FESTAFRIC in Brussels: a debate on children of migration and a gala at the Birmingham Palace

The seventh edition of FESTAFRIC took place in Brussels on 2 and 3 October. A meeting on inclusion on Friday, a gala with music and dance on Saturday.

The seventh edition of FESTAFRIC, the Festival des Arts et de la Culture Africaine, took place in Brussels on 2 and 3 October. The festival centres on African and Afro-European culture and is led by La Souveraine Culturelle PASSY La Noblesse. According to the Cameroonian news portal Camer.be, FESTAFRIC is more than an event. The portal calls it a movement that, over six editions, has been growing into a regular meeting place for the African diaspora in Europe.

Camer.be wrote about the weekend both beforehand and afterwards. The portal is not consistent in how it counts the editions: for the 2025 edition it reported both a fifth and an eighth edition. Here we follow the organisers, who speak of a seventh edition for 2026.

A meeting about children of migration

The weekend began on Friday 2 October with a meeting that had been announced beforehand as a press moment and a moment of civic reflection. According to Camer.be's report, the central question was which levers exist for successful inclusion and a shared future for children of migration in Europe. Academics, politicians, parents and people from civil society took the floor.

Beforehand, the organisers named four themes: the social challenges facing the diaspora, questions of culture and identity, passing culture on to new generations, and the place of Africa and its talents in today's world. What the speakers said exactly, and what conclusions the meeting reached, is not in the sources we were able to consult. Camer.be does not name any 2026 speakers in the text available.

A year earlier, FESTAFRIC had already organised a debate. According to Camer.be, in 2025 it dealt with the socio-political and mental future of the African diaspora in Belgium. The audience then came from Great Britain, France and Belgium, among other places.

The gala at the Birmingham Palace

The highlight followed on Saturday 3 October at the Birmingham Palace in Brussels. The organisers had announced an evening of performances, music, fashion, tributes and awards for African and Afro-European talents. The available sources do not say which artists ultimately performed. Beforehand, the organisers only spoke of well-known artists preparing behind the scenes.

In its look back, Camer.be describes an evening where the rhythms followed one another and the dance floor became a place where generations, cultures and sensibilities met. A parade by PASSY La Noblesse herself was also well received, according to the portal. The report is largely celebratory in tone. No critics or visitors are quoted in it, and it gives no figures on attendance.

The Birmingham Palace was also the venue for the 2025 edition. Camer.be wrote at the time that singer Sam Fan Thomas took the audience back to the days of the makassi. That evening too, PASSY La Noblesse was proclaimed Souveraine Culturelle to applause.

What this shows

FESTAFRIC combines a night out with a conversation about identity and the future. That fits what Camer.be describes as the aim of the festival: using cultural diversity to build connection, to pass on traditions and to foster solidarity. That the 2025 audience came from several countries shows that a festival like this also reaches beyond the borders of a single city.

Anyone wanting to read more about FESTAFRIC 2026 and the earlier editions can find the reports and announcements on Camer.be, the source for this article.

Bronnen

• Camer.be
• Camer.be: FESTAFRIC 2026, quand l'Afrique célèbre ses racines, interroge son avenir
• Camer.be: FESTAFRIC 2025, une soirée culturelle inoubliable
• Camer.be: FESTAFRIC 2025, quand la diaspora africaine de Belgique débat de son avenir
• Camer.be: Sam Fan Thomas, le Birmingham Palace en apothéose pour FESTAFRIC 2025