The Africa Center in New York renamed its venue “The Africa Center at Aliko Dangote Hall” at a ceremony during the Future Africa Forum on 23 September. The formal opening of the hall was done on Tuesday, 24 September, with many Nigerian guests in attendance.
The renamimg of the hall followed a hefty donation of $20m to the centre by Aliko Dangote Foundation. It was the largest of its kind by an African philanthropist to the US based NGO.
The centre is a leading non-profit institution focused on the intersection of African policy, business, and culture. The donation, which was also topped by another $5million by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is meant to advance and accelerate the Centre’s capital campaign, further activate its public spaces and programming, and support ongoing operations.
The donation by the Aliko Dangote Foundation is focused on supporting The Africa Center’s work encompassing policy, business, and culture to transform global understanding of the continent by promoting partnership and collaboration between Africa and the United States, and to help change narratives about Africa’s economic and cultural significance today and into the future.
Dangote, founder and president/chief executive of Dangote Industries Limited, the largest conglomerate in West Africa, is one of the world’s most successful business leaders.
A dedicated philanthropist, he made an initial endowment of $1.25 billion to the Aliko Dangote Foundation in March 2014, enabling it to scale up its work in health and nutrition, education, and economic empowerment.
Other foundations, corporations, and individuals that provided leadership support for the capital campaign, including the Mo Ibrahim Family, who have given over $7 million to The Africa Center in recent years, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, were also recognized at Monday’s event, which marked the conclusion of the second phase of construction.
“The Africa Center is showcasing Africa in a contemporary, multifaceted manner as a centre of innovation, growth, and limitless potential, which makes this project extremely important and worthy of support through my foundation,” said Mr. Dangote.
“There is an opportunity to establish new narratives about Africa today, with its unrivalled mix of people, ideas, and resources, which are both its greatest strength and the basis for its tremendous, untapped promise. The connections The Africa Center will make between Africa, the United States, and the rest of the world, including members of the Diaspora, are more critical now than ever before.”
“Congratulations to The Africa Center on the announcement of this extraordinary gift from the Aliko Dangote Foundation and the conclusion of another phase of construction, marking the latest milestones for this important addition to NYC’s cultural landscape,” said Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl.
“The City is pleased to have contributed over $4 million in public capital support for the Center, which is already offering vibrant programming that solidifies NYC’s connections with contemporary Africa and provides a new anchor for Museum Mile at the northern end of Central Park.”
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