The Carpet and Flooring Expo 2025, taking place on 7-10 January at the Istanbul Expo Centre, will serve as a vital bridge connecting African buyers to carpet trade. With three new halls, the event will showcase cutting-edge innovations in carpets and flooring, solidifying its role as a premier platform for global industry professionals.

Preparations for the upcoming Carpet and Flooring Expo 2025 (CFE), scheduled for 7-10 January 2025 at the Istanbul Expo Centre, are moving forward as marketing activities and exhibitor registrations continue at pace. Building on the success of its inaugural event in December 2023, CFE will return with an expanded exhibition area, now covering 120,000 square meters, making room for more exhibitors and an even greater number of visitors. 

Following high demand and significant interest during its first edition, which attracted over 21,000 visitors from 103 countries, the 2025 event will feature three additional halls. The event, co-organised by Tüyap Exhibitions Group, the Istanbul Carpet Exporters Association, and the Southeastern Anatolia Carpet Exporters Association, is expected to attract industry professionals, designers, and buyers from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and beyond. 

Latest trends and innovations showcased

CFE 2025 will provide an opportunity for attendees to explore the latest trends and innovations in carpets, rugs, and flooring solutions. Products on display will range from handmade to machine-made carpets, textile floor coverings, and related accessories, offering a comprehensive view of the sector. Special events focusing on future trends and market developments will also be featured throughout the fair.

“As one of the fastest-growing exhibitions in the sector, CFE 2025 will offer a dynamic platform for global carpet and flooring professionals to connect, exchange ideas, and explore business opportunities. The fair’s continued expansion reflects the industry’s strong demand and Türkiye’s leading role in the global market,” said a General Manager of Tüyap Fairs Production Inc. Ilhan Ersozlu.

Bridging western markets with MENA and Africa

The Carpet and Flooring Expo is an important platform for Anatolian businesses seeking to expand into new international markets, offering branded and innovative products to strengthen both existing and new business relationships. Carpet exports from Türkiye, which already exceed $2.8 billion, are expected to grow further through connections made at this global event.

For more information on registration and participation, please visit http://www.ICFExpo.com.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of TÜYAP.

Contact:
Burcu Buse Arseven
ÜNİTE Edelman
+90 533 213 08 88
burcu.arseven@unite.com.tr

About Tüyap: 
Founded by Bülent Ünal in 1979, Tüyap holds the distinction of being Türkiye’s first exhibition company. It has been a leader in the development of the exhibition industry in the country. Over the past 45 years, Tüyap has organized numerous exhibitions both in Türkiye and internationally. Throughout these events, it has served over 350,000 companies from various countries and welcomed more than 70 million visitors.

With 5 owned and operated exhibition centers in Türkiye and international offices in 6 countries, Tüyap regularly organizes specialized fairs. The company maintains long-term collaborations with more than 100 professional organizations, supported by a team of professionals. Notably, Tüyap organized the first Turkish export product fairs in China, Russia, and Africa and continues to organize Turkish national participation in an average of 10 international fairs per year. As the only private sector exhibition organization in Türkiye that owns its exhibition centers, Tüyap continues to innovate by organizing hybrid fairs, leveraging its digital capabilities.

Keith Shiri

The Royal African Society is honoured that Keith will lead Film Africa’s curation, bringing his extraordinarily rich and wide experience in international curation and film festivals, as well as a record of championing African cinema and its profile in the United Kingdom, Europe, Africa and the Caribbean.

As well as being the founder and director of Africa at the Pictures, a London-based festival of African cinema, Keith is a programme adviser to the London Film Festival and a founder member and current chair of the Africa Movie Academy Awards, and has advised the curation of international film festivals including the Venice Film Festival, the Berlin International Film Festival, the Dubai International Film Festival, the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou and the Tampere Film Festival. He is also the Regional Secretary (Europe) for the Federation of African Filmmakers (FEPACI), and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media (CREAM) at the University of Westminster.

Keith sits on the advisory board of New York’s Focus Features Africa First Programmed, which has long supported young African filmmakers through its mentorship programme.

In keeping with the Royal African Society and Film Africa’s ethos of expanding access to, and inclusion within, African culture and perspectives, the festival’s programme and emphases will reflect input from and be enriched by a diverse range of curators, filmmakers, and critics, to reflect the complexity and nuances of different African and diasporic voices.

Keith Shiri said: “I am excited to join Film Africa as a curator. African artistry – especially in cinema – is experiencing a period of unparalleled invention and experimentation, and Film Africa provides the ideal forum in which to share these cultural treasures with audiences from the continent, as well as Britain’s various diaspora communities and the wider British public. I look forward to working to assemble a bench of films and speakers to progress our collective conversation about African film – as well as African cultural trends and the perspectives of those whose continent will, this century, emerge as the world’s most important and populous.”

Film Africa 2024

Film Africa, London’s unrivalled celebration of African and African diaspora cinema presented by the Royal African Society, is delighted to announce the appointment of Keith Shiri – a titan of African cinema and visual culture – as the Festival’s Lead Curator. In 2024, Film Africa will take place from Friday 25 October until Sunday November 3 continuing its mission of highlighting African and African diaspora filmmaking. The Festival is now open to submissions from African and African diasporic filmmakers.

All entries will be considered for inclusion in the Festival and prizes will be awarded to two entries: The Baobab Award for best short film and the Film Africa Audience Award for best feature-length entry. Both awards have a £1000 cash prize.

In 2022, the 10th edition of Film Africa spanned over 10 days from 28 October – 6 November. The festival hosted screenings at 7 venues across London – Picturehouse Central, BFI Southbank, Rich Mix, The Ritzy, Bertha DocHouse, South London Gallery and The Africa Centre – as well as featuring a selection of 7 narrative and documentary films on the BFI Player. Film Africa 2022 presented an eclectic hybrid programme of 47 films from 16 countries (including 22 World, European or UK premieres).

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Royal African Society.

Press Contact:
royalafricansociety@hudsonsandler.com

The Royal African Society,
SOAS, 10 Thornhaugh Street, London WC1H 0XG
Tel: +44 (0) 207 074 5176 ras@soas.ac.uk
www.RoyalAfricanSociety.org/ Registered Charity No. 1062764

About Film Africa: 
Film Africa is London’s biggest biennial festival celebrating the best African cinema from across the continent and diaspora brought to you by the Royal African Society. Established in 2011, the festival brings diverse London and UK audiences a high quality and wide-ranging film programme accompanied by a vibrant series of events, including director Q&As, talks and panel discussions; workshops and masterclasses; Film Africa Young Audiences school screenings and family activities; and Film Africa LIVE! music nights. Film Africa also recognises and supports new film-making talent through the Baobab Award for Best Short Film and the Audience Award for Best Feature Film.

For more information about Film Africa, visit www.FilmAfrica.org

1.  Film Africa accepts films of all lengths and genres, including fiction, documentary, shorts and experimental.

2. Year of production must be 2020 or after – any films made before this will not be    considered.

3.  Our main objective is to represent a wide range of films and filmmakers stemming from Africa and the African diaspora. We only accept submissions from African and African diaspora filmmakers.

Established in 2011, the Film Africa Baobab Award for Best Short Film exists to recognise and support filmmaking in Africa and to find new voices emerging from the continent. The Award consists of a £1,000 cash prize and is judged by a panel of filmmakers and industry professionals.

Established in 2015, the Film Africa Audience Award is selected by our audience at eligible screenings throughout the festival. The winning filmmaker receives a prize of £1,000.

About the Royal African Society: 
The Royal African Society is a UK-based charity dedicated to promoting Africa in business, politics, culture, and academia. It provides a critical platform for disseminating informed commentary and analysis on African issues and fostering a more nuanced understanding of the continent.

For more information about the Royal African Society, visit www.RoyalAfricanSociety.org.

Nikki Martin, President and CEO of global trade association EnerGeo Alliance, will receive the Mohammed S. Barkindo Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s African Energy Awards – taking place during the African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energy 2024 conference. The Mohammed S. Barkindo Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes outstanding, decades-long contributions to Africa’s energy sector. 

As President and CEO of EnerGeo Alliance, Martin has been instrumental in championing technology and data-driven strategies to boost exploration efficiency while enhancing environmental sustainability across Africa. For over a decade, Martin has been a strong advocate for increased upstream investment in Africa’s energy frontiers, identifying advanced seismic surveys and data generation as key tools for minimizing project risks and uncovering future resources. 

AEW: Invest in African Energy is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit www.AECWeek.com for more information about this exciting event. 

Boasting years of experience with government regulators, Martin is responsible for the global organization and execution of EnerGeo Alliance’s business and regulatory climate, while serving to enhance support for a viable global energy geoscience and exploration industry. In the organization’s latest policy brief, EnerGeo Alliance made calls for further upstream investment in South Africa’s energy sector. The brief emphasized the need for advanced seismic surveys and data generation to identify reserves and reduce exploration risks. It highlights the potential of South Africa’s Brulpadda-Luiperd fields, offshore prospects in the Orange Basin and onshore shale gas in the Karoo Basin as game-changers for the country’s energy landscape. 

From spearheading impactful projects, to facilitating engagement across the industry to driving innovation, Martin’s dedication to merging geophysical advancements with sustainability initiatives has made her a transformative figure in the African energy landscape. With five decades in petroleum and natural gas exploration, the geophysical organization and its member companies span over 50 countries worldwide, and offers geoscience data to energy players, equipment and software manufacturers, industry suppliers, service providers and consultancy companies. 

Under Martin’s leadership, EnerGeo Alliance has emerged as a premier voice for the geophysical exploration community, emphasizing the vital role of geoscience in resource discovery and development. At the same time, her leadership has fostered essential collaboration among African governments, exploration companies and local communities, all with the mandate to make energy poverty history by 2030 – a key theme of AEW: Invest in African Energy 2024. 

“Nikki Martin’s steadfast dedication to upstream development in Africa only serves to reinforce the continent’s mandate to leverage its resources, bring wealth to local communities and eradicate energy poverty within the decade. EnerGeo Alliance represents a strong partner for African countries, by promoting the exploration and discovery of resources across the continent while encouraging more global investors to participate in our energy future. Therefore, it is only fitting that Martin receives the Mohammed S. Barkindo Lifetime Achievement Award for her wholehearted dedication to African energy and her illustrious career in the upstream sector,” states NJ Ayuk, the Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

The Cameroonian authorities must immediately release three supporters of the association Pouvoir au Peuple Camerounais (Power to the People of Cameroon – PPC) and their relatives arbitrarily arrested and detained for a fortnight and put an end to arbitrary arrests and detention in the country, Amnesty International said today.

On 9 September, three supporters of the PPC, Moustapha Tizi, Mohamadou Ballo and Ibrahim Oumarou were arrested allegedly for wearing t-shirts bearing the name of the organization in the town of Figuil, in the Mayo-Louti department in the North region. Hapsatou Issa, the sister of a PPC spokesperson, was also arrested on the same day. The PPC, a youth organization founded in August 2024, calls for a regime change.

“A year ahead of the presidential election in which President Paul Biya, who has been in power since 1982, plans to run, arbitrary arrests and detention of people perceived as critical against the regime are multiplying. The visit to Cameroon at the beginning of August by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who cited ‘serious concerns over restrictions on the freedom of expression and association and the right to peaceful assembly’, has not altered this trend,” said Fabien Offner, researcher at Amnesty International’s regional office for West and Central Africa.

Relatives of PPC supporters also arrested

Moustapha Tizi, Mohamadou Ballo, Ibrahim Oumarou and Hapsatou Issa were transferred to Garoua on 13 September. According to information gathered by Amnesty International, Hapsatou Issa is currently being held at the northern gendarmerie legion, Moustapha Tizi and Mohamadou Ballo at the Garoua 1 gendarmerie research brigade, and Ibrahim Oumarou at the Garoua judicial police.

Hapsatou Issa was arrested on the night of 9-10 September at her home. According to her family, she was told she had been arrested because she is the sister of a PPC spokesperson, who is currently on the run after receiving threats. Hapsatou Issa’s son, who had come to visit his detained mother to bring her food was also arrested and has since been held at the Garoua 1 gendarmerie research brigade.

“In recent years, anyone who dares criticize the authorities, whether a human rights defender, a journalist, an activist for the Anglophone cause or a demonstrator, runs the risk of being arbitrarily arrested and detained, tortured and tried by military courts in violation of the country’s international human rights obligations. Unfortunately, this trend is likely to increase as the presidential election approaches”, said Fabien Offner.

“Authorities must end the growing crackdown on human rights, ensure the human rights of everyone, and uphold the country’s international human rights obligations including under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Cameroon is a state party.”

Two activists arrested in previous months 

Cameroonian activist Yves Kibouy Bershu, known as Ramon Cotta, has also been arbitrarily detained since his arrest on 19 July 2024 in Gabon, where he was living. He was transferred to Cameroon on 23 July without any known legal or diplomatic procedure, according to his lawyers. He is being held in Yaoundé at the Central Judicial Research Department of the Secretary of State for Defence. He was able to meet his lawyers only a month after his arrest. According to them, he is charged with acts of terrorism, insurrection, financing terrorism, arms trafficking and insulting the President and members of the government. Videos of Ramon Cotta posted on social media and reviewed by Amnesty International were mainly limited to criticisms of the Cameroonian authorities and criticism of the Cameroonian embassy in Gabon.

According to his lawyers, Ramon Cotta is likely to have been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment leading to a partial paralysis, and to have experienced difficulties in accessing healthcare. This would constitute violations of the Nelson Mandela Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.

Junior Ngombe, a 23-year-old hairdresser and activist, was arbitrarily detained from 24 July to 31 July after denouncing Ramon Cotta’s arrest in a video viewed more than 218,000 times on TikTok.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amnesty International.