “Harnessing Soninkara Solidarity: Revisiting Culture, Migration, Regional Integration and Development”.
