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PUBLIC DIPLOMACY IN SUB-SAHARAN <strong>AFRICA</strong><br />

Despite being blessed with stunning<br />

natural wonders, most of Africa’s vast<br />

rural areas are sorely lacking in economic<br />

opportunity. Of the limited income earning<br />

options available to them, tourism is one<br />

of the best, except that entrepreneurs on<br />

their own are individually insufficiently<br />

strong to draw customers to remotely<br />

located destinations. Open Africa is a social<br />

enterprise that inspires people to come<br />

together through a systematized method<br />

that allows them to combine their products<br />

into more easily marketable routes that<br />

are then networked for the purpose of<br />

constantly managed ascendancy.<br />

Tourism is the world’s largest<br />

job creator and forms the basis for Open<br />

Africa’s model. Africa is in a unique position<br />

to capitalize on tourism. It is the birthplace<br />

of humankind and hosts most of the world’s<br />

animal and plant species within magnificent<br />

landscapes and climate. The continent’s<br />

people are extraordinarily friendly and<br />

hospitable, yet, despite occupying one<br />

quarter of the earth’s land surface area,<br />

Africa hosts less than 5% of global tourists.<br />

ABOUT OPEN <strong>AFRICA</strong><br />

The organization was established<br />

in 1995 under the patronage of former<br />

South African President Nelson Mandela to<br />

meet the increasingly urgent need for job<br />

creation in rural Africa. Rural entrepreneurs<br />

are largely excluded from the economic<br />

mainstream and the unemployment rate<br />

is as high as 70% in some areas. With little<br />

hope and few opportunities, many migrate<br />

to cities, placing additional stress on urban<br />

areas where living conditions are less than<br />

ideal.<br />

The founder, Noel de Villiers,<br />

conceptualized Open Africa in 1993. The<br />

concept was elegantly simple. Following the<br />

example of the famous Western Cape wine<br />

routes, he aimed to cluster community level<br />

tourism products into branded collectives<br />

that increase their appeal and ability to<br />

attract customers. Although at the time the<br />

Internet was only in its infancy, de Villiers<br />

had the foresight to see the role technology<br />

could play in changing people’s lives. The<br />

initiative thus went the web route, starting<br />

by integrating geographic information<br />

system (GIS) technology with the Internet.<br />

This integration, which at the time was<br />

groundbreaking, was achieved in 1999 and<br />

resulted in the first Open Africa route being<br />

launched that year.<br />

<strong>AFRICA</strong> IS IN A UNIQUE PO-<br />

SITION TO CAPITALIZE ON<br />

TOURISM. IT IS THE BIRTH-<br />

PLACE OF HUMANKIND AND<br />

HOSTS MOST OF THE WORLD’S<br />

ANIMAL AND PLANT SPECIES<br />

WITHIN MAGNIFICENT LAND-<br />

SCAPES AND CLIMATE. THE<br />

CONTINENT’S PEOPLE ARE EX-<br />

TRAORDINARILY FRIENDLY AND<br />

HOSPITABLE, YET, DESPITE OC-<br />

CUPYING ONE QUARTER OF<br />

THE EARTH’S LAND SURFACE<br />

AREA, <strong>AFRICA</strong> HOSTS LESS<br />

THAN 5% OF GLOBAL<br />

TOURISTS.<br />

Today there are 64 routes in a network<br />

that spans the six countries of South Africa,<br />

Namibia, Zambia, Swaziland, Mozambique<br />

and Lesotho, and includes more than 2,500<br />

enterprises that employ over 28,000 people.<br />

Open Africa believes that rural areas<br />

in Africa with their biodiversity, stunning<br />

beauty, and spiritual equanimity have<br />

immense potential as attractive visitor<br />

destinations for city dwellers. Furthermore,<br />

materialising this potential requires<br />

little more than the existing indigenous<br />

knowledge and skills available within<br />

remote communities.<br />

By providing a framework within<br />

which people can collaborate, Open Africa<br />

helps rural people recognize their potential<br />

and improve their attractiveness through<br />

clustering their products, branding what<br />

they have, and professionally giving this<br />

exposure on the web and via social media.<br />

The process starts with the Big<br />

Five, named after Africa being famous<br />

for hosting the world’s largest mammals.<br />

This entails asking those gathered in a<br />

community to name their biggest features<br />

of interest. Initially this is usually met<br />

with blank stares in what is generally<br />

a depressed environment, until with<br />

prompting someone remembers why the<br />

place was inhabited in the first instance;<br />

this triggers more thoughts and still more,<br />

until in no time a list of 15 to 20 items of<br />

unique characteristics have been identified<br />

amidst mounting excitement. These are<br />

distilled into their meaningfulness as<br />

potential attractors and with it a mindset<br />

change among locals developes into prideful<br />

recognition that they are not as badly off as<br />

they thought they were.<br />

The focus is on strengths rather than<br />

weaknesses and in this way many a remotely<br />

located community rediscovers assets<br />

either forgotten or overlooked as having any<br />

commercial value culturally, historically,<br />

aesthetically, in terms of biodiversity or<br />

any number of other interesting reasons.<br />

Basically, this puts their feet on the first<br />

rung of the tourism ladder.<br />

Recognizing the power of branding<br />

as a unifying process, Open Africa assists<br />

routes to develop a clear identity that<br />

not only helps to distinguish them in the<br />

market, but also brings them together.<br />

The process is interesting and after they<br />

have identified their main attractions and<br />

strengths consideration is given how these<br />

compete with other tourist destinations.<br />

A route brand is the outcome, which leads<br />

to an increased feeling of solidarity and<br />

unity among community members across<br />

different age and ethnic groups.<br />

Thereafter, Open Africa mentors<br />

local route associations and helps build their<br />

capacity through a tailor-made program.<br />

It also enables routes to implement local<br />

tourism development projects that range<br />

from hiking trails to packaged experiences<br />

utilizing whatever features are competitively<br />

unique to given areas.<br />

REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS &<br />

NATION BRANDING<br />

A key element of the program is the<br />

promotion of trade within the network,<br />

done through the www.openafrica.org<br />

website. Every route is profiled, along with<br />

the key attractions of the region, and all of<br />

the businesses that form part of the route.<br />

In addition to online marketing, routes are<br />

assisted with brochures, signage, and other<br />

marketing material and campaigns that put<br />

them at the forefront in utilising modern<br />

technology’s benefits.<br />

To achieve its objectives, Open<br />

Africa enters into a range of partnerships<br />

at both a local and a national level, and has<br />

developed a particular skill in facilitating<br />

public-private partnerships. Projects are<br />

often implemented in partnership with<br />

local and provincial governments through<br />

funds sourced from corporations and<br />

elsewhere. At a local level, partnerships<br />

are also facilitated between the private<br />

sector-driven route associations and local<br />

governments. These partnerships often<br />

lead to new and innovative development<br />

initiatives that would not be possible<br />

without collaboration.<br />

RECOGNIZING THE POWER<br />

OF BRANDING AS A UNIFY-<br />

ING PROCESS, OPEN <strong>AFRICA</strong><br />

ASSISTS ROUTES TO DEVELOP<br />

A CLEAR IDENTITY THAT NOT<br />

ONLY HELPS TO DISTINGUISH<br />

THEM IN THE MARKET, BUT<br />

ALSO BRINGS THEM TOGETHER.<br />

CULTURE PUBLIC-PRIVATE GOVERNMENT<br />

65 WINTER 2016 | @PD_Mag<br />

WINTER 2016 | @PD_Mag 66

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