Samba Yonga is a Zambian journalist and media consultant. She has worked a long time as editor for Big Issue Zambia and has written for several other publications. Yonga is the founder of Ku-Atenga Media, a media consultancy firm and was named one of Destiny's "Power of 40" most influential women in Africa in 2017.

Samba Yonga
Born
Lusaka
NationalityZambian
Occupation(s)Journalist, media consultant
Notable workCreation of Zambia's Museum of Women's History

Career edit

Samba Yonga first became interested in journalism after she won a prize for a short story she had written.[1] She attended college and whilst there worked part-time for a local newspaper.[1] After graduation Yonga found work developing ideas for TV and radio programmes.[2] She was then appointed to run the relaunched Trendsetters youth magazine.[1] Yonga has also written for Okay Africa magazine and The Guardian.[3][4] Yonga was editorial director of The Big Issue Zambia magazine, which was launched by the International Network of Street Papers in 2007.[1] The magazine was published in six countries and Yonga travelled frequently to visit these.[2]

Yonga established a media consultancy company, Ku-Atenga Media, from the word for "to create" in Luvale, her native language.[2] Shortly afterwards, she left Zambia to study for a master's degree in global media and translation communication at the University of London.[2] Upon her return, she began to expand Ku-Atenga, providing consultancy services on communications strategy. The company now carries out work for local and international clients, including the Zambian government, European Union and the United Nations.[5]

Yonga began the Narratives of Silenced Voices to research and publish the stories of African women from history.[5][6] The project was run in conjunction with the Kvinnohistoriskt museum [sv], a women's history museum in Sweden, and Zambian activist Mulenga Kapwepwe.[6] Yonga developed the project into the Zambian Museum of Women's History, initially as an online-only offering but with a view to having a physical location to allow display of artefacts collected by the project.[6]

Yonga writes a blog on WordPress.[7] She was named one of Destiny's "Power of 40" most influential women in Africa of 2017.[5]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "Samba Yonga". Panos London. Archived from the original on 9 March 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "Meet Samba Yonga The Woman Behind Ku-Atenga Media - UzaCoona Magazine". UzaCoona Magazine. 26 July 2017. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Meet the Zambian Radio DJs Who Could Play a Pivotal Role in this Week's Presidential Election". Okay Africa. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  4. ^ Yonga, Samba (21 September 2011). "Youth paralegals in Zambia help tackle child abuse". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  5. ^ a b c "Zambia : Zambian media entrepreneur Samba Yonga, selected as one of Destiny Magazine's "Power of 40" most influential women in Africa". Lusaka Times. 1 November 2017. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  6. ^ a b c "Zambia: Museum of Women's Living History Launched". LusakaTimes.com. 23 November 2016. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  7. ^ "Samba Yonga - Vishinganyeka". Word Press. Archived from the original on 24 March 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2017.