Swahili Cultural Institute (SCI) is a language and cultural institute that promotes the preservation, learning, knowledge of Swahili and other African languages, cultures and heritage.
Our Language, Our Culture ( Lugha yetu, Utamaduni Wetu)
Our Alternate(Swahili) Name is: Taasisi ya Sanaa ya Kiswahili
With the rise of multilingualism, and the lack of a broader adoption of African languages, Swahili Cultural Institute helps in encouraging intercultural dialogue, building inclusive knowledge society, encouraging creativity while preserving cultural heritage.
There are over 200 million speakers of Kiswahili spread across East, Central and southern Africa, as well as over 200,000 speakers in the USA(as of end 2018). There are 27 Universities in the USA that teach Swahili and other African languages. This necessitates an increasing need for a platform that promotes the interaction, consolidation and competency in Swahili and other African languages across sectors and facets of daily life.
As a knowledge and content center, SCI provides a platform for the millions of the unique untold stories to be highlighted and celebrated in its original form.
Based in New York City, NY, Swahili Cultural Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and registered with the New York State Charities Bureau .
Our audience comprises African diaspora, tourists, students, academicians, expatriates, United Nation Staff, Diplomats, artists, linguists and cultural enthusiasts.
To encourage more intercultural dialogue, build an inclusive knowledge society and inspire creativity while preserving our cultural heritage.
To support our mission, we run a Language Program that offers online Swahili classes, provide translations, create and curate knowledge resources, and our Cultural Program which promotes and showcases Swahili and African culture through poetry, music, art exhibitions, book reading, story-telling, film, fashion, food, theater, music and dance.
Our vision is to be a center of excellence that promotes Swahili language and supports a positive narrative about Africa.
Since the late 1990s and early 2000s, there has been a growing population of first-generation immigrants from Africa living in the Americas Many of these professionals became residents of the U.S.A. and with this, there’s increasing need to preserve their culture from their home-countries. With this, their young and growing children continue to face the prospect of totally neglecting their parents’ lingua-franca, heritage and culture. In addition, a lot of African stories are left untold because some of the original content cannot be translated, which leaves unique insights in limbo.
It is from this impetus that a group of six New York professionals came together in January 2020 with the aim of having a resource that could enable their children and other interested parties learn Swahili and promote its use and the wider African languages and culture. That is how Swahili Cultural Institute was created.
Help us preserve and promote Swahili culture through education, research, and community programs.
Our events calendar keeps you connected to opportunities to experience, learn, and engage with Swahili culture throughout the year.
