By Olawunmi Ashafa
ORUN, a pan-African initiative, driven by the African Currency Network of the Africa Currency Network (ACN), on Thursday unveiled the maiden edition of Heirs of Greatness Day in Casablanca, Morocco, to advance Africa’s cultural sovereignty and strengthen the continent’s creative economy.
The initiative brought together stakeholders from the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) across Africa and beyond, positioning the sector as a driver of sustainable development and African soft power.
The promoters of ORUN said Heirs of Greatness Day marked the activation of a pan-African platform designed to structure CCIs through a blend of vision, methodology and action, with a focus on long-term value creation.
The event was held amid heightened international attention on Africa, driven in part by the Africa Cup of Nations, and was described as symbolic of Casablanca’s role as a crossroads for cultural creation, transmission and global engagement.
At the core of the initiative is The Sovereign Code, ORUN’s founding methodology built on three pillars, memory, structure and transmission.
According to ORUN, the framework underpins all its programmes and is aimed at transforming Africa’s cultural heritage into measurable and sustainable value systems anchored in long-term development.
Heirs of Greatness Day showcased seven Houses of Art, weaving, foundry, crochet, tannery, dyeing, ceramics and couture, conceived as spaces for knowledge transfer, experimentation and professional structuring.
It said that the Houses are designed to connect ancestral craftsmanship with contemporary standards of creation, quality and responsibility while fostering collaboration among artisans, designers and institutional partners.
Artists and practitioners who presented works at the event included Moukagny of Senegal, Kader Diaby of Côte d’Ivoire, Anil Padia, Jennifer Mulli of Kenya, Henri Philippe Maidou of the Central African Republic, Sonia Ahmimou of Morocco and Lucette Holland of France.
ORUN said the works reflected African creativity rooted in local contexts but oriented toward international markets.
The programme featured a mix of institutional engagements, artistic installations, editorial exchanges and symbolic sequences, structured as an immersive, narrative-driven experience.
It said that the format underscored ORUN’s intention to position Heirs of Greatness Day as a continuous platform rather than a one-off event.
The initiative also received diplomatic and institutional backing, reflecting growing recognition of CCIs as strategic sectors within Africa’s development agenda.
ORUN said Heirs of Greatness Day forms part of its 2025–2030 strategy, which includes structuring cultural value chains, upskilling artisans and designers, creating skilled jobs, strengthening local production ecosystems and expanding the global visibility of African talent.
The organisation described the Casablanca edition as the starting point of a broader movement aimed at embedding culture at the centre of Africa’s economic and symbolic transformation.
ORUN is a pan-African organisation led by Africa Currency Network and a member of the Kigali International Financial Centre.
It focuses on positioning cultural and creative industries as engines of sustainable development, cultural sovereignty and soft power across Africa. (NAN)
Edited by Oluwafunke Ishola
