HIS EXCELLENCY OUSMANE SONKO LAUNCHES ECOFEST 2025, INAUGURATES WEST AFRICAN ARTS AND CULTURE FESTIVAL IN DAKAR.
By Raymond Enoch
Senegal’s Prime Minister, His Excellency Ousmane Sonko, on Sunday, November 30, 2025, formally launched the maiden edition of the West African Arts and Culture Festival (ECOFEST), positioning Dakar as the cultural capital of the sub-region and unveiling what he described as “a new frontline of integration, sovereignty and cultural resistance” in West Africa.
The colourful ceremony held at the iconic Grand Théâtre in Dakar brought together ministers in charge of culture from ECOWAS and UEMOA member states, Prof. Fatou Sow SARR, ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, Mr. Mamadù Serifo JAQUITE, UEMOA Commissioner in charge of Human Development, as well as a strong representation of artists, cultural entrepreneurs, diplomats and invited guests from across the region.
ECOFEST 2025, co-organised by the Government of Senegal, the ECOWAS Commission and the UEMOA Commission, will run in Dakar from November 30 to December 6, 2025. The week-long festival will showcase the best of West African music, theatre, film, literature, visual arts, fashion, gastronomy and traditional heritage, while serving as a strategic platform for regional dialogue on culture, identity and soft power.
Sonko, in his address, framed the festival as far more than a cultural spectacle. He underlined ECOFEST as a political, economic and ideological statement by West Africans determined to control their narratives, defend their values and strengthen intra-regional solidarity amidst mounting global geopolitical pressures.
According to the Senegalese Head of Government, the festival is “a living laboratory of West African integration,” where languages, traditions and creative expressions from Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone countries converge on equal footing. By bringing together ECOWAS and UEMOA under one cultural banner, he noted, ECOFEST demonstrates that regional institutions can move beyond communiqués and conferences to tangible joint initiatives that citizens can feel, see and celebrate.
Prof. Fatou Sow SARR, speaking on behalf of the ECOWAS Commission, hailed ECOFEST as a flagship initiative of the Community’s human development and social affairs agenda. She stressed that arts and culture are not peripheral to development but central to peacebuilding, youth empowerment, job creation and social cohesion in a region where creative industries are expanding rapidly yet remain underfunded and under-structured.
For his part, UEMOA Commissioner Mamadù Serifo JAQUITE emphasised that the joint organisation of ECOFEST by ECOWAS and UEMOA reflects a new era of synergy between the two regional organisations. He noted that culture is one of the few sectors where citizens spontaneously practice integration on a daily basis—through music, films, fashion, and cross-border festivals—long before governments sign protocols or agreements.
Throughout the festival week, Dakar is expected to host performances, exhibitions, masterclasses, film screenings, cultural markets and policy roundtables on themes such as cultural sovereignty, intellectual property, regional co-productions, and the digital transformation of the creative sector. Special focus will be placed on youth and women creatives, with talent showcases, residencies and networking sessions linking emerging artists to established icons and producers.
ECOFEST’s inaugural edition also comes at a time when West Africa is wrestling with security threats, political tensions and economic vulnerabilities. Against this backdrop, the decision to place the festival under the banner of integration, sovereignty and cultural resistance is seen by observers as a deliberate attempt to harness culture as a tool of resilience and collective self-assertion.
By lighting up Dakar with the rhythms, colours and stories of West Africa, ECOFEST 2025 signals the birth of a new cultural powerhouse in the region—one that aspires not only to entertain, but to unite, empower and project West Africa’s voice more confidently on the global stage.
