By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Distinguished philosopher, writer, and teacher Kwasi Wiredu, born in Ghana and recognized on three continents, has passed away at the age of 90. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy cites Wiredu for his decades-long study of “conceptual decolonization” in contemporary African systems of thought.
Recollecting Poitier’s Brush with Africa in Early American Films
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Not long ago, movies made in Hollywood filmed in major cities in Africa displayed an unapologetic ignorance of even minimal facts about the continent. Cities named Lagos, Nairobi or Johannesburg became “somewhere in Africa”, anti-colonial sentiments became a “coloured struggle”, and the continent became a […]
Historic City of Stone-Hewn Churches Re-Opens to Pilgrims Barred by War
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — A World Heritage Site and Ethiopia’s holy city of Lalibela is welcoming pilgrims once again. Throngs of Ethiopians recently flooded the streets of the town caught up in the fighting between the government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. Ethiopia’s Orthodox Christians celebrate the birth […]
COVID-19 and the Structural Crises of Our Time – BOOK REVIEW by Chan Kok Peng*
By Lim Mah-Hui and Michael Heng Siam-Heng SINGAPORE (IDN) — This is clearly an ambitious book spanning over 200 pages and covering the history of economic and philosophical thought, pandemics, climate change, different economic and political systems and recent financial developments. The authors’ objective is to argue that these subject matters are not separate but […]
Major New York Buyer of Looted Antiquities Ordered to Return Some Pieces but No Prosecution
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — A golden bowl, a ceremonial libations vessel, a marble statue and a small chest for human remains were among the 180 reputedly stolen antiquities that decorated the homes and offices of a Brooklyn billionaire whose collection of the ancient artefacts was valued at $80 million. […]
UNESCO Marks Its 75th Anniversary with An African Spotlight
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) marked its 75th anniversary with a star-studded cast of artists and world leaders. Among the participants was American actor Forest Whitaker, a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Peace and Reconciliation since 2011. His organization, the Whitaker Peace […]
Moving Tributes for South Africa’s Iconic Composer
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Two anthems, one country. Such was the inspiration for President Nelson Mandela in 1994 to declare that both “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika” (Lord bless Africa) and “Die Stem van Suid-Afrika” (English: “The Call of South Africa”)—the state anthem inherited from the previous apartheid government—would be the […]
Zimbabwean Novelist Tsitsi Dangarembga Called ‘Voice of Hope’
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — For her “ability to capture and communicate vital truths even amidst times of upheaval”, Zimbabwean writer Tsitsi Dangarembga will receive the PEN Pinter prize in memory of the Nobel laureate Harold Pinter. Dangarembga is the author of Nervous Conditions, which she wrote when she was […]
Corona May Shutter South Africa’s Beloved Heritage Museums
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Popular exhibits at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg and other legacy museums are barely surviving and may close over funding shortfalls due to COVID-19. A pair of boxing gloves worn by Nelson Mandela at the height of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, one of […]
Noted Kenyan African ‘Gikuyu’ Writer Listed for Literary Prize
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Some two decades ago, Ngugi wa Thiong’o challenged African writers to break their colonial chains and write in African languages. He then shocked the literary world and took on the challenge himself. Although he continued to write nonfiction in English, Ngugi wrote his novels and […]