Defining your voice as an African travel writer
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Defining your voice as an African travel writer
Lola Akinmade Åkerström
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The North Pole…
www.LolaGoesNorth.com
Story
Photo source: CNTraveler
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I was constantly met with the question,
WHY?
Story
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My mission = WHY NOT?
Story
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Born in Nigeria, living in diaspora since age 15
Former GIS system architect and programmer
Sweden-based travel writer and photographer
Represented by National Geographic Creative
Background
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Passion
Geography had always been my passion and I knew deep down in my heart I was born to explore the world and
share those experiences through imagery and words.
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How do you find your voice as an African travel writer?
Question 1 - Finding your voice
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I found my own voice through
listening.
Question 1 - Finding your voice
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At 15 years old, the world wanted to marginalize and define me.
It wanted to put me in a predefined box of expectations
and limitations.
Question 1 - Finding your voice
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People weren’t truly listening
to what I had to share about
myself and my culture.
Question 1 - Finding your voice
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By listening to what people were truly saying about
their cultures themselves.
Question 1 - Finding your voice
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Mission to share untold stories and to always depict people with dignity through
words and photography.
Question 1 - Finding your voice
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You find your voice by passionately pursuing subject
matters and topics that are naturally of interest to you.
Question 1 - Finding your voice
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For me, I explore culture through food, tradition, and
everyday lifestyles.
Question 1 - Finding your voice
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How do you expand as an African travel writer to write about a variety of destinations and travel-related topics with
authority?
Question 2 - Expanding with authority
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Mainstream assumption
African voice = African experiences
Question 2 - Expanding with authority
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How do I navigate the world as an African?
What makes my point of view unique on a mainstream level?
Question 2 - Expanding with authority
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Quality of work improves when passionately pursuing subject
matters and topics that are naturally of interest to you.
Question 2 - Expanding with authority
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Question 2 - Expanding with authority
To reiterate, I explore culture through food, tradition, and everyday lifestyles.
Focusing on those very same themes across different cultures and countries
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If I don't focus on the black experience or write mostly about Africa as an African
travel writer, am I selling out?
Question 3 – Am I selling out?
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Question 3 – Am I selling out?
I live in Sweden.
I have explored it from corner to corner. I know Sweden and its culture like the back of my hand.
Because it is my home right now.
I have not fully lived in Nigeria since age 15.
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Disingenuous to write like a local insider about a place I haven’t actively
lived in for over 22 years…
Question 3 – Am I selling out?
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Question 3 – Am I selling out?
Travel writing explores and captures sense of place through words. Regardless of location.
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Question 3 – Am I selling out?
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For me,
travel means
listening
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Listening to the
undertones of different
cultures.
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Whether talking to
Zainab who handcrafts bags in the
heart of Lekki
Market…
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Or, going
behind the scenes with professional chef Johan
in Gothenburg.
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Travel is about being an open-minded sponge to not only soak up
other cultures in respect, but to also squeeze out some of myself
and my culture in return to foster understanding,
break down prejudices, and cut through assumptions.
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My mission continues to answer,
”WHY NOT?”
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My mission Questions?
www.akinmade.com
@LolaAkinmade