The continental bloggers network, Africa Blogging, is delighted to announce that we have resumed publishing on our website, www.blogging.africa and our official social media platforms. A little over a month ago, we decided to suspend publication of new materials on these platforms due to a severe case of plagiarism that affected 18 articles by one of our former contributors.
During the time of that suspension, we have taken steps to guard against such incidents in the future by among other things putting in place guidelines to deter cases of plagiarism. These guidelines can be accessed at the bottom of the landing page, or click here for quick access.
We have also had the opportunity to reflect as a network, ask ourselves some difficult questions about our journey thus far, especially if we are still staying true to the path our founders charted for us in 2015 when this network was born. While we have made strides over the past seven years of our existence, we have also identified instances where we have deviated from that path.
As we resume publishing work today, we are excited because this marks a moment of re-commitment to the values of our founders. Those of giving ear to all voices, championing freedom of expression and promoting a culture of democracy and good governance on the continent.
In the time that we suspended operations, a lot has happened on this continent. Today, Kenya is just about to go to the polls in an election that will be very significant to the over 50 million citizens of the East African nation. Still in the region, tensions are high between Rwanda and the DRC over accusations and counteraccusation of either country sponsoring rebels against each other.
In South Africa the plight of immigrants, especially from Zimbabwe, hang in the balance as chants of “Put South Africa First” continue to rent the air. The growing insecurity in northern Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Mali remain an issue of concern… Read about these, plus several other issues that might not make it to the top of global news outlets but those which our contributors feel are important and should get the attention of a continental platform like ours.
Frankly, our coat is cut out for us. We hope that you will trust us again with your time. We promise to make it worthwhile for you. We will give you fresh and personal perspectives on the big stories but also give small stories that matter to you a big platform for them to be heard.
Thank you for coming back.
Africa Blogging Editors
