The Bright Continent - Breaking Rules & Making Change in Modern Africa

Dayo Olopade

Summary

“For anyone who wants to understand how the African economy really works, The Bright Continent is a good place to start” (Reuters).   Dayo Olopade knew from personal experience that Western news reports on conflict, disease, and poverty obscure the true story of modern Africa. And so she crossed sub-Saharan Africa to document how ordinary people deal with their daily challenges.   She found what cable news ignores: a continent of ambitious reformers and young social entrepreneurs driven by kanju—creativity born of African difficulty. It’s a trait found in pioneers like Kenneth Nnebue, who turned cheap VHS tapes into the multimillion-dollar film industry Nollywood. Or Ushahidi, a technology collective that crowdsources citizen activism and disaster relief.   A shining counterpoint to conventional wisdom, The Bright Continent rewrites Africa’s challenges as opportunities to innovate, and celebrates a history of doing more with less as a powerful model for the rest of the world.   “[An] upbeat study of development in Africa . . . The book is written more in wonder at African ingenuity than in anger at foreign incomprehension.” —The New Yorker   “A hopeful narrative about a continent on the rise.” —The New York Times Book Review

Available since: 03/04/2014.

Print length: 288 pages.

Other books that might interest you

Living Room Revolution - A...

Cecile Andrews

The author of The Circle of Simplicity “joyfully invites us to discover a robust and real personal expansion with each other as we remake our society” (Mark Lakeman, cofounder, The City Repair Project).

Every man for himself! For too long we have lived in a competitive, consumer-oriented culture, destroying the well-being of people and the planet. We believe that money brings happiness, yet all too often, the opposite is true. The pursuit of wealth at any cost corrupts our values and diminishes our lives. The resulting inequality breaks down social cohesion and generates envy, bitterness, and resentment. Greed breeds more greed.

Living Room Revolution refutes the notion that selfishness is at the root of human nature. Research shows that people—given the right circumstances—can be caring, nurturing and collaborative. Presented with the opportunity, they gravitate toward actions and policies embodying empathy, fairness, and trust instead of competition, fear, and greed. The regeneration of social ties and the sense of caring and purpose that comes from creating community drive this essential transformation.

At the heart of this movement is the ancient art of conversation. Living Room Revolution provides a practical toolkit of concrete strategies to facilitate personal and social change by bringing people together in community and conversation.

The heart of happiness is joining with others in good talk and laughter. Each person can make a difference, and it can all start in your own living room!

“Small groups. Study circles. Stop ’n chats. House parties. Movie nights. Online sharing. Bring people together, and you never know what kind of fuse you’ll ignite for change.” —Wanda Urbanska, author of The Heart of Simple Living

Show book

Egoists A Book of Supermen -...

James Huneker

Egoists, A Book Of Supermen is a work by James Huneker. It reflects upon the philosophies of several "egoist" thinkers: Stendhal, Baudelaire, Flaubert, Anatole France, Huysmans, Barrès, Nietzsche, Blake, Ibsen, Stirner and Ernest Hello.

Show book