Using Technology to Share Authentic African Voices and Storytelling of Truth and Intellectual Freedom
William Jackson, MAT, CEO of MetaverseWP
Education Program Director of the World Metaverse Council and Director Technology Education of One Africa Forum
The creativity and innovation of Africans to share their authentic voices has never been more possible in the history of the African continent. The beginning of writing on the walls of the pyramids to even earlier cave drawings that told a story, to the use of animal skins to display diagrams, pictorials and storytelling of the history of mankind.
Technology now has presented an opportunity to reinforce and to amplify the voices of African’s across the 55 nations on the second largest and fastest growing continent on Earth. The use of storytelling writers like Chinua Achebe, celebrated as the Father of African literature heralds a time when writing motivated African people to action across a broad spectrum of social behaviors. Seeing the importance of reading, writing and personal storytelling, to writing in the traditional languages that were slowly being forgotten. Chinua Achebe “When Things Fall Apart,” his first novel that, “something needed to be done.” In this age of algorithms, data bytes, machine learning there still are something(s) that need to be done for the future of Africa. To tell the true stories of Africa with the use of digital writings and storytelling. Africa needs to stay independent, free and build on its continued growth and development an African education free of colonial lies and misrepresentations. Achebe states that “the reason for the colonial storytelling was not very far from the reason for the slave trade. Because it is as deep as the story to make the people (Africans) look bad.” Jeffery Brown Interview 2008.
The integration of technology to be used not just for entertainment, but for prosperity and protecting the authentic voices of Africans. Now is the time for Africans to use the strong edges of technology to broadcast African lives that show they are worthy of being listened to and allowed to use their own resources to rise globally. Africans’ must use tech to tell their own versions of being African and the strength of Africa. To take hold of their best resources in their people and natural resources to build Africa stronger, more independent and working in unity.
Technology can help in the rising of Africa and the continued raising of the African people.
Being an activist in telling stories of how Africa can and should be free. Africans are too activate in their own growth and development. The mind-set to use technology can be a threat, a threat to the “emperor” or those who have plans to try and colonize the minds of Africans again. Africans have their rights to free speech, free assembly and even the freedom of border crossings. Technology is allowing an increasing number of boys and girls, youth, teens, and young adults to share their voices for positive changes that were once denied colonizers.
Africa is on the metaverse with sites like MetaverseWP https://metaversewp.com/destination
The blending of technology with education shows that the people have a different agenda than the colonizer, because the people’s eyes are being open to their freedoms, not just physically, but psychologically and even spiritually.
The possibilities of what can be achieved for the future are in the faces of Africans, technology must be allowed to permeate the schools, businesses, entrepreneurialism, and commerce of African nations to allow an equality of access, an equality of opportunities and equality of generations for the changes that the world is embracing.
Africans begin to see they too can have global access to information they will strive to want more access, Achebe states” Africa cannot be ready under colonial rule and will move those who try to stop Africa from growing those will be moved out of the way.”
The internet, the metaverse, AI, VR and IOT, and the use of social media gives unparallel access to information and collaboration.
Information needs to be vetted to be sure the visions of Africa are positive, productive, and inspirational. Storytelling has the power to change minds, re-shape perceptions, either strengthen cultural norms or cultural traditions. Stories bring memories, and as Achebe states in the book “Ant Hills of the Savannah” how memory is important. African memories can be placed on the metaverse to preserve and share historical truths and facts. “The ant hill survives so that the new grass will have memory of the devastation of the fire, the old memory brings remembrance to the present, or new generation to make sure the new generation does not repeat the errors of the past.”
Words of intelligence and intellect are shared with the world Achebe when he stated during the 2008 interview with Bill Moyer, “look at Africa as a continent of people, there are people there, just people, not angels, not devils, just people.”
Throughout Africa, digital literacy is becoming a core part of curricula and education policies, alongside fundamental literacy. It must and will be growing because governments across Africa have placed digital competency at the heart of their education policies. Boosting education in Africa to support tomorrow’s workforce. If African governments do not make the change and prioritize education, they will be consumed poverty and deletion in the digital futures. The ability for Africans to be business owners, entrepreneurs, and work in ecommerce will not be possible and Africa potentially will fade into extreme poverty and attacked again, then robbed of is resources again. Even the potential of the institution of slavery coming back.
William Jackson, CEO of My Quest To Teach, “The quest to explore Space, the deepest Oceans around Africa, solving climatic changes, no other nation will do it for Africa and addressing social challenges that will happen. Africa must face these issues united, unified, collective, collaborative and with consensus because other nations are waiting for Africa to fail and once again to attempt to colonize, enslave, and devastate the natural resources not found any other place in the world.
Africa must stay free, any and all means necessary, technology will be the key, and education is the weapon.