The Gap the Library is Built to Close

Africa carries a disproportionate share of the climate and biodiversity crises, as well as the struggle for a "Just Transition" to a greener economy. Yet too little of the writing about them comes from Africa itself.

Africa's share of historical greenhouse-gas emissions is in the single digits — far below the shares attributed to China, the European Union, and the United States. Yet the majority of the world's most climate-vulnerable countries are on the Continent.

Most African countries are also behind on core knowledge and financing targets under the Convention on Biological Diversity, risking further loss of threatened species and ecosystems. Volatile economies, high unemployment, government inaction, and inequality compound the strain of transitioning justly to a green economy.

None of this is short on evidence. What's missing is enough of it in African voices, reaching African and global readers alike, in forms people actually finish reading.

Who Delivers It

The Library was formed by a coalition of several organizations, including the Centre for Organization Leadership and Development (COLD), Full Spectrum Capital Partners, Mercedes Martin and Company, and One Thriving Planet. Additionally, it was formed by two organizations whose leaders Co-Lead the Library’s editorial team:

African Publishers Network (APNET)
APNET is the oldest and one of the largest publishers associations in Africa. It extends the Library into a continental publisher network that the open call alone wouldn't reach. Its Executive Director, Ernest Oppong, serves as Co-Lead of the initiative's editorial team.

Pan African Writers Association (PAWA)
PAWA brings its writer networks across multiple African regions to the open call. Its Secretary-General, Dr. Wale Okediran — an award-winning novelist and former Nigerian parliamentarian — serves as Co-Lead of the initiative's editorial team.