African Champions - German multimedia broadcast highlights influential young Africans

With support from Germany's Federal Foreign Office, the television reports will also be produced in Kiswahili, Hausa, French and Portuguese. Furthermore, DW will present the young achievers in its six radio programmes for Africa and by way of its social media presence.

Leading Nigerian news broadcaster Channels TV is set to adopt the package of programming, while broadcasters in Mozambique, Tanzania and Ghana have already signalled their interest in the multilingual project.

"The image of Africa as a place dominated by dictators, crises and catastrophes is inaccurate. There has long been a young, confident and mobile generation of people taking their destinies into their own hands. That's what we're putting in the foreground," said DW Director of Programming, Gerda Meuer.

Activists lauded

The series features those behind the "Balai Citoyen" (The Citizen's Broom) movement in Burkina Faso, which played a significant role in "sweeping" the long-serving ruler Blaise Compaore from office. The group's unsung hero is online activist Oscibi, who will be followed by a team from DW.

Fanta Diallo is a young activist and entrepreneur who wants to prevent young migrants from making the life-threatening journey to Europe, by helping them understand the basics of life. She will be featured with a portrait in the series, alongside Rwandan entrepreneur Serge Ndekwe. Despite facing many political obstacles, he managed to establish his own restaurant and dairy.

The reports will also feature Valentin Agons from Benin, who developed a plant-based treatment for malaria that is now ready to go to market as well as South African Enoch Ngwenya, who came up with a clever system of delivering the latest feature films to remote communities - thanks in part to his 'suitcase cinema'.

Meuer described these individuals as "role models who spread their energy and inspire - and who will add key facets to the image of Africa in our media."