Eight Kenyan cartoonists joined forces to pass on their message on the issue of ethnicity in politics, social and love relations.
It is an initiative of the Swiss Embassy in Nairobi and the Association of East African Cartoonists (Katuni), featuring Gado, Vic Nedula, Ozone, Mateso, Igah, Munene, Finlay and Kenny. It took almost three years for the cartoonists to get their illustrations completed.
They get to sum up what is broadly highlighted as crucial approaches to reach a far-reaching change (development) in Africa. Check the following statements extracted from their masterpiece:
- Hatred: don’t pass it on.
- Deal with prejudice. Don’t deny it.
- It’s your vote, you always have a choice.
- Don’t let politicians use ethnicity as a weapon.
- Love knows no tribe.
- Beware of tribalism, you reap what you sow.
- Don’t let tribalism crush us all.
- There are only two tribes in Kenya: the rich and the poor.
Like great movies, such cartoons have the power of raising awareness to open debate. Take a look-see!
Give your opinion! What do you think about it?
Luan, this is great! It could be used at school for art classes. Kids would learn how to sketch together with strong content.
I liked Love knows no tribe best.
Thanks Radka! Keep it coming, please.
I haven’t thought under this perspective of teaching kids, but I believe it is useful indeed.
I’m not completely sure, but I think my favourite is “Beware of tribalism, you reap what you sow”. =)
Brilliant stuff… love it.
What an interesting idea! It’s definetely a concept that should be explored more. I liked: “you always have a choice”.
Luan,
How was the reaction of the people? Did they like it, too? Was there a public discussion? Would you know? Thanks.
Great! It’s so fun to see them draw. The last one’s my favourite…
Chuffed to bits with your comments! Thanks guys.
@Iris, these questions you made are essential because we have to know if it had some effective results on society. However, I can’t still tell you all these answers simply because I haven’t got an answer from the director of this project, who is Chappatte, a prominent Swiss-Lebanese cartoonist. As soon as I get a response from him, I will pass it on. I am making a compromise.
No worries Luan. Thanks very much!
This is great Luan! Thanks for sharing. Do you by any chance know why it took them three years to complete this?
Thanks, Giedre!
I’m still looking forward to hearing from Chappatte, the director of this project, to inform you all about it.
Well, it took them almost three years because they had to draw the project, plan everything etc. Then, the cartoonists had to create the cartoons and kind of memorise them to draw without any mistakes. It is not easy. And you know, as these cartoonists are well-known, they had a lot more stuff to do, besides this project.
Keep comments coming! =D
Well, as promised, here you are: the Swiss-Lebanese cartoonist and director of this project, Patrick Chappatte, spoke to us about all the questions we had. In his own words:
“I just hosted four of the participating Kenyan cartoonists in Switzerland for 4 days. They met Kofi Annan here in Geneva, which was an amazing moment.
The video clips were very well received. We had a public forum in Nairobi back in January, attendance was good and involved. The Kenyan cartooning scene is really vibrant, reflecting the strenght of the media in the country. These clips are touring the country with an NGO organizing roadshow screenings. They will be shown on TVs soon”.
He will keep us informed.
Promise fulfilled =)
Thanks for the update Luan.
That’s very good to know. The strength of the media, indeed, should never by underestimated.
Iris