What is Tumaini Festival?

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About Tumaini Festival:

Founded in 2014, the Tumaini Festival is a cultural event held annually within the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi.
It is the only festival of its kind in the world that is held within a refugee camp.
The festival is organized and managed by refugees, creating a platform for displaced people that fosters community, solidarity, and cultural exchange.
The Tumaini Festival attracts thousands of attendees every year and features performances by acts from all around the world.
The festival showcases a diverse array of artistic expressions, including music, dance, theater, and visual arts.
It received a Cultures of Resistance Award (CoR Award) in 2024.

Key Facts about Malawi:

It is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa.
It covers an area of 118,484 sq. km.
It shares borders with Tanzania, Mozambique, and Zambia.
Capital: Lilongwe
Major languages: English and Chichewa (both official)
Currency: Malawi kwacha (MWK)
Endowed with spectacular highlands and extensive lakes, it occupies a narrow, curving strip of land along the East African Rift Valley.
Lake Nyasa (one of the deepest lakes in the world), known in Malawi as Lake Malawi, accounts for more than one-fifth of the country’s total area.
Malawi remains one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, which employs over 80% of the population.

About Dzaleka Refugee Camp:

It is the only permanent refugee camp in Malawi.
It was established in 1994 in response to a surge of forcibly displaced people fleeing genocide, violence, and wars in Burundi, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
For the past 30 years, the camp has received refugees and asylum seekers from Somalia, Ethiopia, and other countries.

Q1: What is the Cultures of Resistance Award (CoR Award)?

The Cultures of Resistance (COR) Award was launched in 2020 by activist, filmmaker, and founder/director of the Cultures of Resistance (COR) Network, Iara Lee, a Brazilian of Korean descent. The awards are conferred in recognition of proactive, creative citizens/organizations connected to positive change

News: Malawi festival unites refugees and locals