Positive Africa Image Campaign (PAIC) has received active support from world renowned British NGO ONE, which was co-founded by rock star Bono.
“ONE’s pledge to support PAIC is a major boost as it creates an opportunity to grow and forge links with other major organizations and broadcasters,” said Billy Kokorwe, PAIC founder.
Kokorwe said this association with ONE is timely as it helps PAIC gain enough world recognition.
Positive Africa Image Campaign’s main goal is to advocate for less negative news coverage about African issues as there are too many images of starving Africans, children with protruding bones, documentaries about African savages in villages and religious propaganda purporting to provide aid to poor Africans.
As part of his campaign that is set to resume on 19th October, Kokorwe said he will have an interview with ONE executive director Jamie Drummond. Drummond advocacy for African development dates back to 2002 when, together with Bono, sought to press developed nations to do their part in the fight against extreme poverty in Africa.
“The interview will be included in the campaign short film, which will include other international celebrities, political leaders and ordinary people across the world,” said Kokorwe.
He said during his tour he will also shoot a vox pop in London, Manchester and Birmingham before attending the intelligent factual festival, a leading forum for business information debate for factual television film makers. “This will afford me an opportunity to further promote the positive Africa image campaign and market my documentaries to the who is who of international film and television,” said Kokorwe.
Filmmaker Kokorwe said he wants the Western media to show Africa in a better light, and for their audiences to understand Africa differently. He said the main objective is not really for Africa to be seen as a continent that comes with a begging bowl.
“We want Africa to be seen in a positive light for the western people to actually understand Africa, when they give aid to Africa, it should be in a respectful manner,” he said.
Kokorwe has produced and directed several positive African television documentary films including: The Story of Sir Seretse and Lady Khama, Lady Khama commenting on her husband’s vision for Botswana, family life and her thoughts about her son and current president of Botswana, Lt. Gen. Ian Khama’s entry into politics; Thabo Mbeki’s African Renaissance, about the former South African president’s vision for the whole of Africa; Legacy of Life – A biography of Lady Khama and the recently launched The African Democrat about Sir Ketumile Masire, which contains Kokorwe’s interviews with former United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, former British Prime minister, Tony Blair and former South African president and Nobel peace prize laureate, F.W De Klerk, among other high profile contributors.
“With support from such a recognised organisation PAIC can go far in its quest to have Africa portrayed in a better way,” said Kokorwe.
