ABOUT US

ABOUT US

The Festival for African Fashion and Arts (FAFA) was set-up in 2008 during the post-election violence which took place in Kenya.

As many countries throughout the region continue to know human rights abuse, civil unrest and war, FAFA aims to change perceptions of other communities one mind at a time by exploring and bridging cultures through fashion, art and music.

We as FAFA believe that

  • There is unity in diversity
  • Positive change comes when we stop focusing on the negative and encourage the inspiring and the positive
  • Africa deserves to have a light shone on the talent and creative energy which exists on the continent

Fashion for Peace will continue to organise events as a call for peace on the African continent.

FAFA BOARD

FAFA is backed by a multi-disciplined coordination team for the promotion of peace through art, fashion and music.

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FAFA board members came together with the belief that there can be unity in diversity, as exemplified by their respective backgrounds and trajectories, detailed below:

An McCreath (Scotland) worked as a designer in Italy and Spain, she worked on aid in Angola, Kenya and Zimbabwe with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Traditional arts and crafts then inspired her to move from aid to fair trade as a long term solution to poverty. Her Kenyan contemporary fashion label, KikoRomeo, works with a wide variety of rural and urban communities.

Ann McCreath is the founder and Chairman of FAFA

Patricia Amira (Kenya) is one of East Africa’s leading media professionals, appearing on Capital FM Nairobi, MNet and the BBC. She is also one of Kenya’s foremost corporate MCs. She is the host of her new pan-African prime time television talk show on MNet – The Patricia Show.

Patricia Okelo (Kenya) is a graphic designer by profession and has been running her own design studio in Nairobi for the past 7 years. She has always had a keen interest in the arts and feels that they are a powerful catalyst for unity and transformation.

Thierry De Oliveira (Cabo Verde/Senegal) has worked as an economist with the United Nations Environment Program in Nairobi since 1999. He is also a professional drummer, studying with Milt Hinton and Drori Mondlak, and performing in the New York jazz scene and with renowned African musician Ali Farka Toure. He is currently working on an album to be launched in early 2009.

Hebret Lakew (Ethiopia) studied fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City. She worked for Italian label Max Mara for four years, heading the Visuals and Merchandising Department for all Max Mara corporate shops in the USA. She is co-founder and designer for the Kenyan based label Kooroo.

Dudu Sarr (Senegal) is a London based music promoter and DJ who has worked with top African artists including Baaba Maal and Youssou N’dour. He is currently one of the Womex 7 Samurais and is a jury member of the BBC world music awards. Dudu recently launched his own African music label and production company – Motherland Music.

Lara Mastropasqua (Italy/Canada) is a freelance media, communications and information consultant, working for the UN, NGOs and the private sector. She spent many years travelling around the globe, working in Asia, Latin America and West Africa before falling in love with Kenya, settling there in 2001.

FAFA Secretariat

Susan Njuhi (Kenya) Program Administrator FAFA,She studied her BA in Political Science and Sociology, she is also a current receiver of a masters in Peace Studies schorlarship at the University of Notre Dame.She is currently handling sponsorship and fundraising for the event.

Minaywa Laboso (Kenya) Has been in the advertising and public relations field for 6 years. She is also pursing a Degree in international Relations.She currently managing public relations for this years event.