![]() Hence, there was no reason why a Burkinabe child couldn’t join the country’s nascent space programme. I informed her that the West African nation was already building its first satellite, Burkina Sat-1. She remarked that it was impossible for a child in Burkina Faso to become a space engineer. When I shared the poster with colleagues, one sent a reply that left me utterly shocked. In one poster, a child started as an electrician and ended up as a space engineer. I crafted a series of illustrated posters on the outcomes of science and engineering studies. Our goal? To encourage youth in the capital, Ouagadougou, to train for STEM careers. We live in a world where tales of African genius are not just missing, they are discouraged and subconsciously banned.Ī few years ago, I was working on a communications campaign in Burkina Faso. He probably meant it as a joke but his query showed just how much the cancer of stereotypes has metastasised. Interstellar travel. They can do all that,” he said, pausing and cocking his head before adding, “Would you ever get on a rocket built by an African?” I asked him whether Iron Man or Wonder Woman felt utopic too. When he read through it, he noted that it felt somewhat utopic. I sent an early version of the manuscript to a friend based in the United Kingdom. However, myriad challenges arise causing the world to wonder: “Will they make it on time?” From Africa to Mars tells the story of a technologically advanced African continent that takes on a seemingly impossible challenge: flying to Mars within a decade. In my new book, From Africa to Mars, I counter this negative narrative. All of this perpetuates a vicious cycle where a presumption of future failures denies Africa the opportunities and resources it needs to truly deliver on the potential of its 1.2 billion people – in turn reinforcing prejudices about the continent. Most critically, it robs African youth of a chance to dream of a better life right here on the continent. It demotivates African expatriates who might otherwise have considered returning home. ![]() Yet this pessimistic narrative has obvious consequences. On the face of it, there appears to be little reason to expect a miracle – a sudden awakening that could herald the rapid transformation that Singapore and South Korea, for instance, have gone through in the past six decades. The plagues of yesterday creep into tomorrow. Today’s forecasts paint a dire picture of the continent’s future. What will Africa look like by 2050? Will the present tale of missed opportunities persist? Or will the continent become a superpower securing a pole position in the new race to reach new frontiers of technology and of our imagination? Will, it, for instance, become a leading space-faring continent?
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