The Observatoire Régional du Carnaval Guyanais (ORCG) is organising the second edition of the Assises internationales du carnaval guyanais, on Friday 30 September and Saturday 1 October, at the ENCRE auditorium in Cayenne. The event, which is open to all, will also be broadcast live on the Facebook pages of the University of French Guiana and the Collectivité Territoriale de Guyane.
Éhe Carnival of French Guiana is an important part of Guyana's heritage and a tool for social cohesion, bringing together the different cultures of the population. It contributes to the promotion of tourism in French Guiana, as well as to its economic development. It's a time when art, creativity and imagination combine with tradition to create a series of festivities that are unique to French Guiana. Carnival in French Guiana is a time of socialisation that requires preparation for both the body and the mind. This entertainment event, which combines rituals and energy expenditure, requires an understanding of the physical, psychological and spiritual dimensions associated with it.
A second edition under the theme of health
The second edition of the Assises du Carnaval guyanais will mobilise the knowledge associated with Health. Discussions between members of the public, cultural players, associations, socio-professionals, institutions and academics will enable concrete, collective and constructive proposals to be drawn up for public policies and carnival-goers. This will make it possible to examine and better understand the issues surrounding physical activity, as well as the use of food resources and the use of Guianese pharmacopoeia during the carnival period. This will also lead to an understanding of the evolution of these practices and the various influences they have undergone (cross-border movements, globalisation).
Five lines of thought are proposed:
Theme 1: Carnival and health (physical, mental and psychosocial)
Theme 2: Carnival and physical activities
Theme 3: Carnival and nutrition
Theme 4: Carnival and rituals (pharmaceuticals and pharmacopoeia)
Theme 5: Carnival and beliefs
Presentation of the personalities and bodies invited
Marcel ZOUNON, President of the Towara Bénin association. Director of the national artistic ensemble of Benin. Representative for West Africa on the International Council of Folklore and Traditional Arts Festivals (CIOFF) at UNESCO. Lecturer at the Institut national des métiers d'art, d'archéologie et de la culture (INMAAC)-University of Abomey Calavi in Benin.
Happy Koffi GOUDOU,
Administrator/Manager of Heritage & Cultural Industries Cultural Journalist. Communication Officer of the National Artistic Ensemble of Benin.
Lecturers from Anton de Kom University in Surinam and the University of Guyana,
within the framework of cooperation between the universities of the Guyana Plateau (Humanities and Social Sciences departments)
Download the programme here.
