The project “Professionalization and Networking of the AGEP (Associations for the Management and Maintenance of Vodùn Squares in Porto-Novo)” follows the series of international workshops in Porto-Novo and continues the Éclosions Urbaines program, initiated in 2015 in Porto-Novo. Led by the association Ouadada-Bénin, funded by the European Union, and carried out in partnership with the Communauté d’Agglomération de Cergy-Pontoise, the city of Porto-Novo, the School of African Heritage, and Les Ateliers de Cergy in 2025–26, it aims to strengthen the role of Beninese civil society in promoting a local and inclusive cultural tourism, centered on the tangible and intangible vodùn heritage. This heritage, deeply rooted in the history and life of communities, becomes here a vector of social cohesion, sustainable economic development, and intercultural and intergenerational exchange.

At the heart of the action are the AGEP (Associations for the Management and Maintenance of Vodùn Squares in Porto-Novo), created by neighborhood residents to ensure the sustainability of renovated squares. The project seeks to structure, professionalize, and federate these associations, giving them the means to act sustainably. Concretely, it formalizes these structures, strengthens their capacities and equipment, and supports them towards transparent and effective management as well as networking.

An essential component is the support for the creation of income-generating micro-projects (IGPs) linked to cultural tourism, enabling AGEP to put into practice the skills acquired and consolidate their financial autonomy: ritual and craft shops, bar-ciné-clubs, neighborhood restaurants, or publishing and printing workshops. These initiatives promote local know-how and create convivial spaces for meeting and transmission.

Each year, a major cultural event around vodùn strengthens the visibility of the associations and mobilizes local communities, such as the Mois du Hunwê 2025, which brought together fourteen vodùn squares around rituals, songs, dances, and celebrations.

The project also integrates a digital dimension (tablets, videos, illustrated tales, virtual tours, interactive games) that now enrich the visitor experience and contribute to a connected cultural tourism. Beninese visual artists, playwrights, musicians, and actors have been mobilized to produce original content, highlighting the living richness of vodùn traditions.

These initiatives reflect a collective dynamic where tradition and innovation meet, consolidating the place of vodùn in Porto-Novo’s identity. They confirm the project’s vocation: to make vodùn squares living spaces of heritage, creativity, and sustainable development.