Africonexion, your connection to Africa.

Promoting mutual understanding between Africans and non Africans.

Joseph L. Mbele, the founder and director of Africonexion, is a professor of English and Folklore. He has served for many years as advisor on study abroad programs involving U.S. and African colleges and universities, such as ACM Tanzania Program. He has also been a consultant for Globalearn, an internet based educational consultancy firm; Anotherland, a travel company specializing in cultural tourism to East Africa; Earthwatch, a foundation that sponsors scientific research worldwide, and many other agencies such as television and radio stations.

Joseph Mbele

For your enjoyment, below are some of my favorite links:

UniYatra Group, LLC

Mbele homepage at St. Olaf College

Transitions Abroad

Faribault Diversity Coalition

NAFSA: Association of International Educators

Africa-ATA

Global Service Corps

Pan African Chamber of Commerce

I wish to share with you some pictures from the Dar es Salaam Book Festival which took place in early September. I took part in the Festival joining the booth of the Umoja wa Waandishi wa Vitabu Tanzania (UWAVITA), of which I am a veteran. I displayed two of my books there: Matengo Folktales and notes on Achebe's Things Fall Apart. I talked with many people who visited the UWAVITA booth and also participated in a public panel in which I spoke about my impressions on the Festival and the issue of book writing and the reading culture.

Two Canadian ladies, my sister, and me. The Canadians were excited to meet me and to discover my folktales book, and they wanted me to go do a folktale program for children at Radio Tanzania. Unfortunately, my flight out of the country made this impossible.

Listening to a student from the Open University of Tanzania, who is working on folklore. He was very delighted to meet me. He had many questions to ask about folklore and how to enhance this discpline in our educational system.

Here I am listening to teachers from Kunduchi Girls Islamic High School. You can see the teachers and three children, and me in my usual attentive mode. I really enjoy learning from people, all kinds of people.

My sister and a Japanese friend from many years ago, who is a great fan of Swahili literature and my work in folklore.

Three of us on a panel, and it is my turn to give a talk. I was quite harsh in my criticism of the Tanzanian adults, on the basis of what I was saying regarding the promotion of books and reading culture.

School children performing an ethnic dance. I forget what the ethnic group is, but it was a remarkable dance in which the girls balanced on their heads pots with fire in them.