Beninese singer-songwriter, actress, and activist Angélique Kidjo won her fourth Grammy at the 62nd GRAMMY Awards for her album ‘Celia’. The matriarch passed the baton in her acceptance speech saying, “The new generation of artists coming from Africa are going to take you by storm, and the time has come.”
Kylie Kiunguyu
Africans rising South Sudanese teens develop ocean cleaning robot in STEM challenge
The 2019 FIRST Global Challenge brought attention to the troubling amount of pollutants that find their way into the world’s oceans. Participating teams learned about real-world challenges related to cleaning up the world’s oceans and got a chance to create machines that could tackle these challenges
Africans rising The young female duo redefining laboratory science in Namibia
Loide Uushona and Pendapala Shiyuka are co-founders of Namibia’s youngest owned Medical laboratory. The young women are pushing to create innovative solutions in a field that has long been stagnated and are encouraging other African youth to do the same.
Politics and Society Sierra Leone’s steps to end Female Genital Mutilation
United Nations Women reported that traditional cutters in Sierra Leone have pledged to abandon and advocate against FGM which is still not illegal in the country. This added support will contribute to the clampdown on initiation ceremonies by the secret societies that uphold the practice.
Africans rising Meet Ivorian student O’Plerou Grebet the creator of culturally relevant West African emojis
Over the past two years, Ivorian student O’Plerou Grebet has designed over 350 emojis that celebrate African culture, history and contemporary life. He incorporated all his emojis from his project into an app called ‘Zouzoukwa’, so that Africans can use emojis ‘that correspond to their realities’.
Politics and Society West Africa’s coast rises as world’s most dangerous piracy zone
The West African coast specially the Gulf of Guinea has become the most dangerous piracy zone. It accounted for more than 90% of global crew member kidnappings last year according to the International Maritime Bureau.
Politics and Society Why decreasing emissions further is not Africa’s solution to the climate threat
Africa contributes less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions which is why many feel the fight against climate change is the responsibility of the first world. UNEP however details that no other continent will be struck as severely by the impacts of climate change as Africa due to its considerably limited adaptive capacity
Lifestyle Everyday women riders of Mali
It is still uncommon to see women commercial motorcyclists in many African cities. In Bamako, Mali however women are not only commercial riders but every day women use motorcycles to go about their daily lives.
Arts, Culture and Sport Trevor Noah receives three nominations for the 51st NAACP Image awards
South African comedian Trevor Noah received three nominations at the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) Image Awards. Nominees are honoured for black excellence in all areas of the entertainment industry, including film, television, literacy and music.