Key facts about Africa, useful teachers notes about the continent of Africa. Art , culture, food, music, life style

The big continent Africa:

Africa, the second largest continent in the world, is a very diverse continent. This diversity is shown in its physical geography and climate; in its plurality of cultures, traditions, beliefs, values, religions, and artistic expressions; in its many modes of economic production, distribution, and consumption; in its diverse social and political structures and practices preserved for many centuries.

Africa has a great history:

Africa has a great history - Africa was the birthplace of human societies; it has been home to many great civilizations; its history has been shaped by contact with others through great migrations, wars, slavery and colonialism.

Africa is part of the wider world:

For millennium, Africa has interacted with the outside world.

This interaction has facilitated many African contributions and exports to the world, such as agricultural products, minerals and other material goods, as well as knowledge and cultural expressions. This interaction has also allowed African societies to benefit from imports from the outside world, such as information and other technologies. Special emphasis will be given to Africa's contributions to and trade with North America.

Wrong representation of of Africa:

popular images of Africa held by most people in the west are based on stereotypes which offer fragmented, often inaccurate images and misrepresentations of Africa.

There is no one 'flag of Africa.' Africa is a continent made up of many countries with their own flags.

There are 56 countries, each with its own national flag. Similarly, on the continent of Europe, there are many countries and each of these countries has its own flag.

Again, Africa is a continent ­not a country.

What is the official language of Africa?

There is no official language of Africa.

Africa is a continent made up of many peoples and many languages.

There are over 1,000 ethnic groups of native black Africans, and each group has its own distinctive language. In addition, there are dialectical, or regional, languages. In all, more than 1,000 languages are spoken in Africa. Uganda alone has 48 different languages with a population of 21 million people.

Images of Africa

The images usually shown of Africa in the media often images such as starving children and people dressed in tribal costumes are very commonly shown in news papers and TV stations in Europe. Those kind of images in the media make most people think that this is what Africa is all about, but that's far from the truth!

In most places, people live lives similar to our lives in Europe and Britain to be particular; they go to work and school, and spend time with their families. In fact, if you were traveling in east, west, north, south, or central Africa, you find an images of children playing on their way to school and smiling, pretty much anywhere you go.

That is how people live their ordinary lives in Africa. The pictures above were both taken in Uganda.

what goods sold in shops in UK come from Africa?

Many people in England and other European countries use many 'exports' that come from Africa, such as chocolate, coffee, cotton used to make cloath, tea leaves used to make tea, sugar cane used to make

sugar, rubber used to make tires on cars, and much more.

'Exports' can also refer to cultural products, such as the music made by the popular group Ladysmith Black Mbaza, from South Africa who most people in the UK will know.

Words are another type of cultural export. Many of the words English people use everyday, such as 'O.K.' come from African languages.

'Okay' derives from Wolof, a language spoken in West Africa. Many percussion instruments and drums have their origin in Africa and are now used in many countries in Europe including England.

Things that go into a country are called 'imports.' Africa receives many 'imports' from the rest of the world, including cars and computers and quite allot of processed food though grown in Africa it is taken to other countries packed and then taken back to be sold in African shops.

Work and employment in Africa

It's important to remember that in some places in Africa, many people work in the formal employment sector of the economy, and they work at jobs very similar to the ones that the students' parents do here in the United States. The women in this picture are executive secretaries. Point out that they dress much like career women here in England.

I hope you can now see, that Africa is directly connected to the rest of the world in many ways!