TED Community » Boniface Mwangi
About Me
I am a Kenyan based photographer who has worked on assignments in a number of countries including Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, China, Somalia, Tanzania, Ghana, South Africa, France and l covered the historic election of President Barack Obama in the USA. I served with the Standard Group as a photojournalist for five years before I left in December 2008 to start Picha Mtaani. My work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, The international Herald Tribune, The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The Boston Globe and the BBC Focus on Africa magazine among other International publications. I have won a couple of awards among them CNN Africa Photojournalist of the Year in 2008, the first Kenyan to win in that category. In 2009 my post election work was highly commended in the CNN Africa Journalist of the Year Award. I went on to win the Award this year.
"Your photography is absolutely stunning and tells an important and powerful story for the world to hear"
- Hillary Clinton the USA secretary of state in a letter she wrote to me commending my Kenya's Post election violence work.
My work has been exhibited at the French Cultural Centre Nairobi, Goethe Institute, the National Museums of Kenya, The Godown Art Centre and New York at the Tank Art Studio. I am the founder and project director of Picha Mtaani, a United Nations supported peace building initiative that focuses on reconciliation through photographic exhibitions and debate.
- Location:
- Kenya, Nairobi
- Current organization:
- Picha Mtaani
- Current role:
- Project Director
- Gender:
- Male
- Areas of expertise:
- Photo-journalism
- I am:
- Activist, Change Agent, Christian, Concerned citizen, Entrepreneur, Journalist, Life mentor, Parent, Photographer
- Languages:
- English, Swahili
- My website links:
- boniface mwangi, 24 Nairobi, PICHA MTAANI
- Universities:
- East AFRICA SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM
- TED conferences attended:
- TED2013, TEDGlobal 2010
More About Me
I'm passionate about
Africa,my motherland. Covering conflicts and the most desolate places on earth. Empowering young people in Africa and traveling the world.
An idea worth spreading
Building and equipping libraries with books across Sub-Saharan Africa thus ensuring that the next generation of Africans will be more educated and have an equal chance to compete in the world stage. As government's cram children in ill equipped classrooms in order to fulfill Millennium Development goal two "Achieve universal primary education" lets ensure there are books in schools for those boys and girls to read. Setting peace corps in Africa, ensuring as Africans we can all give back to our motherland by mentoring and serving the "less privileged"- a personal social responsibility.
Talk to me about
Africa.Book (s) /Speeches/Photo's that changed,inspired or impacted the way you view life. Public speaking. Photography. Biographies.
People don't know that I'm good at
Writing travel stories
My TED Story
I got an email inviting me to be a speaker at TEDx Nairobi but l did not know much about TED apart that one of the best war photographers James Nachtwey had won the TED prize in 2007 and his acceptance speech was on my laptop. Some of my friends who knew about TED were excited about the invite telling me its something very big to be a speaker at any TED associated event. That led me to research more about TED and the research opened the TED world to me,l was hooked and l skipped a very important training to be at the TEDx Nairobi. Looking back at my life, its one of the best decisions that l have ever made of accepting to be a speaker at TEDx Nairobi. I made life long friendships at Tedx Nairobi who have made an impact on my life in different ways and am amazed three of them are past TED fellows.
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