EKYOTO University · EKYOTO LIVE Mentorship · Readings
Books, essays, talks and recordings by African writers, artists and leaders, matched to each week of the course.
You are not expected to finish every book. Each week, read or watch at least one item for that week, even a single chapter. Bring one idea from it to Thursday's session.
Look for these titles at your local library, school or bookshop, or as ebooks and audiobooks. Talks, essays and the WIPO course are free online. If you cannot find a title, tell your mentor and we will suggest another.
Nelson Mandela, South Africa. Autobiography, 1994.
Mandela's account of his life from a village childhood in the Eastern Cape through decades of struggle and imprisonment to the end of apartheid.
How to use it: Read it for patience and long term purpose. Notice how a goal held for decades was reached through daily discipline and a community around him.
Desmond Tutu, South Africa. Memoir and reflection, 1999.
Archbishop Tutu reflects on chairing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and explains ubuntu, the idea that a person becomes a person through other people.
How to use it: Read the passages on ubuntu before week 1 and week 9. They frame why this program is built as a community and not a competition.
William Kamkwamba with Bryan Mealer, Malawi. Memoir, 2009.
During a famine, a teenager who had to leave school teaches himself from library books and builds a working windmill from scrap to bring electricity to his family's farm.
How to use it: The best companion to week 2. Make a list of what he had, not what he lacked, then do the same for your own craft.
Wangari Maathai, Kenya. Memoir, 2006.
The Nobel Peace laureate tells how she grew the Green Belt Movement from a few women planting trees into a national force, while facing arrest and ridicule.
How to use it: Read it for how small, repeated actions with ordinary resources add up to something lasting.
Chinua Achebe, Nigeria. Novel, 1958.
The story of Okonkwo, a proud Igbo leader, and of his community as colonial rule and missionaries arrive. It is one of the most widely read African novels ever written.
How to use it: Read it as a study in telling your own story from the inside, in your own voice, rather than letting outsiders tell it for you.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nigeria. Talk, free to watch on TED, 2009.
A short talk on how a single story about a person or a place creates stereotypes, and why many stories are needed to see anyone fully.
How to use it: About 19 minutes. Watch it before writing your artist statement, then again before week 10 to study how she speaks to an audience.
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Kenya. Essays, 1986.
Ngũgĩ explains why he turned from writing in English to writing in Gĩkũyũ, and how language carries culture, memory and power.
How to use it: Read the first essay. Ask yourself which language, sound or visual tradition your work speaks in, and why.
Jonathan Haynes, Nigeria. Study, 2016.
A close history of how Nigerian filmmakers built one of the world's largest film industries with low budgets, direct to video sales and stories their audiences recognized.
How to use it: Read the introduction for week 4 and week 5. It shows an industry that found its audience first and its investors later.
Acha Leke, Mutsa Chironga and Georges Desvaux, Pan African. Business, 2018.
A practical look at how companies across Africa grow, with lessons on spotting unmet needs, building trust and running lean.
How to use it: Read the chapters on opportunity and on building a business. Translate each lesson to the scale of one creator.
Hugh Masekela with D. Michael Cheers, South Africa. Autobiography, 2004.
The trumpeter's frank story of a career that ran from Johannesburg to New York and back, including the music business, exile and hard lessons.
How to use it: Read it for how the music industry really works, the good and the bad, from someone who lived all of it.
WIPO Academy, International. Free online course.
The World Intellectual Property Organization's free introductory course on copyright, related rights, trademarks and more, offered in several languages.
How to use it: Take the copyright modules during week 6. Search for WIPO Academy DL 101 to enroll at no cost.
African regional intellectual property offices, Pan African. Reference.
The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization, based in Harare, and the Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle, based in Yaoundé, publish guidance on how rights work across their member states.
How to use it: Find which office your country belongs to and read its pages on copyright and trademarks. Also look up your national copyright office.
Nnedi Okorafor, Nigeria and United States. Essay, free on her blog, 2019.
A short essay in which Okorafor names and defines Africanfuturism, speculative work rooted in African culture and perspective first.
How to use it: A model of naming your own lane. Read it before writing the description for your next release.
Teju Cole, Nigeria and United States. Essays, 2016.
Essays on photography, art, travel and politics by a writer and photographer who thinks carefully about how images are made and shared.
How to use it: Read two essays on photography. Notice how he describes a single image in detail. Use that care when you caption your own work.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia. Memoir, 2009.
Africa's first elected woman head of state describes her path through banking, exile and politics to the presidency of Liberia.
How to use it: Read the sections on her early career in finance. Notice how she managed money, risk and reputation.
Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana. Political essay, 1963.
Ghana's first president makes the case that African countries are stronger together than apart.
How to use it: Read it with week 9 in mind. Replace countries with creators: what could you do together that neither could do alone?
Julius Nyerere, Tanzania. Speeches and writings, 1966.
Selected speeches and writings of Tanzania's first president on freedom, self reliance and building a shared national life.
How to use it: Read a few short speeches on self reliance and cooperation. They make a good guide for fair collaboration.
Angélique Kidjo with Rachel Wenrick, Benin. Memoir, 2014.
The singer tells how she grew from performing with her family in Cotonou to international stages, while keeping her roots at the center of her music.
How to use it: Read it for stage presence and for carrying your culture confidently in front of any audience.
Miriam Makeba with James Hall, South Africa. Autobiography, 1987.
Mama Africa recounts her life as a singer and campaigner, from Johannesburg to the world's stages and long years in exile.
How to use it: Read it alongside Masekela's book. Notice how she used her platform with purpose.
Susan Mullin Vogel, Ghana and Nigeria. Art monograph, 2012.
A richly illustrated study of the sculptor El Anatsui, who turns bottle caps and other discarded materials into monumental metal hangings.
How to use it: Study how one body of work grew over many years. Use it to choose the signature piece for your portfolio.
Ben Okri, Nigeria. Essays, 1997.
Short, poetic essays on creativity, storytelling and the freedom of the artist.
How to use it: Read a few pieces when you feel stuck. They are short enough to read on a phone in a few minutes.
Wole Soyinka, Nigeria. Memoir, 2006.
The first Black African writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature looks back on a life of writing, theater and activism.
How to use it: Read it as you plan what comes after the program. It is a portrait of a lifelong creative practice.
Thomas Sankara, Burkina Faso. Speeches, 1988.
Speeches by Burkina Faso's revolutionary leader on self reliance, dignity, women's equality and the environment.
How to use it: Read one or two speeches as you write your next step plan. They are a call to build with confidence in your own people.
Steve Biko, South Africa. Essays, 1978.
The writings of the Black Consciousness leader on self respect, identity and the power of defining yourself.
How to use it: Read the title essays as a reminder that confidence in your own identity comes before any audience's approval.
Descriptions are our own summaries. EKYOTO does not reproduce or distribute these works; please use legal copies.