The Role of Youth in Shifting Narratives of Africa

The Role of Youth in Shifting Narratives of Africa

June 7, 2023 at at 8am-9am PST
Organized by the African Diaspora Network and Africa No Filter

Narratives around the world often shed a negative light on Africa. Stories published by the media have been particularly notorious for painting a bleak picture of the continent. According to the “Africa in the Media” report published by the Africa Narrative

Only 13% of entertainment storylines that mentioned Africa included an African character, and 80% of the roles were small.
Of 32 African topics tracked across all TV programming ranging from animals and culture to travel and immigration, only three had more positive than negative mentions: history, music, and sports.
Business and the economy accounted for just 8% of news coverage about Africa.

The African diaspora plays a pivotal role in changing the narrative of Africa. The African Diaspora Network, based in the Silicon Valley, Santa Clara, CA, is made up of many diasporan leaders and institutions who are making a tremendous impact in Africa and the communities in which they live.

Among these leaders are students who are invested in creating change – whether it be in promoting a positive narrative in their daily interactions with fellow students and professors, creating impact-driven businesses with the continent in mind, and intentionally engaging in cultural experiences where they can be a part of conversations around Africa.

Moderator

Victor Mark-Onyegbu is Grants Lead at Africa No Filter, overseeing grantmaking strategy, operations and programing in both the Arts and Culture and the Media sectors. Before joining ANF, he was Regional Program Manager at the British Council, responsible for delivering on the British Council’s creative economy programs in Nigeria, West Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), including a cross-regional program, New Narratives, spanning SSA, North Africa and the devolved nations of the UK. Victor has held senior positions at the Nigerian Arts Council, including as Senior Cultural Services Officer, supporting the delivery of national festivals and expos and coordinating the Council’s international engagements with international and multi-lateral cultural agencies.

Speakers

Ambrose is a 2019 Mandela Washington Fellow originally from Uganda. He holds a Master of Science in Technology & Entrepreneurship from the University of Notre Dame. Ambrose is a fellow at enFocus, Inc., working with the City of South Bend Mayor’s Office managing the High Skill Immigration Fund. He is the Founder of Kinga Safety, a personal safety app for young women based in South Bend, IN. For young women that need to be safe from sexual assault, Kinga is a widget application that educates and empowers them to detect, avoid and de-escalate sexual assault situations in a way that is accessible, discrete, personalized.

Mehret has been trained in public health for development. Mehret’s work focused on the Data Informed Platform for Health project, which aims to promote the use of local data for decision-making, priority-setting and planning; and to provide the tools and knowledge for improved decision-making at the district level utilizing the available data.

Mastercard Foundation Scholar Alumni, inspirational speaker, fitness specialist Micheal Omeka is an inspirational speaker and fitness specialist. Hailing from rural Africa, he started hawking ice water on the street at the age of seven to support his family. Nevertheless, his unyielding belief in Nelson Mandela’s message that “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” propelled him to fight for a better future and relentlessly pursue his dream for higher education…on scholarship. His hard work and efforts eventually paid off when he won the prestigious Mastercard Foundation Scholarship to attend UC Berkeley. There, he studied International and Global studies and currently sits on the MasterCard Foundation Alumni Network Committee.