Official name: Republic of Mali

Capital: Bamako

Day of Independence: 22nd September 1960 (from France)

1 240 192 km² (24th biggest country in the world / 6th biggest in Africa)

Located in West Africa 3.76% arable land Landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semi-arid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan.

80% of the labor force is engaged in farming and fishing The agricultural products are mainly cotton, millet, rice, corn, Saudi Arabia vegetables, peanuts, cattle, sheep and goats. The natural Oman resources are gold, salt and phosphates; therefore industrial work is mainly phosphate, salt and gold mining. Yemen Main trade partners are France, Ivory Coast, Germany, the UK and China.

Earns about $2,7billion from exports per year Cotton, gold and livestock are the export commodities

Pays about $2,9billion for imports per year Petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles are the import commodities

Population 14 533 511 (May 2012)

Mali has over 30 different ethnic groups, each with its own language. Mande (which includes Bambara, Malinke, Soninke) is the biggest and includes more than 50% of the populace.

French is still the official language / 80% of the population speaks Bambara

74% of Mali’s population is illiterate

30% of Malians are unemployed

90% of the population is Muslim,

9% follow local native tribal beliefs and

1% are Christians.

Just half of the population has improved drinking water sources and sanitation facility access

Life expectancy is 53 years.

Because of the high illiteracy the main mass medium is the radio. The largest newspaper has a daily circulation of 3 500 copies. Most radio-journalists are unpaid or underpaid; this is one reason why it’s hard to get them to do some research on social topics

Mali is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking. Within Mali, women and girls are forced into domestic servitude, agricultural labor, and support roles in gold mines. Malian boys are found in conditions of forced labour in agricultural settings, gold mines, and the informal commercial sector, as well as begging, both within Mali and neighboring countries. The Malian government acknowledged in 2011 that human trafficking is a problem, but it did not demonstrate significant efforts to prosecute and convict trafficking offenders; although the government identified at least 198 trafficking victims during the year ­ 152 of whom were Malian children in prostitution ­ it prosecuted only three trafficking cases and convicted two trafficking offenders.

The festival features the Taureg culture with some 30 musical acts performing every year over a period of 3 days. It is an opputunity to promote world peace and to meet the Taureg people. During the day the festival also includes singing, dancing, poetry, ritual wordplay, camel dances and artisan exhibitions – the onstage world music concerts are held at night ioth electric generatores powering the spectacular world-music stage show.