Seki Kulture and Culture Money Africa have unveiled a proposed cultural diplomacy programme to develop 900 Niger Delta Global Culture Diplomacy Festivals across nine states, with the ambition of connecting the region’s rich heritage with international audiences, creative enterprise and sustainable development.

Known as SEKI-plomacy, the initiative is designed to establish a long-term network of cultural festivals across Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers states.

The organisations said the 900 festivals were a long-term ambition rather than events already delivered or scheduled, stressing that the programme would be developed in phases in partnership with participating communities, cultural custodians, artists, enterprises and delivery partners.

Drawing inspiration from the SEKI–US–LACMA performance, the proposed festivals would combine performances, storytelling and heritage showcases with creative marketplaces, tourism experiences, learning opportunities and international cultural exchange.

Under the indicative planning framework, each of the nine states could host 100 festivals over the life of the programme, subject to local priorities, feasibility and the capacity of host communities.

The organisers said individual festivals would reflect the cultural identity of their host communities, with music, theatre, dance, fashion, food, visual arts, languages, oral histories and water-based traditions potentially forming part of the programmes.

Chief Executive Officer of Seki Kulture, Yibo Koko, said the initiative was aimed at enabling wider audiences to experience the Niger Delta through its culture while creating opportunities for people within the communities where the heritage originates.

“Performance allows people to encounter the Niger Delta through its voices, rhythms and stories,” Koko said.

He added that SEKI-plomacy was intended to build lasting connections around those cultural experiences, with cultural custodians, artists and young people helping to shape the festivals and share in opportunities generated by their creativity.

Beyond cultural visibility, the proposed festival network would seek to create economic opportunities for artists, makers and cultural businesses through marketplaces and enterprise showcases.

The organisers said training and production activities could generate paid opportunities for performers, designers, technicians and event workers, while heritage routes and locally led visitor experiences could extend spending to tour guides, food businesses, transport providers and accommodation operators.

As part of its proposed impact framework, SEKI-plomacy is targeting 900 festivals developed and delivered over time, alongside 900 community-led festival plans through which local people would determine how they participate and benefit.

The programme also proposes 900 cultural marketplaces or enterprise showcases, as well as engagement with 9,000 creative and cultural enterprises, based on an indicative average of 10 enterprises per festival.

It further proposes 9,000 paid creative and production opportunities, representing an indicative average of 10 paid opportunities per festival.

The partners, however, stressed that the figures are proposed programme targets and not results already achieved, adding that they would be refined through feasibility studies and that delivered festivals, participating enterprises, paid engagements and sustained jobs would be reported separately.

Chief Executive Officer of Culture Money Africa, Victor Agih, said cultural exchange could create greater value when artists and communities were able to convert visibility into income, enterprise growth and lasting partnerships.

According to him, the 900-festival ambition provides a framework for connecting Niger Delta heritage with markets and investment, while ensuring that cultural value is retained by the people who create it.

The programme would also seek to connect Niger Delta festivals with national, diaspora and international audiences through performances, exhibitions, creative trade and institutional partnerships.

The organisers said the SEKI–US–LACMA performance provides a reference point for the ambition to take Niger Delta artistic expression into cross-border cultural spaces.

SEKI-plomacy would also link cultural exchange to locally identified development priorities, which could include youth skills development, women-led enterprise, heritage documentation, responsible tourism, social cohesion and stewardship of rivers, wetlands and coastal environments.

The partners said festival development would require community participation, appropriate consent for the use of cultural knowledge, proper attribution and fair compensation.

They added that the programme would seek to measure local spending and enterprise activity alongside attendance, so that the success of individual festivals could be assessed not only by their reach but also by the value created for host communities.

The proposed first phase would focus on cultural-asset mapping, consultations with prospective host communities, festival design and pilot delivery.

Lessons from the pilot programmes would subsequently inform financing arrangements, visitor planning, enterprise support and the wider expansion of the festival network across the nine states.

Seki Kulture and Culture Money Africa invited traditional institutions, artists, cultural organisations, state and local governments, universities, tourism operators, businesses, investors, development partners and diaspora networks to participate in shaping the programme.

The organisers said the initiative was ultimately aimed at creating a sustained platform through which Niger Delta culture could reach wider global audiences while generating enterprise, employment and sustainable development opportunities within the communities where the region’s heritage is preserved.

With nine states and 900 proposed festivals, SEKI-plomacy seeks to position Niger Delta culture as a vehicle for international exchange, creative enterprise and locally driven development.