Fadel Barro

Fadel Barro is a journalist by training and the co-founder of the Y’en a marre Movement, of which he has been one of the principal architects since its creation in January 2011. As the leader of a “determined youth that turns its back on exile and defeatism,” Fadel Barro—through the slogan, “There is no predetermined fate; there are only responsibilities that have been abandoned”—has transformed civic engagement into a humanistic philosophy of action that has rallied young people across the continent to open up new possibilities. He inspires a generation of activists who are now part of the Afrikki platform, comprising some fifty citizen movements and socially engaged artists across Africa and its diasporas. The first Université Populaire d’Engagement Citoyen (UPEC), held in Dakar in July 2018, helped consolidate and expand the exchange of practices and experiences among these movements, which—drawing spontaneously on the arts and culture—strengthen democracy and freedoms in Africa. A participant in the “Ateliers de la Pensée” since its very first edition, Fadel Barro seeks to bring “Afrotopia” to life through his various civic and political engagements. He recently founded Jammi Gox Yi (Peace of the Lands) in Kaolack. Fadel Barro has been an Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience since 2016 and has coordinated the Platform for the Protection of Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) since 2020.