Photo collection tells the African story to the world

Dann Okoth

A reprieve is in the offing for Africa in terms of how the continent is depicted in the global media, thanks to a local new innovative media outlet.

The development also heralds a new dawn for African journalists who could not only earn generous returns for their work, but also continue to own copyright of the original content and footage.

A24 Media, as the new platform is known aims to "portray Africa in African light by Africans".

It is Africa’s first online delivery site for material from journalists, African broadcasters and Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from around the continent.

"A24 Media was conceived in order to enable Africans to tell their stories to the world from an African perspective," says Salim Amin, the organisation’s chairman.

Salim Amin says A24 Media will preserve the rich heritage of African stories which are in danger of extinction. [Photo: Maxwell Agwanda]

He adds: "The media also serves as a much needed online archive, collating and sorting African stories and making them accessible globally, in real time, in order to preserve the rich heritage of a continent whose stories are in danger of being lost forever.

The A24 Media online still picture collection contains one of the best collections of photographs in Africa, digitised for the first time. The collection charts the past 50 years of the continent’s history, and features work by the world- renowned photographers Mohamed Amin and Duncan Willets that has never been seen before.

The images range from wildlife, culture, sports and portraits of the Maasai to iconic images of the late American President John F Kennedy.

Wealth of images

The collection, which has taken three years to digitise, will provide a valuable platform for journalists and organisations that want to showcase their work in order to find new markets for their still photographs.

"It contains a wealth of images from the continent that have been well preserved and will now be accessible for generation after generation. I believe Mo would have been pleased to see his work brought to life," says Willetts who is also the organisation’s editorial director, photography.

Joe Munga, the A24 Media editor-in-chief says through the stills collection "the world finally gets to see this beautiful continent through our lens".

He adds: "It takes A24 Media to the next level and enables us to take our vision into the future by raising a new generation of African photographers. We are using new technology to give them a unique opportunity to express themselves and to share their stories with the world."

Munga sees a natural harmony between technology and photography, not only for delivery of content from the continent, but also as a channel for telling stories in new and unique ways on multimedia platforms.

"The still picture collection also contains photo essays on a multimedia platform, which blend stills, text and sound in innovative and emotive style," he says.

Munga explains: "This new way of storytelling takes the African tradition up to date and would be ideal for museums, educational institutions and custodians of culture across the world looking for a fresh and compelling way to engage their audiences."

The organisation has signed partnership agreements with Aljazeera Television Network, CNBC Africa and the World Bank.

At its Mzima Springs Road offices, the company has advanced networks in picture and video production. It also has a library containing at least four million images taken since the 1950s.