In this talk, Charlotte Kemp recounts a pivotal experience that ignited her passion for supporting speakers across Africa. While traveling from South Africa to a conference in Tanzania with her British husband and a Nigerian colleague, she discovered that the conference’s headline speaker—a prominent North American figure—had cancelled at the last minute, leaving African speakers relegated to a small spot on a promotional billboard. Offended by the marginalisation of African expertise, Charlotte used the incident as a catalyst to advocate for African speakers, emphasizing the continent’s rich wisdom and the need to stop playing "second fiddle" to foreign speakers. She describes a memorable island retreat with fellow speakers, highlighting the vibrant local culture and the value of African‑centric events. Charlotte then outlines the ecosystem of professional bodies and resources available to African speakers, including the Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa, the Global Speakers Federation, the Virtual Speakers Association International, Voices Into Africa, RegAct Speaker Bureau, and the Pan‑Africa Speaker Summit. She invites speakers to connect with her for mentorship, networking, and opportunities, positioning herself as a bridge between African talent and global platforms. Charlotte’s credentials are presented: past president of the Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa and the Global Speakers Federation, and Chief Relationship Officer for Voices Into Africa and RegAct Speaker Bureau.
Chapters
It's always good to share an origin story. So let me tell you why it is that I'm so passionate about supporting the speakers in Africa. And it all came down to one particular event. My husband is British, but he lives in South Africa. He's a permanent resident, and he and I were invited to speak at a conference in Tanzania. And we traveled up from South Africa along with a Nigerian colleague who's also resident in South Africa. And we met a couple of the other speakers as we arrived, and we met with the client, the organizer, and he had a number of various events arranged around the actual conference, which was the focus of this. And in one of the outings we went on beforehand, before the conference, he took us past a huge billboard that he owned. He had this very entrepreneurial streak, but he had this huge billboard about the conference that we were going to be speaking at. And our photos and names were at the bottom of the, of the, the billboard. But the main picture on the billboard was this international speaker who was coming from somewhere in North America. And the next day, which is about 2 days before the actual conference happens, the organizer is told that the headline speaker has decided at the last minute not to bother to come to Tanzania in Africa. Why? You know, it wasn't really a market for him and he wasn't interested. At the last minute. And it was obviously really bad news for, you know, for the organizer and the clients and the people who were coming. But for me, I was deeply offended on behalf of all speakers in Africa that on this continent we have such incredible wisdom and insight, so much to share, and yet we were playing second fiddle to some theoretical famous speaker from somewhere else in North America whose name I didn't know. And I'm a relatively good connector, so I would have expected to know the name of somebody who was impressive enough to be flown across to a different continent. But then he didn't bother to come. And so we spent, you know, the time with the client. We spoke at the conference. We had a fantastic time. The client took us out to this little island off the coast And all the speakers were there and everybody was playing on the beaches and having fun and we were eating the local food. And it technically is my favorite day in my entire life was that particular day on that island. And then coming back on the boat in the rain and the storm and we had such a good time and we learned so much and we got to share, you know, our topics and we did all that as locals. To Africa. Africa is a huge continent, but, but we had that to share. And I felt that it is time for us in Africa to raise our voices, for us to focus on the value that is here and to value the speakers on this continent and to stop playing second fiddle to speakers from other places in the world. And I know that there are fantastic speakers all around the world, and I know that there are speakers with integrity who would not drop a client at the last minute. But this was just the moment for me when, when I decided we needed to really double down on this. So I'm delighted to support any, any speaker organization, any speaker in Africa who needs a bit of insight or direction or just wants somebody to, to see what they're doing. Please let me know. I love connecting speakers to opportunities and to organizations on the continent of Africa. We have the Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa. And that belongs to the Global Speakers Federation. We also have the Virtual Speakers Association International, and that organization supports speakers who don't have a professional speaking body in their home country or in their region. So if you want to connect with either of them, do, or connect with me and I can, I can, you know, connect you up there as well. And we have a couple of speaker bureaus and other organizations, and we have educational programs, and we have the Pan-Africa Speaker Summit, and we have networking events. There is no reason for any speaker in Africa not to be connected to a community. And once you are, there's no reason why our speakers in Africa can't take the opportunity to speak on stages anywhere in the world, virtually or in person, and share the incredible wisdom that we have developed. My name is Charlotte Kemp. I am the past president of the Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa and of the Global Speakers Federation, and I'm the Chief Relationship Officer for Voices Into Africa and the RegAct Speaker Bureau. And if you want to connect with me, I would be delighted to, to do that.
