C1rca1964 and the Best of Zambia partner

Touting the words ‘Create + Connect ZAMBIA’, we knew we had come across a team with similar aspirations and values. Here’s how we came to work together and what our project entails.

Because there is so much exciting stuff going on, this is a link rich blog. Follow everything. Be proud of how much mind blowing stuff is going on in Zambia and Africa via the wonders of the web. All rather fitting with the Africa Gathering 2013 theme that has just been announced, ‘Hands on technology: The rise of the makers, the dynamic and the disruptive thinkers of Africa’. This partnership is made up of people just like that.

A virtual meetingWe first met Mukuka Mayuka virtually, in 2012. This resulted in her interview with our CEO, Joseph Brown, on her Diasporan Truth series on Blog Talk Radio.

Mukuka is Co-founder of Diasporan Darlings and C1rca1964. She established C1rca1964 in 2012 in partnership with Mazuba Kapambwe. The idea behind C1rca1964 is to connect Zambians who are independently creating content that is innovative, inspiring and creative, and to foster a greater appreciation of the creative industry in Zambia.

#zed1964C1rca1964 absolutely impressed us when they stormed onto the scene with #zed1964 — an interactive social media photo project which asked Zambians to submit photos that represent Zambia. C1rca1964 accepted photo’s via email, Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter from 1st October 2012 to 24th October 2012. See the inspiring collection here.

Valuable contentA day after #zed1964 ended Mukuka contacted us by email with this eye catching subject line: “Content Creation and Freelance writers proposal”. Content. It’s an interesting word and needs analysing in it’s own right. With our sister company Something Beckons, we build websites and promote communication that turns people on. Achieving that needs valuable content. The kind that will inform, help and engage people, and bring a website to life.

Whilst creating valuable content has incredible advantages, it takes significant time and effort to deliver. The Best of Zambia is a small team of people extremely passionate about Zambia. We have big dreams and a mammoth task at hand. Mukuka’s email was the kind we open immediately because teamwork is enabling, and there is still limited quality information about Zambia available online. High quality, current and timeless content is key to making the Best of Zambia website useful to our audience — the growing Zambian population with access to the internet, businesses and enterprises in Zambia, the diaspora, and an international audience.

A thrilling project to be part ofBy working together and using our respective spheres of influence for common good, every week we’ll feature Zambian contributors (or people with an interest in, and knowledge of Zambia) on the Best of Zambia blog. C1rca1964 brings it’s established network of Zambian bloggers and photographers to this partnership, as well as their extraordinary ability to make things happen fast. Thebestofzambia.com currently receives 25,000 visitors a month. 40% of these visitors are from within Zambia, whilst the rest are international readers. By featuring C1rca1964’s recommended contributors, we aim to raise the profile of Zambian talent, and showcase the positive, stirring and hopeful stories in Zambia, written by capable and inspiring Zambians. These stories are so often missed and we want to change that.

So look out for the first contributor to what we believe will be a thought-provoking project. We encourage you to follow our contributors individual blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Google+ accounts.

We’d like to especially thank Mukuka for stepping into our virtual world. We look forward to meeting her in the flesh one day!