Motherboard - I am from Ghana and I don't sell bags of water

Anyone who has stayed in Ghana long enough will realize majority of Ghanaians and the authorities governing them are disgusted with the Sakawa problem just as much as any foreigner is. Sakawa is an off-shoot of what started as 'advance-fee fraud' or 419. This phenomenon has gradually grown into a lucrative engagement for some young people in Ghana. Advance fee fraud or 419 is reported to have originated from Nigeria and is gradually creeping into other parts of of the West African region.

It is obvious the Government of Ghana has made several attempts to nib this canker in the bud by putting measures in place. These measure I believe have gone a long way to reduce the prevalence of Sakawa. Because of the activities of these black sheep, Ghana has been blacklisted on several websites. We would therefore welcome any helping hands which intend to assist us in our crusade against the Sakawa culprits. Such assistance obviously doesn't include distorting facts and telling half-truth. In Thomas Morton's post on CNN, he created a couple of blunders. After reading his articles on CNN and motherboard.tv, it was still unclear to me what the writer wanted to achieve with that particular post.

Blunder 1

...there are dirt roads leading past the brand-new, gold-columned presidential palace, and it seems 1 percent of the country is blowing their country's GDP at bars with $50 cover charges while the other 99 is selling bags of water at stop lights

I doubt I'm part of the top percentile blowing Ghana's GDP, and I certainly am not selling bags of water at stop lights. This clearly means the author must have turned blind eyes to the many legitimate business men and women in the country who were in one way or the other contributing to the development of Ghana. Ghana is one of the most democratic nations in Africa, we have enjoyed a relatively stable political era since 1992. We have structures in place to ensure corrupt leaders don't squander the moneys raked in by the hard working workforce. Is the presidential palace really gold-columned? It is a bit weird a foreigner knows more about my country than I do!

Blunder 2

The Ghanaian government likes to boast that their unemployment rate is in the single digits ....The actual unemployment rate for 15- to 24-year-olds hovers between 25 and 30 percent

Unemployment rate as we all may know is technical figure that represents not the number of people who are without jobs but rather the number of individuals who have been without job for a particular period of time, and have made or are making a conscious effort to find jobs within that period. For me therefore it is no wonder that governments everywhere in the world hide behind this definition to produce numbers that paint brighter pictures of their economy. If Ghana is a culprit then all countries round the world are too.

Blunder 3

Now, as we discovered when we went to Ghana with our video cameras, not only is Sakawa the country’s most popular youth activity and one of its biggest underground economies, it’s a full-blown national phenomenon

Sakawa is gradually becoming a problem we all need to devote our resources to if we intend to put a stop to it. It can say for a fact though that Sakawa is not the country's most popular activity in the country! I bet there are more Chelsea fans than Sakawa folks in Ghana.

Blunder 4

Just as I expected, the post missed a solution. Looks like Morton flew into the country, discovered this problem and left our shores without proposing a single solution. It is easy to identify problems, what is more difficult if coming up with solutions that can be implemented.

After watching the video and reading Morton's post several times, I still ask myself, 'did he intend to help us in our fight against credit card fraud or he only wanted to paint a black picture of a country which thrives to achieve excellence among its peers?'

By this post I would want to throw a welcoming hand to the writer and his team, to come up with suggestions that will rid Ghana of Sakawa. We hope for a better Ghana as much as all visitor do. We need all hands on deck!

My thoughts - IEA hosts UK Minister for Africa

Background

The UK Minister for Africa arrived in Ghana on February 17, 2011 for a two day visit. The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) organized a session on the theme “Shared Prosperity, Shared Security and Shared Values: A Solid Foundation for the Future”, to which many high dignitaries were invited. Dignitaries on the high-table were the Vice-President John Mahama, the Minister for Environment, Science and technology, Hon. Sherry Ayittey, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon. Muhammad Mumuni, The British High Commissioner Peter Edwards Johns, and the Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Hon. Enoch Teye Mensah with Prof Justice AKP Kludze, a senior fellow with the IEA acting as chairman of the occasion.

The Speeches

The programme started a little later than the expected time but when it finally did, I was impressed with the flow of information and the order of events. The chairman, opened the floor for the Vice-President to give a short speech which basically highlighted the nation’s willingness to keep and preserve the historical bond between Ghana and the United Kingdom. Mr. Mahama in his speech appealed to the British business community look for opportunities outside the United Kingdom despite the ebbing global recession.

After the Vice-president’s speech, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Minister gave his speech. In a speech that lasted for about fifteen minutes, Mr. Bellingham hammered many important issues affecting not only Ghana but Africa as well. Some of the major topics mentioned by Henry Bellingham included Climate Change, the Uk-Ghana partnership, President Obama’s visit to Ghana, drug trafficking and operation Westbridge, Intra-African Trade and the Ivorian crisis.

My thoughts

For me this two-hour programme put together by the IEA was very educative and provided me with lots of details regarding the Ghana-Uk partnership, which I guess I hadn’t bothered to look into. It also left me with lots of thoughts on my mind, and I simply could not stop asking myself what I could do to contribute to this noble cause as a citizen of Ghana. I left the building with a fair idea of what was expected of me as a citizen of Ghana.

Nonetheless I had one major questions at the back of my mind; would it not have been more beneficial to Ghana as a nation if more ‘ordinary’ people were allowed to be a part of this programme?

Minister Bellingham called upon all and sundry to be committed to good governance and kick the culture of corruption out of Ghana. I believe these messages would have had a greater impact if the UK Minister for Africa were to interact with the general public whose contributing efforts would be more effective towards this cause. Many a times, there is a blockade that prevents the free flow of information from its main source. Unless the IEA, the government of Ghana and the British High Commission engages the general public during such important occasions, these programmes will be seen by others as just another meeting of elites. The fight against corruption, the call for good governance and issues such as climate change are all subjects that needed the contribution of the ‘’masses’’.

My suggested therefore is that after the Henry Bellingham’s speech at the IEA, a few other lectures could have been held for civil societies, Universities and Colleges and organised associations in the country. This is the only way information can trickle down to the grassroots, else such calls for a better Ghana will only be heard by those in the upper tiers of the nation, and to them, this is a gospel they are privileged to hear everyday. If only more and more other people outside the usual circles could get the chance to be engaged in such developmental discussions, I believe a good number of Ghana’s population would be aware of what expectations are required of them in return for fruitful partnerships such as the Ghana-Uk one.

UK Minister for Africa visits Ghana - What does it mean to you!

My interaction with a few people in Ghana revealed, not too many of us knew the United Kingdom had a Minister for Africa whose key duties among others is to improve and promote commercial and political ties between the UK and other African nations. This post is specifically composed to provide you with as much information as possible regarding the position and of course the personality supposed to be the 'God father of Africa in the UK'.

The UK Minister for Africa's position rests under the arms of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), commonly abbreviated as "Foreign Secretary", currently headed by William Hague the Foreign Secretary of State . The core objective of this Office is to promote the interests of the United Kingdom overseas. If you are in Africa the one you should familiarize yourself with is Henry Bellingham, the UK Minister for Africa.

Henry Bellingham was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 14 May 2010. The 55-year old Parliamentarian has been involved in UK parliamentary matters since his first election to the UK parliament in 1983. Henry Bellingham visited Ghana on February 17th and 18th after a short visit to Nigeria. He gave a speech at the Institute of Economic Affairs (I.E.A) on 18th February, a function I was privileged to attend. A full transcript of his speech can be obtained here.

The question now is , 'how can Ghanaians extract the full benefits of our long term relationship with the UK'? By ''Ghanaian people'', I mean the ordinary Ghanaian on the streets of this middle-income nation. Visits by such high dignitaries go unnoticed and to the ordinary Ghanaian it is just another meeting of politicians who discuss issues out of their concern.

A solution to this problem is to use all available channels to sensitize and inform the general public (at least those who care to know) when such issues of relevance are discussed in our own backyard. After all the Department for International Development (DFID) is about the masses and not just about the top-level local politicians. Spread the word and spread it as far as you can, the more Ghanaians know about the roles they have to play in such circumstances, the higher the likelihood of our nation attaining the goals we set for ourselves.

Barcamp Ghana 2010 - A BarCamp with a difference

After the successes of Barcamp Kumasi, Barcamp Accra and Barcamp Takoradi, the national event Barcamp Ghana 2010 was held on the 18th of December, 2010 at the Ashesi University campus.. Barcamp Ghana was under the theme ‘’Create dreams, work smart and shape the future” and it attracted a lot of entrepreneurs, businessmen, students, amongst others. The event was supported by Ashesi University, the World Bank, Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), Mobile Web Ghana, Google Ghana, Vodafone Ghana, GhanaThink Foundation, NandiMobile, Busy Internet, Fienipa, TAGH Media, iROKKO Concepts, Imagineers, MyfashionAfrica, etc. The media partners were CitiFm, Radio Universe, ModernGhana, GhanaBlogging and Skyy Digital.

Over 150 participants gathered at the Ashesi University premises to exchange ideas and learn from each other. The event unofficially started at 9:00am with the Start-up Bazaar and registration of participants running concurrently. Start-up Bazaar was premiered at Barcamp Accra held at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) campus and was popular with attendees there. This was a platform for start-ups to exhibit their products/service to the participants as well as network with other participating start-ups. The start-ups that took part in this session were TAGH Media, etc. There were also stands for Mozilla Firefox and Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST). Breakfast, provided by Imagineers Limited, was served.

At 10:00am, Barcamp Ghana officially commenced with opening remarks given by the Barcamp Ghana organizing team. The emcee was Kweku Anane-Appiah, a team member. Ato Ulzen-Appiah then spoke about the origins of Barcamp and the a brief history, mission and vision for Barcamp Ghana. For Barcamp Ghana 2010, there were no keynote speakers or panels and only breakout sessions. Patrick Awuah, the founder and president of Ashesi University, then gave a welcome address. Some of his soundbites included “There should come a time that citizens in Africa will not desire to migrate to Europe or the USA”. An agenda building session to map out the breakout sessions for the day followed.

The first set of breakout sessions were organized for 90 minutes from 11am. Citizen journalism versus Traditional Journalism was led by Bernard Avle - award-winning host of the CITI FM Breakfast show, Mac-Jordan Degadjor and Oluniyi David Ajao - popular bloggers based in Ghana. Issues discussed included Citizen journalism in its purest form is blogging, community radio as citizen journalism, regulation of blogging, 75% of Ghanaians having radios versus reading the newspapers and being online, local content and bloggers building their credibility, etc. Sherrie Thompson of Solutions Africa and Golda Addo of Energy Solutions Ghana led a session on green power and alternative energy. Biodiesel and biodigestion facilities were discussed as well as various forms of alternative energy.

Farida Bedwei of G-Life Financial Services, Afua Ankomah of Esoko and Daisy Amma Baffoe of MEST led the Women in ICT breakout session. Challenges with getting Ghanaian women to build applications and be in ICT were discussed. Attendees in the session decided to create a a “Women In ICT” Facebook page to take advantage of the many Ghanaian women on Facebook. Patrick Awuah, one of the most respected leaders in Ghana, also organized an impromptu session on leadership. Lunch followed, the food was provided by Imagineers Limited, which also provides food at Ashesi University’s Building 1. During lunch, Nana Manu of Vodafone Ghana gave a speech on e-commerce and building an accepted payment system for Ghana. He also talked about http://theideascout.com/.

The second set of panel sessions started after lunch. Leila Djansi, director of award-winning movies I Sing Of A Well and Sinking Sands, Deborah Ahenkorah of Golden Baobab, and Obed Sarpong of the Writers Project of Ghana led a session called ‘Telling African Stories’ on movies and writing in Ghana. Nana Awere Damoah, writer of Excursions in My Mind, also came by the session. Among issues discussed were defining the African story, animating Ananse stories, amongst others. It was decided upon to start a blog where African stories would be told.

There was a World Bank sponsored session about the Apps For Development Challenge. Richard Murby who is part of the organizers, did a Skype video conference with Barcamp Ghana attendees from Washington, DC. He did a presentation on the competition and attendees asked him questions. DK Osseo-Asare of AnamCity spoke about the Anam New City sustainable building/development project in Nigeria. Anam City is a new model for sustainable development in Africa. Kweku Anane-Appiah led a breakout session on fashion and wear in Africa. Ronke Ampiah and Farida Alabo of Smiles for Christmas led a session on volunteerism. Attendees decided to start a website for finding volunteer opportunities in Ghana.

The third set of breakout sessions rounded out the day at Barcamp Ghana 2010. Oluniyi David Ajao led a breakout session on blogging. Challenges facing bloggers like poor internet connectivity, creativity (presentation) and work schedule were discussed. Charles Odonkor, a medical student at Yale University, organized a breakout session on brain power called “Declaring the decade of the brain”. Farida Bedwei who has cerebral palsy but is a renowned software programmer in Ghana shared her story with participants in this session. Florence Toffa of Mobile Web Ghana and Kwamena Appiah-Kubi of Mozilla Firefox led a session on Mobile Web applications.

The event run smoothly and the attendees relished the Barcamp experience. They praised the good turn out, brainstorming involved and relevance of information shared. It was important for the discussions to be documented. A list of relevant tweets from the Barcamp will be online soon. Various action items and plans were discussed at the Barcamp and as they are implemented, will be publicized. More info from and about Barcamp Ghana 2010 will be available on the Barcamp Ghana website http://barcampghana.org.

Barcamp Ghana 2010

BarCamp Ghana 2010, an ad-hoc gathering where attendees meet for discussions, demos and networking, will take place on December 18 2010 at the Ashesi University campus in Accra. The theme is “Create dreams, work smart and shape the future”. Following the successes of BarCamp Ghana '08 and BarCamp Ghana '09, regional BarCamp events were organized in Kumasi, Accra and Takoradi and Barcamp Ghana 2010 will crown the year as the national event.

BarCamps all over the world have brought together individuals and organizations to collaborate on various projects and businesses. BarCamp Ghana’10 is a FREE event for anyone who is interested in using their skills, talent, and resources to benefit Ghana and Africa as a whole. This year, the focus is on telling stories and discussing ways of how entrepreneurs and businessmen can create wealth in a burgeoning Accra metropolis faced with a myriad of challenges.

Unusually, the pivot of this year’s event revolves around breakout sessions instead of the usual mix of discussions and expert panelist presentations - regardless, experts will be seated in each breakout discussion to facilitate the coherence of relevant facts and knowledge on all respective items for deliberation. This strategy was inspired by the desired outcome of this year’s gathering which is to stimulate an engaging conference between industry stakeholders, consumers and prospective entrepreneurs on the workings and current realities of industries and services in Ghana.

Impressive yet poignant is our bill of facilitating experts, all of which effect the changes and growing definition of their industries worth and direction in this era. Our confirmed list includes

• Bernard Avle of CITI 07.3 FM,
• Leila Djansi of Turning Point Pictures,
• Oluniyi Ajao of Web4Africa,
• Solomon Adu-Atefoe of Agric Development Bank,
• Golda Addo of Energy Solutions Foundation,
• Mohamed Amin Adam of Publish What You Pay,
• Philip Gamey of Web & Software,
• DK Osseo-Asare of Anamcity,
• Paul Tenejou of ROI-MOB-Lang,
• Ronke Ampiah of Smiles for Christmas

Register or RSVP your participation today at the BarCamp Ghana Eventbrite website. You may also contact the BarCamp Ghana team through the Eventbrite website for sponsorship opportunities. Also, If you are interested in proposing a breakout session, let us know, especially if you have special needs.

BarCamp Ghana 2010 is proudly sponsored by the Ashesi University, Vodafone Ghana, Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) , GhanaThink Foundation,Google, Web Foundation, Fie.nipa, NandiMobile. Our media partners are CITI FM, Radio Univers,ModernGhana, GhanaBlogging, Sunlight Radio America, The New Ghanaian, and Skyy Digital. The customer support hotline is 020-1500033. You can send questions, comments, and feedback by SMS and get responses.

See you there!

http://barcampghana10.eventbrite.com/
http://barcampghana.org/

Barcamp Ghana 2010 comes to Ashesi this December

After three successful regional events the Barcamp Ghana organizing team is bringing the long-awaited Barcamp Ghana 2010 under the theme 'Create dreams, work smart and shape the future'. This year's Barcamp Ghana will take place at Ashesi University College on the 18th December 2010.

All Regional Barcamps have been impressive, the national one will be a blast
In 2010, three different regional Barcamp events were organised across the country. This was in response to feedback received after Barcamp Ghana 2009 held at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST).

The 18th of September, 2010 saw the first ever regional Barcamp event: Barcamp Kumasi at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). Barcamp Kumasi sought to bring together natives and residents of Kumasi to discuss, share ideas and network in the effort to stimulate development in the township. The theme was "Collaboration: The Key for Opportunity and Development".

BarCampAccra 2010, took place on October 2nd, 2010 at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) campus at 20 Aluguntuguntu Street in East Legon, Accra. The theme is be “Creating wealth and employment in a challenging environment”.

BarCamp Takoradi 2010 was held at the Takoradi Technical Institute (TTI) campus in Takoradi, Ghana on November 27, 2010. The theme will be “Leading & Entreprising in an Oil & Technology Fuelled Economy”. BarCamp Takoradi built on the success of Ghanaian BarCamp events to ignite Sekondi/Takoradi & Western Region's focused discussions and actions in order to bring about much-needed change.

On December 18th Barcamp Ghana will bring on board many of Ghana's industry leaders to open up their sectors from their perspectives. Attendees will have the privilege of sitting in the same break-out sessions with these mentors and discuss issues pertaining to the industries on board. Barcamp Ghana is a free event, you can register on the eventbrite page.

All Barcamps have been organised by GhanaThink, an Africa-focused think-tank that seeks to mobilize and deploy African diasporean talent for the primary benefit of Ghana, and consequently of Africa and the whole world.

Barcamp Takoradi 2010

BarCamp Takoradi 2010, an ad-hoc gathering where attendees will meet for discussions, demos and networking, will take place on November 27, 2010 at the Takoradi Technical Institute campus in Takoradi, Ghana. The theme will be “Leading & Entreprising in an Oil & Technology Fuelled Economy”. BarCamp Takoradi is building on the success of Ghanaian BarCamp events to ignite Sekondi/Takoradi & Western Region's focused discussions and actions in order to bring about much-needed change.

The BarCamp Ghana team which is convened under the GhanaThink Foundation has successfully organized four BarCamps in Ghana. Barcamp Ghana 2008 at the Kofi Annan Centre for Excellence in IT (KACE-AITI) on December 22, 2008; Barcamp Ghana 2009 at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology in East Legon in Accra on December 21, 2009; Barcamp Kumasi 2010 at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology on September 18, 2010 and BarCamp Accra 2010 at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology in East Legon in Accra on October 2, 2010. The events have brought together over a thousand leaders and change makers.

Barcamp Takoradi’s goals include facilitating organic networking and help attendees identify business partners for future projects and ventures. It will also offer local businessmen and women the chance to promote and get feedback on their entreprises and ventures. It will also help build a local community and network of entrepreneurs, leaders and businessmen after the Barcamp. The Barcamp will also identify business opportunities in the oil and gas industry and attendant opportunities for a growing local economy.

BarCamps all over the world have brought together individuals and organizations to collaborate on various projects and businesses. BarCamp Takoradi ’10 is a FREE event for anyone who is interested in using their skills, talent, and resources to benefit Ghana and Africa as a whole. This year, the focus is on discussing how important collaboration between different industries, business, academia and public institutions is key for opportunity and development.

The speakers will include Nana Kobina Nketsia, Wilson Arthur, Amos Anyimadu, amongst others. If interested in running a breakout session or promoting a business or venture, contact the organizing team through this website. If you are interested in organizing a breakout session, let us know, especially if you have special needs.

Register/RSVP today at the BarCamp Takoradi eventbrite website. You may also contact the BarCamp Takoradi team through this website for sponsorship opportunities. BarCamp Takoradi 2010 is sponsored by the Takoradi Technical Institute (TTI), Google Ghana,GhanaThink Foundation, Fie.nipa, etc.

See you there!

Barcamp Accra 2010 Press Release

BarCampAccra 2010, ad-hoc gathering where attendees meet for discussions, demos and
networking, will take place on October 2nd, 2010 at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) campus at 20 Aluguntuguntu Street in East Legon, Accra. The theme is be “Creating wealth and employment in a challenging environment”. Following the successes of BarCamp Ghana '08 and BarCamp Ghana '09, regional BarCamp events will be organized in selected regions in Ghana to enable as many people as possible partake in BarCamps before the main national event in December.

On December 22, 2008, over a hundred young Ghanaians met in Accra for BarCamp Ghana
'08 to exchange ideas on entrepreneurship, innovation and development for a rising
Ghana.BarCamp Ghana '09 followed on December 21, 2009, in Accra, under the theme
"Leadership for our times - cultivating change makers". BarCamp Accra 2010 will bring
together stakeholders in Accra to for a day of dialogue, demos and discussions about how to navigate the challenges of doing business and building ventures in Accra.

BarCamps all over the world have brought together individuals and organizations to
collaborate on various projects and businesses. BarCamp Accra ’10 is a FREE event for
anyone who is interested in using their skills, talent, and resources to benefit Ghana and Africa as a whole. This year, the focus is on telling stories and discussing ways of how entrepreneurs and businessmen can create wealth in a burgeoning Accra metropolis faced with a myriad of challenges.

Panelists and speakers will include Eve Andersson of Google, Esi Ansah of Ashesi
University, Derrydean Dadzie of DreamOval, Shika Acolatse of Enablis, Esi Cleland of
AfroChic, Emmanuel Dogbevi of Ghana Busines News amongst others. There will be
sessions organized by Google representatives and as well as other breakout sessions on various topics and interests as put forth by the attendees.

Register/RSVP today at the BarCamp Accra Eventbrite website. You may also contact the
BarCamp Accra team through this website for sponsorship opportunities. If you are
interested in organizing a breakout session, let us know, especially if you have special
needs.

BarCamp Accra 2010 is sponsored by the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology
(MEST), WorldWideWeb Foundation, Google, GhanaThink Foundation and NandiMobile.
Our media partners are CitiFm, Ghana Business News and Radio Universe. The customer
support hotline is 0543-288099. You can send questions, comments, and feedback by SMS
and get responses.

See you there!

www.barcampghana.org

Ghana gets ready for BarCamp events

Following the successes of BarCamp Ghana '08 and BarCamp Ghana '09, regional BarCamp events will be organized in selected regions in Ghana to enable as many people as possible partake in BarCamps before the main national event in December.

We are lining up BarCamp Accra 2010 which will take place on October 2nd, 2010 at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) campus at 20 Aluguntuguntu Street in East Legon, Accra. The theme is be “Creating wealth and employment in a challenging environment”.

You can become a fan today on facebook, www.facebook.com/BarCampAccra
Follow us on Twitter - twitter.com/Barcampaccra

BarCamp Kumasi with the theme - Collaboration: The key for opportunity and development
Become a fan today - www.facebook.com/pages/Barcamp-Kumasi/144855548877084
Follow on twitter: twitter.com/barcampkumasi

We'll round up with BarCamp Ghana in December
Become a fan today - www.facebook.com/BarCampGhana
Follow on twitter: twitter.com/barcampGhana

For any inquiries, or suggestion get in touch by sending us an e-mail through barcamp@ghanthink.org. Hope to hear from you soon!

The Vuvuzela;a swarm of angry bees

Invented some 20 years ago, the vuvuzela sometimes called lepatata, is one meter long, hated by Christiano Ronaldo and Patrice Evra, but admired by the soccer fans and branded by MTN, the official sponsor of this the South African 2010 World cup. Medical practitioners have even advised fans to exercise caution when in use for fear of a flu spread.

The LOC announced over the weekend that it would ban the use of the vuvuzela should there be enough reason to do so. This tournament had been slated to generate lots of discussions around the galaxy of stars paraded by the participating teams, instead, there are a lot more talks surrounding the noisy musical instrument and the Jabulani ball manufactured by Adidas. For Fifa, this does not sound encouraging in terms of the hype it wants to generate around the game of football.

As a fan myself I find it annoying sometimes, although I think it is a special object that will make the tournament different from all previous ones. Fifa has asked fans not to blow the vuvuzela during national anthems and public announcements at the stadium, I think this restriction should go a step further to reduce the noise levels. I cant predict accurately, but I think if Fifa and the South African LOC would want to make the South African word cup enjoyable, then something must be done about the swarm!

BarCamp Ghana 09 - Cultivating Leaders

I would want to share with all readers of my blog where I found my love for blogging. I attended BarCamp Ghana 08 last year and was very privileged to meet top African bloggers like David Ajao and Esi Cleland. I was inspired there and then to start my own blog after the event. So for those who still think BarCamp is another conference for people to talk, take a second look.
What then is BarCamp?

BarCamp is simply an ‘unconference’ - an ad-hoc gathering of people with the simple desire to share and learn in an open environment. Unlike a conference, at a BarCamp everyone is both a speaker and a participant. The content is provided by all attendees based on their interests. So anyone can start a session and get others who are interested to discuss issues concerning that topic. And if possible come up with an action plan. The talkers then become doers.

Focused on human capacity building, BarCamp is also a platform for equipping attendees with new and more acceptable values in business, culture and society.
This brilliant event is organized by GhanaThink and will be hosted at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology MEST located in East Legon, just about 200 meters from the A&C shopping mall. The team for this year’s Camp is Leadership for Our Times: Cultivating Change Makers. This year’s event seeks to focus on allowing the youth to share ideas on how we can contribute positively to the development of the country.