Celebrating Africa's labours

Interactive all-Africa autobiographical media project set to go online

July 1st will see the launch of an ambitious project to highlight the achievements of African people, and develop a storehouse" of autobiographies focusing on the labours of this continent.

From Cape to Cairo, embracing the vast cultural diversity of the African continent, the People of Africa project seeks to become an interactive and living window on Africa's heart and soul". To account for the dearth of telecommunications on the continent, both the Internet and conventional media like the press, radio and television shall be symbiotically harnessed to ensure widest possible participation and impact.

From the southern tip of Africa, where the origins of humanoid life are found, to one of the Seven Wonders of the World - the pyramids - in Sudan and Egypt to the north, both sung and unsung African heroes will be profiled and engaged in world of exciting activity.

Set within the context of individual labour, from arts and culture to community struggles to science and technology to entrepreneurship, the autobiographical subject shall be tasked with his or her self-revelation in what inspires and sustains his or her works of social enrichment and empowerment.

The People of Africa autobiographical project is aimed at celebrating" African achievements in all areas of human activity, exploring this terrain in ways that lends itself to propagating Africans as capable of immense intellectual and moral prowess. In addition, we should foresee this evolving into animated social debates and networking between subjects and communities across the world", say co-founders Marcia Africa and Martin Fiala of People of Africa. Where the Internet is unable to reach, alternative traditional methods of communication shall be resorted to complement the on-line presence", they say.

The founders further argue that Africa, with its oral story-telling traditions, has much ready-made autobiographical material which only needs to be harvested and transferred into written form". Among the telling quotes People of Africa chair Marcia Africa bandies about is by Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe, Anthills of the Savannah (1987):
"...it is only the story that can continue beyond the war and the warrior.

It is the story that outlives the sound of war-drums and the exploits of brave fighters.

It is the story...that saves our progeny from blundering like blind beggars into the spikes of the cactus fence.

The story is our escort; without it, we are blind.

Does the blind man own his escort? No, neither do we the story; rather it is the story that owns us and directs us."

What social interactions are proposed? For example, advocacy --whether based on developmental aspirations or threats to development -- shall have sound foundations in the integration of the individual with his or her community environment, history, struggle and aspirations. The ingredients of foreknowledge of the others life journey and inspiration shall encourage communication and cut across ethnic, social class, gender and other barriers.

Nominations to People of Africa autobiographical galleries shall be based upon the well-spring of community acknowledgement of individuals who have made a distinguished mark upon Africa's fortunes, across a tapestry of different talent and industry.

A shining example is Philip Emeagwali. A Nigerian who revolutionised the oil extraction industry with his stunning computations, Philip was born into a life of extreme poverty compounded by civil war in his motherland.
Reflecting on his childhood, Emeagwali says: I thought we were the poorest family in the world".
Despite all the poverty and dislocation, the rigorous mathematical mental exercises to which Philip was subjected to by his father instilled in him a sense of order and purpose. Social disorder, contrasted with the psychological order of maths, helped propel Philip to a well deserved fame.

As former US President Bill Clinton observed on his State visit to Nigeria: ...there [is] another Philip Emeagwali -- or hundreds of them -- or thousands of them -- growing up in Nigeria...looking into the faces of children...You never know what potential is in their mind and in their heart; what imagination they have; what they have already thought of and dreamed of that may be locked in because they don't have the means to take it out...."

With a myriad of autobiographical journeys vested with situational inspirations of sterling labour, these thoughts and dreams" may well be unlocked" by sheer force of example.

International advertising firm, Saatchi and Saatchi, has recently partnered People of Africa. Managing Director, Eric Frank, says: Our primary effort will be to support the growth of awareness for People of Africa and its sponsors by applying our marketing and communication skills and those of our affiliate partners across Africa. People of Africa and Saatchi & Saatchi are fully committed to igniting a resurgence of pride, dignity and value in Africas peoples that, to date, has not been fully appreciated or recognised. Our Global Vision is; 'To become the hothouse for world changing Ideas and it follows that as a pan-African Ideas Company we are not only beholden to the business of communicating and advertising products and services but also to the social, cultural and value upliftment of all people."

The People of Africa project has been endorsed by Ravi Naidoo of the National Labour and Economic Development Institute, a research and policy tank of COSATU. He writes: "The People of Africa project is developing into an invaluable showcase of Africa's achievements and future potential. The project has the potential to encourage and forge social and economic interactions on a large scale, especially in the context of its reliance on extensive media partnerships, synergies and communication methodologies appropriate to the African environment."

Among the launchpad strategies deployed by People of Africa in realising their goals is to harness the autobiographical medium towards human resource development objectives. In becoming members" of People of Africa, organisations may acknowledge the special contributions of their employees by including them among the celebrated autobiographical galleries". In the task of articulating the source of their success, employees gain the motivation to sustain their efforts as well as attain the high" of being recognised alongside popular culture celebrities". There is also the additional sense of contributing ones success to the community as both an example and role-model. Rewarding employees with social and well-publicised acknowledgement for work well done" is widely acknowledged to be a powerful motivational factor. All this also reinforces loyalty to the organisation, thus contributing to the bottom line".
For more information or to support People of Africa in their quest, whether through nominations, writing or otherwise, visit http://www.peopleofafrica.org or email africanow@peopleofafrica.org Telephone (011) 614-4584.