Overview

Crossing Borders was made possible by collaboration between the British Council, Lancaster University and a range of partners in Africa. You can read about How the Crossing Borders scheme worked, the Project history and contact details.

Crossing Borders was an exciting new initiative that used information technology to link young writers in Africa with experienced mentors in the UK. The project was funded by the British Council in London, designed and managed by the Department of English and Creative Writing at Lancaster University and was enabled by a network of British Council offices in Africa.

Participants in the project were drawn from Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Our mentors represented a wide range of cultural backgrounds and writing practice, creating a project that was rich in cultural exchange as well as practical strategies for writing development. Crossing Borders created a new, international community of writers who communicated through the development of new writing to share their knowledge and experience.

This website provides information about the background to the project and features profiles of some mentors and participants. It developed new educational resources as writers discussed writing practice and technique. It features the work of participants who have taken part in the programme. Links and chat facilities (now closed) enabled writers to share the unique problems and opportunities of writing in English, creating a cultural crossroads on the internet.

If you have any questions regarding Crossing Borders please visit our contacts section.

Regrettably the Crossing Borders mentoring scheme has now come to a close and we are no longer accepting participants.