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Press release - October 2002
On February 28, 2002, nearly 100 of the world’s top photojournalists traveled throughout Africa - a continent of 53 countries - and documented the diversity of its people, geography, and customs. In this 24-hour journey, the photographers captured the teeming markets of Marrakesh, bustling Congo riverboats, and sacred ceremonies in Kenya. They documented the mountain gorillas of Rwanda, a sultan’s court in Niger, the hip Lagos music scene, and the quiet dignity of a Zambian AIDS hospice. With access to homes, schools, and workplaces across the continent, they created a rich tapestry of African life as it is lived on one day.
The project was directed by Day in the Life veteran David Cohen of San Francisco, who has directed eleven titles in the series, and produced by Lee Liberman of Melbourne, Australia. When African countries are portrayed in the media, they are usually represented by images of famine and war,
commented Cohen, We asked the photographers to show Africa as a place of hope.
Cohen and Liberman, who last teamed up 8 years ago on A Day in the Life of Israel decided it was time to raise global awareness of Africa, where more than 25 million men, women and children are HIV positive. All publishing profits will go to AIDS education programs in Africa.
The book includes 250 color and black and white photos, an introduction by Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations and a foreword by Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu. To coincide with book publication, project underwriter Pfizer is launching A Day in the Life of Africa
photo exhibition at New York’s Grand Central Station, on October 22, 2002. In addition, BMG is releasing A Day in the Life of Africa
music CD, and prints from the project will be available from Pictopia.com. A DVD documentary on the project is being created by @radical media.
A Day in the Life of Africa, will be published in the United States and Canada through the Tides Foundation and distributed by Publishers Group West, North America’s largest independent book distributor. The Editions Filipacchi division of Hachette Filipacchi will publish the book in Francophone countries. The book will also be published in South Africa, Germany, Australia and New Zealand. All publishing profits will be used to fund AIDS education programs in Africa. Programs will be selected in concert with The Harvard AIDS Institute, South Africa’s renowned Soul City Foundation, and the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs. Funds will be administered by the Tides Foundation.
We invite you to gain a better understanding of this great continent. We know that this understanding cannot be made complete within the span of this book, or for that matter, within the span of single lifetime. Still, as you experience this book, we hope that you will discover a culturally rich continent, abundant in physical beauty. A continent overcoming the complex burden of colonial oppression, struggling with overwhelming public-health challenges and vitally anxious for democracy and self-determination. A continent with an indomitable spirit, broadening its participation within the global community and offering the world its unique sense of community and cooperation.
- Bishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu (Nobel Peace Prize Winner)
Excerpt from the photograph book A Day in the Life of Africa
A Day in the Life of Africa gives us a complex and nuanced portrait. These beautiful and deeply moving images compel us to see that despite the tragedy that afflicts some parts of the continent, the bright spots must not be forgotten, nor the achievements overlooked. The vast majority of Africans are striving to bring positive change to their countries and in many places these efforts are beginning to bear fruit. The United Nations, for its part, has long championed African rights, progress, and self-sufficiency. I hope that people of goodwill throughout the world will see the great dignity and resilience of my fellow Africans, and join them in their struggle for the chance to create a better life that is every human being's birthright.
- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan (Nobel Peace Prize Winner)
Excerpt from the photograph book A Day in the Life of Africa