ANF October Newsletter

Hello Reader, 

Find out how David Chappelle, Lewis Hamilton and South African poet Xabiso Vili are shining a spotlight on the best of Africa.

What’s Happening at Africa No Filter

2. We were out and about: Lagos hosted the first-ever showcase of the Future Africa: Telling Stories, Building Worlds XR program that’s boosting the use of Virtual Reality in African storytelling. In Johannesburg, the program was featured at the Fakugezi Digital Festival, where we featured on a panel about XR and how it can shift narratives about Africa.

3. bird has a new editor-in-chief: Award-winning Nigerian journalist Ndu Okoh joined the bird team to oversee all aspects of the agency’s editorial output. She has held positions in top regional and global news and media houses including Agence France Presse, The Nation Media Group and The Standard Group. She’ll work with more than 80 contributing journalists across Africa to curate content for over 50 media outlets that are subscribed to use bird content for free. More.

4. We wrote about the dos and don’ts of travelling Africa: There have been two high-profile visitors to Africa in recent months. Samantha Power, the USAID administrator, was the more traditional visitor who reinforced the stereotypical narratives about Africa as a broken continent. On the other hand, F1 champion Lewis Hamilton gave the world a rare glimpse of the continent as a safe and adventurous destination. Read Moky’s Musings in New African magazine for more.

Keeping up with ANF Narrative Champions

1. South African poet Xabiso Vili was recently crowned the best Slam Poet in the world. He beat poets from 40 countries to win the 2022 World Slam Poetry Competition. Watch.

2. Does Africa have an image problem, can you teach entrepreneurship and how do you stop the brain drain? These are some of the topics tackled on the TRUE Africa podcast. Join Claude Grunitzky and African leaders as they unpack critical issues and African solutions for African problems. The podcast is available in English, Portuguese and French.

3. Ivorian graphic designer O'Plérou Grebet’s mission to represent Africa via emojis keeps gaining momentum, and now anyone with Apple, WhatsApp and Android apps can express themselves through African symbols. He's also turned them into digital art anyone can own. Check out his NFTs here.

4. How do you empower the next generation of emerging authors to tell compelling stories that can travel around the continent and the world? Brittle Paper’s The Writing Room offers free creative writing courses on Language and Style, Plot, Character Development, Themes and Setting from Ellah Wakatama, Zukiswa Wanner, Chimeka Garricks, Molara Wood and Eghosa Imasuen.

Shifting Narratives
- documenting the narrative progress we’re seeing

Nigerian artist Tems keeps making strides. Her latest feat is co-writing Lift Me Up, Rihanna’s first single after a six-year break from recording. The song is featured on the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack. Tems wrote the song for Chadwick Boseman.

South African designer Thebe Magugu keeps taking his label to the world stage. His latest collection is a collaboration with Dior, and features a tote bag, t-shirt, scarf, and bucket hat.

Nollywood is the second producer of films globally - and comedian Dave Chappelle has his eye on the industry. He told a podcaster that he wants to work with Nollywood producers. “I’ve been watching them…these people can solve problems with so little resources; this is what these African directors are like.”

That’s it. Remember to follow us on social media at @Africanofilter.

Want to receive this newsletter in French? Subscribe here.