Learn about the
Founder/ Executive Director
Yasin Kiraga Misago (Executive Director)
Yasin is an experienced event promoter, producer, experienced artistic director and manager for upcoming and professional recording artists. As the founder/Executive and Artistic Director for African Descent Festival, he is responsible for guidance, management and strategic leadership of the team.
Yasin is responsible for the overall design and planning of the festival with the help of the planning committee and sub-committees. As a producer of the festival, Yasin work with volunteer coordinator and festival administrator to plan volunteer management, logistics, and execution of work.
He created application forms, contracts, agreements, sit plan, business plan, strategic plan, write grants proposals and report to the board of directors. Graduated from UBC with BA in Political Science and International Relations from UBC and Business management training and education certificates and Human Rights.
Yasin is a very well known Special event planner, esteemed festival and special event producer, promoter and community organiser.
He created Africa Canada Music tour which brings high profile African celebrities to expose and promote Africa Canada music across different provinces in collaborated with local festivals to promote Arts and culture for people of African descent in Canada.
He has organised and founded number of music festival production all success with large number of people.
Yasin is a multi-award winner in event production community building and he has promoted produced so many festivals both in Canada and outside and last year, he co-created Edmonton Afrofest and Parade which the parade attended to eight thousands people with a festival turnout 20000 people.
In Vancouver Yasin produced the African Descent Festival for four years with capacity growth of 15000 audiences. He has co-organised, promoted and and produced many different festivals both in Canada, and Carnivals in Canada and in Vancouver;
Yasin has been one of the major promoters behind WALK FOR Reconciliation Parade, the biggest Parade in Vancouver, worked for supporting Afrofest Edmonton creation and consultation, Ottawa African Festival, NUNAVUT African Festival, partnered with Afrofest Toronto on Africa Canada Music tour, Give a chance Festival Surrey BC, now working with City of Richmond to create Africa Zone in World festival which Yasin manage as program director.
He is professional experience Artists in so of parade and music productions, planning and event strategist and has assisted so many other community events in Vancouver. Historian, Urban historian, community historian, curator, researcher, writer and Museum and Art gallery designer as a curator and Artistic professional founder skills needed in parade designs and curetting floats.
For the last years, Yasin received awards from the Vancouver City, United Empire Loyalists of Canada, Global Peace Alliance as one the dynamic community builder leaders and received many from the African community and SFU as an inspiration personality to African Descent Canadians.
Yasin worked closely with the City of Vancouver for Hogan’s Alley African community planning to explore how the city can build partnership with African descent community to recognise people of African descent for destruction of their community in Vancouver and Yasin played major role to the formation of North False Creek committe and involving African descent community Hogan’s Alley working group and how the City can recognise African descent Community in Vancouver.
He started a Cultural Centre project at Hogan’s Alley as a recognition for African descent community which the City approved.
For last 6 years, Yasin has been organising heritage walking tour to take people in Downtow Vancouver Strathcona to explore the history for people of African descent from 1880-1972 when the City destroyed the community to build the free way Georgia and Dunsmuir.
Because the City plan to remove the Viaducts, Yasin created the first plan African Descent Cultural Centre which was submitted to City public hearing October 2016 as an incubator blueprint for creating African descent Cultural cent in Vancouver with festival to bring back people of African descent to Vancouver.