TED2013
Saki Mafundikwa: Ingenuity and elegance in ancient African alphabets
Saki Mafundikwa: Domišljatost i profinjenost u drevnim afričkim pismima
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Od jednostavnih abeceda do tajnih simboličkih jezika - grafički dizajner Saki Mafundikwa ističe brojne oblike pisane komunikacije širom afričkog kontinenta. Ističe tradiciju i naslijeđe utjelovljeno u pisanim riječima i simbolima, te poziva afričke dizajnere da u ovim grafičkim oblicima potraže nova nadahnuća. Sve sažima u svom omiljenom ganskom simbolu, Sankofi, koji znači "Vrati se i ponesi."... ili "Uči iz prošlosti."
Saki Mafundikwa - Graphic designer
Saki Mafundikwa wrote the book on Africa’s graphic design heritage -- then opened a school of graphic arts in his native Zimbabwe. Full bio
Saki Mafundikwa wrote the book on Africa’s graphic design heritage -- then opened a school of graphic arts in his native Zimbabwe. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
I moved back home 15 years ago
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Prije 15 godina vratio sam se kući,
00:16
after a 20-year stay in the United States,
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nakon 20-godišnjeg boravka u SAD-u.
00:19
and Africa called me back.
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Afrika me pozvala natrag.
00:21
And I founded my country's first
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U svojoj zemlji osnovao sam prvi
00:25
graphic design and new media college.
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studij za grafički dizajn i nove medije.
00:27
And I called it the Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts.
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Nazvao sam ga Zimbabveanski
institut za vigitalne umjetnosti.
institut za vigitalne umjetnosti.
00:32
The idea, the dream, was really for a sort of Bauhaus
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Ideja, san, bio je zapravo
neka vrsta Bauhausa,
neka vrsta Bauhausa,
00:36
sort of school where new ideas were interrogated
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škole u kojoj se nove ideje
00:41
and investigated,
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preispituju i istražuju.
00:44
the creation of a new visual language
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Stvaranje novog vizualnog jezika
00:47
based on the African creative heritage.
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zasnovanog na afričkom
kreativnom naslijeđu.
kreativnom naslijeđu.
00:52
We offer a two-year diploma
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Nudimo dvogodišnji studij
00:55
to talented students who have successfully completed
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talentiranim studentima
koji su uspješno završili
koji su uspješno završili
00:59
their high school education.
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srednjoškolsko obrazovanje.
01:01
And typography's a very important part of the curriculum
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Vrlo važan dio kurikuluma je tipografija,
01:04
and we encourage our students to look inward for influence.
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i mi ohrabrujemo naše studente
da potraže u sebi utjecaje.
da potraže u sebi utjecaje.
01:09
Here's a poster designed by one of the students
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Evo jednog plakata kojeg je
dizajnirao naš student
dizajnirao naš student
01:11
under the theme "Education is a right."
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na temu: "Obrazovanje je pravo."
01:16
Some logos designed by my students.
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Još neki logotipovi koje su
dizajnirali moji studenti...
dizajnirali moji studenti...
01:20
Africa has had a long tradition of writing,
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Afrika ima dugu povijest pisanja,
01:24
but this is not such a well-known fact,
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ali to nije baš općepoznata činjenica.
01:26
and I wrote the book "Afrikan Alphabets" to address that.
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Napisao sam knjigu "Afrička pisma"
kako bih na to upozorio.
kako bih na to upozorio.
01:30
The different types of writing in Africa,
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Različite vrste pisanja u Africi...
01:34
first was proto-writing,
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Prvo je bilo proto-pisanje,
01:36
as illustrated by Nsibidi,
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kao što ga ilustrira Nsibidi,
01:38
which is the writing system of a secret society
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sustav pisanja tajnog društva
01:41
of the Ejagham people in southern Nigeria.
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Ejaghamskog naroda u južnoj Nigeriji.
01:45
So it's a special-interest writing system.
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To je sustav pisanja
od posebnog interesa.
od posebnog interesa.
01:49
The Akan of people of Ghana and [Cote d'Ivoire]
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Akanski narod Gane i Sijera Leonea
01:52
developed Adinkra symbols some 400 years ago,
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prije 400-tinjak godina
razvio je Adinkra simbole -
razvio je Adinkra simbole -
01:56
and these are proverbs, historical sayings,
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izreke, povijesne poslovice,
02:00
objects, animals, plants,
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predmete, životinje, biljke...
02:03
and my favorite Adinkra system
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Moj najdraži Adinkra sustav je
02:05
is the first one at the top on the left.
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prvi gore slijeva.
02:07
It's called Sankofa.
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Zove se Sankofa.
02:08
It means, "Return and get it." Learn from the past.
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Znači: "Vrati se i ponesi."
Uči iz prošlosti.
Uči iz prošlosti.
02:14
This pictograph by the Jokwe people of Angola
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Ovaj piktogram
naroda Jokwe iz Angole
naroda Jokwe iz Angole
02:17
tells the story of the creation of the world.
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kazuje nam priču
o stvaranju svijeta.
o stvaranju svijeta.
02:21
At the top is God, at the bottom is man, mankind,
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Na vrhu je Bog, a na dnu
čovjek, čovječanstvo,
čovjek, čovječanstvo,
02:26
and on the left is the sun, on the right is the moon.
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lijevo je sunce, a desno mjesec.
02:31
All the paths lead to and from God.
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Svi putevi vode
prema Bogu i od Boga.
prema Bogu i od Boga.
02:35
These secret societies of the Yoruba, Kongo
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Ova tajna religijska društva
02:40
and Palo religions
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Yoruba, Kongo i Palo
02:42
in Nigeria, Congo and Angola respectively,
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u Nigeriji, Kongu i Angoli,
02:46
developed this intricate writing system
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razvila su ovaj složen sustav pisanja,
02:49
which is alive and well today in the New World
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živ i danas u Novom svijetu -
02:53
in Cuba, Brazil and Trinidad and Haiti.
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na Kubi, u Brazilu,
na Trinidadu i Haitiju.
na Trinidadu i Haitiju.
02:59
In the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo,
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U prašumama Demokratske
Republike Kongo,
Republike Kongo,
03:03
in the Ituri society,
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u zajednici Ituri,
03:06
the men pound out a cloth out of a special tree,
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muškarci izrađuju tkaninu
iz posebnog drveta,
iz posebnog drveta,
03:09
and the women, who are also the praise singers,
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dok žene, koje, također,
pjevaju i hvalospjeve,
pjevaju i hvalospjeve,
03:12
paint interweaving patterns
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oslikavaju mustre
koje se isprepliću,
koje se isprepliću,
03:15
that are the same in structure
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a jednake su strukture
03:18
as the polyphonic structures that they use in their singing --
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kao i polifone strukture koje
one koriste u svom pjevanju.
one koriste u svom pjevanju.
03:23
a sort of a musical score, if you may.
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Neka vrsta glazbene partiture...
03:27
In South Africa, Ndebele women
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U Južnoj Africi, žene Ndebele
03:29
use these symbols and other geometric patterns
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koriste ove simbole i
druge geometrijske obrasce
druge geometrijske obrasce
03:33
to paint their homes in bright colors,
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kako bi oslikale svoje
domove žarkim bojama,
domove žarkim bojama,
03:36
and the Zulu women use the symbols
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a žene Zulu ove
simbole koriste
simbole koriste
03:39
in the beads that they weave
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u perlama od kojih pletu
03:41
into bracelets and necklaces.
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narukvice i ogrlice.
03:44
Ethiopia has had the longest tradition of writing,
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Etiopija ima najdužu
povijest pisanja,
povijest pisanja,
03:48
with the Ethiopic script that was developed
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etiopijskim pismom,
razvijenim
razvijenim
03:50
in the fourth century A.D.
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u četvrtom stoljeću,
03:52
and is used to write Amharic,
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koje se koristi u pisanju Amharika,
03:55
which is spoken by over 24 million people.
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kojim govori preko 24 milijuna ljudi.
03:58
King Ibrahim Njoya of the Bamum Kingdom of Cameroon
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Kralj Ibrahim Njoya
Kamerunskog kraljevstva Bamum
Kamerunskog kraljevstva Bamum
04:03
developed Shü-mom at the age of 25.
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razvio je Shü-mom
u dobi od 25 godina.
u dobi od 25 godina.
04:06
Shü-mom is a writing system.
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Shü-mom je sustav pisanja.
04:08
It's a syllabary. It's not exactly an alphabet.
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To je slovar.
Nije to baš abeceda.
Nije to baš abeceda.
04:11
And here we see three stages of development
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Ovdje vidimo tri stadija razvoja
04:15
that it went through in 30 years.
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kroz koje je prošao u 30 godina.
04:19
The Vai people of Liberia had a long tradition of literacy
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Narod Vai iz Liberije imao
je dugu tradiciju pismenosti
je dugu tradiciju pismenosti
04:25
before their first contact with Europeans in the 1800s.
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prije prvog kontakta s
Europljanima u 19. stoljeću.
Europljanima u 19. stoljeću.
04:29
It's a syllabary and reads from left to right.
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To je slovar koji se
čita slijeva nadesno.
čita slijeva nadesno.
04:33
Next door, in Sierra Leone, the Mende
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U susjedstvu, u Sijera Leoneu,
narod Mende
narod Mende
04:37
also developed a syllabary,
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također su razvili slovar,
04:39
but theirs reads from right to left.
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ali se njihov čita
zdesna nalijevo.
zdesna nalijevo.
04:43
Africa has had a long tradition of design,
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Afrika ima dugu tradiciju dizajna,
04:46
a well-defined design sensibility,
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vrlo istančanu osjećajnost za dizajn,
04:50
but the problem in Africa has been that,
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ali afrički je problem taj da se
04:52
especially today, designers in Africa
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posebno danas, dizajneri
04:55
struggle with all forms of design
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bore sa svim oblicima dizajna
04:57
because they are more apt to look outward
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jer su skloniji izvan sebe
05:02
for influence and inspiration.
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tražiti utjecaje i inspiraciju.
05:04
The creative spirit in Africa, the creative tradition,
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Kreativni duh u Africi,
tradicija stvaranja,
tradicija stvaranja,
05:08
is as potent as it has always been,
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potentna je kao što je uvijek i bila,
05:11
if only designers could look within.
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samo kad bi dizajneri
potražili nadahnuće u sebi.
potražili nadahnuće u sebi.
05:15
This Ethiopic cross illustrates
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Ovaj Etiopski križ ilustrira
05:18
what Dr. Ron Eglash has established:
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ono što je Dr. Ron Eglash utvrdio:
05:21
that Africa has a lot to contribute to computing
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Da Afrika može mnogo
doprinijeti računarstvu
doprinijeti računarstvu
05:25
and mathematics through their intuitive grasp of fractals.
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i matematici svojim intuitivnim
shvaćanjem fraktala.
shvaćanjem fraktala.
05:30
Africans of antiquity created civilization,
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Drevni Afrikanci
stvorili su civilizaciju,
stvorili su civilizaciju,
05:34
and their monuments, which still stand today,
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a njihovi spomenici,
sačuvani i do danas,
sačuvani i do danas,
05:38
are a true testimony of their greatness.
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istinsko su svjedočanstvo
njihove veličine.
njihove veličine.
05:41
Most probably, one of humanity's greatest achievements
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Jedno od, najvjerojatnije,
najvećih postignuća čovječanstva
najvećih postignuća čovječanstva
05:45
is the invention of the alphabet,
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izum je abecede.
05:48
and that has been attributed to Mesopotamia
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On se pripisuje Mezopotamcima
05:51
with their invention of cuneiform in 1600 BC,
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koji su 1600 godina prije Krista
izumili klinasto pismo;
izumili klinasto pismo;
05:57
followed by hieroglyphics in Egypt,
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slijedili su ga hijeroglifi u Egiptu,
06:01
and that story has been cast in stone as historical fact.
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i ta je priča uklesana u kamenu
kao povijesna činjenica.
kao povijesna činjenica.
06:06
That is, until 1998,
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Sve do 1998.
06:09
when one Yale professor John Coleman Darnell
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kad je John Coleman Darnell,
profesor s Yalea,
profesor s Yalea,
06:14
discovered these inscriptions in the Thebes desert
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otkrio ove zapise na
vapnenačkim liticama,
vapnenačkim liticama,
06:17
on the limestone cliffs in western Egypt,
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u Libijskoj pustinji
u zapadnom Egiptu.
u zapadnom Egiptu.
06:21
and these have been dated at between 1800 and 1900 B.C.,
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Oni datiraju između 1800. i 1900.
godine prije Krista,
godine prije Krista,
06:27
centuries before Mesopotamia.
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stoljećima prije Mezopotamije.
06:30
Called Wadi el-Hol
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Nazvani Wadi el-Hol,
06:33
because of the place that they were discovered,
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po mjestu gdje su otkriveni,
06:36
these inscriptions -- research is still going on,
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ovi zapisi... istraživanja još traju,
06:39
a few of them have been deciphered,
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malo njih je dešifrirano,
06:42
but there is consensus among scholars
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ali postoji konsenzus
među učenjacima
među učenjacima
06:45
that this is really humanity's first alphabet.
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da je ovo uistinu prva abeceda
u povijesti čovječanstva.
u povijesti čovječanstva.
06:50
Over here, you see a paleographic chart
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Ovdje vidite paleografsku tablicu
06:53
that shows what has been deciphered so far,
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koja pokazuje što je dosad dešifrirano,
06:56
starting with the letter A, "ālep," at the top,
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počevši sa slovom A -
"alep" na vrhu -
"alep" na vrhu -
06:59
and "bêt," in the middle, and so forth.
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i "bet" u sredini, i tako dalje...
07:03
It is time that students of design in Africa
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Vrijeme je da studenti
dizajna u Africi
dizajna u Africi
07:07
read the works of titans like Cheikh Anta Diop,
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pročitaju djela velikana
poput Cheikha Anta Diopa,
poput Cheikha Anta Diopa,
07:11
Senegal's Cheikh Anta Diop,
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Senegalca Cheikha Anta Diopa,
07:13
whose seminal work on Egypt is vindicated
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čija su ključna djela
o Egiptu opravdana
o Egiptu opravdana
07:16
by this discovery.
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ovim otkrićem.
07:19
The last word goes to the great Jamaican leader
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Završna riječ posvećena je
velikom jamajačkom vođi
velikom jamajačkom vođi
07:22
Marcus Mosiah Garvey
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Marcusu Mosiahu Garveyu,
07:24
and the Akan people of Ghana
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i Akanskom narodu iz Gane,
07:28
with their Adinkra symbol Sankofa,
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sa Sankofom, njihovim
Adinkra simbolom,
Adinkra simbolom,
07:30
which encourages us to go to the past
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koji nas potiče da
pođemo u prošlost
pođemo u prošlost
07:32
so as to inform our present
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kako bismo uobličili
svoju sadašnjost
svoju sadašnjost
07:34
and build on a future for us and our children.
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i izgradili budućnost
za sebe i za našu djecu.
za sebe i za našu djecu.
07:39
It is also time that designers in Africa
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Ovo je i vrijeme da
afrički dizajneri
afrički dizajneri
07:43
stop looking outside.
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prestanu inspiraciju
tražiti izvan Afrike.
tražiti izvan Afrike.
07:46
They've been looking outward for a long time,
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Dugo je već traže izvan nje,
07:48
yet what they were looking for
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ali ono što traže
07:51
has been right there within grasp, right within them.
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nalazi se upravo ovdje
nadohvat ruke, upravo u njima.
nadohvat ruke, upravo u njima.
07:55
Thank you very much.
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Puno vam hvala.
07:57
(Applause)
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(Pljesak)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Saki Mafundikwa - Graphic designerSaki Mafundikwa wrote the book on Africa’s graphic design heritage -- then opened a school of graphic arts in his native Zimbabwe.
Why you should listen
In his book Afrikan Alphabets, Saki Mafundiwaka includes a Ghanaian pictograph meaning “return to the past” This is exactly what he did in 1997 when he cashed in his publishing job 401(k) and left New York to open the Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts (ZIVA) in Harare. (“Vigital” denotes visual arts taught using digital tools.)
As a kid growing up in Zimbabwe, Mafundiwaka loved to sketch letterforms he saw in books and magazines, but he didn’t know graphic design was a career option until he arrived in America. "Sometimes you have to leave home,” he says, “to discover yourself.” He opened ZIVA to pay it forward. “The dream,” he says, “is for something to come out of Africa that is of Africa."
In 2010, he made the film Shungu: The Resilience of a People, a compelling narrative of the strategies ordinary people use to survive in Zimbabwe today.
Saki Mafundikwa | Speaker | TED.com