ZIMBABWE in the last decade has followed an exciting history. As the nation went through land reform and resettlement, many detractors foretold its demise and continue to believe so, even as the nation continues to relentlessly pursue policies that indigenise and empower its people. The Patriot is part of the process of taking up our own discourses, shaping our national agenda and telling the rest of the world our own story rather than waiting for some alien scribes to shape our own narratives as if we are infi rm. Part of this bold initiative comes from the deep desire to inform the people of their history, their cultural heritage and the limitless potential of their natural and human resources. Why should our story be told from the citadels of some foreign land whose agendas we do not know? This paper should be the start of a wide range of efforts to effectively occupy our cultural and discursive spaces in the manner that we have seized our political power and our land, but now it is the intellectual space that we must effectively take over. We did not wait for other countries to liberate us, but we took the initiative and they joined us. In the same spirit, we should seize the intellectual agenda and those who wish to support us are welcome. To our detractors, they might as well ask others who stood in the way of a people determined to shape their own destiny. The issue here is not whether there will be brickbats and mudslinging, but how we defend our multidimensional territory, namely, physical, cultural and intellectual territories. As part of the concerted drive to take control of our heritage and resources, The Patriot will inform Zimbabweans through well researched essays and reports on our people, our rich linguistic diversity including the minority languages, our natural and human resources and our history and culture. To achieve this The Patriot will draw from its rich reserves of scholarship at the highest level. Zimbabwean scholars have carved their own reputation in the region and worldwide. It is this bottomless intellectual well that the paper will draw most of its content. To retain high standards of scholarship, there will be a team of intellectuals who will guide the editorial team in the selection of contributions from writers. It seeks, among other things, to provide Zimbabweans with well researched information about what constitutes our heritage in its richness and diversity. It will strive to remind Zimbabweans of their past and to celebrate their successes and achievements throughout the ages. It will deliberately celebrate Zimbabwean successes in every sphere of human endeavour. As The Patriot we will spearhead the efforts to rekindle the national ethos in our youths. We should recover the lost generation of youths who believe in other nations and salute other fl ags as if theirs is not as important. Due to no fault of their own, many of them seem to have somehow lost their way over the last decade chasing the mirages of the Western world. In The Patriot, they will have an opportunity to recover lost identities and as Zimbabweans write about their own future and rich heritage. They should believe in themselves and should see The Patriot as a focal point, not only as a source of knowledge, but also a mirror of authentic Zimbabwean identities. The Patriot will sing the Zimbabwean story very loudly from the mountain top. Nobody will sing this song for us except ourselves. Let others sing our failures and weaknesses as they do, but we will relentlessly focus on our strengths and celebrate our achievements as a nation and as a unifi ed people. This is The Patriot, proudly Zimbabwean