TED2013
Saki Mafundikwa: Ingenuity and elegance in ancient African alphabets
Saki Mafundikva (Saki Mafundikwa): Genijalnost i elegancija drevnih afričkih alfabeta
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Od prostih alfabeta do tajnih simboličkih jezika, grafički dizajner Saki Mafundikva veliča mnogobrojne oblike pisane komunikacije širom afričkog kontinenta. Ističe istoriju i zaostavštinu oličenu u pisanoj reči i simbolima i podstiče afričke dizajnere da traže novu inspiraciju u ovim grafičkim formama. Sve to sumira u svom omiljenom glifu iz Gane, Sankofi, što znači "vrati se i uzmi" – 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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Vratio sam se kući pre 15 godina
00:16
after a 20-year stay in the United States,
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posle 20 godina provedenih u SAD,
00:19
and Africa called me back.
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Afrika me je pozvala da se vratim.
00:21
And I founded my country's first
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I osnovao sam u svojoj zemlji
00:25
graphic design and new media college.
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prvi koledž za grafički dizajn
i nove medije.
i nove medije.
00:27
And I called it the Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts.
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Nazvao sam ga
"Institut vigitalnih umetnosti Zimbabvea".
"Institut vigitalnih umetnosti Zimbabvea".
00:32
The idea, the dream, was really for a sort of Bauhaus
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Ideja i san su bili
da to bude neka vrsta
da to bude neka vrsta
00:36
sort of school where new ideas were interrogated
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Bauhaus tipa škole
gde se nove ideje preispituju
gde se nove ideje preispituju
00:41
and investigated,
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i istražuju,
00:44
the creation of a new visual language
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kreiranje novog vizuelnog jezika
00:47
based on the African creative heritage.
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zasnovanog na afričkom
kreativnom nasleđu.
kreativnom nasleđu.
00:52
We offer a two-year diploma
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Nudimo diplomu posle dve godine
00:55
to talented students who have successfully completed
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talentovanim studentima
koji su uspešno završili
koji su uspešno 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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Tipografija je vrlo važan deo
nastavnog programa
nastavnog programa
01:04
and we encourage our students to look inward for influence.
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i ohrabrujemo svoje studente
da traže domaće uticaje.
da traže domaće uticaje.
01:09
Here's a poster designed by one of the students
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Ovo je plakat koji je dizajnirao
jedan od studenata
jedan od studenata
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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Neki logoi
koje su dizajnirali moji studenti.
koje su dizajnirali moji studenti.
01:20
Africa has had a long tradition of writing,
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Afrika ima dugu tradiciju pisanja,
01:24
but this is not such a well-known fact,
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ali ovo je činjenica
koju mnogi ne znaju
koju mnogi ne znaju
01:26
and I wrote the book "Afrikan Alphabets" to address that.
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i napisao sam knjigu "Afrički alfabeti"
da bih to istakao.
da bih to istakao.
01:30
The different types of writing in Africa,
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U Africi postoje različite vrste pisanja,
01:34
first was proto-writing,
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prvo je bilo proto-pismo
01:36
as illustrated by Nsibidi,
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kao što ilustruje Nsibidi,
01:38
which is the writing system of a secret society
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što je pismo tajnog društva
01:41
of the Ejagham people in southern Nigeria.
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naroda Edžagham na jugu Nigerije.
01:45
So it's a special-interest writing system.
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To je pismo od naročitog interesa.
01:49
The Akan of people of Ghana and [Cote d'Ivoire]
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Narod Akani u Gani
i Obali Slonovače
i Obali Slonovače
01:52
developed Adinkra symbols some 400 years ago,
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razvio je Adinkra simbole
pre nekih 400 godina
pre nekih 400 godina
01:56
and these are proverbs, historical sayings,
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i ovo su poslovice,
istorijske izreke,
istorijske izreke,
02:00
objects, animals, plants,
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predmeti, životinje, biljke
02:03
and my favorite Adinkra system
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i moj omiljeni Adinkra znak
02:05
is the first one at the top on the left.
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je prvi gore levo.
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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To znači "vrati se i uzmi".
Uči iz prošlosti.
Uči iz prošlosti.
02:14
This pictograph by the Jokwe people of Angola
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Ovaj piktograf
naroda Džokve iz Angole
naroda Džokve iz Angole
02:17
tells the story of the creation of the world.
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priča priču o stvaranju sveta.
02:21
At the top is God, at the bottom is man, mankind,
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Na vrhu je bog,
na dnu je čovek, čovečanstvo,
na dnu je čovek, čovečanstvo,
02:26
and on the left is the sun, on the right is the moon.
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levo je sunce, desno mesec.
02:31
All the paths lead to and from God.
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Svi putevi vode
ka bogu i od boga.
ka bogu i od boga.
02:35
These secret societies of the Yoruba, Kongo
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Ova tajna društva iz Jorube u Kongu
02:40
and Palo religions
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i Palo religije
02:42
in Nigeria, Congo and Angola respectively,
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u Nigeriji, Kongu i Angoli,
po tom redosledu,
po tom redosledu,
02:46
developed this intricate writing system
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razvili su ovo zamršeno pismo
02:49
which is alive and well today in the New World
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koje je danas živo i u upotrebi
u Novom svetu
u Novom svetu
02:53
in Cuba, Brazil and Trinidad and Haiti.
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na Kubi, u Brazilu,
Trinidadu i Haitiju.
Trinidadu i Haitiju.
02:59
In the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo,
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U prašumama
Demokratske republike Kongo,
Demokratske republike Kongo,
03:03
in the Ituri society,
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u društvu Ituri
03:06
the men pound out a cloth out of a special tree,
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muškarci prave tkaninu
od specijalnog drveta,
od specijalnog drveta,
03:09
and the women, who are also the praise singers,
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a žene, koje su takođe i pevači oda,
03:12
paint interweaving patterns
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slikaju šeme za tkanje
03:15
that are the same in structure
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koje su iste po strukturi
03:18
as the polyphonic structures that they use in their singing --
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kao i polifonijske strukture
koje koriste u svom pevanju –
koje koriste u svom pevanju –
03:23
a sort of a musical score, if you may.
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neka vrsta muzičke partiture,
ako hoćete.
ako hoćete.
03:27
In South Africa, Ndebele women
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U Južnoj Africi,
žene iz plemena Ndebele
žene iz plemena Ndebele
03:29
use these symbols and other geometric patterns
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koriste ove simbole
i druge geometrijske šeme
i druge geometrijske šeme
03:33
to paint their homes in bright colors,
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da bi okrečile
svoje domove jarkim bojama,
svoje domove jarkim bojama,
03:36
and the Zulu women use the symbols
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a žene iz plemena Zulu
ih koriste
ih koriste
03:39
in the beads that they weave
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u perlama od kojih prave
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
tradiciju pisanja
tradiciju pisanja
03:48
with the Ethiopic script that was developed
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sa etiopijskim pismom
koje se razvilo
koje se razvilo
03:50
in the fourth century A.D.
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u četvrtom veku naše ere
03:52
and is used to write Amharic,
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i koristi se za pisanje amharskog
03:55
which is spoken by over 24 million people.
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koji govori preko 24 miliona ljudi.
03:58
King Ibrahim Njoya of the Bamum Kingdom of Cameroon
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Kralj Ibrahim Ndžoja
iz Bamum kraljevstva iz Kameruna
iz Bamum kraljevstva iz Kameruna
04:03
developed Shü-mom at the age of 25.
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razvio je šu-mom (shü-mom)
u 25-oj godini
u 25-oj godini
04:06
Shü-mom is a writing system.
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Šu-mom je pismo.
04:08
It's a syllabary. It's not exactly an alphabet.
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To je slogovno pismo.
Nije baš alfabet.
Nije baš alfabet.
04:11
And here we see three stages of development
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I ovde vidimo
tri nivoa razvoja
tri nivoa razvoja
04:15
that it went through in 30 years.
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kroz koje je prošlo
za 30 godina.
za 30 godina.
04:19
The Vai people of Liberia had a long tradition of literacy
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Narod Vai u Liberiji
je imao veliku tradiciju pismenosti
je imao veliku tradiciju pismenosti
04:25
before their first contact with Europeans in the 1800s.
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pre svog prvog kontakta sa Evropljanima
1800-ih godina.
1800-ih godina.
04:29
It's a syllabary and reads from left to right.
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Slogovno je i čita se
sleva na desno.
sleva na desno.
04:33
Next door, in Sierra Leone, the Mende
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U susednom Sijera Leoneu,
narod Mende
narod Mende
04:37
also developed a syllabary,
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takođe je razvio slogovno pismo,
04:39
but theirs reads from right to left.
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ali njihovo se čita
zdesna na levo.
zdesna na levo.
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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dobro definisan osećaj za dizajn,
04:50
but the problem in Africa has been that,
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ali problem u Africi je taj
04:52
especially today, designers in Africa
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što se, naročito danas,
dizajneri u Africi
dizajneri u Africi
04:55
struggle with all forms of design
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bore sa svim vrstama dizajna
04:57
because they are more apt to look outward
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jer su skloniji tome
da uticaje i inspiraciju
da uticaje i inspiraciju
05:02
for influence and inspiration.
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traže spolja.
05:04
The creative spirit in Africa, the creative tradition,
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Kreativni duh u Africi,
kreativna tradicija
kreativna tradicija
05:08
is as potent as it has always been,
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je jaka kao što je uvek bila,
05:11
if only designers could look within.
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ako bi je samo dizajneri
potražili u sebi.
potražili u sebi.
05:15
This Ethiopic cross illustrates
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Ovaj etiopski krst ilustruje ono
05:18
what Dr. Ron Eglash has established:
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što je dr Ron Eglaš ustanovio:
05:21
that Africa has a lot to contribute to computing
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da Afrika ima mnogo toga
da doprinese računarstvu
da doprinese računarstvu
05:25
and mathematics through their intuitive grasp of fractals.
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i matematici
kroz svoje intuitivno shvatanje fraktala.
kroz svoje intuitivno shvatanje fraktala.
05:30
Africans of antiquity created civilization,
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Antički Afrikanci
su stvorili civilizaciju
su stvorili civilizaciju
05:34
and their monuments, which still stand today,
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i njihovi spomenici,
koji i danas još postoje,
koji i danas još postoje,
05:38
are a true testimony of their greatness.
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su pravo svedočanstvo njihove veličine.
05:41
Most probably, one of humanity's greatest achievements
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Najverovatnije, jedno od
najvećih dostignuća čovečanstva
najvećih dostignuća čovečanstva
05:45
is the invention of the alphabet,
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je pronalazak pisma
05:48
and that has been attributed to Mesopotamia
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i to se pripisuje Mesopotamiji
05:51
with their invention of cuneiform in 1600 BC,
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sa njihovim izumom klinastog pisma
1600. godine p.n.e.
1600. godine p.n.e.
05:57
followed by hieroglyphics in Egypt,
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posle čega su sledili hijeroglifi u Egiptu
06:01
and that story has been cast in stone as historical fact.
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i ta priča je uklesana u kamen
kao istorijska činjenica.
kao istorijska činjenica.
06:06
That is, until 1998,
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To je bilo do 1998.
06:09
when one Yale professor John Coleman Darnell
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kada je jedan profesor sa Jejla,
Džon Kolmen Darnel
Džon Kolmen Darnel
06:14
discovered these inscriptions in the Thebes desert
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otkrio ove zapise u tebanskoj pustinji
06:17
on the limestone cliffs in western Egypt,
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na krečnjačkim stenama
u zapadnom Egiptu
u zapadnom Egiptu
06:21
and these have been dated at between 1800 and 1900 B.C.,
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i one potiču iz perioda
između 1800. i 1900. p.n.e.,
između 1800. i 1900. p.n.e.,
06:27
centuries before Mesopotamia.
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vekovima pre Mesopotamije.
06:30
Called Wadi el-Hol
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Nazvani Vadi el-Hol,
06:33
because of the place that they were discovered,
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zbog mesta na kom su otkriveni,
06:36
these inscriptions -- research is still going on,
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ovi zapisi – istraživanje je još u toku,
06:39
a few of them have been deciphered,
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nekoliko njih je dešifrovano,
06:42
but there is consensus among scholars
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ali postoji saglasnost
među naučnicima
među naučnicima
06:45
that this is really humanity's first alphabet.
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da je ovo zaista
prvo pismo čovečanstva.
prvo pismo čovečanstva.
06:50
Over here, you see a paleographic chart
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Ovde vidite paleografsku tabelu
06:53
that shows what has been deciphered so far,
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koja pokazuje
šta je dešifrovano do sada,
šta je dešifrovano do sada,
06:56
starting with the letter A, "ālep," at the top,
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počevši od slova 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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Vreme je da studenti dizajna
u Africi
u Africi
07:07
read the works of titans like Cheikh Anta Diop,
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pročitaju radove giganata
kao što je Čeik Anta Diop
kao što je Čeik Anta Diop
07:11
Senegal's Cheikh Anta Diop,
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iz Senegala,
07:13
whose seminal work on Egypt is vindicated
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čiji uticajni rad o Egiptu
07:16
by this discovery.
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potvrđuje ovo otkriće.
07:19
The last word goes to the great Jamaican leader
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Poslednja reč ide
velikom jamajčanskom lideru,
velikom jamajčanskom lideru,
07:22
Marcus Mosiah Garvey
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Markusu Mozaje Garviju
07:24
and the Akan people of Ghana
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i narodu Akan iz Gane
07:28
with their Adinkra symbol Sankofa,
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sa njihovim
Adinkra simbolom Sankofa,
Adinkra simbolom Sankofa,
07:30
which encourages us to go to the past
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koji nas podstiče
da odemo u prošlost
da odemo u prošlost
07:32
so as to inform our present
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da bismo se informisali
o sadašnjosti
o sadašnjosti
07:34
and build on a future for us and our children.
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i izgradili budućnost
za nas i našu decu.
za nas i našu decu.
07:39
It is also time that designers in Africa
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Takođe je vreme da dizajneri u Africi
07:43
stop looking outside.
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prestanu da gledaju ka spolja.
07:46
They've been looking outward for a long time,
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Tražili su spolja veoma dugo,
07:48
yet what they were looking for
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a ono što su tražili
07:51
has been right there within grasp, right within them.
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bilo je baš tamo nadohvat ruke,
unutar njih.
unutar njih.
07:55
Thank you very much.
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Hvala vam puno.
07:57
(Applause)
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(Aplauz)
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