For the first time, on January 09, 2019, Bright Mirror crossed the border!
At Le Hasard Ludique in Paris, in partnership with Jokkolabs in Dakar and the Impact Hub in Accra, citizens gathered to discuss the theme of the future of water. For one evening, French, Senegalese and Ghanaians are gathered to invent an optimistic future.
From Paris, Kristy Anamoutou, Open Leadership Director at bluenove, recalls the main principles of Bright Mirror. An initiative to bring together a community willing to engage in building a bright future. Bright Mirror is inspired by fictional design, to project itself into the future and prototype desirable futures. For this evening, there is only one watchword: “Live the experience with your imagination, your body and your heart”.
Then Mawena Yehouessi, founder of Black(s) to the Future, explains the notion of Afrofuturism:
“Afrofuturism, in terms of methodology, is based on three concepts: fiction, foresight and politics. Afrofuturism is not only an aesthetic. It is first and foremost a commitment for future generations. It is not a question of thinking about what the world will be but what the world can be. »
African imaginaries are thus called upon to take up the universal challenge related to water and to go beyond the representations usually associated with the “mental continent” that is Africa.
Finally, Anna Tjé, from the magazine Ataye, gives some writing tips. It calls for the creation of a visionary fiction, based on everyone’s imagination while drawing on the strength of the group.
Collective writing workshops in Accra, Dakar, Paris
In groups of four, our budding writers have one hour to let their imagination run wild. Slam, poem, play, tale, short novels… all formats are allowed! Two constraints: adopt a positive prism and begin the story with one of the following three sentences:
March 32, 2055, it was the last rainfall of the year…
March 32, 2055, we dive into the ocean to…
March 32, 2055, we share a bottle of rainwater to celebrate…
Water guardians, a universal declaration of fish rights, emotional drops… The stories are rich and tinged with optimism.
In Paris, the evening ends with a prayer in a technomagic laboratory, where water suddenly becomes immortal.
Workshops in Accra and Dakar
Antoine Brachet, directeur 
