ANF April Newsletter

Hello Reader, 

April reminded us that African women are a force.

What's happening at Africa No Filter

1.We’re tackling the narrative about climate change in Africa: Greta Thunberg is the voice of climate advocacy in Africa. Our latest report, Climate Action in Africa: Is Africa Sleepwalking to disaster? investigates narratives about climate change in Africa. There are no African voices, disaster tweets, and geopolitical tensions dominate. Read more.

2. We were on Straight Talk Africa to discuss why the media needs to tell alternative African stories: Africa’s thriving. Creative industries like film, fashion and music are making a huge mark globally. It was the second-fastest-growing tourism market pre-Covid and has the world’s most active start-up ecosystem. But as we found in the Business in Africa Narrative Report and How African Media Covers Africa, stories about the continent remain skewed towards conflict, corruption, poverty, poor leadership and disease. Natasha Kimani joined Haydé Adams on the Voice of America to unpack narrative.

3. We love this representation of Africa: What do you get when you put a food blogger, documentary producer and filmmakers in the same community? A very dynamic side of Africa. We partnered with Yasmine Fofana of AfroFoodie, Oluwaseun Babalolaof SOJU, and AFRISOS, the Tanzanian NGO powering the next generation of narrative-shifting visual storytellers. Catch Yasmine’s delicious food tour of Ivory Coast and Senegal to see what makes them foodie destinations. SOJU’s YouTube seriesfollows the life and times of young people around Africa to explore culture, fashion, creativity, politics, and more. AFRISOS’s underwater filmmaking mentorship program is currently underway.Check them out.

4. We partnered with Jahazi Journal to unpack restitution: The British Museum has more than 100,000 Egyptian artefacts. That’s almost as much as the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. It’s problematic that African artefacts are still held in private collections and by museums in the West, even as global conversations about addressing colonial legacies unfold. The latest edition of Jahazi Journal, Reclaiming Our Cultural Heritage, engages with art restitution through 28 essays by academics and journalists from across the continent. It’s timely, powerful andfree to download here.

5. We want more of Young, Famous and African: Love it or hate, the Netflix show got the world talking about a lot of issues, including parenting, relationships, business, wealth and diversity of narratives that are missing about pop culture, Africa’s creative industry and African youth. Read here.

6. We went behind the scenes at an artist’s studio for a conversation on inspiration and creativity: Emerging Artist Fellow, Mahoutondji Kinmagbo, took over our IG to showcase his work and talk about his upcoming animated short film about a teenage girl passionate about living in a world where creativity is a way of life.

Meet our latest Narrative Champions

What’s sex with changing narratives about Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in Africa? The first cohort of Storify Africa is all about alternative stories that go beyond the usual stereotypes and taboos.

1. Nduta Waweru is a Kenyan journalist and author of a collection of poetry, Nostalgia. She is an alum of the Young African Leader Initiative and 2021 Women in News fellow. She wants to tackle taboos about sex and reproductive health.

2. Nigerian journalist, poet and essayist Hauwa Shaffii Nuhu earned her reputation through nuanced reporting of migration and displacement. She’s a 2018 resident of the Ebedi Writers Residency. She was inspired to become a narrative champion because she “has seen how harmful stereotypes can be to Africans and our history”.

3. Zimbabwean journalist and photographer Jacqueline Muchazoreka has been writing about gender, sexual reproductive health and sustainable development for over six years. She holds a Bachelor of Science Honors degree in Media and Society Studies and a Master of Science degree in Development Studies from Women’s University in Africa.

4. Kiven Nsodzefe, from Cameroon, writes on issues related to human rights, gender, crisis, environment, fact-checking and sports. She’s a stringer for the New York Times and the Littoral region’s bureau chief at Cameroon’s only national English daily newspaper, The Guardian Post.

Shifting Narratives
- documenting the narrative progress we’re seeing 

The Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development is building a presidential center and library. It will be the first in the world to be founded by a woman president. An all-women team of African architects will design the library. Mariam Kamara will be the lead architect, with Sumayya Vally from South Africa and Karen Barnes from Liberia as part of the team.

The rise of Elsa Majimbo continues to show that authentic stories are powerful. The Kenyan comedian was givenan award by Harvard University“for being a force in entertainment”. She also announced thather first movie, Elsa, will premiere at the Tribeca film festival. Talk about turning viral fame into impact!

Ugandan LGBTI+ activist and human rights defender Dr Frank Mugisha was co-awarded the 2022 Civil Rights Defender of the Year Awardfor his advocacy. He is the executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda.

Literature is not what the world thinks about Namibia, but not for long. Author Rémy Ngamije is changing the narrative with Doek!, the organisation that he started to platform Namibian writers and literature. The first edition of theDoek literary festival, held in Windhoek, featured Zukiswa Wanner, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Femi Kayode and Jean McNeil.

Sampa the Great became thefirst Zambian artist to play at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Coachella is one of the biggest music festivals in the world. It’s a massive stage for a country whose music is not always on global stages. More power to the rapper.

See you in May. Until then, follow @Africanofilter on social media for hot opportunities and more content inspired by Africa as we know it - a continent on the move.

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