The Sub-Saharan Component seeks to prioritise African perspectives and leadership in all programme activities. This initiative establishes genuine co-responsibility between African and European cultural stakeholders across decision-making, resource allocation, and creative direction. 

Sub-Saharan Scope and Strategic Focus 
Operating across Sub-Sahara African and Europe, the Sub-Saharan Component will support artists and cultural professionals whilst expanding the reach through cultural content distribution. The programme addresses four critical areas of cultural cooperation: 

    Mobility Support: Facilitating artist and professional exchanges through intracontinental and transcontinental mobility schemes, prioritising Africa-Europe and Africa-Africa collaborations to strengthen regional networks whilst building international partnerships. 
    Arts & Culture Spaces: Supporting cultural organisations to enhance their capacity as platforms for creation, co-production, incubation, and critical discourse, with dedicated programmes for both institutional development and professional exchange. 
    Performing Arts : Developing cooperation projects led by Euro-African tandems; organising professionals meetings bringing together professionals from the two continents; supporting  the distribution and touring of African creations; and strengthening the skills of intermediary cultural professionals based in Africa.
    Visual Arts Connectivity: Strengthening connections between African and European visual arts professionals through co-creation, discourse development, and documentation initiatives that enhance accessibility and international visibility.

Paradigm Shift in Cultural Collaboration 
Philina Wittke, Goethe Institut Project Lead says, highlighting some key elements: "We are establishing partnerships where African cultural stakeholders drive their own internationalisation strategies whilst European partners contribute as equals in a genuine dialogue of mutual learning and respect." 

The initiative's innovative methodology, amongst others, includes:

    Equal Partnership Frameworks: African and European partners share decision-making authority across all programme activities. 
    Multilingual Implementation: Operations conducted in English, French, Portuguese, and local African languages without linguistic hierarchy. 
    Co-creation Emphasis: All supported projects must demonstrate genuine collaboration rather than one-directional cultural transfer. 
    Gender Equality Requirements: Targeting 50% female participation across all programme activities. 

Economic Impact Through Cultural Sovereignty 
Connect and Create aims to strengthen the position of cultural and creative industries (CCIs) as a major source of employment, wealth, and innovation. The Sub-Saharan Component specifically targets:

    Market Access Expansion: Creating pathways for African artists to access European markets whilst strengthening intra-African cultural commerce.     
    Professional Development: Comprehensive capacity building in cultural management, digital marketing, and international touring strategies. 
    Sustainable Networks: Establishing professional relationships designed to function independently beyond programme duration. 
    Innovation in Co-production: Developing collaboration models that maintain cultural authenticity whilst achieving international market viability.

Programme Context Within Broader Initiative 
The Sub-Saharan Component operates alongside two complementary regional programmes: 

    Southern Africa Component: Heritage narrative development in Southern Africa (Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe) as well as between Southern Africa and Europe. 
    West Africa Component: Festival internationalisation and capacity building across 15 West African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo) and between West Africa and Europe. 

This coordinated approach ensures comprehensive continental coverage whilst maintaining regional specificity and avoiding duplication. 

Implementation Partnership 
The Sub-Saharan Component operates through strategic partnership between Goethe-Institut, Expertise France and Institut français, with European Union funding under the NDICI-Global Europe instrument. This configuration enables rapid deployment across multiple countries whilst maintaining responsiveness to local partnership priorities and cultural contexts. 

Launch Events and Media Access 

Programme Launch Timeline: 

    Wednesday, 18 June 2025 : Pre-Press briefing (targeting the press and in presence of the project team only), Sheraton hotel, Addis Ababa, 10:00 AM local time (To be confirmed).
    Friday, 20 June 2025: Official press conference, Goethe-Institut Addis Ababa, 10:00 AM local time. 
    Friday, 11 July 2025: Programme Kick-Off Round Table Launch, Stone Town, Zanzibar.