This is an opportunity for an established African or UK consultant that is keen on shifting narratives of Africa and the UK. The delivery of this project requires that the consultant has demonstratable extensive networks in both regions OR an existing partnership with an organisation in the other region.
Background
British Council’s Sub-Saharan Africa Strategy aims to create opportunities for young people, enabling them to improve their chances of employment, their resilience, and their networks, and therefore fulfill their potential. The strategy depends on long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships between the UK and Africa, aimed at supporting prosperous and secure futures. It has been developed through a consultative process, using extensive market research.
As part of the strategy, we have embarked on a five-year programme, New Narratives, now in its second year, that will support more diverse, alternative narratives between young people in Africa and the UK. The programme aims to help contribute to changing reciprocal perceptions between both places to stimulate new understanding which will unlock new connections and collaborations for mutual benefit. To inform the programme's design, we commissioned M&C Saatchi World Services to undertake some research. This investigated perceptions and stereotypical narratives of countries of Africa and the UK, and how it affects bilateral relations.
The British Council is therefore intending to engage a consultant to design, curate, and deliver the New Narratives dialogue series, which will be delivered over 3 years
Proposal
As part of our 2022 programme, the British Council will offer a dialogue series aimed at relevant African and UK institutions, the purpose of which will be to not only identify problematic narratives across different sectors and their impact but to start developing solutions and encouraging institutions to find ways of implementing these solutions. This will be done with the aim of contributing to updating Africa / UK relationships through stronger connections, creating more plural narratives between the two places, and providing better insight for stakeholder decision-making.
The series will be created based on the programmatic themes of youth cultures, education, memories and archives, and shared global challenges, with decolonisation and technology/innovation as cross-cutting themes. The series will bring diverse and balanced panels from countries of Africa and the UK to interrogate problematic and outdated perceptions and stereotypes that contribute to narratives and discuss the roles different institutions have in shifting these narratives to pave the way for more plural narratives, equal opportunities to be created.
Annual themes
- Year 1: identifying problematic narratives and understanding the challenges
- Year 2: sharing possible solutions, knowledge, best (and new) practices and encouraging their implementation/action
- Year 3: reflections and promoting more collaboration and co-creation in response to the challenges
Objectives:
- Highlighting African and British diversity and contributing to creating more plural narratives between the two places.
- Countering dominant negative narratives of the countries of Africa and the UK and providing better insight for stakeholder decision-making
- Building common ground based on common sensibilities and updating Africa / UK relationships through stronger connections.
Expected Deliverables:
- An implementation work plan, including approach and budget.
- A quarterly work plan proposed topics and panellists.
- Curation and delivery of a minimum of 15 conversations over the 3-year period, with a minimum of 3 being co-curated with the British Council team.
- Annual report on delivery (including finances), reach and impact of conversations.
This is an opportunity for an established African or UK consultant that is keen on shifting narratives of Africa and the UK. The delivery of this project requires that the consultant has demonstratable extensive networks in both regions OR an existing partnership with an organisation in the other region.