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Email fi-office@farafina-institute.org
Phone Number + 49 176 4171 8589

Our Organization

About Us
About Us

Who We Are

Founded in 2012 as a think-tank and research institute by a group of African and European scholars, Farafina Institute (FI) conducts policy-relevant research and implements sustainable projects on issues of wellbeing and governance in Africa and Europe.

FI positions itself as an international platform for reflection, dialogue, exchange, and action on Africa. FI uses African-centered and participatory methods aimed at creating empowerment, ownership, and sustainability. We hold the conviction that working directly with communities is indispensable for partnerships for sustainable and peaceful societies.

FI’s core team is a group of scholars from the fields of development politics, social science, sustainability studies, cultural studies, and computer science.

FI draws on the expertise of professionals from a network of academic and civil society institutions with a focus on Africa and located in Europe and Africa and cooperates with the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies and the African Good Governance Network. FI has been building up its representation in different African countries and aims to be represented in all regions of Africa. Currently, FI has Country Centers in Ghana, Mali, and Ivory Coast.

FI conducts research and, on the basis of the findings, initiates processes that enable and empower people to take action for working towards the goals they identified and that contribute to the well-being of Africans in Africa and in the Diaspora. These processes are based on a highly participatory approach.

Since

20
12

Since

2012

about-us
About Us

Who We Are

Founded in 2012 as a think-tank and research institute by a group of African and European scholars, Farafina Institute (FI) conducts policy-relevant research and implements sustainable projects on issues of wellbeing and governance in Africa and Europe.

FI positions itself as an international platform for reflection, dialogue, exchange, and action on Africa. FI uses African-centered and participatory methods aimed at creating empowerment, ownership, and sustainability. We hold the conviction that working directly with communities is indispensable for partnerships for sustainable and peaceful societies.

 

FI’s core team is a group of scholars from the fields of development politics, social science, sustainability studies, cultural studies, and computer science.

FI draws on the expertise of professionals from a network of academic and civil society institutions with a focus on Africa and located in Europe and Africa and cooperates with the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies and the African Good Governance Network. FI has been building up its representation in different African countries and aims to be represented in all regions of Africa. Currently, FI has Country Centers in Ghana, Mali, and Ivory Coast.

FI conducts research and, on the basis of the findings, initiates processes that enable and empower people to take action for working towards the goals they identified and that contribute to the well-being of Africans in Africa and in the Diaspora. These processes are based on a highly participatory approach.

Our Mission

We work around the globe to transform lives for wellbeing and achieve social justice.

The term “Farafina” means ‘the land of the dark-skinned people who refuse to be dominated’ in the Bambara language of West Africa, which signifies our unwavering belief in the achievements and potentials of Africa and African people worldwide and our resolve to contribute to the continents’ transformation for wellbeing.

Our
Mission

Our
Vision

Our Vision

Farafina Institute’s vision is to shape the future of Africa and African people by

Empowering them, promoting their innovative potentials, and enhancing their self-reliance for a successful transformative change.

Our Approach

We use African-centered, participatory and community-oriented methods. We understand that the agents of transformations – African peoples and their communities – are the ones in the best position to define the needs for action. 

The projects we implement are therefore based on the action points and needs identified directly by the target groups. Planning and implementation processes of our projects are based on strong participatory and accountable methods aimed at creating empowerment, ownership and sustainability.

We believe in cooperate efforts for transformation. Established and new partnerships enrich the implementation of our research activities and projects, increase their effectiveness and sustainability, and enable multidisciplinary and a wide geographical coverage. Cooperation further contributes to the extension of perspectives and the widening of the networks of our partners and ourselves, hence it strengthens the community of actors engaged in transformation efforts as a whole. ‘Cooperation’ in our understanding is not limited to project partners but extends to the facilitation of cooperation within and between the communities of African people – on the local level, the regional level, the continental level, as well as the cross-continental level. This is in accordance with considering the biological and historical connections uniting Africans and all people with African descent around the world.

Our Approach

We use African-centered, participatory and community-oriented methods.

We understand that the agents of transformations – African peoples and their communities – are the ones in the best position to define the needs for action.

The projects we implement are therefore based on the action points and needs identified directly by the target groups. Planning and implementation processes of our projects are based on strong participatory and accountable methods aimed at creating empowerment, ownership and sustainability.

We believe in cooperate efforts for transformation. Established and new partnerships enrich the implementation of our research activities and projects, increase their effectiveness and sustainability, and enable multidisciplinary and a wide geographical coverage. Cooperation further contributes to the extension of perspectives and the widening of the networks of our partners and ourselves, hence it strengthens the community of actors engaged in transformation efforts as a whole. ‘Cooperation’ in our understanding is not limited to project partners but extends to the facilitation of cooperation within and between the communities of African people – on the local level, the regional level, the continental level, as well as the cross-continental level. This is in accordance with considering the biological and historical connections uniting Africans and all people with African descent around the world.

Our Approach

We believe in cooperate efforts for transformation. Established and new partnerships enrich the implementation of our research activities and projects, increase their effectiveness and sustainability, and enable multidisciplinary and a wide geographical coverage. Cooperation further contributes to the extension of perspectives and the widening of the networks of our partners and ourselves, hence it strengthens the community of actors engaged in transformation efforts as a whole. ‘Cooperation’ in our understanding is not limited to project partners but extends to the facilitation of cooperation within and between the communities of African people – on the local level, the regional level, the continental level, as well as the cross-continental level. This is in accordance with considering the biological and historical connections uniting Africans and all people with African descent around the world.