In the lively heart of Zimbabwe, a remarkable collaboration took place as Sympathy Sibanda, a columnist for My Afrika Magazine, warmly welcomed the Content Collective team from Ghana. This dynamic group, driven by a shared passion for storytelling and content creation, is spearheading a project called “To My Younger Self.“ The initiative focuses on exploring narratives that transcend generations and inspire a deep connection to African heritage.

Before diving into the full story, let’s hear the exclusive conversation!

SS: It’s good to host you on this column where we talk to movers and shakers in Africa. Tell us about yourselves as a group.

CC: Thank you so much for inviting us on this all important platform. It is such an honour. So, to answer your question in its simplest purest form, we are a group of storytellers and story-miners if you will, bonded by the love of Africa and content creation and we call ourselves the Content Collective.

SS: Story miners, is a good one. So now that we know about the group, please tell us about each individual and the part they play.

CC: Our group consists of four unique people from different walks of life and disciplines travelling in tandem.

Nuerki is our show producer – She takes care of our logistics. This includes where we will stop, where and what we will eat and rest, how safe a country we’re headed to is etc. She is our go-to-person with all the questions we always have on the road. Her job some days mimics that of “group mother”. She very diligently navigates our wants and needs with skill and exceptional human understanding. Nuerki is our 2, 3, 10 steps-ahead anticipator. It’s her asking about allergies to “do you have your yellow fever shot”? To the “next place we’re going is all greenery, we need some colour to make our pictures and videos crisp and happy.” She is also Ghana’s foremost travel and experience curator. This has led to her tagline – Concierge of all things Ghana/Africa.

Agyeman is our Network and Marketing executive. He has a gift of meeting people from all walks of life that is unmatched. Being on the road as we are, meeting the right people for the right kind of help is key. Agyeman is phenomenal at this. And while Nuerki does some of this, Agyeman is our storyteller curator. All we have to say is, we need 8 or 10 or 12 storytellers in such and such a country and go to bed. We’d wake up in the morning and Agyeman has it all figured and worked out. Agyeman is also a top tier marketing and branding expert. He currently works with Ghana’s biggest media group.

Obuobi is our Director of Photography- He is quiet and reflective most days at first meeting but OB as we affectionately call him, is not only one of Ghana’s most talented DOPS, he is also a bridge-gapper with his easy-going personality. OB essentially serves as a one-man production house on the handling picture, video, light and sound so he is constantly having conversations with the sun to see where it sets, depending on the environment we find ourselves with a storyteller. He also, creates content by giving all our storytellers a mini photoshoot after our sessions.

And ZoeBaraka is our show presenter. She is the Oprah Winfrey type of conversationalist and story-miner (our word), who is able to make one recall amazing life-changing experiences one didn’t know they had. Her film-making expertise makes her behave like the patient and watchful nature photographer, who is willing to sit quietly for as long as it takes to capture the perfect shot. Her tenacity, and being unafraid about her own vulnerabilities allows her to connect with others storytellers, all the time. ZoeBaraka is also head of production at Ghana’s foremost Christian Television and radio station.

SS: This is absolutely beautiful, a power packed team. So, how long have you been doing this and what is the inspiration behind?

CC: We only just began our in-person story-mining. This leg is actually our pilot/test/dry run. So yea, calling all funders and collaborators from all corners of Africa. But before that, the show was simply “To My Younger Self” and it started virtually four years ago and now it’s To My Younger Self 54 known as TMYS54.

SS: Sounds interesting. Are you aiming to reach ALL African countries? And what’s the timeline?

CC: Yes! the goal is to travel to all 54 African countries in person to mine personal stories for television, but even more importantly for posterity. The timeline for us is two to five years. We are in this for the long haul. What we are beginning to really understand is how complicated and expensive it is for Africans to travel around Africa. To be fair, traveling through Southern African for our first leg has been a breeze in the area of documentation and border control. We’re also factoring into our time table, edit and post production periods too.

SS: How do you identify the people to talk to/interview in each country?

CC: Honestly, we believe they come to us. Our only requirement has been that the storyteller be African. So really anyone can be our next storyteller as long as they are African. To be technical, it normally starts with a phone call or text message to a point person in a particular country. The beauty of this project is that “everyone has a story” and we are finding out that Africa is ready for logo therapy through personal storytelling. To answer the question succinctly, there is no formula to identifying a storyteller. Literally, the entire continent is our canvas in story form.

SS: In the countries travelled so far, what stereotypes have been dispelled by actually experiencing the people there?

CC: To be quite honest, we didn’t go into this first leg with stereotypes at all. We wanted to get the job done so badly, we just went straight into work mode. The aim was to gather and mine as many personal stories as possible and we did that. The one notion that was shattered for us is the fact that people assume Africans don’t like to share about themselves. We believe that idea was definitely shattered in a positive way as we had almost everyone willing to talk. And if they said no, it was because they had no availability for the time we were there.

SS: Being Zimbabwean and all, I’m interested in hearing your experience in Zimbabwe

CC: Fun fact; Zimbabwe was supposed to be our last country to visit. Originally, the plan was to travel across the continent alphabetically: start in Angola and work through the countries till we got to the letter Z. We very quickly realised how complicated that was going to be. As fate would have it, our travel partners suggested a route that would take us to Zimbabwe first. We loved Zimbabwe. The clear blue skies, the vast stretch of walls around buildings, the weather, and yes our Airbnb was so beautiful. We did have an experience at the airport that almost marred our beautiful stay in Harare but all that worked out as the people of Zimbabwe more than made up for that. We will miss the smiles most of all.

SS: I’m glad you had an almost perfect experience here. Where can people watch the various episodes?

CC: We still have our previous virtual shows up online and it can be watched on both YouTube and Facebook at To My Younger Self. The in-person stories we are mining most likely will first be shown on a Ghanaian television after which we will make it available to people across the continent and beyond, online. We are open to showing this on other television stations across Africa too.

SS: What’s the big dream for you guys?

CC:  The big dream is daunting but we know it is doable and we will show up every chance we get to make it happen.  The dream is to document and archive these stories in an immersive experience in one building that we dream and hope to call The African Storytelling Centre. Being that this is a continental project, we are open to having this centre anywhere in Africa.  

SS: Any motivational words for those who’d like to take up similar Afrocentric projects?

CC: To borrow from the guys at Nike, Just do it. Don’t wait. Especially if the waiting is so all your ducks are in a row. Start something. Even if starting for now, is putting it on paper.

SS: Anything you want or readers to remember?

CC: Yes, we are actively engaging with sponsors, donors and funders. We believe this project is strategically positioned for the next frontier in Africa. That frontier is STORYTELLING, but not just any storytelling; PERSONAL STORYTELLING. We already see how Hollywood is hungry for these stories (Think Woman King). And while that’s a very good development, The Content Collective thinks it is time we created our own content with our own words and our own voices. If there’s an entity out there that’s open to conversation and eventual funding of some or all the other legs of this project, we’re open for business and will love to talk.

SS: Thank you Content Collective, I believe this project is going to shake Africa and the world, positively.

CC: That’s the dream. Thank you Sympathy.