Africa No Filter launches handbook on how journalists can write about Africa without stereotypes

The handbook hopes to close the gap between mainstream and alternative stories of Africa by equipping journalists and storytellers with the tools to write about the continent — beyond poverty, disease, poor leadership, corruption and conflict.

The group says that the handbook defines what narrative is and the impact of the stereotypical one about Africa.

It also provides the historical context that informs current narratives about Africa — from political events like the Berlin Conference and the Mau Mau uprisings to literature and pop culture moments like Live Aid concerts — as well as their impact on African stories, adds the group.

The Why Change the Way We Write About Africa handbook is part of Africa No Filter's work of shifting stereotypical narratives about and within Africa to reflect a dynamic continent.

The group says that the handbook does this by including a checklist of practical suggestions to start telling African stories with nuance. For example, in addition to hiring Africans to tell the continent's stories or including more Africans on global storytelling platforms and forums, the handbook also suggests seven steps to overcoming stereotypical framing.

The group says that these examples include using African experts and people with lived experiences of events, consciously avoiding stereotyping in the choice of words and images and providing an accurate and specific context instead of framing Africa as if it's one country. This is while it still respects the agency of subjects, which can be done by applying ethical storytelling principles.

According to the group, the handbook also has examples of the kind of nuanced storytelling that it's calling for.

Moky Makura, executive director at Africa No Filter, concludes, "This handbook is a call to action for the media and creative storytellers to help them understand how narratives are formed and the opportunities for them to develop alternative stories that are rooted in the continent's reality."

For more information, visit www.africanofilter.org. You can also follow Africa No Filter on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.