The Walo Art Festival 2024 is a major cultural event that aims to highlight local art, cinema, Music and talent. It was held in Richard Toll under the aegis of the Defci Walo Association. Placed under the theme “ Art, Innovation and Sustainable Development: The Commitment of Young People and Women for a Common Future” with the subtheme “ Cinema and Local Development: Causes and Consequences »chis first edition focused on the empowerment of young people and women, local development and the promotion of Senegalese culture. It is also a way to revitalize tourism in this city with strong cultural potential.
It was the large festival hall of Richard Toll in the department of Dagana which hosted the official opening ceremony of the first edition of this Walo Art Festival, in a festive and warm atmosphere. This ceremony marked the start of six (06) days of varied activities, ranging from film screenings to masterclasses, including discussions on societal and environmental issues, while highlighting the diversity and richness of local cultural heritage. This Festival aims to promote local culture and emerging talents from Richard-Toll and neighboring regions, particularly through cinema and the performing arts; to encourage cinema as a lever for local development, by offering young directors and actors a platform to present their creations and develop their network; to strengthen the empowerment of women by organizing training on female entrepreneurship, copyright, and neighboring rights. Panels were also dedicated to the place of women in the film industry and the environment, to raising public awareness of social and environmental issues, notably global warming, public health and sustainable entrepreneurship and to promoting tourism. local by making Richard-Toll a recognized cultural destination, while promoting its role as an economic and tourist crossroads between Senegal, Mauritania and Mali. “This Walo Art Festival 2024 is presented as being a unique platform to celebrate local culture, promote cinema as a lever for development, and raise public awareness of contemporary issues. It is supported by partners committed to a sustainable cultural and social future,” said Ibrahima Fall, Director of the festival. The second day was dedicated to training focused on copyright for the benefit of local artists. For Mental, a cultural actor, this training is an opportunity to learn more about the profession. “Music is a sea. Every artist must know and master the rules of the art. This Festival is therefore an opportunity to immerse ourselves in the music profession and everything that goes with it. We learned a lot from the trainer, Iba Gaye Sarr from SODAV,” he confided. Approaching in the same direction, the rapper artist Karbala was delighted to have taken part in the Walo Art Festival. He also praised the discipline and respect between actors in the world of culture. “We were trained on copyright and it was really interesting. This allowed us, as artists, to know our legal environment and know what we can bring to our society. We have benefited enormously from this training which allowed us to understand the society in which we operate,” said Sisko, coordinator of Sisko Even’s. “We focused the training on copyright and we felt a massive response from Richard Toll artists who came in large numbers. It is necessary at the moment that there is information, awareness, communication and training,” explained Iba Gaye Sarr, trainer at SODAV. The 4th day of the Walo Art Festival was dedicated to training in Women’s Entrepreneurship. This was specially dedicated to women in Walo and aimed to raise awareness and provide women in the region with the necessary tools to understand the issues of financial education and explore entrepreneurship opportunities. This event was a great opportunity to promote the empowerment of women and highlight their essential role in local economic development. Several activities ranging from panels on health and global warming; screenings of documentary films and short films; a blood donation day and reforestation days, guided tours; discovery workshops and cultural walks were on the program of activities for this first edition of the Walo Art Festival.
YVES TENDENG
