The Southern African Development Community (SADC) recently agreed to adopt Kiswahili as the fourth official language. The decision was greeted with interest and it has been hailed as a progressive step. What are your thoughts?
Africans rising Zimbabwean scholar Tererai Trent among the first ten life-size statues erected in New York to honour women championing gender equality
Tererai Trent is among ten women including media mogul Oprah Winfrey, conservationist Jane Goodall, activist Janet Mock and chemist Tracy Dyson whose statues have been unveiled in New York. The women are being honoured for their contributions towards gender equality by Statues For Equality
Arts and Culture Destination Festivals: Tanzania’s Ongala Music Festival – “the festival of conscience”
The second annual Ongala Music Festival took place on August 23 to 25 in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. The festival named after Tanzanian musician Remmy Ongala highlights musical talents and creative collaborations in East Africa.
Lifestyle How African footballers who play in Europe spend their money
A complex set of factors influence how African footballers make financial decisions about the money they earn abroad.
Africans rising Ethiopian writer Maaza Mengiste hand signs three forklifts of her new book The Shadow King
Ethiopian writer Maaza Mengiste has signed three forklifts of her latest book The Shadow King. The Shadow King is her second book, and it took her nearly four hours and three pens to sign the books.
Arts and Culture How a rural community hopes to retain spiritual life undermined by western ways
The Bomvana say the global development agenda has created division because it sees people as individuals rather than primarily as members of a collective.
Politics and Society US journalist refers to South African President Ramaphosa as “unidentified leader”
An American journalist Darlene Superville stirred the hornet’s nest after she tweeted a picture of global leaders at the G7 Summit in Biarritz, France, identifying three heads of state except for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, whom she referred to as an “unidentified leader”. The reference was heavily criticised by Twitter users, seen as one steeped in sheer ignorance and disrespect.
Arts and Culture Kenya’s Wamlambez Wamnyonyez anthem and Nigeria’s Soapy and freedom of expression
Wamlambez and Soapy are two popular songs in Kenya and Nigeria respectively sang by millennial musicians. While this is good for freedom of expression, we question why this popularity and buy-in has not extended to political expression in the two countries.
Lifestyle Facebook to add 10 more African languages for third-party fact-checking program
According to a joint statement by Africa Check and Facebook, the number of languages covered by the social media platforms fact-checking effort will expand by 10 in an effort to monitor the accuracy of news shared on Facebook and curb fake news