Walter Rodney articulated how Europe underdeveloped Africa, and this intervention also underscored the continuation of exploitative relations, which made it possible for development to materialize in the Global North and maldevelopment to ensue in the Global South. And to reverse such a process, carrying a gun is not sufficient. It requires dealing with the consciousness, the psyche, because colonialism is internalized and routinized. 
– ​Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni

Animation South Africa (ASA) put their strengths together with the Goethe-Institut’s Cav' Platform to address a need in the South African, as well as the wider African, creative industries – a need for transformation in animation and other digital forms of making. The purpose is to foster connection, conversation and a collaborative information exchange in order to “strengthen animation and other related digital content production.” They hope that through the spark of initial conversations they will inspire industry professionals, as well as emerging talents in the field, to take the necessary measures to create a “truly transformed and equal opportunity industry.” To facilitate this growth project, ASA and the Goethe-Institut implemented a dialogue series anchored by the core principle of transformation in the industry. The two dialogues that have taken place worked with the themes of Digitizing African Immersive Stories and The Future Of African Animators and Digital Content Producers and formed part of the programmes of the Fak’ugesi Festival and the Basha Uhuru. The problem of transformation in the industry and why it is necessary was addressed by a number of industry experts who formed part of the Dialogue Series’ panels.  

Digitising works of African orature

Digitizing African Immersive Stories (Dialogue 1) panellists included Melisa Allela, an animator and e-learning specialist from Nairobi, Kenya; Francina Ntsimane, the Deputy Director of the Gauteng Department of Economic Development; and Daliso Ngoma, the Managing Director of African Technopreneurs. The Future Of African Animators and Digital Content Producers (Dialogue 2) panellists included King Ntono, a Black creative entrepreneur and founder of KNS Studios (ASA); Marion Grant from Greys Global, a lobbyist on behalf of the South African creative industry; and Isabelle Rorke from Animation SA who works in the Human Capital and Innovation Sector. After giving insight on technologies, the economic realities in the sector, the available opportunities and lack thereof, the panellists provided personal insights into strategies towards transforming the sector.

Digitising works of African orature Digitizing African Immersive Stories, which formed part of the Fak’ugesi Festival's Power to the Pixel theme, focused to a large extent on how we can bring old forms of knowledges and narratives, specifically African orature, into new and immersive forms of technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and 360 film.

Melisa Allela’s expertise in digitising works of African orature and her contribution towards the protection of intangible African heritage created inspirational first-hand experience as well as knowledges acquired while working in the industry. She was the first panellist to speak during the dialogue, setting the tone for the rest of the discussion with her use of Swahili, “If I was to tell a story I would begin by asking a question: ‘Hadithi? Hadithi?’ (Story? Story?). To which I would respond: ‘Hadith Njoo! Uwongo njoo! Ntamu kolea!’ (Let the story come, let the embellishments come, let the sweetness be great!).” She states that her passion for this work and its creation lies in the practical need that exists for these forms of orature – that are interactive by nature – to be accessible via VR that allows for emersion). Virtual beings are regarded as virtual storytellers, orating narratives to a human audience. She maintains that, “Interactivity in VR has more features that enable additional interactions. Verbal and non-verbal interactions that include things like speech interaction, the branching and unbranching of storytelling within narratives which allows for multiple outcomes.” With her input, we can learn of the potential that exists for African stories to be narrated in new and immersive technologies.

Finding indigenous storytellers 

Economist Francina Ntsimane provided insight on the socio-economic aspects of animation in South Africa, the Gauteng Department of Economic Development’s future plans for development in the sector as well as what opportunities exist for emerging talents to hone their skills. The future vision which she shared with us involved such strategies as finding indigenous storytellers, transforming their stories into indigenous language scripts, investing in character development, the creation of commercial animation for national and global audiences and more. She hopes that through the creation of African stories by African creators we will enable education on different cultures and remove tribalism, promote skills development as well as create employment through the growth of animation-based studios. She highlights important questions when she asks, “When are we going to have our own intellectual property? Our own stories being told overseas by us?” While optimistic about the future of animation in South Africa, she acknowledges the reality of challenges that exist in this space of creation, such as, the lack of skills funding and the lack of access to fully-equipped design studios, to name a few. To address these issues she suggests the development of an industry decision matrix, supporting the animation industry with local broadcasting as well as creating opportunities to access funds, market access interventions and incubation programmes.
 

Black Tech Entrepreneur Daliso Ngoma gave input on the intake of new and immersive technologies locally. His insight revealed that extended reality (XR) technologies are becoming more popular as educational tools in spaces such as galleries and museums as well as in the business-to-business (B2B) environment. For example, in B2B mining, these technologies are used to simulate real mining experiences and conduct training.

Demand for African content by Africans

In the second dialogue series The Future Of African Animators and Digital Content Producers, King Ntono, founder of KNS Studios, shares that there are challenges to the increasing demand for African content by Africans and defining who we are to shape a homogeneous African identity. He also provides insights on the challenges that exist for Black entrepreneurs and creatives, such as himself, within the animation industry and how he overcame these challenges, providing much-needed insight from an industry professional.
 

Isabelle Rorke from ASA provided a well-researched strategy aimed at finding ways to “nurture a vibrant, sustainable and transformed animation industry in South Africa, one that has the capacity to offer a diverse range of content and other ancillary services that stand out as unique and globally competitive.” A strategy that she highlights is revolutionising decolonisation, falling in with thoughts by Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni. Rorke similarly warns of the dangers of decolonisation becoming a buzz word instead of leading to meaningful and transformative action.

Take the opportunities 

The conversation is well rounded off by the positive outlooks of lobbyist Marion Grant who sees immense potential for African animation and associated media to become a main contender on the global playing field. She shares that our creativity has the ability to address key social, economic and cultural objectives. She drives through the overall message, ethos and responsibility inherent in these discussions when she says, “Through your work say how much you care about your country.”
 
It is our responsibility as Africans, to not only create African content and a shared African identity but to become a part of the programmes and initiatives that are championing animation in the global South to facilitate skills development and employment in the sector. The world is changing, and historically as Africans, we have been unable to be the orators of our stories, this historical disposition’s legacy still lives on through neo-colonialism. We must work together as Africans in the creative industry at the forefront of new and immersive technologies to take the opportunities that exist for us to tell our own stories.