Beans Without Korkor? and other stories

Abstract

The Anthology of Short Stories project was born out of the idea that implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) would benefit from engaging creative writers to mine the issues through fiction. The stories represent different genres and perspectives by youth across the continent, aged 15-35 years, most of whom are being published for the first time. The narratives reflect the lives of African people and how development relates to them. The perspectives remind us that the SDGs are not just a list of 17 Goals, which have been agreed upon by a group of diplomats in New York. The importance of this storytelling initiative resides in giving voice to young people, giving power to their imagination, and translating the sustainable development goals into our daily lives in a simple way. In these stories, we see the interlinkages between development and people, and it is this link that makes sustainability important. Among the writers are entrepreneurs, students, artists, teachers, bloggers, and development practitioners. In these stories, the writers address poverty, climate change, gender, food security, natural resources, health, urbanization, employment and related existential concerns spanning a range of perspectives within their preferred genres. It deliberately retains their language and style, in order to remain as true as possible to their voice. Their commitment to growing in their creative pursuit was evident throughout the process, which included a writing competition that began with a call for short stories, followed by creative writing sessions, one of which took place during the 2021 Africa regional forum on Sustainable Development.