Dennenesch Zoudé, Actress
In Amharic, the national language of Ethiopia, her family name means “crown”. Dennenesch Zoudé was born in Addis Ababa and went to Germany at the age of two. Her father studied in Berlin and it was in the German capital, where Zoudé still lives today, that she discovered what she most wanted to do in life: acting. She studied in New York, gained experience on the German stage and has been a well-known face on German television since the mid-1990s. Among other things, the 41-year-old is active as an ambassador for SOS Children’s Villages and United Buddy Bears, an artists’ initiative that fosters international understanding.
Jimmy Bamba, DJ
Moussa Sarr, alias DJ Jimmy Bamba, is one of the most colourful characters in Berlin’s African community. The musician was born in Senegal in 1947, grew up in Mauritania and studied in Paris. Now he is a cult presenter at Multikulti, the Berlin radio station. For the last ten years the expert on African music has presented his Afro Beats programme, introducing radio audiences to the latest African music from his turntables in the studio.
Gerald Asamoah, Footballer
From Ghana to Gelsenkirchen: the 30-year-old footballer has been a forward with the famous Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04 since 1999. As a player he also successfully managed the leap into the German national team. Following his naturalization in 2001, Asamoah was the first African-born player to be selected for the German national team, with which he became a World Cup runner-up in 2002 and World Cup bronze medallist in 2006. The father of twins, who has a congenital heart condition, shows his social commitment through his foundation for children with heart disease and is currently pursuing a grand goal: a children’s heart centre in Ghana’s capital Accra.
Veye Tatah, Publisher
When the woman from Cameroon came to Dortmund University to study computer science in 1991, she soon noticed that reports and films in Germany often tended to describe her home continent rather negatively. That made Tatah think – and she founded the magazine Africa Positive, the first issue of which appeared in 1998. The magazine aims to present a more objective picture of Africa than is often found in the media. The project has been successful: this July publisher Tatah celebrated the 10th anniversary of Africa Positive with its 30th edition.
Asfa-Wossen Asserate, Management Consultant
Although he attended the German School in Addis Ababa, his first encounter with Germany was rather disappointing. When the prince from Ethiopia visited Germany in the mid-1960s during a stopover in Frankfurt am Main, it was rather different from what he had imagined. He had expected to find quaint half-timbered facades, but was instead confronted with modern skyscrapers. Over 40 years later, the great-nephew of the last Ethiopian emperor does not only feel at home in Frankfurt, but is also a German citizen. He studied law and history in Tübingen and Cambridge, England, and later gained a PhD at Frankfurt University. The 59-year-old, who still shows an active commitment to his native country, works in the Main metropolis as a management consultant – and successful author. He has received considerable recognition for his book Manieren, which he wrote in German.
Yared Dibaba, Presenter
Presenting, acting, singing – and speaking Low German. Dibaba, who was born in Ethiopia, has been a fluent speaker of the north German dialect ever since he moved to north Germany from southern Ethiopia with his parents at the age of nine and began singing in a Low German children’s choir. The graduate of a German drama school now works for the Hamburg-based broadcasting service Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) presenting a chat show and travelling around the world. In the last two years, for his popular programme, Die Welt op Platt, Dibaba has regularly visited German emigrants who share his passion for the Low German dialect.
Mark Kwami, Designer
The name of the Ghanaian designer is associated with the Made in Africa brand. The idea behind the brand that Kwami founded in Berlin in 2001 is to give African designers and craftspeople an opportunity to improve the marketing of their furniture and home accessories. Kwami, who studied at the Berlin University of the Arts, has travelled through Africa, promoting his project and training artists, artisans and manufacturers so they can export their products. He has worked, for example, with firms in Ghana and pursued his policy of “fair business”: supporting firms so that they are later able to offer their products on the market themselves.
Daveman, Musician
He interprets modern reggae music in his own very personal way: Daveman blends hiphop, soul and dancehall with traditional rhythms from his African home. The artist, one of today’s promising reggae talents, does not only cross musical borders. Born in Berlin in 1983, he grew up in Germany and Nigeria. He attended the German School in Lagos where he developed a strong interest in music: he played and sang at school concerts and formed his first band. After twelve years in Africa, Daveman returned to Berlin in 2002, studied business at the Technical University and worked on his musical career. His solo debut in 2006 caused a sensation in the German reggae and dancehall scene. He now hopes to make a major breakthrough: his first album should be in the shops very soon.
