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A little over a year ago, a group of New York Times reporters met in Nairobi, Kenya, to brainstorm story ideas for the coming year. Laurie Goodstein, deputy editor of International and Africa region editor for The Times, led the charge. In attendance were many of the correspondents covering the continent: Declan Walsh, Abdi Latif Dahir, John Eligon, Ruth Maclean, Elian Peltier and Lynsey Chutel.
One of the most fascinating discussions revolved around a question that Declan had been grappling with for months: What does it mean for Africa, where the median age is 19, to be the youngest continent on the planet? The result of this discussion was the beginning of our new series this fall called Old World, Young Africa.
As Declan writes in the first piece of the series: “As the world grays, Africa blossoms with youth. By 2050, one in four people on the planet will be African, a seismic shift that is already beginning to register. You can hear it in the music people listen to. You can see it in movies, fashion and politics. You can feel it in the entrepreneurial drive of young Africans and the urgent search for jobs. You can see it in the waves of youth that risk everyone migrating, and in the dilemmas of those who remain.”
As editor of the Projects and Collaborations team at The Times, I returned from that week in Nairobi full of ideas and eager to get started. Our group decided to focus on how, through the vast African diaspora, the world was becoming more and more, culturally, African. Our guiding question: How is what one scholar calls a “youth earthquake” in Africa shaking and shaping creativity abroad?
We started with dozens of names, anyone who turned to Africa as a touchstone in their work. We knew we wanted to include visual artists and crafters, chefs, musicians and writers.
In the end, we photographed and interviewed 12 amazing people, across four continents. The article featured a huge team of Times editors and reporters, including Abdi, Lynsey and Elizabeth Paton, reporting from Nairobi, Johannesburg and London.
On the track, you’ll hear from Afrobeats superstar Mr Eazi. Ruth E. Carter, two-time Academy Award-winning costume designer. Omar Victor Diop, photographer. Nnedi Okorafor, science fiction writer. Mory Sacko, Chef. Grace Wales Bonner, fashion designer. Adamma and Adanne Ebo, two filmmakers. Lesley Lokko, architect. Toheeb Jimoh, actor. Zhong Feifei, singer and model. and Nkuli Mlangeni-Berg, textile artist.
Kenyan scholar Keguro Macharia once wrote: “Sometimes the black diaspora calls and Africa answers. Sometimes Africa calls and the black diaspora answers. Most of the time we find ourselves in the confused frequencies of call and response as we pursue freedom.”
Our piece, a treasure trove of voices, ideas and perspectives, is exactly what Macharia describes, a series of calls and responses, all pointing towards a deeper understanding and appreciation of what Africa has to offer the world.
One more thing: If there are countries in Africa — or anywhere else in the world — you’d like to keep up with, you can sign up for our new Times newsletter, Your Places: Global Update.
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