#ifAfricawasabar

"If Africa was a bar, what would your country be drinking or doing?"  This tweet by Siyanda Mohutsiwa went viral with many Africans and non-Africans chiming in with a response. Some people responded by poking fun at stereotypes, others highlighted geopolitical tensions and government spending. What Siyanda and many others demonstrated was the platform that Twitter gives people to voice their ideas and thoughts, where political or geographic barriers may have otherwise blocked them. Siyanda mentioned how Africans are bursting with creative energy and innovation but with shaky institutions and bad governments all of this potential can go to waste. Social media gives young Africans a chance to promote what Siyanda calls, Social Pan-Africanism and unite ideas and creativity to tackle many of the issues affecting African countries. There are many examples of how ideas on social media have gained traction and brought about positive change. Think about the Ice Bucket Challenge and ALS or various crowdfunding campaigns that have raised money for worthy causes. Siyanda believes Social Pan-Africanism will help to generate potential solutions to problems affecting African countries and Twitter is the tool that she is using.