Here’s what’s wrong with voluntourism in Africa

In 2012, a spoof music video calling on Africans to donate radiators to Norway as part of a charity drive went viral on social media and made headlines across the world. The campaign, created by the Norwegian Students’ and Academics’ International Assistance Fund (SAIH) on a small budget, aimed to challenge the stereotypes people have of Africa and create a new conversation about the global south.

A few days ago, the SAIH released a second video that’s bound to draw as much attention as the first did. Who Wants To Be A Volunteer? is a provocative and hilarious take on voluntourism in Africa and the well-known stereotypes of the “white hero” and “exotic other”. It’s already received over 90 000 views since being posted on YouTube on November 7. Part of the video mimics a reality TV show: think Western aid workers competing to come ‘to Africa’ to save us all, without having a clue about the continent. Go on, watch it.

 

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