René Jam Afane
Author of the national anthem
Memorial · National heritage · Cameroon
2024
Year created
Presidency
Commissioned by
National anthem
Work commemorated
Black granite
Base material
Context & Symbolism
The voice that unites
a whole people
Every morning, in school yards, in stadiums and at official ceremonies, Cameroonians sing the words that bring a nation of two hundred ethnic groups together in a single song. Those words were written by René Jam Afane — a man whose work spans the generations, but whose face and memory deserved to be honoured in a tangible and lasting way.
It was the Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon, together with the family of the deceased, that commissioned this memorial. The task given to NOUMSI KEMEGNE NADÈGE, founder of ETS ARTCONCEPT: to sculpt a dignified man, standing, in formal dress, whose figure inspires respect and national pride.
The statue, made life-size, shows René Jam Afane in a solemn, serene pose — neither frozen in conventional heroism nor lost in modesty. He stands there, as he always has in history: present forever in every syllable of the anthem the nation sings.
Set on a stepped black granite base, the statue rises gradually towards the sky, like a tribute climbing from the earth to the collective memory. Today the monument is a place of reflection, pride and learning for future generations.
NOUMSI KEMEGNE NADÈGE
Founder — ETS ARTCONCEPT · Yaounde, Cameroon
Reading the work
Three symbolic dimensions
The upright stance
René Jam Afane stands straight, arms by his sides, in a pose of quiet dignity. This verticality says that a man's memory never bows — it remains, upright and permanent, like the words he left behind.
The stepped base
The black granite steps supporting the statue symbolise rising through culture and language. Each step is a generation standing on the shoulders of the one before — carried by the words of the national anthem.
The anthem as heritage
What René Jam Afane left to Cameroon is not just a song: it is a pact of national unity. Two hundred ethnic groups, one language, one shared song. The monument gives form to this invisible but founding heritage.
National tribute
“His words ring in every Cameroonian heart, morning after morning. This monument is our way of telling him: we do not forget.”
— Meaning of the monument, created by NOUMSI KEMEGNE NADÈGE · ETS ARTCONCEPT
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