Leading South African cartoonist (and thorn in the side of wayward politicians, which makes him a Good Guy in my book) Zapiro has won a major international cartoon award in a competition aimed at fighting “prejudices and cliches about the African continent”. The award, part sponsored by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, had an international judging panel, including Kenyan Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai. The competition, entitled “Africa: No Opportunities, Continent of Crises or Renaissance?” aimed to look at stereotypical images of the continent such as civil wars, colonialism and poverty and contrast with a new confidence emerging as new powers like China and India move to invest in African states with their rich resources. Zapiro, who only recently launched his new collection in South Africa (in a supermarket vegetable section of all places, see here for more), was presented with a prize of 3, 000 Euros in Berlin on Monday evening. (source: IOL, via Neorama)
Thu, Dec 6, 2007
Awards, Comics and cartoons