Barefoot Peace Walk / GuluWalk - After events

Our final destination is Trafalgar Square around 16.00hrs where we will all end up in the Texas Embassy Cantina for drinks, some interesting guest speakers and Boujemaa Bouboul with live music!

Guest Speakers

Roeland van de Geer, EU Special Representative for the African Great Lakes Region

Mr Roeland van de Geer received in Kigali by the President Kagame (Rwanda)Prior to taking on the role of European Union Special Representative, Mr van de Geer was active for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands. Ambassadorial appointments include Afghanistan and Mozambique. Mr van de Geer has been involved in international development in Africa since the start of his carreer which was on secondment by the Amsterdam Free University to the National University of Lesotho and the Government of Lesotho in southern Africa.

Mr van de Geer was appointed EU Special Representative for the African Great Lakes Region in 2007. During this time he has played a significant role in supporting political dialogue in the region, especially between Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, as well as regional cooperation and integration. The EU's approach combines political and diplomatic instruments, development cooperation and military cooperation.

Mr van de Geer will give us an insight of the impact of LRA violence in the African Great Lakes Region and the current position of the European Union and the international community on the situation.

We are very excited that Ambassador van de Geer has agreed to speak for Barefoot Peace Walk, don't miss out!!

Chris Muwanguzi- Mugal, Uganda Diaspora

Chris is a Ugandan expat living in London. He has been strongly involved with GuluWalk London in the past. Chris is very active in the Ugandan community in the UK and is keen to promote giving back to Uganda and supporting its re-building. Chris will give us his views on the situation in Uganda and on the LRA.

Phillida Purvis, Trustee International Refugee TrustPhillida Purvis, IRT Trustee

Phillida Purvis is a trustee of IRT. She runs Links Japan, an NGO bringing together British and Japanese civil society organisations tackling common social challenges in both countries and in the global south. Currently Links Japan is actively promoting and helping to construct community-based partnerships between Japanese and African communities. Phillida will be joining IRT to visit projects in Southern Sudan and Uganda in the near future. Phillida will briefly introduce the work of IRT.

Paul Hecht, GuluWalk

Paul, a Canadian, has been working with Athletes for Africa and the Guluwalk organisers in Toronto since 2006. This past summer, Paul volunteered in Gulu, northern Uganda, assisting with Athletes for Africa as it moves forward with its Football for Good initiative. Paul is also an incoming member of the Athletes for Africa board of directors.

Paul will talk about his experience of rebuilding a region after decades of LRA terror as well as his  experiences with GuluWalk.

Live Music

Boujemaa Bouboul

Boujemaa Bouboul, musician

Boujemaa Bouboul is a musician from the Gnawa tradition. The Gnawa are the descendants of Sudanese slaves who were imported into Morocco around the 12th century by Arab traders to help build up the Arab empire.  Gnawa is the music of slavery and tells the history.

Training to become a Gnawi “malem” or master musician is rigorous and hard. Boujemaa has been trained in the Gnawa arts by his father and by other malems and has been playing and performing since the age of 3.
By the age of 15 Boujemaa was travelling abroad, touring France, Italy, Belgium, Spain and Germany performing at music festivals and celebrations of Gnawa.  
Boujemaa visited London in 2002 and has since settled here. He has performed at a wide range of venues and festivals and collaborated with a number of different musicians.

 He made a major contribution to Byron Wallen’s  “Meeting  Ground “ album and in 2007 toured with him, receiving great reviews and being nominated as one of the Independent’s top 5 gigs. The album was also nominated for a Radio 3 World Music Award.

Boujemaa has collaborated with Transglobal Underground and recently worked with Yuseff Islam [Cat Stevens]. Other venues and festivals Boujemaa has performed at include: The Royal Festival Hall Momo’s, the Spitz, Synergy, Subterainia, The Vortex, Cargo, Darbuka, The British Museum, The V&A, The Big Chill Festival, the Glade Festival, The Pyramid Festival, Nostock, The Diaspora Festival in Hyde Park and The Festival of World Cultures in Dublin.

We are delighted that Boujemaa Bouboul will be performing at the Barefoot Peace Walk / GuluWalk after event. You don’t want to miss this performance!!

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