Who We Are
Founded in 2012 as a think-tank and research institute by a group of African and European scholars, the Farafina Institute (FI) conducts policy-relevant research and implements sustainable projects on issues of well-being and governance in Africa and Europe.
FI positions itself as an international platform for reflection, dialogue, exchange, and action on Africa. FI uses African-centred and participatory methods aimed at creating empowerment, ownership, and sustainability. We believe that working directly with communities is essential to building 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 Africa-focused academic and civil society institutions in Europe and Africa and collaborates 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. FI currently has country centers in Ghana, Mali, and Ivory Coast.
FI conducts research and, based on the findings, initiates processes that enable and empower people to take action to work towards the identified goals 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
The term “Farafina” means ‘the land of the dark-skinned people who refuse to be dominated’ in the Bambara language of West Africa, signifying our unwavering belief in the achievements and potential of Africa and African people worldwide and our determination to contribute to the transformation of the continent for wellbeing.
Our Vision
Our Approach
We use African-centred, participatory and community-based methods.
We recognise that the agents of transformation – African peoples and their communities – are 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. The planning and implementation processes of our projects are based on strongly participatory and accountable methods that aim to create empowerment, ownership and sustainability.
We believe in cooperative 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 broad geographical coverage. Cooperation further contributes to broaden the perspectives and networks of our partners and ourselves, thus strengthening the community of actors engaged in transformation efforts as a whole.
In our understanding ‘cooperation’ is not limited to project partners but extends to facilitating cooperation within and between the communities of African people – at local, regional, continental and transcontinental levels. This is in accordance with the recognition of the biological and historical links that unite Africans and all people of African descent throughout the world.