Over the years, Nigeria has seen its fair share of oil spill devastation, and with a reported 1.5 million tons of oil spilled in the Niger Delta over the last 50 years, the ongoing risk continues to raise concern. Equal to one “Exxon Valdez” spill each year in the Delta, many Nigerians continue to…
Twitter Fadumo Dayib – leading Somalia Fadumo Dayib has the goal of becoming Somalia’s first female president. After earning her master’s degree in health care and public health, she became involved with the United Nations which seeded her passion and drive to help the people of Somalia. Aiming to run for the 2016 elections,…
Hiplife is a music phenomenon that fuses high life and hip hop. This Ghanaian musical style is rapidly gaining momentum throughout West Africa and abroad– specifically in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Germany. Hiplife can be traced back to the early 1980’s with artists such as K.K. Kabobo and Gyedu Blay Ambolley.…
Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa, rose to power following his party’s victory in 2009, and was recently reelected in the 2014 elections. President Zuma is no stranger to controversy. In 2005 he was charged with rape, but was quickly acquitted. He has also battled legal allegations of racketeering and corruption. His main…
John Pombe Magufuli, was elected President of Tanzania on October 25, 2015. Backed by Chama Cha Mapinduzi, Tanzania’s dominant political party, Magufuli secured the election with 58% of the votes to Edward Lowassa’s 40%. About the Bulldozer Growing up as the son of a peasant farmer, Magufuli found it important to pursue education and…
Inspired by Nelson Mandela’s dream to help transform lives and advance society, Schools for Africa was founded in 2004 by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Hamburg Society, and UNICEF. Promoting equality for education to over 13 different African countries, this initiative has helped more than 30 million children get the proper education, schools, teachers…
The spoken word scene is taking root in Ghana, allowing both men and women to bond together and promote community development and self expression. If you have ever been to a spoken word performance, then you know how intense, emotional, and real those words can feel. In the early 2000’s, EhaLaKasa was leading…
On December 17, 2015, President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya announced that the country will host the next Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation. On the same day, terrorists seized a police vehicle in Kenya’s coastal county of Lamu. It was never clearer than at that moment that the country was in the midst of…
Marwan Zakhem, an Accra based collector and business owner, is doing what he can to expose and support the contemporary art scene in his home country. His goal is to change local and international perceptions of his country by opening Gallery1957. “I wanted to create a commercial platform for artists based here to provide increased…
Aurora James is fashion’s new IT girl, enjoying profiles in the hottest fashion magazines the world over. Her love of fashion began at an early age when she stumbled into her mother’s closet and ran her fingers over the delicate silks and satins of her vintage kimonos and tribal moccasins. A native of…
There was a time when the Syrian Arab Republic was not the site of an out-of-control civil war where government forces carry out chemical weapon attacks against civilians, and where an abominable terrorist organization has set out to destroy rich archaeological treasures dating back several centuries. Less than a decade ago, Syria was a country…
In late 2016, Fadumo Dayib made history when she announced her candidacy for the presidential elections of Somalia, thus marking the first time a female politician aspired to the highest office of the troubled nation. Dayib was not in Somalia at the time of the announcement, which she made from Finland—the nation that welcomed her…
Esi Edugyan is an award-winning novelist whose cultural heritage and diverse education fuels her rich stories of history, race, and finding one’s place in the world. Born in 1977 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Edugyan began writing poetry as a teenager and her talents were soon recognized by a high school teacher. She started her…
Time Magazine has released their annual list of the most influential people of 2017. The list includes important figures including world leaders, artists, and athletes. The 2017 list includes a number of African and African-American individuals of note. Among those who made the list this year are athletes LeBron James, Simone Biles, and Colin Kaepernick, musicians John Legend and Alicia Keys, actress Viola…
