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171:, Siyanda Mohutsiwa has been a dominant voice in social media writing since at least 2014. as well as being a UNICEF Special Youth Reporter, writing about youth employment, HIV, peer pressure and other topics. As a part of her work in reporting on youth issues, Mohutsiwa has participated as a featured speaker in conferences, such as the 21st International AIDS Conference held in
206:
The discussion turned to another on-line media platform, TedTalks, when
Mohutsiwa was invited to discuss how social media is being used to transform social conversation. She discussed that the internet has changed the way people deal with issues, their ability to criticize stereotypes, their
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On 27 July 2015, Mohutsiwa posted a question from her personal
Twitter account: "If Africa was a bar, what would your country be drinking/doing?" The question was quickly transformed into a hashtag as people all over the African continent began tweeting their responses, including the tag
102:, but relocating not only changed her language, but brought her awareness of having lost her Swazi identity and becoming part of the shared history of African identity. When she moved to Botswana, Mohutsiwa lost her ability to speak SiSwati and became a
203:#IfAfricaWasABar. The hashtag was used over 61,000 times. When asked what inspired her original post, Mohutsiwa responded "I thought it would be a fun way for Africans to laugh at themselves and each other by putting geopolitics in a comedic light."
175:. However, most of her writing takes place on Twitter, where she observes social media trends and engages in online community dialogue. In January 2014, she began the satirical hashtag #africannationsinhighschool, which was tagged over 50,000 times.
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governments, policies, and identity. Leading to a broader platform and recognition, she has discussed how social media has driven culture on her
Twitter feed, which has been re-quoted as relevant commentary by mainstream international media such as
79:(born 1993) is an internationally recognised satirical writer and speaker from Botswana. She created the satirical hashtag #IfAfricaWasABar that went viral in the summer of 2015. She describes herself as a pan-Africanist.
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Mohutsiwa began writing at the age of five and by age twelve was writing an opinion column in a national newspaper. By the age of sixteen, she was writing a blog focusing on issues such as
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titled "Is Africa's Future Online?" in
November 2015, and another titled "How young Africans found a voice on Twitter" in February 2016.
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194:. After receiving her MFA, she went on to work for the International Writing Program as a coordinator for the Summer Institute
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98:, where her mother is from and moved to Botswana, where her father is from when she was very young. Her initial language was
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In 2016, Siyanda moved to
America to enroll at the prestigious Iowa Writers Workshop where she studied fiction under
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153:. The blog was picked up by several international radio stations, including the
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Mohutsiwa graduated with a
Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the
529:"Speaker, writer, mathematician: Multifaceted Mohutsiwa calls Iowa City home"
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871:"Blaming the Media for Trump? Don't Forget Facebook, Twitter and Reddit"
268:"#IfAfricaWasABar TEDxAms speaker Siyanda Mohutsiwa would be the owner"
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732:"#BBCtrending: What would your country be doing if Africa was a bar?"
550:"Siyanda Mohutsiwa | Sociology | The University of Chicago"
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604:"Faire naître une génération sans sida avec et pour les adolescents"
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in
October 2016. Siyanda Mohutsiwa is a graduate of the prestigious
157:. In 2013, Mohutsiwa was an invited to contribute to the blog for
785:"Young Africans are finding their voices thanks to social media"
380:"#IfAfricaWasABar trend, the girl behind it and what it reveals"
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610:(in French). Geneva Switzerland: United Nations. 18 July 2016
579:"#BBCtrending: From #Kangkung to #africannationsinhighschool"
354:"Transcript of "How young Africans found a voice on Twitter""
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in 2018. In 2020, she joined the
Sociology department at the
499:"Mohutsiwa: Young, gifted and touting black consciousness"
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TED talk - How Young
Africans Found A Voice On Twitter
791:. Lonehill, South Africa: Ndalo Media. Archived from
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294:"Motswana writer creates waves on social media"
682:"African Twitter Imagines #IfAfricaWasABar..."
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243:"African writing: Fact, fiction, or faction?"
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94:Katlo Siyanda Mohutsiwa was born in 1993 in
707:"The best African Twitter hashtags of 2015"
845:"This Is How Facebook Is Radicalizing You"
161:, an international commentary site out of
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413:"Put young voices behind youth policies"
900:"How to burst your social media bubble"
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449:. Helsinki, Finland. 18 September 2014
378:Mungai, Christine (29 December 2015).
935:TED talk - Is Africa's Future Online?
7:
869:Roettgers, Janko (9 November 2016).
843:Broderick, Ryan (16 November 2016).
577:Devichand, Mukul (20 January 2014).
352:Mohutsiwa, Siyanda (24 March 2016).
814:Garcia, Feliks (14 November 2016).
497:Motlhoka, Thobo (23 October 2013).
241:Mohutsiwa, Siyanda (6 March 2014).
165:. She is also a contributor to the
121:where she received a MFA from the
14:
898:Tait, Amelia (11 November 2016).
783:Zimela, Zukiswa (4 April 2016).
705:Gurkan, Esra (8 January 2016).
630:"2019 Summer Institute Program"
759:"Siyanda Mohutsiwa on Twitter"
656:"Siyanda Mohutsiwa on Twitter"
470:"Siyanda Mohutsiwa on Twitter"
321:Friedman, Uri (29 July 2015).
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980:Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni
970:University of Botswana alumni
680:Zoker, Yatta (28 July 2015).
411:Vries, Keith (14 June 2016).
847:. New York City, New York:
382:. Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania:
323:"What If Africa Was a Bar?"
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975:21st-century women writers
879:. Los Angeles, California
143:economics and development
32:Siyanda Mohutsiwa in 2016
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965:Botswana women writers
554:sociology.uchicago.edu
115:University of Botswana
127:University of Chicago
119:Iowa Writers Workshop
757:Mohutsiwa, Siyanda.
654:Mohutsiwa, Siyanda.
468:Mohutsiwa, Siyanda.
441:"Waiting for winter"
299:The Botswana Gazette
173:Durban, South Africa
795:on 6 September 2017
421:. Windhoek, Namibia
198:If Africa Was A Bar
168:Mail & Guardian
139:black consciousness
274:. 25 November 2015
247:The M&G Online
188:Charles D'Ambrosio
180:Lan Samantha Chang
123:University of Iowa
60:Writer and Speaker
908:. London, England
824:. London, England
77:Siyanda Mohutsiwa
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384:The Citizen
306:10 December
192:Jess Walter
184:Ethan Canin
65:Nationality
949:Categories
768:8 December
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685:Okayafrica
665:8 December
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505:. Botswana
479:8 December
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229:References
90:Early life
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46:1993-06-26
109:Education
96:Swaziland
52:Swaziland
849:BuzzFeed
583:BBC News
216:BuzzFeed
147:feminism
84:TED talk
69:Motswana
876:Variety
763:Twitter
660:Twitter
474:Twitter
222:Variety
133:Writing
100:SiSwati
639:Jun 1,
608:UNAIDS
559:Jun 1,
534:Jun 1,
159:Zanews
149:, and
634:Issuu
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