African Diaspora Forum (ADF)

The ADF is an umbrella organisation for people from the Diaspora who are resident in South Africa. The African Diaspora Forum is a non profit organisation open to all willing individuals and organisations sharing the objectives of the Forum. Its originality consists in the union of a number of organisations representing African migrant communities living in South Africa. So far 21 African countries are represented in the Forum: Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.  The organisation works for an integrated society, free of discrimination or any kind of xenophobia. It promotes tolerance, builds relationships between South Africans and Africans of the Diaspora and fosters a pride in being African.

What does the word Diaspora mean?

 The word has several definitions, this is the definition extracted from the Merriam-Websters on line dictonary:

(a): the movement, migration, or scattering of a people away from an established or ancestral homeland
(b): people settled far from their ancestral homelands
(c): the place where these people live

Derivation:- Greek - Greek, dispersion, from diaspeirein to scatter, from dia- + speirein to sow

Diaspora” is understood in the organisation as a group of persons living outside of their country of origin, but keeping and building strong links with each other. The term was chosen because it conveys both the idea of mobility and of networking.

The African Diaspora Forum (ADF) has achieved phenomenal success in a very short period of time, doing much to promote a culture of unity through diversity in South Africa. The origins of the organisation lie in the violence that erupted across the country in May 2008, starting in Alexandra in Johannesburg and extending as far south as Khayelitsha in the Western Cape. According to chairperson Marc Gbaffou, the initial inertia shown by national and local authorities in response to the attacks necessitated the immediate formation of the organisation. While there were associations that represented individual national groups,  there was, until the ADF was formed, no consolidated body to represent the interests of all African nationals living in the country. This made it difficult to bring together resources from the variety of African communities in the country and to engage in coordinated action.

At the time of xenophobic attacks in Johannesburg in 2008, the ADF worked closely with displacees to assist them in reintegrating into their communities after leaving the emergency camps.

The ADF has a schools project. Schools are encouraged to each ‘adopt’ one of the 54 countries in Africa. They are then provided with information and encouraged to learn about that country, its history, its geography, its current affairs, its cultures, foods, etc. The project also involves soccer teams selected from the schools.

The ADF refers people for assistance to the various organisations that assist migrants from different countries, and which are affiliated to the ADF.

To learn more about some of the National Associations who are part of the ADF please go to the category National Associations in our Directory

ADF Membership fee:            

R50 for individuals

R150 for organisations

Target group: All persons from the African Diaspora

Website: www.adf.org.za

Email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Address: 47 Sauer Street (corner President), Johannesburg

Tel: 011 633 2140

Fax: 0866 648 414

Chairperson: Marc Gbaffou

Tel: 083 514 7367 

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