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Google trains young African talent on brand visibility, cultural promotion

By Eniola Daniel
01 July 2022   |   5:31 am
Search engine giant, Google has trained the first batch of 25 young Alté creatives from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Botswana, and South Africa to attend the Residency and be equipped with entrepreneurial skills on how they can enhance the visibility of their brands and cultural exposure.

(FILES) In this file photo taken on November 19, 2010 Google’s European headquarters are pictured in Dublin.  (Photo by PETER MUHLY / AFP)

Search engine giant, Google has trained the first batch of 25 young Alté creatives from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Botswana, and South Africa to attend the Residency and be equipped with entrepreneurial skills on how they can enhance the visibility of their brands and cultural exposure.

The Residency programme which ran from Tuesday, June 28 to Thursday, June 30, 2022, helped the talents learn how to better connect with their audiences and move the culture forward through platforms like Google Arts & Culture, YouTube and YouTubeShorts.

Similar to a bootcamp, the two day programme was aimed at upskilling and celebrating these young creatives.

The Alternative Movement, colloquially known as the ‘Alté Movement’, traces its roots to Lagos, where young Africans embrace the idea of being misfits or non-conformists. The movement champions for unconventional self-expression in all aspects of life but mainly through music, fashion and visual arts.

Though it started in Nigeria, it has strongly taken root across the continent. Recent Google Search trends from across Africa show an increase in `Alté’ related searches from 2020, with questions like ‘What is alté?’, ‘Who is an alté?’ and ‘How to dress alte?’, being the most searched alté related questions.

Speaking during the Residency, Communications and Public Relations Manager for Google West Africa, Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, said, “It’s exciting to see creators that identify as non-mainstream find community on our platform. This comes just a few days after we announced a call for applications for the YouTube Black Voices Fund for 2023 aimed at elevating marginalised voices.

“The aim of the residency is to amplify the impact of the Alté movement in Africa and the world. “We also want to showcase how products like YouTube and YouTube Shorts and platforms like Google Arts & Culture can help drive the culture forward.”

“Google has also invited Alté creatives that have global brands such as Tshepo The Jeans Maker to give career talks to the young creative entrepreneurs on how to further build and monetise their brands.”

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