African Christmas in Paris

Paris Quai Branly Museum

Directors of the Paris Quai Branly Museum, say the aim of the riverside institution, is to bring continents and cultures together. “Most Museums celebrate their country’s history and traditions, we celebrate cultural diversity”, that’s their motto. So instead of focusing on oysters, foie gras, and Christmas à la française, the Quai Branly Museum of non western art is organising a two week long “African Christmas” over the festive season. That’s what Cécile Dumoulin told me in her broken English. She is in charge of workshops, at the 260 million Euro institution.

One of the aims of the Quai Branly is to share cultures and to discover other cultures, and since Christmas is about getting together and sharing, we thought it was important to offer a moment like that to the public.

Events include a workshop to introduce visitors to the African “Sanza thumb piano”, an African ball, storytellers, and an original workshop for children called “l’autre jouet”, or “the other toy”. Children are asked to bring a toy of their own, as long as it doesn’t involve batteries or electronics. These will be distributed to children all over the world, by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. In exchange, French and European children will learn how to manufacture their own toys, with recycled material, that’s what African children do.

Organising this workshop reminds me of my childhood in Africa, because that’s how I made my own toys as a child.

Kra N’Guessan is originally from Côte d’Ivoire, he is in charge of the workshop. There are coca cola cans, plastic bottles, card-board boxes all over the floor, but for Kra, they are much more than that.

Children can play video games, but making your own toy is something else. Let me show you what my daughter and I made this morning. We used an empty plastic margarine tub, we added four blue plastic bottle tops to make the wheels, and there is your car! We had to cut holes in the tops, and children can’t do that on their own, so when they come to us adults, it’s an honour to help them.

Children in France are more excited by video games and other electronic gadgets. The workshop is to remind them, what the real spirit of Christmas is about, at a time more and more people complain that the commercial side of Christmas is taking over. I mentioned the concept to Jean Paul, a Parisian cab driver who is originally from Cameroun, he says it’s an excellent idea.

Children in Africa know what’s going on in the rest of the world now with globalisation, they know how spoiled many European children are for Christmas, so it’s difficult for them. Things will not change overnight, but it’s important to remember that many children don’t receive any gifts for Christmas.

That’s precisely the aim of the “other toy workshop”, bringing European and African children together. But Jean Paul is right, it’s an uphill struggle, in fact I didn’t get to see children bring their own toys for other children in developing countries, because the first workshop, was cancelled.