Traces – Discours aux Nations Africaines

The Senegalese economist, philosopher and writer Felwine Sarr addresses the youth of the African continent with his lyrical monologue «Traces – A Speech To African Nations». His basic thesis is that the continent does not need to catch up with anyone, but must go its own way. As he describes in his internationally acclaimed work «Afrotopia», he sees the African continent as a laboratory for «a richer, more open humanity with a sharper ecological consciousness and a fairer economy that does not subjugate us». Actor Étienne Minoungou plays the protagonist of the monologue, who returns to the African continent bringing a message of hope. Without any judgement, he reports on the world as he has seen it. Biographies Felwine Sarr, born in Senegal in 1972, currently lives and works as a professor at Duke University in North Carolina, USA. He deals with the decolonisation of the African continent in a literary and academic way. Étienne Minoungou, born in 1968 in Burkina Faso, works as an actor, director, playwright and organiser. He lives between Paris and Ouagadougou, where he founded the cultural centre Le Récréatrales and the festival of the same name 20 years ago. Etienne Minoungou is an actor, director, playwright and African cultural entrepreneur, based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. After serving as artistic director of the Théâtre de la Fraternité in Ouagadougou, he founded the Falinga company in 2000, and in 2002 launched the Récréâtrales, the first pan-African theatrical writing and creation residencies in Ouagadougou, which has become one of the most important forums for theatrical creation in Africa. As an actor, he has been touring European and African stages. Public artist talk: Étienne Minoungou will be a part of the lecture series by the Center for African Studies in Basel on 31.10.2023 from 10.15 a.m. to 12.00 p.m.