Hang out with Kenyan creatives who have been in the industry for a while and you will notice that there is a silent war when it comes to expatriates working in the industry. Since joining advertising I have always heard sentiments of lets take back what is ours.
Do we need expats? Well I think we do. The reasons are obvious. When you are faced with a situation where there are no formal training facilities which can pass on knowledge on creativity, then we are left with the only best option which is to learn from those with wider experience.
Most expats that I have worked with have the great asset of having admirable skills and experience with big brands or brands similar to those we have been briefed on. They have acted as great creative mentors.
Mentor ship is one thing that I am afraid us "Miros" in the industry are not very good at. We either leave work too early to start our own thing or get caught up in the fast ad life. The only things we are left good at mentoring is how to avoid the mututho laws or how to swallow a joint at a police road block.
Its not so much the skills of expats that we have beef with, but rather their pay. I think we sometimes feel that we should be at the same level of paycheck. Well, I guess indigenous creatives in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia feel the same way when Kenyans go over and "take over their jobs".
So if the vision is that Land Cruiser, then maybe we should start learning from the guys who drive them (By the way have you noticed that South African creatives never seem to survive Kenya?)
But hey, that's just my opinion.
wassup teddy, nice read, quite a fan i am becoming, i think mentorship in most cases with us miro is a cause of Saul and David of the Bible, i raise you up and the well you start doing well i squat you like a fly ,
ReplyDeleteLOL @ swallowing a joint. Not been mentored on this.
ReplyDeleteI think the issue sometimes may be that the expats, not all, but some, are not really worth the respect and admiration that's bestowed upon them. I've had the opportunity to work with, or just come across some expats who were/are good, some great (Nick Hauser) and also some terrible ones. I give hesh where it's deserved and I don't give a damn about the colour of your skin.
And while you're right about SA expats, those who knew and worked with Nick Hauser and Sip will understand when I say… WORD!!! You guys were the BOMB!!