ALA alumnus Cole Ezeilo ‘18 has recently launched Entwine, a social media app-organization that tackles the pressing issue of a lack of global African unity. The organization is working hard to bring together an application that will unite members of the African diaspora and continental Africans. The core team is made up of current ALA students.
According to the website, the organization seeks to “create and maintain a safe space for both Continental and Diasporic Africans to socialize, connect with one another, and authentically unify through unfiltered exchanges of culture and life.” Using technology as the vehicle to drive this connection, the Entwine App will be a one-stop-portal for African unity.
The Entwine team knows this is a mammoth task and have cleverly created three pillars in which to arrange their important work. “We’ve split this up into three main categories for the purpose of efficiency and specialization. These categories are known as the mind, body, and soul of African people, respectively Entwine Think, Entwine Act, and Entwine Media,” says the Entwine team.
Entwine Think
Entwine Think aims to shine long-overdue lights on the beautiful pieces of this African mosaic. The first project launching under this pillar is a wide-scale content generation initiative that will work with young African researchers (on both the continent and in the diaspora) to create regionally based content that delves into the complexities of African identity and movement.
Entwine Act
This pillar will have a dedicated page listing a range of causes, arranged regionally, that people can support from anywhere they are. Through this page, the team will amplify causes that are not typically seen on mainstream media – but have needed to be for generations.
Entwine Media
Through this pillar, Entwine seeks to honor the long tradition of nuanced storytelling that has existed across the continent and beyond or millenia. “Currently, Entwine Media’s function is to identify existing African mixed media to be showcased on our social media platforms, website, and soon The Entwine App. This will entail a wide network of African creatives around the world, producing content through Entwine Media for the direct audience of African people via the Entwine App,” says the team.
Looking forward
Entwine has named 2021 as the Year of Holistic African Development. With many projects on the way (and with the app moving to development stage), there are many areas one can get join the movement.
Are you interested in the powerful mission Entwine has set out to fulfill? Here’s how you can get involved:
1. You can express your interest in joining the team by sending an email to support@entwinetheapp.com
2. Become a financial collaborator to help Entwine with the work they do: https://entwinetheapp.com/build-with-entwine/
