Where is Africa on the Internet?

• Author: Adama Sanneh
• Position: Director, Lettera27 Foundation
• Pages: 22-24

p. 22 2013 | 2

WHERE IS

AFRICA ON THE

INTERNET? By Adama Sanneh, D irector,

Lettera27 Foundation

In 2003, Kenyan journalist and noveli st Binyavanga Wainaina wrote a satirical essay

entitled “How to write about Afric a”, advising jou rnalists how they should write about

Africa if they want to be publishe d and read. He wrote:

“Never have a picture of a well-adjusted Africa n on the cover of your book, or in

it, unless that African has won th e Nobel Prize. An AK-47, prominent ribs, naked

breasts: use these. If you must include a n African, make sure you get one in Masai

or Zulu or Dogon dress.”

“In your text, treat Africa as if it were one c ountry. […] Don’t get bogged down with

precise descriptions. Afr ica is big: 54 countries, 900 million peopl e who are too busy

starving and dy ing and warring and emigrating to read your book. The contine nt

is full of deserts, jungl es, highlands, savannahs and many other things, but your

reader doesn’t care about all that, so keep you r descriptions romantic and evoca-

tive and unparticular.”

Binyavanga was drawing attention to the wide spread misrepresentation of the African

continent by mainstream media, which fail to capture the diversity, complexity and

rich heritage of Afric a and its recent achievements.

The consequence s of stereotyping a whole continent are multiple. In additi on to per-

petuating often false perception s about famine and poverty, it undermines com mercial

interest in the region and reduces opportunities for engagement and collaboration.

It can also have a far-reaching and negative impa ct on the socioeconomic develop-

ment prospects of many of its countri es.

Access to a rich source of contextua l information is key to changing the way the

continent is viewed from outsi de, as well as changing the way Africans interact with

each other and the rest of the world.

Expanding use of the Internet, mobile phones and social networks, however, is

making it possible for anyone with a connection to tell their own story. Every day

the continent is becoming increasingly connected.

Over the past decade, the numbe r of Internet users in Africa increased 9 time s faster

than in Europe and 20 times faster than in N orth America. Today, over 110 million

people living in Afri ca regularly use the Internet, with an anticipated 10 million new

users online every ye ar.

Thanks to these powerful c ommunications technologies, the “idea” of Afric a is being

changed from the bottom up, albeit sl owly. In terms of info rmation, Africa remains the

least visible continent on the Internet. Wide-ranging and up-to-date information on