African Voices

Raising African Voices in Bristol

‘Africa in decay’, ‘Africa, the hopeless continent’, ‘Africa, the basket case’, and ‘Africa, the dark continent’ are some of the familiar negative images and messages that permeate the mindset of the Western media and policy makers. Yet these are out of tune with the emerging reality on the continent.

Challenging Negative Stereotypes

Some African commentators have called for the re-branding of Africa that takes into consideration the strides that have been made so far by individual countries and by the continent as a whole. This would then dispose of the ‘Africa in decay’ stereotypes. Recent efforts by some British celebrity humanitarian campaigners like Bob Geldof and Bono have seen the upping of African issues on the agenda, with Make Poverty History and Abolition 200 readily coming to mind.

Yet according to our research these efforts have recorded little or no impact on changing the negative mindset about Africa. By extension therefore, things have not changed for the better on the continent because Africans in the UK and other Western countries have not been pro-actively involved save for the show-casing of African musical talents.

African Resource Base

The Resource Base is a directory of African experts, academics, teachers, journalists, medical doctors, artists, story-tellers, entrepreneurs, and anybody in Bristol and the South West of England who thinks they have something to offer. In the long term, the resource base will include a discussion forum and a newsletter. Our aim is for it to pro actively engage and empower largely marginalised Africans to show case their individual skills and capabilities. They will be able to provide their own insight into discussion and policy that directly impacts on their lives.

It will provide a way for African Diaspora communities to exchange ideas, solutions to problems, experiences, news about employment and training opportunities The resource base will also benefit teachers, researchers, academics, opinion leaders and the media as well as the general public who will for the first time have access to a diverse pool of African specialists.

If you are interested in joining the African Resource Base please contact:

Dr. Ibrahim Seaga Shaw, African Voices Coordinator
E: africanvoices@african-initiatives.org.uk
T: 0117 9150001