AMANI: Africa Creative Defence Network
AMANI: Africa Creative Defense Network is a regional protective and advocacy network. Modeled off of the Journalists in Distress (JID) network, Amani brings together organizations from across Africa and the globe, helping to streamline communication, share expertise and insights, pool resources, monitor threats to artistic freedom and creative professionals, and coordinate more effective responses when assisting artists at risk.
AMANI’s engagement spans the continent and goes beyond emergency case response. The Network engages in proactive advocacy and aims to develop the architecture of support for artists through programs including: constitutional reform, improving legibility and access to protective residencies, and convening regional gatherings to advance artistic freedom.
Members
Africa Human Rights Network (AHRN)
Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafy (Culture Resource)
Defend Defenders
PEN International
PEN Uganda
Protection International Africa
Safe Havens – Freedom Talks (SH|FT)
Southern Defenders
Tanzania Artists Rights Organization (TARO)
Louis Gitinywa – Kigali Attorneys
ArtVeda
Statements
Events
Online
ARC x Res Artis: Residencies as Refuge
15-16 April 2026
ARC and Res Artis are hosting an online workshop focussed on how to effectively host artists-at-risk. In this 90-minute session, we will examine the social and political contexts that place artists in this position – and how these differing situations require different responses.
Addis Ababa - Ethiopia
PANAF 2026 – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
6 - 8 February 2026
At the PANAF Summit 2026, artists, activists, policymakers, funders, and cultural leaders from across the continent will come together in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to explore how creativity thrives—and transforms—within today’s shifting digital and economic realities. From 6–8 February 2026, PANAF Summit will once again affirm one message: that to be free to create is to be free to define the future.