Africa is Calling

A personal reflection

Over the past few years I have been travelling to Ghana quite a lot. It’s where my parents live and as we all get older, I want to see them more. I’ve also had the privilege through work (and play) to travel to a number of other countries across Africa that eluded me in my younger years. Generally, because I was either broke or it was explicitly understood that if I was going to spend money going to Africa, I was going to go home. Why would I go anywhere else where I couldn’t stay with one of my relatives? Still makes me smile.

Anyway, the point is this: the more exposure I get to Africa, having visited countries in the North, East, South and of course West (Central soon come), the diversity yet familiarity of people, culture, environment and tenacity draws me closer still. 

Working in Development and Innovation exposes me to two sides of the coin. ‘Need’ and ‘Organised Chaos’ from a development perspective and ‘Creativity’ and ‘Verbosity’ from an innovation perspective. Development and Innovation are built on great intentions to make substantive differences to some of the biggest challenges we face. There have been some awesome projects, programmes and convenings - no doubt - but the spaces are also marred with over intellectualism, saviour complexes, silos based on a warped sense of ownership and ego as well as funding mechanisms that aren’t necessarily appropriate to what they are trying to achieve.

However, having also worked over a couple of decades on various youth engagement and civil society programmes, as well as challenge prizes, I also have a hopeful perspective on how significant the combined strengths and learning from all these approaches, methodologies, funds and experiences can be if thought through collaboratively and systemically. This is where I would want to start talking more about impact, however its relative and an enigma I'd like to explore more at a later date.  

The other narrative that is making me much more reflective at the moment is Diversity and Inclusion. The more I’m involved in conversations about how to make workplaces, senior positions, boards, projects, societies more tolerant, reflective of all its citizens and inclusive, with the intention of stripping away the unconscious biases and downright blatant isms, I’m struck by how long I have been embroiled in this narrative in some form or another. I’m experiencing it (or just allowing myself to be more conscious of it again) in both its subtleties and extremes. The subtleties are much more insidious. My question to self is, how much am I really dealing with how this affects me and how do I practice respecting Diversity and Inclusion in all that I say and do? We all have our biases. I bring this up because I believe that paying lip service to this contributes significantly to disconnects between intention and reality - particularly in development and innovation – so I want to maintain an integrity that actively celebrates diversity in all its forms and explore more ways to effectively build inclusive opportunities.

Africa needs more than good intentions from both within and without to make substantive differences to the things that compel change. The challenges are huge and require systemic approaches based on intentional, strategic shared goals, effective and meaningful collaboration, impact driven innovation and inclusion. But let’s not side-line the great things that Africa is already doing and what it offers the rest of the world and the wealth of opportunity Africa presents. I am so up for celebrating that. Whatever your thoughts abut CNN, ‘African Voices’ is a compelling form of recognition and celebration. 

The rest of the world is sitting up and taking serious notice of Africa. Events like the UK-Africa Investment Summit on 20th January hosted by UK’s Prime Minister is an indication of this. But let's face it, it’s all about the type of investment (not just talking finances) Africa continues to make in itself and the trade-offs made in securing external contributions and investments.

How Africa’s population evolves, and how the continent’s economies develop, will affect nearly everything people near and far assume about their lives today. 

Howard W. French, World Politics Review

But I’m still grappling with what all of that really means to me and where my place is in contributing to stronger outcomes. I’m very much interested in how connecting Africa’s culture, creativity, knowledge, skills, environment and tenacity supports the growth trajectory of the Continent. So, what can I do to make my experience as a black British African woman count for something greater than the sum of its parts?

There is so much to explore and envision. I’m actively seeking out networks, organisations and individuals that will expand and challenge my knowledge and thinking; discuss, debate and guide; provide opportunities to use my experience; want to run challenge prizes, or simply want to connect.

So excited about this new decade. Africa is definitely calling!

p.s. Watch this space for information about the development of Africa Science and Tech Explorer with an amazing group of African Partner organisations applying systems thinking approach to active learning, STEM and enterprise.