SHANA MAGAZINE | MORGAN THOMAS EDITION

MORGAN THOMAS

BETting on her self!

BLACK LIVES MATTER

BLACK LIVES MATTER

CONTENTS

MEDIA

TALKS

We discuss all things media, the good, the bad and ‘I’ll be skipping that trend’ topics that are mak ing the media rounds

FOOD DIARIES

Get the best mouth water ing food recipes

YOUNG POWERHOUSE touches on the young movers and shakers in the media field.

MAGAZINE

12Health

WISH LIST

The latest offering of beauty products you need to know about. The latest offering of beauty products you need to know about.

We discuss the changing nar rative of health for women around the world.

Fashion forward

Comprises of the best looks and trends of the season & must-haves

images: Tess Chauke

TESS CHAUKE

Tess Chauke , is a 27 year old Tsonga Female, she’s a entre preneur and Creative from a Town called Giyani in Limpopo. Tess runs and directs a compa ny called Ramina Creatives which she

founded in the year 2017 with no Capital, now that is impressive and you’ll see why once you see her past and current client list. Did we mention that Tess is also a Quantity Surveying Graduate cur rently working as a Quantity Sur veyor in the Construction Field holding a B-Tech in Quantity Sur veying, beauty and brains seems to be the theme of this issue.

Tess runs Ramina Creatives which specializes in Customized gifting, packaging and event co-ordina tion which houses arrangements for any sort of event including Spa and travelling Bookings she’s worked with brands like Discov ery Health, Msapa Architectur al Design and many more. She’s passionate about people and understanding how the human

mind works and spends lots of time engaging with people through her public speaking en gagements, MC and motivational speaking work.

“My business has also allowed me to get deep into the market ing world which I excel in when it comes to brand building and I am super Passionate about peo ple and learning and understand ing customer behavior is one of my greatest lessons I’ve gained through building and growing Ramina Creatives”.

Ramina Creatives is a 100% Black Female Owned creative business that was founded in November 2017 and 3 years later they’re still running strong, black women are now the leading demographic of people opening new business around the world. Tess is definite ly black girl excellence, not only is she ‘doing the things that make

the things to be done’ that is not a typo please Google the phrase for context, she’s also super humble and efficient, we found each other online and clicked like old friends, not only did she al ready have a stellar write up, she sent it and followed up like a pro, we can only imagine that this ef fiency is the same in her business and we’re totally impressed.

Editor’s note

Firstly I’d like to say Black Lives Mat ter and secondly Black Womens Lives Matter, it’s frustrating that I need to be writing this even in 2020 after years of segregation and after 26 years of Independence in South Af rica. The murder of George Floyd has shaken the world... well not real ly more so the white world because most non-white groups have experi enced some form of rasicm and are well acquainted with discrimination. It’s a sad day when we even have to defend the statement ‘Black Lives Matter’ and be told that it is partisan or othering when NO ONE ever said white lives DON’T MATTER.

Here are a few facts to consider “In 2013 to 2014, there were 47,571 ‘racist incidents’ recorded by the police in England and Wales. On average, that is about 130 incidents per day” according to irr.org.uk.

“In 2018, Black Canadians were more likely than any other racial group in Canada to be the victims of a hate crime, according to data reported by police.” and “in the 1930s in the USA, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board

and the Home Owners’ Loan Corpo ration conspired to create maps with marked areas considered bad risks for mortgages in a practice known as “red-lining.” The areas marked in red as “hazardous” typically outlined black neighborhoods. This kind of mapping concentrated poverty as (mostly black) residents in red-lined neighborhoods had no access or only very expensive access to loans. The practice did not begin to end until the 1970s. Then, in 2008, a system of “reverse red-lining,” which extended credit on unfair terms with subprime loans, created a higher rate of foreclosure in black neigh borhoods during the housing crisis”.

Here’s a few questions to ask your self if you don’t understand BLM, was there a time when black lives didn’t matter? the answer is YES, how long ago was that for many like South Africa it was just 26years ago, so is there a high chance those people who didn’t think Black Lives Matter are still alive. Does passing a law automatically mean every one agrees or will follow it? NO. Is the KKK a real thing? YES. Have you ever had any type of prejudice in

regards to somone of another race? Probably. Prejudice is taught and although we’ve come a long way in teaching new ways of engaing with diversity there are still many people who teach otherwise. In closing this is going to be a great issue because we will continue to highlight black and brown excellence from around the world and Africa. The women in this issue are not only black women, they are experts in their fields and the epitome of why each black life matters.

@shana_media editorshanamag@gmail.com live beautifully Nicolle

SHANA

PUBLISHER: SHANA MEDIA

FOUNDING EDITOR & CREATIVE DIRECTOR NICOLLE SHANA

COPY EDITOR LORRAINE

BEAUTY EDITOR MICHELLE LUNGA FEATURE WRITERS NONTSIKELELO NZULA

DESIGN & ADVERTISING SHANA MEDIA

SHANA MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY SHANA MEDIA NEWLANDS, HARARE, ZIMBABWE. TEL | +263 (07) 77273222

Wish List

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RUTH AINE

Please tell us a bit about yourself?

Let’s See : Ruth Aine, over 30, born and bred in Ugandan . I am a PK (Pastors Kid), so faith is very important to me. I love tea, love travel. I am an introvert : Born in March making me a Pisces - so I can be artsy when I want. Very loyal. A little too caring - but also very aware of how different and unique that makes me.

Officially an Independent Com munications Consultant and Dig ital Media Expert with over nine years working experience in exe cuting digital media campaigns, managing and developing online content, training content devel opers and leading communica tion campaigns as well as design ing dissemination strategies. (I have) consulted for various inter national and national agencies including the African Union, Ger man Development Cooperation, Konrad Adeneaur Stiftung and the United Nations Population Fund (to name a few).

From what I know about you, you’ve grown up in a religious household has that shaped the way you see society?

At an early age I learned that a personal relationship with God was more impor tant than religion. So I have grown in that. I see God at work every day, he is a very important part of my every day life.

What are some events that

have taken place in your life that were pivotal in shaping who you are and where you are today?

Hmm... in 2017 I was diagnosed with Lupus. 2019, I was taken off all medication - For me, that’s a testament of my inner strength and drive for complete wellness and wholeness. Still a work in progress, but will get there.

In April 2015 my recognition by the United Nations Foundation as a Social Good Connector for Uganda (was pivtol) that for me was validation for the work that I do. So many organations need and use digital media to com municate and engage with their publics, this for me was a green light to keep doing what it is that I do, connecting people, decision makers and Africas youth using social media.

In 2011 I was the First Heinz Kühn Scholar from East and South Af rica in all of the Awards history, that for me was a huge stepping stone something to show that the world is (my) your oyester, that there will always be some one that is better than you BUT what you do with every opportu nity that you are presented with is very important.

As a professional, who trav els the world and can be called somewhat of a work ing nomad, what are the complexities of working in different countries?

You have a place to call home, but its not home. At one point someone asked if I actually paid rent because I am never home.

But I find the complexities (are) opportunities for me to learn other country’s cultures, to ap preciate Uganda and Ugandan food more etc. It also gets tiring. Very tiring. But Again, I am glad that I get to life and work the way that I do.

Social media has brought about the advent of numer ous new jobs and ways of communicating what’s your advice on harnessing the power of social media for work?

Social media for me is an exten sion of the broader communica tions. The new thing here (Again in my opinion) is the digital as pect. That brings in the new di mension on the go, real time con versations and connectivity with anyone and everyone regardless of time and where they are. The opportunities therein are (very numerous) many. How then we use that uniqueness as people, personalities, brands, organiza tions , governments, churches, companies is up to us (because) the opportunities are endless.

You’re one of the sought after communications consultants especially in the civil society sec tor, how have you managed to network and build profitable relationships?

Who are you talking to? Well sought after, huh? Well, (it’s been) diligence and hard work, I learned a long time ago in this life that it is not about what you

say or able to say, it is about what you do. Your work needs to speak for itself. That’s been it for me. Its a lot about what doesn’t get seen on social media, the tough, ugly and heavy stuff.

You traveled all over the world and to many African countries what would you say is a trait most/many African countries have that work to our advantage?

Warmth, Food and hospital ity. As a continent , we have a lot of that going for us. From pounded yam in West Africa to Ugali in East Africa and Sadza south. We have more as a conti nent that binds us together than what set us apart.

What are some of the things you feel work to our disad vantage?

Language is a huge issue and to think that we were mostly board erless at one time and speaking common languages makes it even harder. I would like to learn Oulof for example to be able to talk to the handsome men from the senegambia region. We are very divided according to lan guage, constantly at war with each other (I see this in meetings A LOT), francophone this, anglo phone this, then there is luso phone, maghreb region and now Spanish ( for Equatorial Guinea).

What advice would you give to young women wanting to do what you do?

There’s a lot more resources today than ever that will

help anyone thrive in mastering whatever they want to do and with the School of YouTube, you will discover that whatever you want to do as a creative, com municator etc has been done already, probably not in your setting or sphere of influ ence but to be able to curve out your niche consistency is para mount.

Be consistent, that will propel you above everyone else, be open to change and learn to adapt - with that you will thrive.

You have a strong Twitter following & we know Twitter can be a “cut throat” plat form, have you ever made a mistake on the job or been attacked for one of your tweets? If so how do you deal with it.

With Twitter, you have to un derstand that it’s a space where everyone has an opinion. And that the scenario that you will have an opinion as someone else is very slim. Once you know that you get to choose your battles very wisely. I cannot remember making mistakes on my personal account, but while managing other accounts that happens often. Sometimes you have to apologise, other times you have to just delete the tweets and hope that there is no one with a screenshot.

We ask the amazing ladies we interview this question & we’d love to know from you, what advice would you give your younger 18-year-old self?

Life is never as we envision it as our younger selves. What ever happens, do not and never apologise for who you are and what your ideals are. Whatever is on the inside of you is there for a reason.

Life is never as we envision it as our younger selves. Whatever happens, do not and never apologise for who you are and what your ideals are. Whatever is on the inside of you is there for a reason.

OUR 1ST SHANA MEDIA EVENT

We held our very first SHANA Media event called ‘The Pursuit’, the event had women from different industries learning the basics of pitching and was themed ‘Pitch Perfect’ because truthfuly we are all pitching everyday, we’re constantly trying to get people to buy into us, our ideas, our products or services.

We had our Foundering Editor Nicolle who hosted and spoke about the power of networking while our guest speaker Tafadzwa Makura. did an amazing presentation on the Pitching do’s & don’ts.

Make sure you sign up for our newsletter to know when we’re getting together for another transformative womens event.

email ‘subscribe’ to editorshanamag@gmail.com to join our newsletter group

images: sourced but not owned, content sourced in part from wikipedia

Fashion

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BOSS WOMEN

URSULA BURNS

Ursula Burns is basically the ‘Black Panther/Blade’ of real life heroes, the first do it! She is the first black African American woman to serve as CEO of a Fortune500 com pany, now thats shattering glass ceilings. Burns was an exceptional mathematician which helped her earn her Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1980, and she per manently joined Xerox a year later, after completing her master’s degree. “She worked in various roles in product development and planning at the company for the re mainder of the 1980s. In January 1990, her career took an unexpected turn when Wayland Hicks, then a senior ex ecutive, offered Burns a job as his executive assistant. She accepted and worked for him for roughly nine months before returning home because she was about to be married. In June 1991, she then became executive assis tant to then chairman and chief executive Paul Allaire. In 1999, she was named vice president for global manufac turing. In May 2000, Burns was named senior vice pres ident of corporate strategic services and began working closely with soon-to-be CEO Anne Mulcahy, in what both women have described as a true partnership. Two years

later, Burns became president of business group opera tions.

In 2007, Burns assumed the role of president of Xerox.

In July 2009 she was named CEO, succeeding Mulcahy, who remained as chairman until May 2010. The first black woman CEO to head a Fortune 500 company, Burns was also the first woman to succeed another woman as head of a Fortune 500 company. Shortly after being named CEO, Burns led the acquisition of Affiliated Computer Ser vices. In 2016, she led Xerox in a split into two indepen dent companies: Xerox Corporation and Conduent Incor porated. She remained chairwoman and CEO of Xerox through the process, and was then appointed chairwom an of the standalone document technology company.[30]

After stepping down from the position in December 2016, Burns was succeeded by Jeff Jacobson. She retained the title of chairwoman of the newly formed document tech nology company until May 2017, when she left the Xerox board and her role as chairperson.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama appointed Burns

WOMEN

to help lead the White House National STEM program in 2009, and she remained a leader of the STEM program until 2016. In March 2010 President Obama appointed Burns as vice chair of the President’s Export Council, which she led from 2015 to 2016.

Burns has served on numerous boards, includ ing those of Boston Scientific, FIRST, the Na tional Association of Manufacturers, University of Rochester, the MIT Corporation, the Roch ester Business Alliance, and the RUMP Group. She remains a board director of the American Express Corporation, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Datto Inc., and Nestlé. In July 2017, it was an nounced that she would join the board of the beverage company Diageo on April 2, 2018. She joined Teneo as a senior advisor in June 2017. Burns joined the board of directors of Uber in late September 2017.

In July 2017, Burns was elected chairperson of VEON, the world’s 11th largest telecoms service provider by subscribers, by its board of direc tors. With the sudden departure of the CEO in March 2018, she was made executive chairman pending a selection process, and in December 2018, she was appointed as CEO.

Burns provides leadership counsel to commu nity, educational and non-profit organizations including FIRST (For Inspiration and Recogni tion of Science and Technology), National Academy Foundation, MIT, and the U.S. Olym pic Committee, among others.[better source needed] She is a founding board director of Change the Equation, which focuses on im proving the U.S.’s education system in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). She served as vice chairwoman of the executive committee of The Business Council between 2013 and 2014. She has delivered the com mencement address at universities including MIT, University of Rochester, Xavier University

Howard University Williams College, and Georgetown University

She has been listed multiple times by Forbes as one of the 100 most powerful women in the world. In 2015, she was listed as the 29th In 2018 she was featured among “America’s Top 50 Women In Tech”. wikipedia

Burns is not only gutsy, she’s a never say never woman accepting complicated and challenging roles and then excelling in them even above expectation. She’ll definitely and already is in the history books of many black women in the world. Not only did she dispell the myth about black women and stem she helped generate $18billion in revenue for Xe rox in 2015, thats billion with a ‘B’ girl! I guess the B in Burns was always destined for billion.

BOLD

BY MICHELLE LUNGA

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INTERIOR

BUSINESS

TALKIN’ SHOP, TALKIN SHOPIFY

If you don’t know the power of Shopify you’re either not in business or not shopping online, the platform has housed brands from Kanye West, Kylie Jenner and many more. Many would say Shopify is the new Amazon Shopify now has “close to 2,000 employees—1,500 of them added in the past two years—and offices in five cities. Revenue in 2016 was $390 million, up almost 100% from 2015; it’s projected to grow 50% this year (it had a $37.2 million operating loss in 2016 but expects to be profitable this year). Since it went public in 2015, its stock has more than doubled. It has advisers and partners including Tim Ferriss and Tony Robbins.” Although many praise the backend details of the Shopify plat form it doesn’t come cheap starting at $29 a month in comparison to other Apps like wix which starts at $17/$18 for a basic e-com merce site and godaddy at $25 this is a pretty penny. One of the advantages of shopify is that it allows mer chants to sell through other channels like Instagram and provides both paid and free tools within the App such as virtual assistants etc to help their audience be as effective as possible on the

platform.

The Ottawa, Ontario based mutlinational ”reported that it had more than 1,000,000 businesses in approximately 175 countries using its plat form as of June 2019, with total gross merchandise volume exceeding $41.1 billion for calendar 2018” wikipedia.

“Shopify is no longer only focusing on the digital part of e-commerce – the com pany’s desire is to facilitate each crucial layer and process involved in shop ping. That includes Shopify Shipping, that ensures faster and cheaper deliveries, currently available in the United States, Canada, and Australia. The company also remains committed to investing $1B in its fulfilment network, including develop ing autonomous warehouse robots.” https://www.forbes. com

Another reason why Shopify is doing great is ‘drop ship ping’ it’s been all the rage on Youtube and with many fashion and beauty brands buying products on Alix press and Amazon and then repackaging them and selling them to clients this seems to be the new form

of online influencer, Gen Z and millennial business. So is this why the sudden spike in shopify users? yes basi cally, although this is truly also an over simplification of a much bigger change in industry a lot of the beauty, fashion and lifestyle brands are pushing the wave to start businesses on Shopify. Once you search Youtube in regards to ‘how to start an online business’ the vast majority of content whether involving drop-shipping or products created by the seller has a Youtuber en dorsing or mentioning Shop ify’s platform and its accu racy in the backend thats basically free advertising for Shopify and if that didn’t do it the multiple webinars and online courses on how to open a “successful” online store in the period of CO VID19 most certainly will. No matter how much people like Amazon Shopify is the new, cooler, simplier, more instagramed and vlogged kid on the block and it seems like its here to stay.

SELF

THE 101 OF GOAL SETTING

Goal setting has been a buzz word for a minute. I won’t lie I’m a big sup porter of having goals, I do how ever agree that the reasons behind setting goals can be the make or break of reaching them, also the sys tem behind achieveing goals great ly impacts achieving the goals one has written down. After much re search I’ve found a few tips that could help, but for the sake of clar ity I’d like to say this and then con tinue ‘Do what works for you’, yes I know you thought I’d preach but nah I just had to put this disclaimer, if you work best with daily and not year ly goals then work your system and make the best of it. The first thing that I’ve found is key and maybe even the most important is clarity, hav ing clarity on what you actually want to achieve, know the target so you can aim and hit the bulls eye. There’s an old proverb that says ‘if you don’t know where you’re going any road will lead you there’, I don’t think I need to go into detail on clarity, sim ply know what you want and jot that down.

According to this Fortune magazine article on goal setting another criti cal step is Ruthlessly eliminating your goals. “Psychologists have a concept they refer to as “goal competition.” Goal competition says that one of the greatest barriers to achieving your goals is the other goals you have. In other words, your goals are compet ing with one another for your time and attention. Whenever you chase a new goal, you have to pull focus and energy from your other pursuits. This is basically The Four Burners Theory in action. When you turn one burner up, you have to turn others down. Now, there is good news one of the fastest ways to make progress on your goals is to simply press pause on less important things and focus

on one goal at a time. Sometimes you just need to reorganize your priorities a little bit and sudden ly progress comes much more quickly because you are now fully committed to a goal that was only getting moderate attention previously.”

Have a strategy, have timelines Once you know what you need to do its time to plot a strategy, the who, what, how and where. According to research setting up timelines is an effective way to gauge your progress and eval uate the resources that will be needed. Timelines also keep your momentum up and energy up, many of us do things last minute so if you don’t know when the last minute is most times things don’t get done.

Get an accountability partners Now ccountability partners are not always found in your inner circle, sometimes you have to go to industry events to meet like minded people or even sign up for a course. Your accountabili ty partner has to be and I repeat has to be someone who actually holds you accountable, someone who won’t buy into any excus es and will be able to call you to order hence sometimes strang ers are better because they don’t know your situation and that might be a good thing.

Lastly in goal setting is getting professional help Isn’t that a bit extreme? not if you’re serious about getting to your goals no matter what. Get ting professional help could be a coach, a trainer, or even attend ing professional events, it could

be costly but is an investment into getting the goal you want. Some budget options are group coach ing this is slightly more affordable than individual coaching, it allows you to also have access to other people in the groups that you can network with and build a commu nity with for future reference.

Goal setting for people in higher industry positions usually requires an industry expert coach as they have key knowledge on how to be most effective in specific areas, for example a life coach might be great but a business coach who deals with fortune500 companies might be more effective for mutlimillion dollar business related challenges. Whatever you do the end result should be accomplished goals, usually though it’s not only about the goal it’s about who you become in the process so make sure the process feels authentic to you.

HEALTH

THE FUTURE OF GYM

How many of us have been able to exercise daily or at least frequently during the COVID lockdowns? If you haven’t had any help from online exercise videos or Apps you’re definitely bet ter than the large majority of people in the world, not only have gyms like many other businesses been hard hit by the pandemic, the gym industry will prob ably never been the same again. Outside of the fact that many see the gym as a luxury and not necessity, gym equipment is func tional for mutli-use and with the drive to santize and keep a minimum number of people in spaces the gym/ exercise industry will need to come up with effective and innovative ways to keep their current members and attract new ones, that is unless they have merged their traditional experience with the new digital one where their members can be trained from home via an online platform.

According to the recent Newyork Times article by Gretchen Reynolds who says “By their very nature, athletic facilities like gyms tend to be germy. In a study published earlier this

year, researchers found drug-resistant bacteria, flu virus and other pathogens on about 25 percent of the surfaces they tested in four different athletic training facilities.”

“Australians spend more than $8.5 billion every year on fitness and a large por tion of this is spend on gym memberships, personal training, fitness classes and bootcamps. The closures, which affected all types gyms and fitness facilities, and shortly after outdoor bootcamps, meant these businesses had suffered sig nificantly,” Mr Elvish said.

“Fitness Australia analysis of exercise professionals and sole traders surveyed found: 81% has lost their job or main source of income 71% had not had a single client since gyms closed on 23 March 2020 44% of respondents has lost more than 61 per cent of their income 90% are continuing to pay up to $5,000 per month for busi ness expenses despite not operating Less than 10% of clients had transitioned to virtual platforms or one-on-

one training.” https://fitness.org.au/

To gym or not to gym that is the question, for a lot of gym bunnies going to the gym is worth the risk but to many of us it’s more of an excuse rather than a real reason but here are a couple of things to remember, there are many other options that can be found on your phone to keep you healthy and fit.

If you must see a trainer’s face so help you God then liase with your gym to get a personal trainer to come to your home where you can supervise your exercises.

Although the fact is that right now gyms are facing an uphill battle to stay alive, the truth is people will gener ally always still enjoy working out with others, but will they have to adapt? most defi nitely, right now they need to innovate or face the consequences of depleted membership but if they can survive this then they have a future.

Photo by John Arano on Unsplash

The landscape of media has definitely changed from the early 2000s with MySpace to 30 second Tik Tok vidoes that go viral and reach millions in a matter of hours, I mean who would have thought that we’d have an App that de leted a video after 24 hours and we’d enjoy it. Whats more intriguing is the way media has evolved from something we did in our past-time and that was only available to the ‘cool/rich kids’ to a daily global norm. “It is within this cultural-critical paradigm of media studies that scholars created and studied the idea of representation. This con cept helped scholars to move beyond understanding media messages as simply a portrayal or reflection of real ity. Instead, representations are embedded in the 24-hour saturated media stream and establish norms and common sense about people, groups and institutions in contempo rary society. The media cre ate representations as central signifying practices for pro ducing shared mean-ing (Hall, 1997). The representations are con-stitutive of culture, mean ing and knowledge about ourselves and the world around us. Beyond just mir roring reality, representations in the media such as in film, television, photography and print journalism create reality and normalise specific worldviews or ideologies. This view understands the concept of ideology as a hegemonic, normalising force in contemporary societies, as devel oped by cultural theorists (Eagleton, 1991; %izˇ ek, 1989)”

TY - JOUR, Fürsich, Elfriede, 2010/03/01, 113 , 130, Media and the representation of Others, Volume 61, DO -10.1111/ j.1468- 2451.2010.01751.x, Journal - International Social Science Journal.

Almost everyone is on social media talking about every thing, nothing is off bounds in this digital world and atten tion is the currency here, but it’s not just the Kardashians who rule the minds and the masses, people are champi oning their own causes and focusing even more on those taboo conversations which usually never made headlines In mainstream media. We see examples of this with the killing of Trayvon Martin in the United States and how such videos and information spread and resulted in thousands of Ameri cans marching in protest to demand justice for what they believe was an injustice. Although the inital article was written before George Floyds murder, the power of one video of officers assaulting and then killing George Floyd has had an enormous effect on the world having ‘Black Lives Matter’ marches all the way from Minneapolis where it happened to France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and even Japan.

We see the power in new media with the thousands if not millions of people who took to social media to ex press sadness and disgust over the rape and murder of Uyinene Mrwetyana not only using hashtags such as #MenAreTrash to move the agenda and demand jus tice for this heinous crime but men also spoke up and with the hastag #NotInMyName advocating for accountabi ity among men and harsh punishments for men who perpetrate such crimes. We even see the power of so cial media advocacy with the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite where many were stunned at the Oscar nominations in 2019 and called out the most prestigious acting society

for perpetuating what many called institutional racism and not truly being as inclusive as they’d make people believe, this saw high profile celebrities such as Will and Jada Smith snubbing the Oscars in protest and rallied a large community who believed the Oscars had used preferential treatment on caucasian actors and ac tresses. For the first time we are seeing institutions with power and money being challenged not just by an individual but by communities moved by conversations and narratives they’ve seen online. Traditional media is slowly following suit, with compa nies such as Nike taking bold stands with the Colin Kaper nick campaign which had some up in arms and burning their Nike gear but earned Nike $6 billion according to Vox and a 5% increase in stock and definitely a formidably loyal group of customers who stand behind Kapernicks mes sage.

The new normal is digitally charged with people being ‘cancelled’ from communities and ultimately losing sponsor ships and jobs. Now if you’re racist and you’re filmed you probably won’t have your job tomorrow it’s the age of freedom of speech but juxas taposedly censorship. Google owns 74% of online advertising and Facebook well they own everything else online except Amazon, lol. The new normal still consists of oligarchy but it’s just digital now, so whats the future? the future is what its always been influence and power, the difference is that’s online now. So if you’re not familiar with the online world and soft power i suggest you acquaint yourself... welcome to the new normal.

Morgan

Morgan is not only a gradute froM University of Missouri-Columbia, she’s worked for Bleacher report, Yahoo and MSNBC, talk about hustle she’s been working from even before she was 15years old and she wasn’t afraid to let her work and strategy lead to her amazing job at BET. It’s such an honour to have her on our cover talking work and life.

Please tell us a bit about your self:

Social media knows me as Morgan in the City but to family and friends I am Morgan, a girl who was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago. As a kid I loved dressing up in clothes and had a knack for entertain ment media. After graduating from the University of MissouriColumbia with a minor in textile and apparel management and major in communications , I moved to Brooklyn, New York. I currently work at BET Network in programming and when off the clock I am a style influencer.

You work at BET, that’s a dream working environment for many young women. How did you get that job?

Prior to BET I worked at compa nies such as Bleacher Report, Yahoo, and MSNBC. I networked with the right people who helped me get the position at BET. Networking is commonly used among professionals but to be honest networking really does work. It’s gotten myself and others in places and/or companies that we could only dream.

What are some events that have taken place in your life that were pivotal in shaping who you are and where you are today?

I always pride myself on my hard work ethic. From the age of 7 to 15 every summer I would wake up before the sun to work at my mom’s cafe in downtown Chicago. While most kids were relaxing on summer break I was ‘bustin suds’ and taking orders inside a kitchen from sun up to sun down. Those summers I spent working shaped me into the hard working person I am today.

As an influencer what are some lessons you’ve learnt about managing your social media?

From observing Beyonce, one of the lessons I’ve learnt thus far is I control the narra tive by telling my own story.

Since I’ve started taking my social media a lot more serious I don’t post anything on my feed that isn’t in line with my brand or that I do not want to be shared. There was a time when I use to post any picture. Now I strategically plan my pictures before I post them to Instagram. My captions though are still a work in progress.

Social media has brought about the advent of numerous new jobs and ways of communi cating. What’s your advice on harnessing the power of social media for you?

I think for me the power of harnessing social media is connecting with people who have similar brands to mine and also staying on top of social media trends and responding to those trends fairly quickly.

Who’s your fashion inspiration and why?

I love Tiffany Hsu @handinfire style on Instagram. Her style is unisexual but yet very feminine. I love how she styles boxy blazers with wide-leg or cropped pants.

She’s also one for wearing puff sleeve tops. If you know me, you know I love a puff sleeve.

What does a day in your life look like? Both shoot days and a nor mal work day.

For a shoot day, I typically wake up really early to do my own hair and make up which takes me about 1 hour. Then I change into my first look out of three that I will be shooting in for the day.

I pack the other 2 looks in my duffle bag and call an Uber to

coutesy of Morgan Thomas

the shooting set. I usually spend about 1-1.5 hours shooting all 3 looks in various parts of the city. Part of shooting in New York City is asking the coffee baristas if I can use their bathroom to change into my next fit. It’s not my favorite thing to do but it comes with the lifestyle. For a work day, after grabbing cof fee at Dunkin Donuts I typically walk into work at 10 AM. The first thing I do when I come into work is check emails, and respond to the most important emails first. I then make a to-do list of all the things I need to get done for the day and begin working on those task. I have lunch with my favorite co-work ers, Will and Joe around 1 PM. After lunch, I will attend a music playback of a celebrity or a team meeting held by my director.

What’s your favorite advice for women of color wanting to get work behind scenes in the media space?

It sounds cliche, but take the leap of faith. When I first moved to New York City I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I literally stepped into the un known. Had I not went for it I would not have been in the position I am today. Do not be afraid to reach out to people on LinkedIn or social media. The right people will be glad to help you move forward. As women of color we are the blueprint. People look to us for informa tion. Trust your ideas and use discernment with whom you decide to share.

You also have a Youtube chan nel, what’s the most challenging and also most rewarding part of that?

It is much harder for me to grow versus someone who already has a large following from another platform such as Instagram, and having expo sure because of who they are in connection with. Trying to meet Youtube’s monetization requirements these days is also

challenging. The most rewarding part about Youtube is viewers get to see a side of me they don’t normally get to see on any other platform.

What’s your dream job and level of impact you’d want to have on the world?

My dream job is simple, at least I think. It is my dream to write for a television series I.e. Insecure, The Chi, etc. It is also my dream to be the face of a clothing campaign such as Nike or Ivy Park. As I keep down this path I hope to inspire young women of color. I hope that one day I make a positive influence on someone’s life.

We ask all the amazing ladies we interview this question & we’d love to know from you, what advice you would give your younger 18 year old self?

Advice I would give my 18-yearold self is to explore all of my op tions as I reach adulthood. Vet all possible careers. I would also tell myself to take everything serious from here on out, especially my education. There are consequenc es when you mess up in college or have to retake a course. It will cost you in the long run. If you can help it, avoid making bad decisions early on.

We’d like to thank Morgan for this inter view and the images used.

For most people, well a certain group of people when they think Egypt they think Pyramids, tombs and mummies, for many of us on the continent we think highly developed North African country, we think Arab Spring and maybe even Mo Salah for those with good taste, but here are the facts about Egypt which is officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, “Egypt is a country spanning the northeast corner of Af rica and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Pen insula. Egypt is a Mediter ranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, across the Red Sea lies Saudi Ara bia, and across the Medi terranean lie Greece, Tur key and Cyprus, although none share a land border with Egypt.

Egypt has one of the lon gest histories of any coun try, tracing its heritage back to the 6th–4th mil lennia BCE. Considered a cradle of civilisation, An cient Egypt saw some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised re ligion and central govern ment. Iconic monuments such as the Giza Necropolis and its Great Sphinx, as well the ruins of Memphis, Thebes, Karnak, and the Valley of the Kings, reflect this legacy and remain a significant focus of scien tific and popular interest. Egypt’s long and rich cul

tural heritage is an integral part of its national identity, which has endured, and often assimilated, various foreign influences, including Greek, Persian, Roman, Arab, Ottoman Turkish, and Nu bian. Egypt was an early and important centre of Christian ity, but was largely Islamised in the seventh century and remains a predominantly Muslim country, albeit with a significant Chris tian minority. From the 16th to the begin ning of the 20th century, Egypt was ruled by foreign imperial powers: The Otto man Empire and the British Empire. Modern Egypt dates back to 1922, when it gained nominal independence from the British Empire as a monarchy. However, Brit ish military occupation of Egypt continued, and many Egyptians believed that the monarchy was an instrument of British colonialism. Follow ing the 1952 revolution, Egypt expelled British soldiers and bureaucrats and ended Brit ish occupation, nationalized the British-held Suez Canal, exiled King Farouk and his family, and declared itself a republic. In 1958 it merged with Syria to form the United Arab Republic, which dis solved in 1961. Throughout the second half of the 20th century, Egypt endured social and religious strife and political instability, fighting several armed conflicts with Israel in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973, and occupying the Gaza Strip intermittently until 1967. In 1978, Egypt signed the Camp David Accords, officially withdrawing from the Gaza Strip and recognis ing Israel. The country con tinues to face challenges, from political unrest, includ ing the recent 2011 revolution

and its aftermath, to terrorism and economic underdevelop ment. Egypt’s current govern ment is a semi-presidential republic headed by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, which has been described by a number of watchdogs as authoritarian.

Islam is the official religion of Egypt and Arabic is its of ficial language. With over 95 Chrismillion inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa, the Middle East, and the Arab world, the thirdmost populous in Africa (after Nigeria and Ethiopia), and the fifteenth-most populous in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilome tres (15,000 sq mi), where the only arable land is found. The large regions of the Sahara desert, which constitute most of Egypt’s territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt’s residents live in urban areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.

The sovereign state of Egypt is a transcontinental country con sidered to be a regional power in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world, and a middle power worldwide. Egypt’s economy is one of the largest and most diversified in the Middle East, and is pro jected to become one of the largest in the world in the 21st century. In 2016, Egypt overtook South Africa and became Af rica’s second largest economy (after Nigeria). Egypt is a found ing member of the United Na tions, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, African Union, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation”.

sourced wikipedia.

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BRIEF NEWS WE THINK YOU SHOULD

NIGERIA VISA WIN

Nigeria is the newset country to offer VISAs upon to other African State members, like Rwanda and Ethiopia this ia bold statement for one of Africa’s fastest growing economies.

Nigeria is Africa’s biggest economy and market with some 190 million inhabit ants. Along with Benin, it was one of the last nations to join the new African free trade zone in July. The goal is to become the world’s largest free trade zone by cutting trade tariffs and barriers for 1.2 billion people. The new market is set to become active in 2020 as negotiations con tinue to manage its pro gressive implementation.

MALAWI

In contrast to its aims of a free flow of trade, Nigeria in late August and “until further notice” closed the borders with neighbouring countries - highly dependent on the economic giant - to block contraband products such as petrol and rice. Even with these challenges Nigeria an nounced earlier in the year that African passport holders could now apply for a visa upon arrival in the country.

President Buhari really said

“We in Nigeria have already taken the strategic deci sion to bring down barriers that have hindered the free movement of our people within the continent by introducing the issuance of visa at the point of entry into Nigeria to all persons holding passports of African coun tries with effect from January 2020,” Buhari said.

content sourced aljazeera

Judges in Malawi have annulled last year’s elections and called for a new ballot within 150 days.

In a landmark judgment that experts hailed as a step forward for democracy, the country’s constitutional court found that evi dence of fraud and malpractice meant the re sults of the poll could not be allowed to stand.

The judges had taken more than 10 hours to read their 500-page decision, amid heavy se curity and calls for calm from diplomats. Their judgment described “widespread, systematic and grave” irregularities including significant use of correction fluid to alter the outcome.

A new vote would be held within 150 days, the court said, saying it hoped the ruling would not “destroy the nation”. Last year’s presidential election plunged the long-peaceful southern African nation into deadly confrontations and widespread unrest.

The incumbent president, Peter Mutharika, was declared the narrow winner of the May election with 38% of the vote, followed by Lazarus Chakwera with 35% and Saulos Chilima in third with 20%. The four other candidates collectively got nearly 6% of the vote. Malawi police face legal action over failure to investigate alleged rapes Chakwera and Chilima claimed that irregularities af fected more than 1.4m of the 5.1m votes cast. The five-judge panel heard that the vote was rigged by the president, who was standing for a second term, and the electoral com mission. Both have denied the charges.

The judges also ordered the

electoral commission to pay the legal expenses of the opposition candidates who challenged the result, but Mutharika must cover his costs. The ruling can be ap pealed to the supreme court. People across the country followed the day-long court session, read out live on radio in English and Chichewa. listened closely as the court listed multiple irregularities, from the liberal use of correc tion fluid to the lack of signa tures on some results forms. The judges challenged the electoral system, saying the results suggested that no was elected by a majority accord with the constitution, citing dictionary definitions of majority and plurality. They

INDABA SHOULD KNOW (SUPER BRIEF)

pay two who but said own ap court. country court radio Many court irregularities, correc signa forms. the the one majority in constitution, definitions They

suggested that Malawi’s Elections Act be amended. The Malawi hu man rights commission released a report late last year accusing the police of serious human rights abuses, including rape and assault, in one confrontation. The two op position candidates who challenged the election result had in recent days called for calm. from the liberal use of correction fluid to the lack of signatures on some results forms. The judges challenged the electoral system, saying the results suggested that no one was elected by a major ity in accord with the constitution, citing dictionary definitions of major ity and plurality. They suggested that Malawi’s Elections Act be amended. The two opposition candidates who challenged the election result had in recent days called for calm.

(Photo: VOA/Lameck Masina)

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