CONTINENTAL PRESENTATION

By Amit Kumar
Mohd. Kaif
Mohd Kaleem
Ehab Ashraf
Shashank Kapoor
Ankit Satish Kaushik
AFRICA
GEOGRAPHY
Africa is the world's second-largest
and second-most-populous continent.
it covers six percent of the Earth's
total surface area and 20.4 percent of
the total land area.
The continent is surrounded by the
Mediterranean Sea to the north, both
the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along
the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast,
the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and
the Atlantic Ocean to the west.
The continent is surrounded by the
Mediterranean Sea to the north, both
the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along
the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast,
the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and
the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The
continent includes Madagascar and
various archipelagoes. It has 54 fully
recognized sovereign states
("countries"), nine territories and two
de facto independent states with
limited or no recognition
Africa's largest country is Algeria, and its
smallest country is the Seychelles, an
archipelago off the east coast. The smallest
nation on the continental mainland is the
Gambia.
CLIMATE
The climate of Africa ranges from
tropical to subarctic on its highest
peaks.
Its northern half is primarily desert, or
arid, while its central and southern
areas contain both savanna plains and
very dense jungle (rainforest) regions.
In between, there is a convergence,
where vegetation patterns such as
Sahel and steppe dominate.
Africa is the hottest continent on earth
and 60% of the entire land surface
consists of dry lands and deserts. The
record for the highest-ever recorded
temperature, in Libya in 1922 (58 C
(136 F)), was discredited in 2013.

WILDLIFE
Africa boasts perhaps the world's
largest combination of density and
"range of freedom" of wild animal
populations and diversity, with wild
populations of large carnivores (such
as lions, hyenas, and cheetahs) and
herbivores (such as buffalo, elephants,
camels, and giraffes) ranging freely on
primarily open non-private plains.
It is also home to a variety of "jungle"
animals including snakes and primates
and aquatic life such as crocodiles and
amphibians.
In addition, Africa has the largest
number of megafauna species, as it
was least affected by the extinction of
the Pleistocene megafauna.
CULTURE OF AFRICAN PEOPLE
ART AND CRAFT
FOLKFORE AND RELIGION
CLOTHING
CUISINE
MUSIC
LANGUAGES
ART AND CRAFT
Africa has a rich tradition of arts and
crafts. African arts and crafts find
expression in a variety of
woodcarvings, brass and leather art
works.
African arts and crafts also include
sculpture, paintings, pottery,
ceremonial and religious headgear and
dress.
Maulana Karenga states that in African
art, the object was not as important as
the soul force behind the creation of
the object. He also states that All art
must be revolutionary and in being
revolutionary it must be collective,
committing, and functional, this is
echoed by Shahada who states "in
Africa all art is socially functional.
African culture has always placed
emphasis on personal appearance and
jewelry has remained an important
personal accessory. Many pieces of
such jewelry are made of cowry shells
and similar materials. Similarly, masks
are made with elaborate designs and
are important part of African culture
FOLKFORE AND RELIGION
Like almost all civilizations and
cultures, flood myths have been
circulating in different parts of Africa.
Culture and religion share space and
are deeply intertwined in African
cultures.
According to a Pygmy myth,
Chameleon, hearing a strange noise in
a tree, cut open its trunk and water
came out in a great flood that spread
all over the land.
There are different types of African
stories: animal tales and day-to-day
tales. Animal tales more oriented
towards entertainment, but still have
morals and lessons to them. Animal
tales are normally divided into trickster
tales and ogre tales. In the animal
tales, a certain animal would always
have the same personality or role in
each story so the audience does not
have to worry about characterization.
The Hare was always the trickster,
clever and cunning, while the Hyena
was always being tricked by the Hare.
Ogres are always cruel, greedy
monsters
. The messengers in all the stories
were the Birds. Day-to-Day tales are
the most serious tales, never including
humor, that explained the everyday life
and struggles of an African community.
These tales take on matters such as
famine, escape from death, courtship,
and family matters, using a song form
when the climax of the story was being
told
Villagers would gather around a
common meeting place at the end of
the day to listen and tell their stories.
Storytellers had certain commands to
start and end the stories, "Ugai Itha" to
get the audience's attention and begin
the story, and "Rukirika" to signal the
end of a tale

CLOTHING
Women's traditional clothes in Africa
are made from cloth called shemma
and used to make habesha kemis. The
latter garment is basically cotton
cloth, about 90 cm wide, woven in long
strips which are then sewn together.
Sometimes shiny threads are woven
into the fabric for an elegant effect.
Men wear pants and a knee-length shirt
with a white collar, and perhaps a
sweater. Men often wear knee-high
socks, while women might not wear
socks at all. Men as well as women
wear shawls, the netela.
HABESHA KEMIS
CUISINE
The various cuisines of Africa use a
combination of locally available fruits,
cereal grains and vegetables, as well
as milk and meat products. In some
parts of the continent, the traditional
diet features a preponderance of milk,
curd and whey products.
AFRICAN DELICACIES
Fufu (right) is a staple meal in
West Africa and Central Africa. It
is served here with some peanut
soup.
Potjiekos is a traditional Afrikaner
stew made with meat and
vegetables and cooked over coals
in cast-iron pots.
MUSIC
Traditional Sub-Saharan African music
is as diverse as the region's various
populations. The common perception
of Sub-Saharan African music is that it
is rhythmic music centered around the
drums, and indeed, a large part of Sub-
Saharan music, mainly among
speakers of NigerCongo and Nilo-
Saharan languages, is rhythmic and
centered around the drum. Sub-
Saharan music is polyrhythmic, usually
consisting of multiple rhythms in one
composition.
Dance involves moving multiple body
parts. These aspects of Sub-Saharan
music were transferred to the new
world by enslaved Sub-Saharan
Africans and can be seen in its
influence on music forms as Samba,
Jazz, Rhythm and Blues, Rock & Roll,
Salsa, and Rap music
Yoruba drummers at celebration in
Ojumo Oro, Kware State, Nigeria.
LANGUAGE
The main ethno-linguistic divisions are
Afro-Asiatic (North Africa, Horn of
Africa), NigerCongo (including
speakers from the Bantu branch) in
most of Sub-Saharan Africa, Nilo-
Saharan in parts of the Sahara and the
Sahel and parts of Eastern Africa, and
Khoisan (indigenous minorities of
Southern Africa). The continent of
Africa speaks hundreds of languages,
and if dialects spoken by various
ethnic groups are also included, the
number is much higher.
These languages and dialects do not
have the same importance: some are
spoken by only few hundred persons,
others are spoken by millions. Among
the most prominent languages
spoken are Arabic, Swahili and
Hausa. Very few countries of Africa
use any single language and for this
reason several official languages
coexist, African and European. Some
Africans speak various European
languages such as English, Spanish,
French, and Dutch.

ECONOMY
Although it has abundant natural
resources, Africa remains the world's
poorest and most underdeveloped
continent, the result of a variety of
causes that may include corrupt
governments that have often
committed serious human rights
violations, failed central planning, high
levels of illiteracy, lack of access to
foreign capital,and frequent tribal and
military conflict According to the
United Nations'Human Development
Report in 2003, the bottom 25 ranked
nations (151st to 175th) were all
African.

Poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition and
inadequate water supply and
sanitation, as well as poor health,
affect a large proportion of the people
who reside in the African continent. In
August 2008, the World Bank
announced revised global poverty
estimates based on a new international
poverty line of $1.25 per day.

80.5% of the Sub-Saharan Africa
population was living on less than
$2.50 (PPP) a day in 2005, compared
with 85.7% for India.


The new figures confirm that sub-
Saharan Africa has been the least
successful region of the world in
reducing poverty ($1.25 per day); some
50% of the population living in poverty
in 1981 (200 million people), a figure
that rose to 58% in 1996 before
dropping to 50% in 2005 (380 million
people).
In recent years, the People's Republic
of China has built increasingly stronger
ties with African nations. In 2007,
Chinese companies invested a total of
US$1 billion in Africa.
During the President of the United
States Barack Obama's visit to Africa
in July 2013, he announced a US$7
billion plan to further develop
infrastructure and work more
intensively with African heads of state.
A new program named Trade Africa,
designed to boost trade within the
continent as well as between Africa
and the U.S., was also unveiled by
Obama
The average poor person in sub-
Saharan Africa is estimated to live on
only 70 cents per day, and was poorer
in 2003 than he or she was in 1973
indicating increasing poverty in some
areas. Some of it is attributed to
unsuccessful economic liberalization
programs spearheaded by foreign
companies and governments, but
other studies and reports have cited
bad domestic government policies
more than external factors

From 1995 to 2005, Africa's rate of
economic growth increased, averaging
5% in 2005. Some countries
experienced still higher growth rates,
notably Angola, Sudan and Equatorial
Guinea, all three of which had recently
begun extracting their petroleum
reserves or had expanded their oil
extraction capacity.
The continent is believed to hold 90%
of the world's cobalt, 90% of its
platinum, 50% of its gold, 98% of its
chromium, 70% of its tantalite,64% of
its manganese and one-third of its
uranium.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC) has 70% of the world's coltan,
and most mobile phones in the world
are made with elements refined from
this mineral. The DRC also has more
than 30% of the world's diamond
reserves.
Guinea is the world's largest exporter
of bauxite

As the growth in Africa has been driven
mainly by services and not
manufacturing or agriculture, it has
been growth without jobs and without
reduction in poverty levels
Regional Economic
Communities (By AU)
Community of Sahel-Saharan States
(CEN-SAD)
29 Countries
Support from the AfDB
To adopt measures to boost intra-community
trade
Common Market for Eastern and Southern
Africa -(COMESA)
December 1994
Economic prosperity through regional
integration
With its 19 member states, population of over
389 million and annual import bill of around
US$32 billion with an export bill of US$82 billion
COMESA forms a major market place for both
internal and external trading. Its area is
impressive on the map of the African Continent
covering a geographical area of 12 Million (sq
km)
East African Community (EAC)
5 Member States
EAC countries established a Customs Union in
2005 and a Common Market in 2010.

Economic Community of Central African
States (ECCAS)
10 Members
It "aims to achieve collective autonomy, raise the
standard of living of its populations and maintain
economic stability through harmonious
cooperation".
Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS)
16 Members

Inter-Governmental Authority on Development
(IGAD)

Southern African Development Community
(SADC)
15 Member States
Established in 1992, SADC is committed to
Regional Integration and poverty eradication
within Southern Africa through economic
development and ensuring peace and security.

COMESAEACSADC
Inter-regional coordination is growing among
the RECs. The Heads of State and Government
of the three RECs agreed to institutionalize
establishing an FTA. This tripartite FTA brings
together 26 African countries, a combined
population of 530 million people, and a total
GDP of US$ 630 billion, which together
represent over 50 per cent of Africas economic
output. This initiative has indeed galvanized the
interest of Africas policymakers in a much
broader CFTA.
Continental Free Trade Area
Leaders at the African Union Summit, which took
place from 23 to 30 January 2012 under the
theme boosting intra-African trade, endorsed a
plan to set up a Continental Free Trade Area
(CFTA) by 2017. The proposed CFTA would be a
key component of the AUs strategy to boost
trade within the region by at least 25-30 percent
in the next decade.
Main Objectives Of CFTA
Create a single market for goods and services, with
free movement of business people and investment,
paving the way for a continental customs union.

Expand trade within Africa.

Enhance business and industrial competitiveness by
exploiting opportunities for larger scale production,
continental market access and better reallocation of
resources.

Political Governance
Democracy again took centre stage in Africas
political life in 2012. After the fall of autocratic
rulers in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia in the latest
wave of democratic transitions that have swept
the continent since the 1990s, all African
countries except Somalia and Eritrea can now
choose their governments through a vote.


Elections are essential, but more is needed to
build strong democratic roots and institutions.

African policy makers increasingly
acknowledge the need for quality economic
growth. The 5% average annual gross
domestic product (GDP) growth rate for the
past decade has not created enough jobs for
the young Africans coming on to labour
markets

THANK
YOU