African Youth Culture Kicks Off

It was youth day in South Africa recently, marking the anniversary of the Soweto uprising in 1976 - a spectacularly sordid affair even by apartheid era standards. Anyway, fast-forward 30 years and things in Soweto have changed somewhat - check out the cars and business section of http://www.sowetorocks.com/ for the clearest illustration of this! South Africa, like a number of other African countries, has a fast-growing black middle class that have fused western culture, with township and traditional influences to create one of the most original and potentially powerful international youth culture movements. My personal prediction is that it will eventually have a similar impact to Brazilian or Japanese youth culture on the west.

African trendspotting agency Instant Grass describes the commercial result of this growing middleclass as creating a “second scramble for Africa” by international youth brands. Led by cell phone companies and followed by fashion, drinks and automobile brands all keen to capture the increasingly disposable income of Africa’s black middle class.

A couple of further thoughts from a recent Instant Grass report:

“National* pride is buoyant, yet defining a national identity is increasingly difficult. Multi-cultural development has produced nations with a multitude of different tribal traditions and a matrix of influential foreign connections - for example, the first language of most of Angola’s majority black youth is Portuguese. The rise of the Internet and mass media has also confused identity further with Western/African-American culture having a strong influence. The reaction of African youth is to create an eclectic culture that embraces both MTV and traditional practices and thinking that flits effortlessly between the two. African youth are filtering what they need from Western influences and carving their own sense of individualism mixed with a strong sense of national pride.”

“There is a growing sense of cultural patriotism; pride in local arts, sport and business success and a strong desire to compete as equals internationally. Products that are seen as having a strong national identity, such as Kenya’s Tusker beer or the Afrocentric clothing label in South Africa are benefiting from this upsurge in nationalism and raising challenges for international brands also seeking to capitalise on the growing disposable income of African youth.”

*Taken from a study of youth culture across African nations; including Angola, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa.

Contributed by Dan Pinch