The Burkina Faso–Sweden Friendship Association ( sv, Vänskapsföreningen Burkina Faso–Sverige, french: L’Association d’Amitié Burkina Faso–Suède, ASSAMBUS) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

organization, which has the goal of increasing awareness in Sweden about

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...

– a small landlocked country in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

– and increasing exchange between the two countries. The association has approximately 120 members, and one active local subgroup in Stockholm. It engages in a number of cultural activities, such as publishing Burkina Faso-related literature, hosting art exhibitions, arranging Burkinabé film screenings, and so on. It also publishes the magazine ''Burkinakontakt''. It was formed in 1986, during the rule of Captain

Thomas Sankara Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara (; 21 December 1949 – 15 October 1987) was a Burkinabé military officer, Marxist–Leninist revolutionary, and Pan-Africanist, who served as President of Burkina Faso from his coup in 1983 to his deposition a ...

, a radical left-wing revolutionary who had come to power in a 1983 military coup. The founders were a number of aid workers and university students, who had visited the country as part of an exchange programme. ASSAMBUS initially worked in close cooperation with Sankara's government, spreading knowledge about the developments in the country by publishing articles and holding lectures. Several ministerial visits were arranged. Sankara was ousted and killed in a coup on 15 October 1987, putting his former friend and colleague

Blaise Compaoré Blaise Compaoré (born 3 February 1951)''Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders'' (2003), page 76–77.

in power. This shocked the association, and forced it to adapt to a new situation in which it could no longer support the Burkinabé government. It instead grew to focus on cultural issues, and developing ties between civil organizations in the two respective countries. In 2012, the association protested heavily against a governmental decision to shut down all developmental aid going from Sweden to Burkina Faso. The decision was later overturned in 2014, following a change in government.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burkina Faso-Sweden Friendship Association 1986 establishments in Sweden Culture of Burkina Faso Sweden friendship associations Organizations established in 1986

See also

References

External links