"Negative stereotypes of Africa often originate with Africans themselves".

This was the opinion expressed by Maku Chikasha, a Zimbabwean who recently participated in the InterAction leadership programme.

Chikasha was a guest contributor for Network Africa magazine’s April 2008 edition. The edition’s front page is emblazoned with the words: “Cheer Up: More Reasons Why Africa Should be a Happier Place”. The magazine contains several articles by individuals who attended InterAction’s Pan-African events in Senegal and Zambia.

InterAction is the British Council’s leadership programme in sub-Saharan Africa. The initiative engages participants in conversation about the “deficit view” of Africa, Africa’s contribution to the world, and individual assumptions about the continent. InterAction also focuses on leadership skills and empowers individuals to explore opportunities that will lead to new perspectives on Africa.

Individuals who choose to take part in InterAction attend several events in their own country and in another country in Africa, forming close partnerships with other participants and a partner community. Their activities are funded by the British Council.

One of the biggest events of the programme, the Pan-African event, sees over 100 participants converging in one country to engage in dialogue. InterAction describes the event as an opportunity for participants to “share their own experiences, to learn from others, and broaden their networks to other African countries”.

Participating countries are: Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Cameroon, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, Namibia, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, and the UK.

Network Africa’s editor, Pelu Awofeso, uses quotes from Chikasha’s article to preface the issue, which focuses on positive attitudes towards Africa.

Chikasa writes about her experience at the Pan-African event she attended late last year. “I connected with supposedly ‘corrupt’ Nigerians; hugged the supposedly ‘war weary’ Sudanese; and had lunch with the supposedly ‘violent’ South Africans, all the while questioning my faulty impressions about these people. How had we all acquired these negative labels? In Zambia I was not swindled or stabbed violently. The Ethiopians looked pretty well fed and the Zimbabweans got into hearty conversations with the British present.

“InterAction advises one to hold every assumption lightly, lets you see that indeed, there is power in asking questions and that we must inquire with the objective to appreciate. I fell in love … deeply and irrevocably in love with Africa.”

Dr Yashua Alkali Hamza, a paediatrician from Nigeria, was present at the Pan-African event in Senegal. She says the programme gave her a “new-found appreciation of the continent’s capacity for greatness”.

Participants at the Senegal event built a “wall of greatness”, a mosaic of pictures, paintings or designs they were asked to create before they arrived. Building the wall was a chaotic experience, as each participant struggled to find a space for his or her “brick”.

Says Hamza, “One of the InterAction principles states: ‘From chaos, order will emerge.’ Very slowly and deliberately, people started to co-operate with each other; people started to become creative. Through resolve, co-operation and patience, the wall formed.”

The wall was filled with pictures of sports teams, landscapes, movie posters and individuals. “There were no pictures of death and destruction – just pictures of hope and the numerous resources Africa has to offer. No, we did not pretend that these problems do not exist … what we simply did for that moment was to celebrate Africa.”

“Just as we scrambled to build the wall, we will all scramble together to build our continent.”

Ruth Ataguba wrote on the strength of Africa’s diversity. “Together, we draw more energy to move away from the paradox of being a continent that is so richly blessed and yet despised, to being the next best thing going to happen in the world. We need not merge as one nation, but we should approach the centre as one.”

Participant Mwewa Besa from Zambia wrote a letter to Samantha Chuula, an InterAction co-ordinator, entitled “Letter from a reborn African”.

Besa said her experience at the Pan-African event had been life-changing, and had given her renewed hope for a “united Africa”.

“The event enabled me to look at our differences not as a point of departure, but rather as a source of strength that will enable us to utilise our various skills, abilities, connections and resources for the betterment of Africa.

“Let’s continue with those conversations, let’s accommodate divergent views … let’s share those stories of success, and most importantly, let’s share with love and in love, for that is the true nature of our pursuit.”

InterAction programme manager Samantha Chuula says that the response from African and UK InterAction participants has been overwhelming. She credits the Cooper-Riders Theory of Appreciative Inquiry for the programme’s life-changing effects.

“The theory enhances the work of the British Council, which has been successful in bringing people together who might not otherwise have had the opportunity to engage. The description of the event, where the British participants sat, discussed and laughed with the Zimbabweans, is testimony to the power of the theory and the programme.

"People suddenly see that there is more that unites than divides and that cultural relations are extremely important if we are to look at ways of creating a peaceful world for everyone – whether in Harare or in Hertfordshire.”