It is ten years since Nelson Mandela’s passing in 2013. Mandela dedicated his life to the fight for freedom, self-determination and equality. His urgent ideals inspire FACE FORWARD - stories for change, a festival of talks, meet & greets, music, art, dance and films, as well as the fourth edition of the ZAM Nelson Mandela Lecture, which this year will be presented by three inspiring thinkers; Panashe Chigumadzi (Zimbabwe), Marcus Tebogo Desando (South Africa) and Jerry Afriyie (Netherlands/Ghana)....
It is ten years since Nelson Mandela’s passing in 2013. Mandela dedicated his life to the fight for freedom, self-determination and equality. His urgent ideals inspire FACE FORWARD - stories for change, a festival of talks, meet & greets, music, art, dance and films, as well as the...
Repression and resistance: how a new generation challenges African autocrats and their international allies A transnational investigation by Ngina Kirori, Emmanuel Mutaizibwa, Chief Bisong Etahoben, Elizabeth BanyiTabi, Theophilus Abbah and Brezh Malaba ‘It’s your man who did this!’ shouts a woman at a village meeting in Nakuru County, Kenya. She is filmed by Kenyan journalists as she points at another woman, a supporter of a powerful local politician known for associating with gangsters. In the...
Repression and resistance: how a new generation challenges African autocrats and their international allies A transnational investigation by Ngina Kirori, Emmanuel Mutaizibwa, Chief Bisong Etahoben, Elizabeth BanyiTabi, Theophilus Abbah and Brezh Malaba ‘It’s your man who did this!’...
'There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river and go upstream to see who is pushing them in.' (Ascribed to the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu) Executive summary Many young people are risking everything to leave home in search of greener pastures within and outside Africa. They are pulled by promises of jobs and wealth, but they are also pushed: by autocratic leaders who treat state coffers as piggy banks and political opponents as criminals. Aware, urbanised,...
'There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river and go upstream to see who is pushing them in.' (Ascribed to the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu) Executive summary Many young people are risking everything to leave home in search of greener pastures...
At 2 AM on March 28th 2022 Olanrewaju Suraju, the head of the Human and Environmental Development Agency (HEDA), was asleep beside his wife in their bedroom in Abuja when they suddenly found themselves under attack by men who had broken into the house. The men, who made off with laptops, mobile phones, and cash, could have been mistaken for ordinary criminals were it not for the fact that they mysteriously told the couple that they were ‘acting on information and instruction.’ Nigerian burglars...
At 2 AM on March 28th 2022 Olanrewaju Suraju, the head of the Human and Environmental Development Agency (HEDA), was asleep beside his wife in their bedroom in Abuja when they suddenly found themselves under attack by men who had broken into the house. The men, who made off with...
10-year old Ekukanju* and his six younger siblings have been out of school for the past ten months. Their father, a journalist, was forced to go into hiding for his anti-corruption reporting and can no longer work to pay for their schooling and care. ‘We are staying with our mother and uncle here in Douala’, Ekukanju says sadly. ‘But uncle has a large family of his own so even feeding is difficult. I am thin like this because of under-feeding.’ Community members who have started to help the family...
10-year old Ekukanju* and his six younger siblings have been out of school for the past ten months. Their father, a journalist, was forced to go into hiding for his anti-corruption reporting and can no longer work to pay for their schooling and care. ‘We are staying with our mother...
‘How do you remove a dictator from Amsterdam?’ asks a tweet, posted after an audience of two thousand in the Royal Carré Theatre in the Netherlands is fired up with righteous anger at the actions of Uganda’s autocratic leader, General Yoweri Museveni. It is November 12th 2022 and the crowd has just seen a documentary about the thwarted presidential bid of Ugandan opposition leader and Afrobeat star Bobi Wine, who attended the screening. The film portrays the ongoing oppression and torture of...
‘How do you remove a dictator from Amsterdam?’ asks a tweet, posted after an audience of two thousand in the Royal Carré Theatre in the Netherlands is fired up with righteous anger at the actions of Uganda’s autocratic leader, General Yoweri Museveni. It is November 12th 2022 and...
Where other countries’ governments might shroud their repressive tendencies with plainclothes agents and unmarked vehicles, Zimbabwe proudly owns its repression of what it calls ‘bad apples’. Ruling ZANU-PF party spokespersons and politicians openly blame all the country’s ills, including the state’s own human rights violations, on the actions of these ‘agents of the West’. Judging by the data from Zimbabwean human rights organisations there must be a lot of these agents, or at least a lot of...
Where other countries’ governments might shroud their repressive tendencies with plainclothes agents and unmarked vehicles, Zimbabwe proudly owns its repression of what it calls ‘bad apples’. Ruling ZANU-PF party spokespersons and politicians openly blame all the country’s ills,...
‘It is your man who is doing this’, shouts the woman, standing tall and pointing her finger. She’s speaking at a community meeting in Mawanga, Nakuru County, in central-western Kenya, and the man she is talking about is a local political candidate for one of Kenya’s main political parties. She’s referring to a recent spate of rapes and murders of women in the neighbourhood. In June 2022, three months before Kenyans went to the polls, five women were murdered in Mawanga in the span of two weeks. All...
‘It is your man who is doing this’, shouts the woman, standing tall and pointing her finger. She’s speaking at a community meeting in Mawanga, Nakuru County, in central-western Kenya, and the man she is talking about is a local political candidate for one of Kenya’s main political...
1. General Data on human rights violations collected over the past five years appears to show a marked and steady increase in the use of state and state-sponsored violence against, and arbitrary arrest and detentions of, political opponents and critics in Cameroon and Zimbabwe, while in Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria state violence has tended to peak during elections, often securing wins and new terms for the orchestrators, before diminishing again afterwards. Repressive violence in Nigeria has been...
1. General Data on human rights violations collected over the past five years appears to show a marked and steady increase in the use of state and state-sponsored violence against, and arbitrary arrest and detentions of, political opponents and critics in Cameroon and Zimbabwe,...
In October this year, Dutch-Liberian writer Vamba Sherif attended the 5th edition of what has become the leading literary festival in the country. “The future of Africa lies in its writers.” Monday I am at Schiphol, on my way to Accra, Ghana, to attend the Pa Gya! Literary Festival. The festival is in its fifth year, and this is my first time visiting it. Attending this year’s edition are more than a hundred writers from all over Africa and the diaspora, including Nigerian critic and writer Molara...
In October this year, Dutch-Liberian writer Vamba Sherif attended the 5th edition of what has become the leading literary festival in the country. “The future of Africa lies in its writers.” Monday I am at Schiphol, on my way to Accra, Ghana, to attend the Pa Gya! Literary Festival....
A man hired by the Ministry of Defence to clear up after an army exercise in Kenya did not know he was collecting live explosives. The findings of an internal investigation by the British army are damning, Declassifieduk reveals. High up on a hill near Mount Kenya, Irene Kipsuge looks out over a rolling savanna. In the distance lies Lolldaiga, a safari resort where Western tourists pay up to $400 a night to stay in a colonial settler-style house, in the hope of seeing elephants. To her left is Ole...
A man hired by the Ministry of Defence to clear up after an army exercise in Kenya did not know he was collecting live explosives. The findings of an internal investigation by the British army are damning, Declassifieduk reveals. High up on a hill near Mount Kenya, Irene Kipsuge...
The picture frame I see in front of me is made of gold, but the picture it surrounds portrays an invading army. This is a metaphor I often use in my training sessions to empower new migrants and refugees in the Netherlands. I tell them to create their own golden frame. And I convince them that they should never let anyone convince them to believe their frames are made of ash or toilet paper. Teaching people to believe in themselves is paramount, because if they don’t believe in themselves, who else...
The picture frame I see in front of me is made of gold, but the picture it surrounds portrays an invading army. This is a metaphor I often use in my training sessions to empower new migrants and refugees in the Netherlands. I tell them to create their own golden frame. And I...
Malawi’s laws outlaw abortion. However, faced with a predicament of having to get rid of unwanted pregnancies, thousands of young Malawian girls and women turn to unconventional methods. But when the process goes south, they run to the hospital for care. Scores lose their uteruses, and a chance to bear children. Many of them do not make it out alive from the hospital. Hundreds of Young Women Die from Hazardous Abortions Lonjezo (her full identity withheld) from Dedza, was barely 12 when her...
Malawi’s laws outlaw abortion. However, faced with a predicament of having to get rid of unwanted pregnancies, thousands of young Malawian girls and women turn to unconventional methods. But when the process goes south, they run to the hospital for care. Scores lose their uteruses,...
A landmark exhibition fills the entire museum as it attempts to survey the remarkable career of the French-Cameroonian photographer. For almost fifty years Fosso has explored the possibilities offered by the medium of photography to present a refreshing and relevant vision of today’s world. Fosso’s work, which is located somewhere between photography and performance, occupies a central place in the international contemporary art world. It has been shown in such leading institutes as the Tate Modern...
A landmark exhibition fills the entire museum as it attempts to survey the remarkable career of the French-Cameroonian photographer. For almost fifty years Fosso has explored the possibilities offered by the medium of photography to present a refreshing and relevant vision of...
On October 10th Josep Borrell, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Vice-President, addressed his ambassadors in Brussels. It began most promisingly, with Borrell decrying the number of authoritarian regimes in the world, including those "on our side.” He railed against rising "nationalism, revisionism and identity politics” while acknowledging the presence of more important players on the world stage: Turkey, India, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, and Mexico. He turned...
On October 10th Josep Borrell, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Vice-President, addressed his ambassadors in Brussels. It began most promisingly, with Borrell decrying the number of authoritarian regimes in the world, including those "on our side.” He...
The Uganda Press Photo Award shines a light on the thrills and fears of our new realities. The digital era proposes that in order to live a productive life, you must first cater to your mental, physical and spiritual well-being. But what happens when this is not an option for you, your neighbour, and your neighbour’s neighbour? The images featured in this exhibition weave a story of change and the (im)possibilities that result from a time when we can only speak of our dreams of productivity. The...
The Uganda Press Photo Award shines a light on the thrills and fears of our new realities. The digital era proposes that in order to live a productive life, you must first cater to your mental, physical and spiritual well-being. But what happens when this is not an option for you,...
Campaigning to become president of Uganda can be very, very dangerous. The People's President, which documents Bobi Wine's epic presidential run, drew thousands of visitors in Amsterdam. Close to 2000 people welcomed Ugandan pop star Robert Kyagulanyi, more famously known as Bobi Wine, after a screening in Amsterdam’s Carré Theatre, while even more attended other screenings across the city. Many of them voted for the documentary, made by Moses Bwayo and Christopher Sharp. With 9488 votes, The...
Campaigning to become president of Uganda can be very, very dangerous. The People's President, which documents Bobi Wine's epic presidential run, drew thousands of visitors in Amsterdam. Close to 2000 people welcomed Ugandan pop star Robert Kyagulanyi, more famously known as Bobi...
African countries encountered “COVID refugees,” young Europeans who had temporarily relocated to work remotely from Africa to escape pandemic despair at home. A similar flow of refugees could be caused by climate change. Climate negotiations have repeatedly floundered on the unwillingness of rich countries, but let’s hope their own increasing vulnerability instills greater solidarity. As COP 27 in Egypt nears its end, I find it difficult, almost impossible, to talk to my children about climate...
African countries encountered “COVID refugees,” young Europeans who had temporarily relocated to work remotely from Africa to escape pandemic despair at home. A similar flow of refugees could be caused by climate change. Climate negotiations have repeatedly floundered on the...
Collaboration between artists and local communities in Africa can help initiate a grassroots transition to a more equitable society, case studies show. "Artists in African countries are increasingly organizing themselves into collectives," says Molemo Moiloa in a video interview from Berlin, where she’s in residency until March 2023 as a follow-up to Documenta, the five-year international art arena. "This makes it easier to connect with people in the community and to take action." At Documenta her...
Collaboration between artists and local communities in Africa can help initiate a grassroots transition to a more equitable society, case studies show. "Artists in African countries are increasingly organizing themselves into collectives," says Molemo Moiloa in a video interview...
A Century of Black Figuration in Painting brings together artworks from the last 100 years in a dialogue between artists and thinkers around the world. With a focus on painting, the exhibition celebrates the myriad ways in which artists from Africa and its diaspora have imagined, positioned, memorialised and asserted African and African-descent experiences. It contributes to the critical discourse on African and Black liberation, intellectual and philosophical movements. The title of the exhibition...
A Century of Black Figuration in Painting brings together artworks from the last 100 years in a dialogue between artists and thinkers around the world. With a focus on painting, the exhibition celebrates the myriad ways in which artists from Africa and its diaspora have imagined,...
What a touching gesture! Visual artist patricia kaersenhout (1966, born in the Netherlands to Surinamese parents) has created a work of art especially for ZAM. Ode to Winnie, A Portrait of Love and Revolution is printed in an edition of 60 signed and numbered copies. All proceeds from sales will go to support ZAM's efforts to bring the urgent and inspiring stories of African creatives and changemakers to the attention of international audiences. This is how ZAM builds a world beyond us-and-them....
What a touching gesture! Visual artist patricia kaersenhout (1966, born in the Netherlands to Surinamese parents) has created a work of art especially for ZAM. Ode to Winnie, A Portrait of Love and Revolution is printed in an edition of 60 signed and numbered copies. All proceeds...
