5 Reasons to check out the new Medium publication for Africans
Attention Medium readers and writers! The wait is over! There’s a new publication in town and it’s called Alternative Africa (Alt + A) — and we are accepting submissions.
Want to write for us? Drop a comment “ALT + [username] and [2 sentences explaining what topics you intend to cover and why].”
The goal of Alt Africa is to re-think and refine African cultures and tell stories of new-age African experiences.
Because of our cultures, histories and traditions, our stories are deeply nuanced and our individual experiences can feel isolating.
This isn’t an attempt to further segregate Africans from others. Here’s why we created ALT Africa and the value we hope to add to the Medium platform and the lives of readers.
- African pieces in one place: There are tons of African writers or writers about Africa across Medium with thousands of followers. However, we were looking to create an aggregate of content by young Africans on various subjects from relationships to religion, to traditions to tech and politics to professional development. Think one-click curation.
- African audience membership (you’re welcome Medium): I have interacted with many of African descent who expressed a disinterest in paying for a Medium account. Why? They do not see the relevance of mainstream articles to their cultural nuances. Also because there is no compensation for writers based in Africa? #FixitMedium
- Virtual networking: Think of the space as a form of virtual networking space as well. As we know, Africans are spread across the globe, working in Fortune 500 countries, startups, nonprofits, and everything in between. Like, comment, and subscribe to one another, connect on LinkedIn, and link up IRL to delve deeper into the topics you enjoy reading about!
- Present alternative perspectives and life choices: Don’t want to be a doctor, lawyer, or engineer? Appreciate that you were pressured into being a doctor, lawyer, or engineer? Not interested in getting married? Thinking of going blonde? Struggling with wanting to be a house-husband? No topic is off-topic in this publication, and we are sure children of immigrants from around the world will be able to relate.
- You are not alone: The most important reason for this publication is to host pieces for readers and writers to relate to one another as Africans straddling the line of traditional cultures that got us this far and modern adaptations to take us even further. We hope to inspire each other, but most importantly ignite a fire within readers (and writers as they put words on a page) to live their truth on their own terms, unapologetically. Your mental health needs it.
Africa is a continent. It is diverse. My home country, Cameroon, alone has over 250+ languages spoken.
This publication will be as diverse as the countries, languages, and thoughts hosted on our beautiful continent.
Come forth French-speaking writers, throw in some Yoruba words. May your work be as dynamic as you are.
Our very first piece of the publication takes a socio-spiritual look into on lessons we might be instilling into the next generation of Africans. Welcome & enjoy!
*By the very nature of living “in-between”, the content will likely be relevant or applicable to non-African readers (and perhaps writers too!) navigating a culture different from their parents (TCKs). We have more bringing us together than tearing us apart.