Live Podcast: African Women and Girl Storytellers in the Digital Age
On March 13, as part of Women, Action, and the Media (WAM)‘s 4th annual national conference, I’ll be hosting a live podcast about African women in the Diaspora who are using media to subvert mainstream narratives about Africa, “African Women Storytellers in the Digital Age.”
Founded in 2004 by writer, educator, and activist, Jaclyn Friedman, Women, Action, and the Media (WAM) is an independent national nonprofit dedicated to building a robust, effective, inclusive movement for gender justice in media… “Because power and privilege is about who gets to speak and who is listened to. And, most of the time, it’s not women.”
In an effort to nurture local feminist networks and raise awareness of women’s and gender issues in the media, WAM annually coordinates an international convening of activists, journalists, academics, artists and media-makers, all taking some kind of media action at the same time, in various cities across the U.S. and Canada. This year, the conference takes place between March 13-24.
Incidentally, my live podcast is one of two virtual events in the conference lineup. Other events happening include:Â
Re-Birth of the Kitchen Table Conversations Podcast
I’ve participated in WAM events for the past six years; specifically, their annual multi-city conferences are fun, educational, and a great excuse for me to reach out to fellow media creators I admire and respect together for smart, insightful, and candid conversation. In fact, the very first podcast I ever hosted (LGBT Africans Speaking on Media, Gender, and Culture) was such a huge hit that it inspired me to create the Kitchen Table Conversations series, a podcast the offers a sneak peek into the lives of activists, artists, and thought leaders.
My travel schedule has made it impossible to maintain the podcast’s consistency, but I certainly credit participating in WAM’s festival with sparking my passion for utilizing the power of media to increase visibility for minority groups, recognizing work that’s overlooked in the mainstream, and creating virtual networks for support and empowerment. And now, I thank them for creating the opportunity for me to revive the Kitchen Table Conversations series.
Follow my SoundCloud and BlogTalkRadio channels for impromptu live and pre-recorded podcasts with my favorite changemakers, coming soon.
Tune in for a Live Podcast about Gender, Media, and the African Diaspora on March 13th
This year, I am so excited to be moderating a conversation about the media’s (mis)representation of Africa/African women and the power of stories to influence and empower. In true kitchen table conversation style, my guests and I will be pontificating on mainstream storytelling about Africa and the role of western media and social media innovations (both on the continent and in the Diaspora) in shaping these narratives. We’ll also, of course, be discussing the panelists’ amazing projects — African journalism, creative feminism, audio storytelling, afropop culture, media advocacy, and more!
Hosted by Spectra Speaks
How are African women currently depicted in the media? If mainstream media were solely responsible for telling Africa’s story, what role would the African woman play? What role can individuals–westerners, Diaspora, Africans on the continent–play in influence new narratives? How are African traditions of oral storytelling honored (or compromised) by the rise of social media? What are some ground-breaking African-led media projects we should be amplifying? And what other/less popular forms of media offer potential for influencing Africa’s narrative?
Follow @spectraspeaks and use the hashtag, #africanwomenmedia to tweet responses to the questions above. Also, feel free to tweet questions you’d like the panelists to explore by using the same hashtag, #africanwomenmedia, as we’ll be dedicating a portion of the discussion to responding to your ideas/questions. You can also submit your questions anonymously, using this form.
MEET THE AFRICAN WOMEN STORYTELLERS
Spectra (Host)Â is a writer, storyteller, and new media consultant whose work focuses on the intersection of media, identity, and social psychology as it occurs in activism and philanthropy. Last year, she successfully crowdfunded Africans for Africa, an independent project that involved travelling through Southern Africa for 6 months, training women-led social impact ventures in new media and technology for storytelling, awareness-raising, and thought leadership. She is the founder and editor of media advocacy organization, QWOC Media Wire, Â and the engagement officer of Africans in the Diaspora (AiD), a startup foundation nurturing African philanthropy in the Diaspora. She writes about media, gender, and love at www.spectraspeaks.com. || Twitter: @spectraspeaks, @qwocmediawire, @AiDinnovations
Yolanda Sangweni is a South-African born writer and editor. She is the ESSENCE.com entertainment editor and founder of AfriPOP. Prior to joining Essence, Yolanda worked as a Features editor at TRACE Magazine and contributing writer for Arise Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Time Out New York, O: The Oprah Magazine (South Africa) and Glamour covering music, fashion and culture. AfriPOP! is an online magazine she started in 2008 with partner Phiona Okumu to highlight contemporary African youth culture, music, fashion and film from an Afropolitan perspective. She calls AfriPOP! a labor of love, “a celebration of our innovativeness, our funkiness, our style, our possibilities as children of Africa.†|| Twitter: @afripopmag
Arao Ameny, from Lira, in northern Uganda, is a trained print and online journalist covering African immigrant issues in New York City. She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Association of African Journalists and Writers (AAJW), a unified platform for African journalists to connect; collaborate; and promote better reporting and understanding of Africa and African communities. She is also the Social Media Editor at United Nations Africa Renewal magazine, a print and online publication produced by the Africa Section of the UN Department of Public Information, and Social Media consultant at the Africa-America Institute (AAI), a non-profit dedicated to promoting engagement between African immigrants and the U.S.. || Twitter: @araoameny, @AAJWnewyorkcity
Amina Doherty is a young Nigerian feminist activist and artist whose work focuses on feminist philanthropy and creative arts for advocacy. Prior to her role as the Coordinator at FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund, Amina worked at the women’s rights grant-making program at the Sigrid Rausing Trust in London, the Feminist Majority Foundation in Washington D.C., and the London-based creative network, Arts & Business. Amina brings to her activism a passion for music, art, travel and poetry, which she chronicles via her blog, Following Her Footsteps. She’s is a self-taught painter, DJ-in-the-making, and freelance writer for several magazines across the Caribbean. || Twitter: @sheroxlox, @FRIDAFund
Selly Thiam is an oral historian whose work has appeared on NPR, PBS and in the New York Times. Raised in Chicago by her Senegalese immigrant father and American-born mother, Thiam graduated from Columbia College, Chicago, with a B.F.A. in Creative Writing, and later received an MA in International Journalism from CUNY, Graduate School of Journalism. She is the founder and Executive Director of None on Record, a digital media project documenting the stories of Africans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. She was a producer for the Storycorps Oral History Project and PBS’ Learning Matters, and a Carnegie Fellow at the ABC News Investigative Unit. || Twitter: @sellythiam, @noneonrecordGot a question you’d like a guest to respond to? Submit your question using the #africanwomenmedia hashtag on Twitter, or leave a comment below! Alternatively, you can use this form to submit your question anonymously.Â
I recently spent some time reflecting on my work as a media activist and advocate.
Flash forward a few years, and here I am with an international blog readership, a few more accolades, and the privilege of making a decent living through various writing, consulting, and media projects for good.