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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