Ivorian photographer Joana Choumali is the first African and second woman to win the Prix Pictet. Her series Ça va aller (It will be OK) is made up of ornate patterns embroidered on to photographs that depict Grand Bassam after a group of devastating terror attacks in March 2016.
Africans rising
Africans rising Meet two young Somali-American women who won city council seats in Maine and Minnesota
Despite ugly smear campaigns to discredit them, violent threats and racist comments 23-year-olds Safiya Khalid and Nadia Mohamed who are both former refugees still managed to secure historic victories by becoming the first Somali-Americans elected to the city council of Lewiston, Maine and St Louis Park, Minnesota respectively.
Africans rising Senegalese Major Seynabou Diouf awarded 2019 UN Female Police Officer of the Year
Major Seynabou Diouf, has been commended for her “exemplary service, which has a direct and positive impact on the community and the Congolese national police.” The Major currently leads a task force that helps to prevent and end sexual exploitation and abuse with the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC.
Africans rising Meet Lual Mayen a South Sudanese refugee turned gaming CEO
Lual Mayen is a former refugee who is using his past to create social-impact gaming through his company Junub Games. His latest product ‘Salaam’ is a peace-building game that educates players while impacting real refugees through in game purchases.
Africans rising 11-year-old Nigerian Naomi Oloyede delivers impressive speech at the Education for Justice conference in Austria
Nigerian junior high student, Naomi Oloyede who was selected to represent her country at the “The Education for Justice (E4J), High Level conference on Corruption” received a standing ovation from the over 200 global stakeholders in attendance for her rousing speech.
Africans rising Kenya now holds all half and full marathon world records
In athletics no other country is more consistent or more synonymous with victory than the East African country of Kenya. The country currently holds all long-distance road-running world records, both in the full and half marathons.
Africans rising Africa’s first manufactured smartphone Mara is Made in Rwanda
President Paul Kagame’s vision to put Rwanda and Made in Rwanda products on the global market has led to the country producing Africa’s first smartphones. The Mara phone is reportedly the first high specification, affordable smartphone manufactured in Africa.
Africans rising Nigerian neurosurgeon Dr. Olawale Sulaiman is performing free surgeries at personal expense
Nigerian professor of neurosurgery and spinal surgery, Dr. Olawale Sulaiman divides his time between the US and Nigeria to provide affordable and often free healthcare in his home country. The surgeon even negotiated a 25% pay cut with his employer in exchange for longer holidays to Nigeria to facilitate his philanthropy.
Africans rising Meet Salma al-Majidi the first woman to coach male football in Sudan
In Sudan, where a women’s football is religiously banned, Salma Al-Majidi beat the odds to become the first Arab and Sudanese woman to coach men’s football in the Arab world.