Early morning tranquility on the Okavango Delta…
#WildLife #WildLifePhotography #Photography #Leopard #BigCats #Botswana #Africa #CatsOfMastodon #Travel
africa
January 10: it's Vodoun days in Benin, a special holiday for traditional culture and religion, these last years transformed into a "money maker" by the government (see comment).
More: https://amf.didiermary.fr/benin-vodun-cult-traditions/
Egúngún (Yorùbá) are masquerade or masked, costumed figure, for ancestor reverence, or the ancestors themselves as a collective force.
The spirits below are from Benin. (source unknown)
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has grown to nearly 500 suspected cases and 116 deaths, and the World Health Organization has declared it a public health emergency of international concern. @NBCNews has more on how the virus spreads and the risk of a larger outbreak.
#USA gov't map of #Africa mislabels every country at global conference ‼️
The map contained an #AI watermark indicating it was made with OpenAI tools. 👀
It had:
• Nigeria (where #US currently has several hundred troops deployed) as landlocked in the Sahara Desert
• Mozambique, which is in southeastern Africa, relocated to the Horn of Africa
• Ivory Coast in West Africa placed on the other side of the continent
The State Dept blamed a staffer.
#trump #TrumpAdmin
--
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/us-government-map-africa-mislabels-every-country-global-conference-2026-07-30/
Edited 49d ago
Op-Ed: AFRIMA — Why Do Pan-African Music Awards Struggle for Cultural Reverence?
Unlike the attention to the Grammys, other international awards and even national fares, music award events from across the continent receive far less respect, fanfare and cultural reverence.
#Africa accounts to follow:
NEWS
@thecontinent - Pan-African online newspaper, run by non-profit
@TUKOcoke - Kenyan news site
@ZekuZelalem - Amnesty prize-nominated journalist on Ethiopia, Horn of Africa, regional conflict
@beverly_ochieng - Security & media analyst on Africa, Sahel, Wagner Group
@JonathanMBR - Kenyan teacher, long-time Fedi user, often commenting on African news
@teachersupdates - Education news in Kenya
@index - English-language news on business/industry in Mozambique
🧵 1/3
New Opus!!
Music Man for Africa--a portrait of Leo Sarksisian who produced an enormously popular African music show for the Voice of America covering the continent from Liberia starting in 1965. Leo was a self-taught ethnomusicologist who roamed Africa with his recording equipment. And he served as a sort of 'ambassador' finding himself in the newly independent countries of Africa like Ghana and Guinea, assisting their radio stations.
https://soundcloud.com/shortwaveology/music-man-for-africa-sunday
Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo Kuti has become the first African artist honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Recording Academy.
He received his posthumous award during the 2026 Special Merit Awards, which took place in Los Angeles on 01/31/2026, alongside other international heavyweights, including Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Cher, and Paul Simon.
That award was received by his sons, Femi and Seun Kuti.
Edited 220d ago
South Africa’s Conference of the Left Issues a Bold Call for Working-Class Unity
South Africa’s progressive forces are converging. On May 29, 2026, a diverse array of socialist, communist, and Pan-Africanist organizations converged for the “Conference of the Left.” The meeting was held under a definitive mandate of “Building a Left Movement for Working Class & Popular Power.” At a moment marked by deepening economic crisis, unemployment, austerity, and fragmentation within progressive politics, the gathering reflects an attempt to rethink the future of left politics in the country.
The conference, organized by the South African Communist Party (SACP) has brought together an distinctly broad spectrum of organizations, including the Economic Freedom Fighters, Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, Azanian People’s Organization, Mkhonto we Sizwe Party, the Socialist Party of Azania, Workers’ Socialist Party, Independent Labour Party, the country’s key trade union federations, as well as Marxist and Pan-Africanist formations. Guests and solidarity delegates from various countries have also attended, rallying on the prospects of left unity in South Africa.
What makes the conference politically important is not simply the attendance of these organizations, many of which have historically operated in isolation or in competition, but the recognition that the social and economic conditions facing the working class can no longer be addressed through fragmented struggles.
In a pre-conference statement, organizers argued that the crisis confronting workers and the poor is not temporary but structural. South Africa continues to face mass unemployment, rising living costs, deteriorating public services, and widening inequality, despite the democratic transition of 1994. According to the statement, political freedom has not translated into material transformation for the majority, while the economy remains dominated by private accumulation and corporate power.
They further noted that global capitalism has reorganized itself in ways that have weakened organized labor. Informalization, precarious work, and attacks on trade unions have undermined working-class power, while progressive movements remain divided across parties, unions, and community organizations. The conference therefore sees itself as an attempt to rebuild a common forum through which left organizations can coordinate around shared working-class objectives.
A call for working-class unity
Opening the conference, Solly Mapaila pointed out that the gathering was a platform for collective action.
“We are different political organizations, we are not going to dissolve our independent political organizations, we are creating a platform of common coordination of the working-class agenda.”
Mapaila argued that the material conditions facing ordinary South Africans should form the basis of left unity rather than personal ambitions or organizational rivalries.
“We are seeking to deepen the unity of the working class, to revitalize working class activism and indeed articulate a medium-term agenda based on the objective demands of the working class in our country.”
He further urged humility and mutual respect among progressive forces, acknowledging that no single organization possesses all the solutions.
“We must humble ourselves as forces of the left to recognize that none of us has the monopoly of answers to the struggle of the working class. Therefore, we must treat each other with respect, humility and understanding.”
Next, was Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, he situated the gathering within what he described as a global crisis of capitalism.
“This conference convenes at a decisive historical moment characterized by economic instability, political uncertainty, and the visible confusion of the global capitalist order itself.”
Malema highlighted the absurd contradictions of modern society.
“Humanity has never had better scientific knowledge, greater productive potential, or greater technological sophistication than it does today, yet billions of people continue to exist in conditions of insecurity, deprivation, violence and despair because society remains controlled by the private accumulation of profit rather than the fulfillment of basic human needs.”
A major theme of his speech was the importance of Pan-African solidarity in the struggle against imperialism and exploitation.
“A Left that cannot defend Pan-African solidarity has abandoned its own historical mission because the fragmentation of African people along nationalist and xenophobic lines merely strengthens imperialism and weakens working-class unity.”
He pointed out that the future of Africa depends on coordinated efforts to break patterns of dependency.
“The future of African liberation depends fundamentally upon continental solidarity, regional industrialization, and coordinated resistance against global systems of extraction and dependency.”
Malema also identified sectarianism as one of the greatest weaknesses facing progressive politics today.
“International capital coordinates across borders with extraordinary efficiency, yet organizations claiming commitment to socialism often remain paralyzed by sectarianism, ego, historical resentment, and ideological confusion.”
For him, rebuilding hope and confidence among oppressed people is a central challenge of the present era.
“The greatest task facing the Left is therefore also psychological and moral: to restore imagination among the oppressed and to demonstrate once again that societies can be organized differently.”
Speaking on behalf of the uMkhonto we Sizwe Party, Deputy President Tony Yengeni contextualized the conference as a response to a historic demand for unity among progressive forces.
“The time has come for the Black majority to come together, unite, and take over political power.”
Yengeni emphasized that political power must be used to advance genuine liberation for the masses.
“The reason why we are here, we are responding to that command, to forge unity among all progressive forces in the country, so that we can use that political power to liberate our people.”
Looking beyond the conference itself, he called for the establishment of a permanent coordinating structure.
“This conference must emerge as a solid and powerful united left platform.”
He proposed that the gathering establish a revolutionary council capable of guiding the process forward.
“This conference at the end must come out with a revolutionary council and run the affairs of this platform. And it must be guided by a set of principles and anchor it forward.”
Beyond the keynote addresses, representatives from the various participating organizations shared perspectives on the political, economic, and social crisis confronting South Africa and the need for unity among the left.
Whether this process ultimately leads to a permanent united front, a revolutionary council, coordinated campaigns, or a broader movement for socialist transformation remains to be seen. However, the conference has already achieved something important; it has created a space where organizations from diverse left traditions can engage one another directly and explore the possibilities of collective action in a period of deepening crisis.
source: People’s Dispatch
https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/?p=33299 #africa #resistance #socialism #southAfrica
I'm tired. IM ANGRY AND IM FUCKING ANGRY
AND BEFORE PRIDE!?
"It proposes that identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer be punished by up to three years' imprisonment. The bill also introduces a "duty to report" prohibited acts to police.
Religious leaders have pressured President John Dramani Mahama..."
and SIX years for "promoting LGBTQ+" identies 💔💔
Edited 109d ago
Trump Officials Celebrated With Cake After Slashing Aid. Then People Died of Cholera.
---
Behind closed doors in Washington, top advisers made a series of decisions that had devastating repercussions for the poorest country on earth. We went to South Sudan and found people who died as a result.
https://www.propublica.org/article/usaid-cholera-deaths-trump-humanitarian-aid-cuts-south-sudan?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Trump #MarcoRubio #Africa #PublicHealth #USAID #SouthSudan
RE: https://mastodon.social/@MauroGata/116710531844631526
Full documentary below.
Post on AMF for more info:
https://indieweb.social/@blogamf/115837858355068841
Punk in Africa is a 2012 multilingual African historical punk music film. “Three chords, three countries, one revolution… The documentary is the story of the multiracial punk movement within the recent political and social upheavals experienced in three Southern African countries: South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.”
Senufo horse & rider
The name Senufo covers a cultural and linguistic area across 3 countries: Mali, Burkina Faso and mainly Cote d’Ivoire.
Edited 1y ago
"Acrobatic, goofy and super-fast: the biama battles redefining Ivorian dance culture
Fuelled by TikTok and street dance battles, the coupé-décalé offshoot is latest expression of Côte d’Ivoire’s pop culture"
#IvoryCoast #dance #music #culture #tiktok #africa #afrika
"Abidjan dancers showcase their talent in Ivorian pop music street battles"
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/04/biama-dance-ivorian-pop-culture-cote-d-ivoire-tik-tok
Edited 44d ago
Across Africa, the State Department has demanded access to health data for millions of people as a condition of giving countries billions of dollars in aid needed to address HIV, malaria, tuberculosis and other illnesses.
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-state-department-africa-uganda-aid-medical-data-privacy?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Geopolitics #Politics #Africa #Uganda #Trump #Health #Data #Privacy
RE: https://mstdn.social/@rootsandcalluses/117087261918768609
This time, people may start asking themselves: Which organizations or projects can we actually trust?
And honestly, there is no easy answer when some so-called projects based in Uganda are turning out to be scams.
What a shame for those of us from Uganda who are genuinely trying to do good work.
Fela Kuti was back in the headlines earlier this year when he was posthumously awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys. Femi and his siblings accepted the award on behalf of their father, making Fela Kuti the first African artist to receive the honor.
“It has sealed my father’s legacy in the most prestigious awards in the world,” he tells NL Times. His father’s influence on global music and political expression remains profound, and Femi continues to build on that foundation. Not only has he pushed the genre forward while staying true to his artistic origins, his son, Mádé Kuti, is also continuing the legacy of social commentary.
Femi Kuti and The Positive Force begin the Journey Through Life tour with a run of four dates in the Netherlands: Arnhem on April 2, Alkmaar on April 3, The Hague on April 4, and Maastricht on April 6. Tickets range from 28 to 36 euros, and are available via the respective venues’ websites. The musicians will then continue their tour across Germany, France, Belgium, and the UK.
https://nltimes.nl/2026/03/30/femi-kuti-kicks-european-tour-netherlands-week
#FemiKuti #FelaKuti #Africa #african #music #germany #france #belgium #UK #netherlands
Citing reporting by ProPublica, eight Democratic U.S. senators have criticized the Trump administration’s demands to access the health data of millions of people as a condition of giving lifesaving aid to other countries.
https://www.propublica.org/article/senators-letter-health-data-africa-humanitarian-aid?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Congress #Trump #Health #PublicHealth #Data #Africa #Geopolitics
Poco se habla de las crisis en #Africa y los movimientos de población que provoca la inseguridad de todo tipo en la zona... 
https://www.elnacional.cat/ca/internacional/brot-ebola-congo-fora-control-reobre-debat-sobre-sobirania-sanitaria-africa_1683955_102.html
Finally took the time (my internet connection was down...) to watch Johan Grimonprez' documentary "Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat".
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14452174/
If you're interested in #Africa #History #UN #Jazz it's really worth your time.
If you want to better understand what happened when #Congo "tried" #Independence from #Belgium in 1960, how USA conspired to kill #PatriceLumumba and why there was a war in #Katanga, then there's a lot in this documentary, while listening to good music.
Edited 1y ago
About African music, Music industry, Afrobeats, etc.
1 - The music is not yours
On the latest AIAC podcast [+ transcript], the gang from the Nigerian Scam explores how Afrobeats got globalized, who captured the value, and why the party may be ending.
https://africasacountry.com/2026/04/the-music-is-not-yours
2 - Global Sound, Local Loss: Africa's Music Money Gap
African music dominates global charts, but less than 0.4% of industry revenue returns home.
https://www.okayafrica.com/global-sound-local-loss-africas-music-money-gap/1427679
YOOO! We hit the first $1k on the goal out of $3,000 !!😆
Also this is just a reminder that we are still fundraising for the FIRST community DIY Skatepark in the city of Harare and your support would be greatly appreciated <3
https://tributejar.com/campaign/harare-s-first-skatepark
Reel Via: @ harare._skateclub on IG.
#Skateboarding #Crowdfunding #Zimbabwe #Africa #BlackFedi #BlackMutualAid #BlackMastodon
Edited 26d ago
It only took me two years - but, I've finally published my Drakensberg Trip Report Blog, recounting favourite and daily memories from my multi-day #BackPacking trip across the #SouthAfrica #Mountain range.
If you'd like to read about it, and see some of the accompanying images, you can checkout the blog here!
https://photography.ggiebelhaus.ca/posts/trip-report---the-drakensberg/
#photography #landscapephotography #lpw #blog #photoblog #africa
From colonial storage to open access
For a century, African musical heritage was recorded, boxed, and shipped to museums abroad. In Nairobi, a new generation of archives is bringing cultural memory home — and putting it online.
https://africasacountry.com/2026/07/from-colonial-storage-to-open-access