By Barry Bateman

Africa’s global knowledge production is a dismal three percent and there is limited academic literature available for Africans living abroad.

Tackling that problem is African Diaspora Foundation board member Elias Wondimu, who is a publisher with Tsehai Publishers.

The Ethiopian has spent the last few weeks in Botswana, Zambia and South Africa establishing ties with publishing houses and academic institutions to distribute African books in the US. “Africa’s knowledge contribution to the world is 3 percent, which is unacceptable.

“As Africans, we need to produce and fill the shelves of international libraries. We can’t sit down and wait for a miracle to happen; it our responsibility,” he said.

Wondimu said his publishing house was finalising a deal with the Africa Institute of South Africa to market their publication in the US. “We have also partnered with Unisa and have already published six books.

“Our flagship book is the Road to Democracy which chronicles the history of the Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa and the solidarity movement in the world,” he said.

He said his trip to the three countries was productive. “I met several publishers and had discussions to increase knowledge production to be consumed by internationals.”

He said they were in the process of signing a memorandum of understanding with the University of Botswana and they expect the first book to come from that agreement by the end of the year.

Wondimu said their biggest market in the United States were the libraries and academic institutions’ African studies departments. “There is a considerably large African immigrant population in the US.

“Unfortunately access to books about their own countries and nations is hard to get and we are trying to bridge that gap.

“Without knowledge production we will struggle to get to a situation where we (nations) understand each other – the playing field is not equal,” he said.

Wondimu said that in addition to these southern African countries, he has been asked by the University of Sierra Leone to assist with their press.

He said the university’s press had not printed anything in the last 30 years. “I was invited to help revamp that press.

“We are trying to foster relationships with different university presses to maintain the high rigour of academic standards.

“Future generations of this world have to better understand Africa. What the media portrays is not the true face of Africa.

“The stereotypical picture is what is being sold and we have to change that,” he said.

Source: IOL