Author: Didier Lalaye, President of CASP and artistic coordinator of V4T
Finally, the long awaited final of the second African Slam Poetry Cup (ASPC) will happen on Saturday 19 February 2022 in Addis Ababa. Initially scheduled for November 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic threw a spanner in the works. The organisation of the competition became undoable. ASPC’s partner in Addis Ababa, Poetic Saturdays, offered to collaborate with the digital innovation community in the city to run some of the preliminary rounds virtually. In July 2021, candidates from 33 countries participated in a four day competition after which we selected eight finalists for the final round in the Ethiopian capital.
So far, seven out of the eight candidates are present in the Ethiopian capital: Brice Yoga from Cameroon, Abed Nego Koumaba Kassir from Chad, Pierre Louis Maxs Juguilio from Mauritius, Bokon Kokoutsè Gagnon from Togo, Fasa Louise Aurélie from Madagascar, Anthony Molosi from Botswana, and Elhadj Oumar Baldé from Guinea. They all seem confident and proud to represent their countries at this competition. “I have a whole group of people behind me, but I do not feel the pressure. I made them the promise that I will bring the cup home,” says Botswana’s candidate, who lives in Maun, a small town more than 600km from the capital Gaborone. For Abed Nego from Chad, taking part in this competition and reaching the final round is a victory in itself. But he does not want to stop there, he intends to return home with the trophy.
On the night of Saturday 19th, the greatest slammers of Africa will compete for the continental crown at the Ethio-French Alliance venue in Addis Ababa. We will finally know who will be the lucky winner of the prestigious trophy.
Press conference.
Follow the Facebook page of the African Cup of Slam Poetry (in French) for more updates.
