This weekend, Farai Mubaiwa will be representing the Africa Matters Initiative at the inaugural African Youth Networks Summit. The summit is being held at Freedom Park in Pretoria, South Africa in the year marking the centenary celebrations of Nelson Mandela’s birth.
The summit's stated aims are to “develop and build a movement that will identify, strengthen and support Africa’s young and emerging leaders…To draw up a blueprint of future activities in developing tomorrow’s leaders, including best practice in supporting potential leaders to bridge the gap between their education and future leadership roles, and the tools future leaders will need to spur ethical leadership and governance throughout the continent.”
To build a support network for the next generation of African leaders, the summit brings together representatives of youth networks, entrepreneurs, corporates and non-governmental organisations.
In her capacity as a founder of AMI, Farai is speaking on a panel on the theme, ‘Creating African Narratives using Traditional and Digital Media.’
Also speaking will be Jabulile Buthelezi, an author, activist and media entrepreneur aiming to create a “reading and writing contemporary generation of young Africans that can compete and participate on all levels at a global scale”, and Ndeye Diarra – a consultant who founded Bleuette (https://www.bleuette.co/), which seeks to shape and share African narratives via their branding, marketing and event planning.
Addressing an audience of 80, Jabulile, Ndeye and Farai will explore the Summit theme according to the following mandate:
“In this digital age, we have the power to create our own story. With the internet and social media at our fingertips, we have the opportunity to counter Afro-pessimistic stereotypes and create multiple stories about Africa."
They will also discuss how they have taken control of creating new African narratives using traditional and digital media, how to engage more youth to create stories about Africa and sharing their hopes for the future of Africa’s stories.
Follow our social media for further information about this inaugural Summit – as AMI connects with a fellow Africans ranging from Graca Machel to Samson Itodo, the convener of the NotTooYoungToRun movement in Nigeria.
