Across the continent · Media
Africa is still mostly described by people who do not live here
The stories that reach the world about African communities are rarely told by those communities, in their own languages, on their own terms.
Why it matters
When the account of a place is written elsewhere, the problems inside that account are chosen elsewhere too — and so are the solutions. A community described as a crisis gets aid; a community described as a market gets investors; a community that describes itself gets to say what it actually needs.
The tools to change this are already in every pocket. What is missing is not equipment but a standard: consent that is recorded, material that is given back, and a route from the story to somebody who can act on it.
What we intend to do
- Publish stories only in the voice of the person they belong to, with a visible consent record on every one.
- Train community recorders through Story Lab so the capacity stays where the story is.
- Treat every story as an intake form: the problem it surfaces is routed to a member with the relevant skill.
The first story against this issue
A community radio station, a market, a cooperative — anywhere people already tell their own story and nobody outside has listened.
If that is you, or someone you know, write to us. It will be recorded only with their consent, in their own voice, and given back to them — that is the standard.