“En Clave Afro” strengthens its role as a space for reflection, critical reading, and literary creation for young African students of Spanish
Madrid, 19 January 2026 — The Women for Africa Foundation has concluded a new edition of the project “En Clave Afro: African and diaspora literature in Spanish with a gender perspective,” consolidating its role as a space for reflection, critical reading, and literary creation for young African students of Spanish. This project is supported by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria.
This edition of the project was carried out in two locations:
- École Nationale Supérieure de Porto Novo (Benin) – January
- Université Félix Houphouët‑Boigny in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) – December
A total of 40 students took part in the workshops, which this year adopted a format closer to a reading club, encouraging open dialogue and the creation of a safe space where topics that rarely find room in traditional classrooms could be discussed.
Reading to understand the world through African voices
The sessions focused on excerpts from key works of African and Afro‑descendant literature written in Spanish, including:
- Las mujeres hablan mucho y mal
- Tierra de la luz
- Una decisión difícil
- Ekomo
- La otra Julia
These readings served as a starting point for deep conversations about identity, gender, memory, community, and representation, allowing students to connect literature with their own experiences and realities.
A library to keep growing: donation of works by African and Afro‑descendant women writers
As an essential part of the project, this edition of “En Clave Afro” included the donation of a selection of works written in Spanish by African and Afro‑descendant women authors, with special emphasis on writers from Latin America and the Caribbean. This carefully curated collection enables students to discover the richness of Afro literature in Spanish from a gender perspective and through diverse, transnational, and deeply interconnected voices.
The goal is clear: to place printed books in the hands of students and teachers, expanding access to texts that rarely reach the Spanish departments of African universities. The creation of this small feminist and Afro‑centered library not only enriches learning but also opens new literary genealogies and offers powerful, relatable role models for young readers.
This initiative is especially relevant in a context where the majority of students in Spanish departments are women, who find in these authors intellectual and creative models that strengthen both their academic development and their sense of empowerment.
Closing the circle: teachers trained through #LearnAfrica
The creative writing phase was carried out with the direct collaboration of the students’ teachers, Hispanic studies scholars who were once beneficiaries of the #LearnAfrica scholarship programme. Their participation brought academic rigor and pedagogical support, while also symbolizing a gesture of continuity: women who once received training through the Foundation now return as educators to strengthen the Spanish departments of their universities.
This intergenerational connection highlights the essential role of African women teachers in the expansion and consolidation of Hispanic studies across the continent.
A project that continues to grow
“En Clave Afro” reaffirms its commitment to promoting African literature in Spanish and to creating spaces where young women can express themselves, question, and build critical thinking from a gender‑aware perspective.
More information about the project is available on the Women for Africa Foundation website: https://mujeresporafrica.es/proyectos/en-clave-afro-literatura-africana-y-de-la-diaspora-en-espanol-con-perspectiva-de-genero/