Hon. Sidia Sana Jatta is a trained Africanist linguist who contributed to early research into West African languages while he was a research fellow at the International African Institute in London (SOAS) between 1980 and 1982. He is the founder of the People’s Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism in The Gambia. He has been a vocal proponent of Gambian language use (instead of English) to facilitate communication, information exchange and learning. His knowledge and first-hand experience of Gambian education is vast. He has notably worked as a teacher and as a senior curriculum development officer for the Curriculum Development Centre from (70s-80s). He was also a member of the Gambian National Assembly’s Education Committee for over 10 years.

For the second consecutive year, NPR teamed up with globalFEST in January 2021 for a thrilling online music festival we call Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST: three nights, nine bands, and a world of musical traditions hosted by African pop star Angélique Kidjo. Now, we're posting all the sets from our festival as individual Tiny Desk (home) concerts.Bob Boilen | January 28, 2022Born from the rich musical and historical heritage of San Basilio de Palenque, Colombia (the first free Black town in the Americas), Kombilesa Mí fuses the traditional sounds of the community with urban pop. The band's members experiment with the instruments created by their ancestors (and introduced to them when they were young) by layering them between new sounds.Over traditional percussion, metal handmade drums of their own design, and marímbula, Kombilesa Mí rhymes and raps in Spanish and the traditional Palenquero language, a fusion of African Bantu, Portuguese, French and English. During the performance, you'll hear them call their music "RFP," which means Rap Folklórico Palenquero, a combo of cumbia, son de negro, mapalé and son palenquero. --The globalFEST staffSET LIST"I Tando Pa Palenge""I A Piyá Bó""Kumo Kusa Tá""Los Peinados""Asina Gue""Ma Nduse""Ata Uto Begá"MUSICIANSAndris Padilla Julio: vocalsKeila Regina Miranda Pérez (KR MP): vocalsAlí Fernando Navarro (MCPM): vocals, tambor alegreMartín Elias Maza: tambor llamadorKendri Cassiani: tamborasOrlys Reyes: marímbulaEdwin Valdes: maracasCREDITSProduction: Guillermo CamachoAudio: Fernando ManzurVideo: Guillermo CamachoCamera: Royman Reales MartinezSpecial thanks: Real Films Cartagena, Viviana Benitez, novaproduccionesTiny Desk Meets globalFESTTiny Desk TeamProducer: Bob BoilenVideo Producer: Maia SternAudio Mixing: Josh RogosinTiny Production Team: Bobby Carter, Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Sofie Hernandez-SimeonidisExecutive Producer: Keith JenkinsSenior VP, Programming: Anya GrundmannglobalFEST Artistic TeamCo-Directors: Shanta Thake, Isabel Soffer, Bill Bragin2022 Curators: Shanta Thake, Isabel Soffer, Bill Bragin, Gabrielle DavenportglobalFEST Production TeamEvent Producer: Ian ThakeProducer: THE OFFICE performing arts + film*Video Producer: Karim TabbaaSpecial ThanksThe Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, JanArtsNYC, Valerie French (social media), Yuri Kwon of Pitch Perfect PR (publicity), Tamizdat (legal services) and Duane Morris (legal services)*THE OFFICE performing arts + film consists of Rachel Chanoff, Laurie Cearley, Olli Chanoff, Erica Zielinski, Nadine Goellner, Lynn Koek, Noah Bashevkin, Catherine DeGennaro, Gabrielle Davenport, Chloe Golding, Kyla Gardner, Tess Peppis, Zion Jackson, Scout Eisenberg and Jose Alvarado

We as Black people are no free...we arent even client states.

AAAG President Nana Akosua Seɔyɔ's Abibitumi Twi Class TestimonialFebruary 8, 2026