Our History
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has paid official visits to thirty-one African countries so far, including as Prime Minister. These visits have enabled the President's wife, Mrs. Emine Erdoğan, to get to know African countries, identify needs and opportunities on the ground, and establish close ties with the leaders and people of the continent. Mrs. Emine Erdoğan has been particularly involved in official visits to African countries and in social responsibility projects carried out by NGOs aiming to make positive contributions to the welfare of the society and protection of the environment, and has visited many humanitarian centers such as rehabilitation centers, schools, kindergartens, women's education and production centers, orphanages, and refugee areas. During President Erdoğan's official visit to Ethiopia in 2015, Mrs. Erdoğan decided to establish a platform to promote the experiences and talents of African women on a global scale, as well as to support the activities of productive African women. This platform later evolved into the African House of Crafts and Culture (Africa House of Culture).
The African House of Culture, which was opened in 2016 under the leadership of Mrs. Çavuşoğlu, was renamed the African Handicrafts and Culture House Association in 2022 in order to continue to make greater contributions to our relations with the continent with its institutional identity.
Africa House of Culture has become a regional meeting point to strengthen Turkey's interaction with the African continent. Aiming to promote African culture and strengthen Turkey-Africa relations, Africa Culture House offers a diplomatic and multifaceted interaction space, primarily as a social responsibility project. The African Culture House also organizes cultural and academic events. Greater recognition of African culture in Turkey strengthens diplomatic relations as well as economic cooperation.
Hamamönü, one of the historical places of Ankara, was chosen to show the cultural richness of Africa to its visitors. Hamamönü is the history stop of Ankara with its historical mansions, mosques, monuments and museums built from the early to late 1900s. In one of these traditional Turkish houses, the cultural richness of Africa is on display.
The African Culture House has four separate sections displaying traditional costumes, musical instruments, handicrafts and many other cultural elements from different parts of the continent. These sections offer visitors an in-depth cultural experience. The African Culture House, which includes a hall, meeting room and library where interactive training programs on the history, geography, languages and traditions of the countries are held, is a place where cultures are harmoniously intertwined. The House of Culture focuses on the different traditions and artworks of fifty-four countries in Africa, the second largest continent in the world, and focuses on each country from a different perspective.
These efforts have been carried forward with the close relations established by Mrs. Çavuşoğlu with the wives of African heads of state. The UN Women also paves the way for women's work by underlining the role of women's empowerment in economic growth as well as in raising future generations, increasing the quality of the population and building peaceful societies, and attaches importance to women's work under the headings of education, employment, visibility in decision-making mechanisms, digital transformation and the environment.
In 2023, Africa House of Culture signed a memorandum of understanding with the African Union in New York during the 78th UN General Assembly. Signing a memorandum of understanding with the African Union has ensured the recognition of Africa House of Culture in the international arena and in the eyes of African countries. This memorandum of understanding contributes to mutual understanding and friendship by strengthening cultural exchange and communication between Turkey and African countries.
