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Tuesday, 13 March 2007 15:27 |
 Rock-star-turned-philanthropist Bono has undertaken a new effort in his campaign to raise awareness about poverty and AIDS in Africa.
The frontman for the band U2 will take his message to a new audience as he sits in as guest editor of the July issue of Vanity Fair.
The pairing seems an unlikely mix.
Vanity Fair is known for its stylish looks at the affairs of the rich and famous ó and an abundance of glossy advertisements.
But Bono seeks
to use his position at the magazine to highlight the lives of some of
the worldís most downtrodden people: the 800 million residents of
Africa.
ìWeíve got to
get better at telling the success stories of Africa, in addition to the
horror stories,î Bono said in an interview published recently in the
New York Times.
Promoting
political agendas is nothing new for Vanity Fair, which has devoted
entire editions to environmental issues and has continually railed
against the policies of the Bush administration.
What is new is its willingness to tackle the often underpublicized issues surrounding Africa.
For his part, Bono sees no contradiction in working with his fellow members of the worldís elite to combat poverty and disease.
ìHey, Iíd meet
with Lucifer if I thought it would do any good,î he said during the
same interview. While the reference was made in response to criticisms
about his meetings with President Bush, a broader meaning could be
taken about Bonoís desire to bring a pop-culture-driven approach to
rebranding Africa.
Be that as it
may, we commend his efforts. Africa suffers in large part from a bad
public image ó the result of centuries of colonial exploitation and
racially motivated predjudices.
As long as
Africans are perceived as backward, miserable and hopeless in the West,
the affluent of the world will continue to see their problems as
foreign and insurmountable.
Yet the
potential impact that wealthy Westerners can have on the continent is
immense. What may seem inconsequential to many of us can have a
profound effect on lives there. People in Africa die every day for lack
of surgical operations that would cost as little as $100.
Bono should be lauded for trying to raise our awareness of these issues.
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