STUDENTS experienced the sights, sounds, feel and taste of Africa in a spectacular cultural showcase of the world’s oldest inhabited continent.
The Taste of Africa extravaganza descended on Darlington College bringing song, dance, food and crafts together in a celebration of cultural diversity.
Taste of Africa North East is a charity based in the Tees Valley dedicated to celebrating African culture, heritage and arts through events and festivals.
It champions diversity and inclusion, building relationships within the African and wider community to combat discrimination and prejudice. Through youth engagement, creative projects, and educational initiatives, it showcases African achievements and fosters cross-cultural appreciation.
The Darlington College event also celebrated culture, heritage and identity in support of Black History Month.
The college’s student engagement officer Declan Paice said: “This was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate cultural identity and our students absolutely loved the event joining in with the dancing, enjoying the African food, listening to the poetry and storytelling and creating crafts.
“I wanted our students to be educated around black history so they could appreciate how important it is to be respectful of other cultures. The atmosphere has been amazing and the event has been great allowing our students to feel inspired in their support of our college community.”
A founder and trustee of Taste of Africa North East Junior Masandi said: “It is good to be able to let people know about other different cultures around the world. Events like these bring us together in a positive way showing how we can all get on.”
Jewellery and crafts sessions were hosted by Sarah Mendoza and her daughter Sophia who also performed a spectacular dance set.
Sophia, 21, was educated in the Tees Valley and is now a final year student at the prestigious Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts where she is studying a BA honours degree in acting musicianship.
“My cultural heritage is very important to me and my dance is an Afro fusion of Caribbean and Latin,” said Sophia, whose dream is to perform on the West End stage in Hades Town one day.
“We are very proud of our culture especially music and dance and it has been great sharing it with the students here today.”
Students and staff also enjoyed live singing, dancing and drumming performances by Yesizwe Production and Myleen Chivasa.
Joseph Arabi, from Nigeria, and Hilaire Agnam, from Togo, staged a session for students on African poetry and storytelling.
“We work to inspire young people to tell their stories and keep a journal,” said Joseph. “My heritage has been passed down to me through storytelling.”
Hilaire told students: “I have had many dreams and some have come true and some haven’t. That will be the same for you. You will always have time to catch up – just go for it. But the last thing that separates us is the colour of our skin. We are all here to give not just take.”
For more information on opportunities at Darlington College visit www.darlington.ac.uk.