Charlotte Yonga Naam Na La
In October 2024, months after ZAM published ‘Hotel Kremlin’, the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle produced a podcast on the investigation, highlighting its “grim picture of life under military dictatorships in the Sahel.” In the podcast, the broadcaster interviewed one of the Hotel Kremlin journalists who, undercover, investigated in Mali; ZAM investigations editor Evelyn Groenink and seasoned West Africa-reporter and ZAM associate Bram Posthumus. The podcast highlights the investigation’s...
In October 2024, months after ZAM published ‘Hotel Kremlin’, the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle produced a podcast on the investigation, highlighting its “grim picture of life under military dictatorships in the Sahel.” In the podcast, the broadcaster interviewed one of the Hotel...
[ tekst in Nederlands hieronder ] We are pleased to announce that the ZAM Nelson Mandela Lecture will be going ahead next year on Sunday 16 February 2025 at the International Theatre Amsterdam. It will be delivered by the award winning Kenyan investigative journalist John-Allan Namu. The lecture will be embedded in a multifaceted programme under the motto Face Forward, a programme packed with performances, talks, exhibition and more. 35 years after Nelson Mandela's release in February 1990, ZAM...
[ tekst in Nederlands hieronder ] We are pleased to announce that the ZAM Nelson Mandela Lecture will be going ahead next year on Sunday 16 February 2025 at the International Theatre Amsterdam. It will be delivered by the award winning Kenyan investigative journalist John-Allan...
Congratulations Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi and Sana Na N’Hada, two of six winners of the 2024 Prince Claus Impact Award! Va-Bene is a multidisciplinary artivist and curator from Ghana. She is also a transwoman in a country where the LGBTQIA+ community faces significant challenges. Sana Na H’Hada, from Guinea-Bissau is a filmmaker. Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi , known as crazinisT artisT, is a multidisciplinary artivist, curator, mentor, and philanthropist from Ghana. Raised in a deeply religious community, she...
Congratulations Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi and Sana Na N’Hada, two of six winners of the 2024 Prince Claus Impact Award! Va-Bene is a multidisciplinary artivist and curator from Ghana. She is also a transwoman in a country where the LGBTQIA+ community faces significant challenges. Sana...
[ text in English below ] Datum/Day Woensdag 18 december 2024 Tijd/Time 19.30 tot 21.00 uur Locatie/Venue Studio ZAM, Tussen de Bogen 66, Amsterdam Lees de artikelen op ZAM Boekenclub Vast al eens een aflevering, of allemaal, gezien van de VPRO-serie 'De Afro-Europeaan' met Ikenna Azuike. Zijn zoektocht naar wat het betekent om Europeaan met een Afrikaanse afkomst te zijn is een belangrijk thema in de recente literatuur geschreven door auteurs met Afrikaanse familiebanden. In het Engels worden ze...
[ text in English below ] Datum/Day Woensdag 18 december 2024 Tijd/Time 19.30 tot 21.00 uur Locatie/Venue Studio ZAM, Tussen de Bogen 66, Amsterdam Lees de artikelen op ZAM Boekenclub Vast al eens een aflevering, of allemaal, gezien van de VPRO-serie 'De Afro-Europeaan' met Ikenna...
Too early to speak of an ‘African Spring’, but the leaves of protest are budding. "For weeks, large numbers of people across Mozambique have been protesting the results of the presidential elections, as seen here in Maputo. The elections, held on October 9, were reportedly won by Frelimo with 70% of the vote. Protesters sing the national anthem, bang pans, blow whistles, and hold up signs. They are responding to Facebook calls from presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who fled the country and...
Too early to speak of an ‘African Spring’, but the leaves of protest are budding. "For weeks, large numbers of people across Mozambique have been protesting the results of the presidential elections, as seen here in Maputo. The elections, held on October 9, were reportedly won by...
Both tender and melancholic, the French-Cameroonian photographer series interrogates the ideas of love. Naam Na La , takes its name from the Wolof expression which translates to "I long for you". “Love is undeniably common and universal, but also overused and overrepresented in our visual cultures,” begins the photographer Charlotte Yonga. “As a feeling, it’s capable of great amplitude and density, but also exists in its deficiencies, flaws, ambiguities and vanities.” With these musings in mind,...
Both tender and melancholic, the French-Cameroonian photographer series interrogates the ideas of love. Naam Na La , takes its name from the Wolof expression which translates to "I long for you". “Love is undeniably common and universal, but also overused and overrepresented in our...
Breyten Breytenbach (1939 - 2024) The South African poet, writer, and visual artist passed away in Paris on Sunday, 24 November 2024. A video of his poem Ek sal sterf en na my vader gaan was produced as part of the ATKV Filmverse Project, with music by Laurinda Hofmeyer. The video includes English subtitles. Ek sal sterf en na my vader gaan Wellington toe met lang bene blink in die lig waar die kamers swaar en donker is waar sterre soos seemeeue sit op die nok en engele vir wurms spit in die tuin,...
Breyten Breytenbach (1939 - 2024) The South African poet, writer, and visual artist passed away in Paris on Sunday, 24 November 2024. A video of his poem Ek sal sterf en na my vader gaan was produced as part of the ATKV Filmverse Project, with music by Laurinda Hofmeyer. The video...
An increasing number of African stand-up comedians are touring Europe and the US, often satirising misconceptions and stereotypes about Africa and Africans still prevalent in many Western minds. South African Trevor Noah has become an established international celebrity, but others, such as Noah’s fellow South African Loyiso Gola, Captain Khalid from Tanzania, Learnmore Jonasi from Zimbabwe, and Maira Santos from Mozambique, are rapidly joining him in claiming the world’s stages. These comedians...
An increasing number of African stand-up comedians are touring Europe and the US, often satirising misconceptions and stereotypes about Africa and Africans still prevalent in many Western minds. South African Trevor Noah has become an established international celebrity, but others,...
Africa’s political elite's deforestation scam | Transnational Investigation Logging the trees, mining the forest and pocketing ‘green’ funds, all at the same time A ZAM transnational investigation conducted across six African countries has revealed the complicity of governing political elites in rapid deforestation. At the same time, many of these elites are receiving billions of dollars and euros in ‘green’ funds from international partners, including the UN, the EU, and the World Bank. Previous...
Africa’s political elite's deforestation scam | Transnational Investigation Logging the trees, mining the forest and pocketing ‘green’ funds, all at the same time A ZAM transnational investigation conducted across six African countries has revealed the complicity of governing...
Raided forests leave villages empty as the wood trucks roll Almost half of Cameroon is covered by tropical forests, but it is disappearing fast. According to Global Forest Watch, the country lost close to one million hectares of humid primary forest between 2002 and 2023, representing about half of its total tree cover loss in the same period. The devastation is a key focus of several international partnerships with Cameroon, including a European Commission support programme for “development...
Raided forests leave villages empty as the wood trucks roll Almost half of Cameroon is covered by tropical forests, but it is disappearing fast. According to Global Forest Watch, the country lost close to one million hectares of humid primary forest between 2002 and 2023,...
How ‘thieves in government’ are ravaging Mulanje mountain Located in Malawi’s southern region, near the Mozambique border, Mulanje is the country’s highest mountain and the source of several rivers that support hydroelectric power generation and agriculture. Bananas, pineapples, cassava, and sweet potatoes, along with cross-border trade with Mozambique, sustain the livelihoods of nearly 700,000 people in surrounding communities. But it was always the cedar tree that symbolised the real wealth of...
How ‘thieves in government’ are ravaging Mulanje mountain Located in Malawi’s southern region, near the Mozambique border, Mulanje is the country’s highest mountain and the source of several rivers that support hydroelectric power generation and agriculture. Bananas, pineapples,...
Despite much ‘green’ planning and funding, Ghana’s political elite still mines the forests ‘Green’ plans and international funding do little to counter the rapid shrinking of Ghana’s forest cover, while a set of powerful politicians continue to receive mining licenses in protected areas. Mining, legal and illegal, and mainly for gold, is one of the greatest driving forces of deforestation in the country. In 2016, Ghana developed a Forestry Development Master Plan aimed at eliminating mining in...
Despite much ‘green’ planning and funding, Ghana’s political elite still mines the forests ‘Green’ plans and international funding do little to counter the rapid shrinking of Ghana’s forest cover, while a set of powerful politicians continue to receive mining licenses in protected...
G4S security guards working for the multinational cement manufacturer Bamburi Portland Cement Ltd, along with a special Kenyan police unit stationed at a site claimed by Bamburi, have been accused of torture and assault by dozens of locals in Denyenye, a small village in Kwale County, coastal Kenya. The villagers, who live near a 1,500-acre piece of contested land, rely on it for farming cattle, fetching firewood for cooking, and accessing the ocean for fishing. According to G4S, its "small team’s...
G4S security guards working for the multinational cement manufacturer Bamburi Portland Cement Ltd, along with a special Kenyan police unit stationed at a site claimed by Bamburi, have been accused of torture and assault by dozens of locals in Denyenye, a small village in Kwale...
For the past three weeks, the streets of Maputo, Mozambique's capital, and other major cities have been consumed by protests against the ruling Frelimo party and the electoral fraud that, according to EU observers and the opposition, is securing its continued dominance following the 9 October elections. Estacio Valoi, a Mozambican investigative journalist and member of ZAM's partner Network of African Investigative Reporters and Editors (NAIRE), left his country to attend the African Investigative...
For the past three weeks, the streets of Maputo, Mozambique's capital, and other major cities have been consumed by protests against the ruling Frelimo party and the electoral fraud that, according to EU observers and the opposition, is securing its continued dominance following the...
Investigative journalists discuss challenges at continental conference “But isn’t it better to have a dictatorship-with-development, like in Rwanda”, asks an audience member during the Rwanda Classified panel on Day 1 of the African Investigative Journalism Conference, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 30 October to 1 November. “Where I work in West Africa, people would give a dear thing to have development, even if the government is authoritarian.” Rwanda Classified , a cross-continental...
Investigative journalists discuss challenges at continental conference “But isn’t it better to have a dictatorship-with-development, like in Rwanda”, asks an audience member during the Rwanda Classified panel on Day 1 of the African Investigative Journalism Conference, held in...
Anyone listening to the rhetoric of European anti-immigration parties cannot escape the impression that they aim to transform the continent into a lily-white bastion. They call for ‘tougher’ and ‘stricter’ actions against the ‘influx’ of African ‘fortune seekers.’ Yet, behind this alarming facade of xenophobia lie campaigns by politicians from the very same parties who seek staff from Africa—whether for healthcare in London, the high-tech industry in Denmark, or housing in Portugal. However,...
Anyone listening to the rhetoric of European anti-immigration parties cannot escape the impression that they aim to transform the continent into a lily-white bastion. They call for ‘tougher’ and ‘stricter’ actions against the ‘influx’ of African ‘fortune seekers.’ Yet, behind this...
The impact of climate change is devastating but communities find ways of surviving despite corruption and governmental planning. Wata Na Life (Krio for ‘Water is Life’), is a phrase photographer Ngadi Smart heard time and again in Sierra Leone, a country where water is very much a currency. Smart spent three months in the country of her heritage in 2021 exploring the link between water and our changing climate. What she found were communities adapting as best they could to the fall-out from a...
The impact of climate change is devastating but communities find ways of surviving despite corruption and governmental planning. Wata Na Life (Krio for ‘Water is Life’), is a phrase photographer Ngadi Smart heard time and again in Sierra Leone, a country where water is very much a...
Kom je ons helpen om de vele werkzaamheden in de ZAM-studio in goede banen te leiden? Het gaat om een onbezoldigde functie voor maximaal 8 uur per week in het Amsterdamse zenuwcentrum van ZAM. ZAM brengt de verhalen, inzichten en ervaringen van Afrikaanse creatieven en vernieuwers in onderzoeksjournalistiek, fotografie, kunst en opinie onder de aandacht van een groeiend internationaal publiek. ZAM introduceert nieuwe perspectieven in de discussies van onze tijd door middel van digitale en gedrukte...
Kom je ons helpen om de vele werkzaamheden in de ZAM-studio in goede banen te leiden? Het gaat om een onbezoldigde functie voor maximaal 8 uur per week in het Amsterdamse zenuwcentrum van ZAM. ZAM brengt de verhalen, inzichten en ervaringen van Afrikaanse creatieven en vernieuwers...
The investigative work done by ZAM’s partner NAIRE (the Network of African Investigative Reporters and Editors) will be featured in no less than three sessions at this year’s African Investigative Journalism Conference, to be held between 30 October and 1 November in Johannesburg. In one of these investigations, regarding the Rwanda Classified project , the NAIRE member who led ZAM’s team investigating Rwanda’s ‘long arm’ in East Africa will participate under a pseudonym. Image by AIJC. A second...
The investigative work done by ZAM’s partner NAIRE (the Network of African Investigative Reporters and Editors) will be featured in no less than three sessions at this year’s African Investigative Journalism Conference, to be held between 30 October and 1 November in Johannesburg....
Amsterdam, November 2024 Onlangs verschenen: The Complicit Camera [English text below] Zodra een foto het publieke domein betreedt, lijken de oorspronkelijke intenties van de maker uit het zicht te verdwijnen. Zo ontstaat een beeldeconomie, meer dan een beeldcultuur. En die cultuur wordt nog steeds gedomineerd door witte en westerse percepties. De verbeelding van het Afrikaanse continent is een ‘goed’ voorbeeld van veelvuldige vertekening. In het fotoboek The Complicit Camera onderwerpt Pieter van...
Amsterdam, November 2024 Onlangs verschenen: The Complicit Camera [English text below] Zodra een foto het publieke domein betreedt, lijken de oorspronkelijke intenties van de maker uit het zicht te verdwijnen. Zo ontstaat een beeldeconomie, meer dan een beeldcultuur. En die cultuur...
