Kenya to make history as first African nation at Germany’s Festival

Kenya is set to make history as the first non-European country to participate in Germany’s Annual Citizen’s Festival, known as ‘Bürgerfest’.

During the event scheduled for September 13th-14th in Berlin, Kenya will be seeking to reinforce cultural ties and boost tourism as well as trade and investment opportunities.

It will be the first time that an African nation is taking center stage at the two-day event that celebrates cultural diversity with this year’s theme dubbed “Pamoja – Stronger Together.”

Speaking ahead of the festival, PS Foreign Affairs Dr. Korir Sing’oei termed the event as a vital milestone in the growing relations between Kenya and Germany spanning over 60 years.

“Kenya views Germany as an indispensable partner in our ongoing journey to entrench sustainable development, shared prosperity and stability. During this event, we shall have an opportunity to highlight our unique culture, including food, music, as well as investment opportunities to approximately 13,000 people drawn from Germany and the larger European region.” Sing’oei stated.

Sing’oei added “Since 1963, we have built robust cooperation with Germany in various areas of mutual interest including TVET, skills development, digital cooperation, energy and climate, labour as well as peacekeeping deployments including that in Haiti. We are eager to leverage this platform to promote trade, investment, tourism, culture and people-to-people links ”

Germany is a leading foreign direct investor given the presence of over 100 German companies in the country, with investments worth Ksh 150 billion. Nairobi hosts the largest office globally for the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the regional office of Germany’s top trade promotion agency, AHK.

On his part , Principal Secretary for Tourism John Ololtua expressed enthusiasm for leveraging cultural diplomacy to strengthen ties between Kenya and Germany. He underscored the role of cultural exchanges in promoting understanding and cooperation, citing initiatives like the Goethe-Institut in Nairobi and the Nairobi International Film Festival as key platforms for cultural engagement.

Ololtua added that the event will also provide an opportunity to grow tourist arrivals from Germany being a key source market for Kenya.

“In the last financial year, Kenya attracted 81,359 German tourists compared to 66,064 in the previous year marking a 23.2% growth. We want to build on this momentum and we see the Bürgerfest as an opportunity to further accelerate this growth,” said Ololtua.

The German Presidency holds the Annual Citizen’s Festival in Schloss Bellevue, the official residence, to celebrate cultural diversity as well as recognize the service of German nationals engaged in philanthropic work. Each year, the German Presidency chooses a partner country to showcase their culture at the Citizen’s Festival.

Kenya’s selection as the first non-European country to be featured was based on the long-standing diplomatic and economic ties with Germany. The first day of the event is attended by about 5,000 invited guests including the Federal President whereas the second day is open to the public, attracting over 13,000 visitors.

The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) CEO June Chepkemei underscored Kenya’s growing popularity as a destination for German and European tourists, with the Board keen to build on this through participation at various travel shows such as the ITB Berlin which attracts global audiences.

She added that KTB will look to leverage the festival by, among other things, engaging the Kenyan diaspora in Germany as part of ongoing efforts to empower the diaspora as tourism ambassadors to attract more visitors to Kenya.

Some of the key participants at the event will be drawn from various Ministries, Agencies and private sector players.