OkayAfrica is Celebrating 15 Years of Telling Africa’s Stories – and We Need Your Help
As OkayAfrica marks this milestone, we're taking a look back at the defining African moments of the past 15 years that deserve to be remembered, and we want to hear from you.
In the 15 years since OkayAfrica launched, we’ve been there for the moments that matter, and told stories that have opened up the continent to the world. We’ve got so much to celebrate – and we need you to be a part of it all!
On Friday, June 11, 2010, around 85,000 people gathered inside Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, the vast majority of them wearing different versions of South Africa’s football kit, blowing into their vuvuzelas. Everyone in the stadium and viewers across the world were waiting to watch the South Africa vs Mexico soccer game - which was more than a game. As the referee blew his whistle to signal kickoff, it became official: for the first time since its inception in 1930, a FIFA Men’s World Cup game was hosted on African soil.
The monumental event wasn’t just a triumph for sports, it was also a showcase of music, art and culture. It was huge. Millions of people tune in every four years to watch the biggest sporting event in the world, and that year, they tuned in to watch it happen in Africa. The world paid attention to the vibrant celebration of South Africa, amplified by the exponential rise of social media platforms, which were becoming powerful tools for connecting people across cultures.
The 2010 World Cup is arguably the most important moment in African pop culture in the last decade and half. The sport, the music, the people, and the art and culture, captured the attention of the world. We want to hear from you. What other moments have had a big impact on the continent or for the continent? Tell us, at this link, which moment you think is most significant, and why.
Launched in the same year as the 2010 World Cup, OkayAfrica quickly became the digital destination that celebrated and chronicled the people, stories, and events coming out of the continent and its diaspora. That mission is still alive today.
In the last 15 years, we have witnessed and covered moments, both big and small, across the continent and its diaspora. And as we celebrate our 15th anniversary this year, we are reflecting on 15 of the most significant ones. You are a big part of our story, so we want to hear from you. These 15 Moments are not just a list; they are a love letter to the wins that made us ululate, the challenges that refined us and pushed us forward, and the stories that demanded to be told.
Your suggestion can be political revolutions like the Arab Spring and Sudan’s civilian uprising, or civic actions like South Africa’s #FeesMustFall protests or Nigeria’s #EndSARS movement. It could be about the global expansion of Afrobeats and the collaborations that catalyzed it. It could be groundbreaking moments in sports, like when Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge became the first human to ever complete a marathon in under two hours, or Morocco becoming the first African country to reach the FIFA World Cup Semifinals in 2022.
We’re also looking at the boundary-pushers in film, art and literature. Consider figures like Senegalese French filmmaker Mati Diop who has become a celebrated global star championing African excellence in filmmaking, or Nigeria’s Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, whose literary voice has shaped global conversations about feminism and identity. Also think of the startup boom that has led to the continent being home to more than half a dozen unicorns.
Thank you for being part of our story and for helping us celebrate 15 years of telling Africa’s stories. Tell us about your most significant moment -- or moments -- below.
- Okayafrica TV: Michael Kiwanuka ›
- "The Stoop' Is the Podcast Keeping It Real About the Relationship Between Africans and African-Americans ›
- Shaboozey: How An Igbo Man Came to Rule American Country Music ›
- Finding Afrobeats In a White City ›
- César Vargas: How I Became Black ›
- Djimon Hounsou: Hollywood’s Unsung Hero ›
