The French American School of Rhode Island hosts a celebration of francophone West African cultures featuring a performance by master percussionist Sidy Maïga from Bamako, the capital of Mali, known for its artistic and cultural prominence within the Mandé community of West Africa. Maïga moved from Mali to the US in 2006 and performs and teaches throughout the region. In 2011, Ma?ga was awarded a Folk Arts Fellowship from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, and was also selected as a MacColl Johnson Fellow for Music Composition by the Rhode Island Foundation. The event will also include a sampling of West African regional cuisine and poetry by French poets of West African heritage. The celebration of francophone West Africa at the French American School is part of a month-long international event called La Francophonie that honors cultural and linguistic diversity of the French language worldwide. Over the years the French American School community has included many faculty, staff and students of West African heritage and FASRI is proud to honor this connection.