"Caravanes des Artistes pour la Paix" du Festival au Désert, February 2013

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Thread 1 to 5 of 9

Date		Message
15-Jan-2013 stefania		a friend tuareg told me the festival will take place also at TIMIA niger,does anyone know it?
	29-Jan-2013 anna-marconi	Hi Stefania the festival of the Air will be held in Timia (in the North Niger) from the 7th to 12th of March. From Agadez there will be a military escort from the Government. No need to have private escort. I am italian and I am going there with a friend. I have been in Niger many times and one time in Timia last year. Contact me if you need more info
	21-Jan-2013 Alami	That is the 'Festival de l'Aïr'; it is a totally separate annual Touareg festival. But travel to the north of Niger is strongly discouraged for foreigners at the moment; you often have to have a military escort, & people have reported being turned back to Niamey by the military on the road.
18-Jan-2013 molly		Does anyone know if it will be possible to camp in your own tent on the site? I heard somewhere that this might not be allowed, but haven't seen anything in writing either way.
17-Jan-2013 molly		Dakar -->Ouaga A friend and I are thinking of travelling overland from Dakar to Ouagadougou. Is anyone planning on driving this route before the festival, and interested in linking up? We do not have a vehicle, but would be interested in chipping in for gas/food/etc costs. Alternatively, we might be interested in taking public transport...but will need to do a bit more research on that front.
28-Dec-2012 Alima		Hi, I want to travel from England to Burkina Faso for that part of the festival in the desert, I haven't booked any flights yet. I've tried looking at the approved travel agents on this site but unfortunately they're all in French and I only speak English. First question is are there any women who are travelling from England and have already booked for the onward journey once they arrive in Burkina Faso and if so could they forward the name of the company? Secondly are there any women out …
	14-Jan-2013 katch	Hi Alima I am a lone female hoping to travel to some part of the caravan/ festival from the UK. I have about a week only to spare so considered flying to Bamako and then travelling to Laongo in Burkina Faso before returning. Or flying to Ouagadougou on around the 18th or so. What were your plans? Katch
	29-Dec-2012 Alima	Thank you Alima
	29-Dec-2012 dario	@Alima Please, visit the website http://www.festivaldesert-hub.net Here you will find the tour and the contacts of From Here To Timbuktu, which is the english tour operator
	29-Dec-2012 Alima	Thanks Catherine that's really helpful. Alima
	29-Dec-2012 Alima	Thank you Dario for this information do you have the name of the British-based company only I cannot find it. Alima
	28-Dec-2012 dario	Dear Catherine, there is no typo error! The festival will NOT be held in OURSI but it will be held in VILLAGE-OPERA LAONGO that is at 40 km from Ouagadougou.
	28-Dec-2012 catherine	PS NOTE: the festival post has a typo - Oursi is 340 ks east of Ouaga, not 40!
	28-Dec-2012 catherine	hi alima keep persisting and checking the festival web site and this forum. Next to your post the festival has written that they are organising a "Navette service from Ouaga to the festival camp" That sounds promising though i don't know what it is!! But I will find out. I am also a lone female but I am already in West Africa, travelling. I suggest you get yourself to Ouaga (short for Burkina capital) and it will fall into place. Cheers Catherine
	28-Dec-2012 dario	Dear Alima, there is one partner agency who is england-based! So, I'm not sure to understand when you say that "it's all in french" ....
30-Dec-2012 lauracastiel		hello people! looking for information/connections/travel partners with whom to make the journey from western sahara to bamako or Kobeni, overland. think its a little risky alone :) need to arrive by 6th/7th feb.

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Messages from the Festival Direction

25-Jan-2013

ATTENTION!

We are very sorry to inform all of our friends that the festival has been delayed due to the increasing insecurity that is prevailing in Mali and in the neighboring countries. We are working hard to find new options and fix new dates. Thank you for your comprehension!

28-Dec-2012

ATTENTION!

The 3 days' festival location has been … relocated from OURSI to the "Village-Opéra LAONGO" at roughly 40 km East from Ouagadougou. In the homepage, we are giving the coordinates if you want to see the place on a map.

This new location is certainly different from the usual places in which the Festival au Desert took place since its inception 13 years ago: we are far from the tamashek traditional milieu.

Nevertheless, we want to remind everyone that the Festival in the Desert is in exile and in this period of exile, the most important thing for us is to maintain the spirit of the Festival and the Tamashek culture while ensuring the safety of the participants.

The new location is MUCH easier to be reached and we are organizing a Navette service from Ouagadougou to the festival camp.

07-Dec-2012

Indeed, the International Festival of Selingué has delayed its dates, moving them from the 1st to the 15th of March. It is impossible for the Caravan to wait for the international Festival of Selingué and hence, after Oursi the Caravane will return to Bamako.

22-Jun-2012

We would like to remind to all participants of this Board that trying to self organize the trip to the Festival au Désert is challenging and can be hazardous: you may end up using a car in very poor conditions, and/or with a "guide" who will cheat you. Be wise and very careful! We strongly recommend to get in touch with one of our partner travel agencies or any other well known official malian travel agency: even if you don't want to be in a group, they can help you organize your travel. What is really important is that you get in touch with reliable persons!

22-Jun-2012

Hi everybody! The Message Board is open again. Please, remember NO COMMERCIAL AND/OR PROFESSIONAL ADVERTISING.