Twitter campaign shines light on positives within African culture

There is a need for more positive images of African culture.

African culture positive images

The media has done a good job portraying Africa in a not so pleasant light. The images that you often see tend to show emaciated children, drought, blade-wielding combatants in civil war, AIDS patients and other imagery reinforcing the old ‘dark continent’ narrative. Many Africans who know the truth are fighting to change this image. A new campaign called #TheAfricaTheMediaNeverShowsYou is aiming to do just that.

Seventeen-year-old Rachel Markham, from Ghana, felt the world needed to know that the Africa the media shows does not define the entire continent by starting the campaign “The Africa the Media Never Shows You” via Twitter.

“Because of what the media shows people on almost a daily basis, yes, we do have our own share of problems, but is that all you are going to showcase?” she said while speaking with the Amsterdam News. “Behind all of the poverty is success … and yet there is not enough coverage done on those aspects of Africa.”

Campaign on Twitter

Since last month the campaign has attracted over 60,000 tweets. The tweets are usually accompanied by breathtaking, beautiful images of the African landscape, people and wildlife. The images show the achievements of well-known Africans and also the innovative nature of ordinary African people.

The campaign is changing the way people see Africa and African culture.

Diana Salah, who helped spread the campaign’s popularity, told Fusion magazine last week that for her the campaign was to remove people’s shame towards the continent from the general stereotypes about Africa.

“I got involved because growing up I was made to feel ashamed of my homeland, with negative images that paint Africa as a desolate continent,” she said.

African culture positive images explained

There are 56 countries in Africa and over 1,500 spoken languages. By displaying modern art, fashion, nature, healthy children with big smiles, metropolitan areas and many more aspects of African culture and lifestyle in pictures posted by Twitter users, they all show the diversity of the continent.

It is my sincerest hope that @GES2015Kenya will open the world’s eyes to #TheAfricaTheMediaNeverShowsYou! @CNN @USIP pic.twitter.com/C8wEaGXoUP

— Jabari Smith (@jabarinspires) July 25, 2015

Sights of Abuja, #TheAfricaTheMediaNeverShowsYou pic.twitter.com/mhcXId9weg

— Ifeanyi Nsofor (@ekemma) July 19, 2015

World Heritage Sites…like Vic Falls in Zambia! Or as we know it: Checkpoint Zambia! #TheAfricaTheMediaNeverShowsYou pic.twitter.com/egHFKERXqq

— Put Foot Rally (@PutFootRally) July 20, 2015