PERSPECTIVES
©©Tom Saater
‘The stereotypes are pervasive’
“Everyday Africa — Re-picturing a Continent” is a successful collaboration of African and non-African p hotographers. It uses pictures to challenge the stereotypes that distort our understanding of the continent. Austin Merrill, co-founder of Everyday Africa, presents the project and the exhibition at the DW Global Media Forum in Bonn in May. Questions Martina Bertram, DW
Instagram @EverydayAfrica
34 Weltzeit 2 | 2019
What makes you think the everyday lives of people in Africa should be presented in a new light? People around the world have misunderstood and misrepresented Africa for too long. It’s insulting, colonialist and diminishing in myriad ways, and Everyday Africa is an attempt to change that. The stereotypes of poverty, disease and conflict are pervasive. Yes, these things exist on the continent, but just like safaris, they are not the norm for everyone. Most people live very normal lives that, in many ways, are much like our lives in the West. Establishing that baseline truth can lead to a more equitable level of interaction and understanding, on a personal and a global scale. It’s very much a human rights issue.