Rain in Africa

Last Post

2010-03-08T10:01:00.009+01:00

Has it stopped raining in Africa?

No, it hasn't.

Actually raining season is around the corner. However, thanks to the plenty riches of Ghana, I feel like I've outgrown this positive Ghana-centric "Rain in Africa"-blog. Since a little while, I have been working on a new blog and today I am moving to wordpress and to a new blogging concept (or should I say "launching"?).

You will be able to read:
-More personal stories (on Me , myself and I)
-More work related stories (teaching and migration research)
-More critical stories
-More international stories
-More of my favorite reads, links and resources.

To underline that the new blog is more personal, I've decided to "do an AtoKD" and simply give the blog my name plus initials = Kajsa H.A. and the web address http://kajsaha.com

Thanks for reading my blog and I hope to see you soon on kajsaha.com!

ps. I have closed the possibility to comment on this blog, but imported all the posts. So if you want to comment come on over to kajsaha.com.

PhD News

2010-03-05T11:02:00.002+01:00

Last Friday I got a phone call. It was late in the afternoon and I was in the Accra Mall stocking up for the weekend with a friend. I had to run into a quiet place because I thought I heard something like:

...Graduate...University...Ghana....

I was right. It was my first call back from the university. The message was short.

Please bring your birth certificate on Monday.

Here I have been waiting since March last year, or at least since November when I did my presentation, to hear back, and now they are giving me a weekend's notice to produce my birth certificate. BIRTH CERTIFICATE.

Well, thanks to Sweden's excellent governmental ICT services, I was there Monday morning with my certificate. Now it looks like I might be a PhD student very, very soon.

Première: Cinderama, the African Cinderella

2010-03-03T00:41:00.007+01:00

Greetings, my people. [..] I have travelled across hills and mountains, crossing streams and rivers, big and small and lakes and forests, thick and thin. [..] I have a good story for you. In facts it is the very reason for my journey...

The National Theatre of Ghana in cooperation with Swedish National Touring Theatre proudly presents:

Cinderama, the African Cinderella

An old tale in a new setting.
A play by Efo Kodjo Mawugbe.
Directed by Fransesca Quartey.

This Saturday the 6 March, 6pm at the National Theatre, Accra (Tickets 20 GHC, minors 10 GHC) you will have a chance to see the play before it goes on tour in Ghana, starting with the Volta region.

The play is a family play with lots of music and I am totally excited about seeing a Swedish-Ghanaian collaboration on Ghanaian soil.

Hope to see you there!

Swedish Coach to Super Eagles

2010-03-01T10:03:00.003+01:00

What is with me? I am really no sports fan and now a second post on sports already this week?

Anyways, Swedish coach Lars Lagerbäck has signed with the Nigerian national team the Super Eagles (or Super Chickens as they were called after being defeated by Ghanaian national team Black Stars in the African cup recently). Hopefully, Lagerbäck will make the team come together to perform better in the World Cup in South Africa in June.

This will be interesting to follow.

Pic borrowed here.

Meet the Snow Leopard Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong

2010-02-28T21:33:00.004+01:00

I remember the first time I heard of Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong...A Ghanaian man, raised in tropical Africa, who six years ago for the first time stood on a pair of skis...and now is going to compete in the Olympic games in Slalom (or downhill skiing for you who are still not familiar with snow).

Could this be for real? Can a Ghanaian ski professionally? Is it Fool's day?

My my sarcasms quickly went away as I (again) had to realize that life is so much better than fiction. Here are some other facts:

* He shares names with Ghana's first president Kwame Nkrumah.
* Some marketing team has come up with the brilliant idea of calling him "the snow leopard".
* The problem for Nkrumah Acheampong has been financial rather than physical, see my fellow blogger David Ajao's post here.
*A Ghanaian government official flew to Vancouver to wish him "good luck", source Reuters.
*His goal for the olympics was "not to come last"
*He actually skied better than 7 others...
*...Or at least skied better than one other skier as the other six were disqualified or did not finish the competition. See results here
*He now wants to teach kids how to ski - in Ghana! Reuters got this wonderful quote:

"We've got the site and everything. It's just to get all the equipment, the bulldozers to level out all the rough patches, grow the grass and -- Bingo!, we're there."

What can I say, life is better than fiction, especially the life of Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong!

Pic: From the official Vancouver athlete page here.

Ghanablogging: Citizen Media

2010-02-24T23:11:00.004+01:00

This evening the network of bloggers in Ghana, GhanaBlogging, will meet again! Even bloggers with a Ghanaian connection outside of Ghana will probably join in by Skype chat.

Especially exciting for this monthly meeting is that we will be discussing Citizen Media, departing from a project Ghanabloggingmember Nana Kofi Acquah has been involved in.

See you at Smoothies in Osu tonight Thursday 25th February at 6.30 PM!

New Favorite Blog: Silverjuggler

2010-02-18T23:29:00.005+01:00

My friend Andreas is trying out life on a old-fashioned farm (well, minus the snow mobile and the website) in mid Sweden 7 km from nearest road and he writes beautifully about his experiences. The blog Silverjonglerier is in Swedish, but even if you can't read it I recommend it for the beautiful, snowy pictures.

The blog posts are about the daily labor at the farm, including awe for the influential older worker - "gammeldrängen", different types of firewood and work hazards - but also about the coffee breaks which we Swedes so affectionately call "fika".

It is also about a modern human being being confronted with a strict schedule, physical work and silence.

Pic: from Andreas' first day at Lillhärjåbygget.

Inventory of Normality Feat. Paulo Coelho

2010-02-17T09:54:00.004+01:00

Ok, so normally, I hold a fair share of skepticism against everything signed Paulo Coelho - the bestseller writer who's recipe for happiness is to "seek the truth in the desert" (The Alchemist) - however, when I stumbled across this list on his blog (Thanks, Cris) several of its items spoke to me.

Really, how did these things ever become normal?

3] Spending years at university and then not being able to find a job.

7] Trying to be financially successful instead of seeking happiness.

9] Comparing objects like cars, houses and clothes, and defining life according to these comparisons instead of really trying to find out the true reason for being alive.

24] Using all possible means to show that even though you are a normal person, you are infinitely superior to other human beings.

40] Avoiding depression with massive daily doses of television programs.

However, it is also interesting to see that certain things are just soo tied to geographic places/cultures - eg. would this happen in Ghana?:

5] Retiring only to discover that we have no more energy to enjoy life, and then dying of boredom after a few years.

H3! In Ghana, live after 70 is sweet-o.

25] In any kind of public transport, never looking straight into the eyes of the other passengers, as this may be taken for attempting to seduce them.

Haha, seduction is a constant part of public life including transport in Ghana! Why avoid starting it?

26] When in an elevator, looking straight at the door and pretending you are the only person inside, however crowded it may be.

In Ghana, in the few elevators I've been, you'll politely say "Good morning/afternoon/evening" and then maybe chat the person up, see above!

27] Never laughing out loud in a restaurant, no matter how funny the story is.

Oh, every story is funny in a restaurant in Ghana! "Chale, serious? hahaHAHAHA!"

Anyways, this time I can still recommend Paulo Coelho.

Pic: A serious trotro where people do look each other in the eye.

Ex-President Rawlings' House on Fire: Was It Electrical?

2010-02-15T09:31:00.007+01:00

The shocking news reached us yesterday morning, the former president J.J. Rawlings' residence in Ridge was on fire.

Today, facts are a bit more clear:

- Nobody was hurt
- Only Mrs. Konadu Rawlings and one of their daughters were at home
- The ex-president was not at home, but came to the sight early in the morning
- The fire started at 4 am
- By 9.30 am the house was completely burned down
- Three months ago, an electrical fire almost broke out in the residence
- The house was a colonial style bungalow, in much constructed in wood

(Sources: GNA here and Joy FM here and here).

Immediately a debate broke out on electrical fires caused by the common fluctuations of power in Ghana. The night before the fire, it was raining heavily and a substation broke down in Tema. However, GRIDCO, the distribution company found that such a discussion was premature before a proper investigation had been carried out, see here.

However, even if it was an electrical fire, what will we take from it? Has anything changed at all since Ghana's Foreign Ministry burned down in October caused by an electrical fault?

As I heard the rain coming down heavily that night, I woke up and as I anticipated power to fluctuate I anxiously went to pull the plug on all computer equipment (beacuse yes, I am a computer nerd). Then I went back to sleep.

Next time, I'm not so sure I'll be able to go back to sleep.

Pictures borrowed from myjoyonline.com

Valentine's Day in Ghana - All You Need To Know

2010-02-14T15:50:00.009+01:00

Valentine's day became a day to celebrate in Ghana first after the airwaves were deregulated and private radio channels like Radio Gold and Joy FM entered the stage around 1995.

But if Valentine's Day celebrations got to a late start, it sped up quickly and the celebration of romantic love is today widespread in Ghana!

Fellow blogger Nana Yaw writes a funny post including five stories of what high-school sweethearts go through around this time of year, like this one

Sometimes, you just didn't have the money to compete, but couldn't get her to understand. So, 1 week before the Day, you kicked up a baseless fight, and broke up. No need for presents. You waited for 5 days, and went back to you were sorry.

I hope you never had to do this artificial breakup maneuvre! Read all of Nana Yaw's Valentine stories here.

Professor Jo Ellen Fair (who I met last year) have researched the topic of Valentine's Day in Ghana and in summary says that celebrating "Val Day" is something the middle class in Ghana does to feel modern and cosmopolitan. This quote is from the conclusion of the paper "Me Do Wo: The Creation of Valentine's Day in Accra, Ghana". Find the whole paper here (pdf). or read a summary here.

Many say that the Valentine's theme of love "clicks"
in Ghana. "Because love is universal, anyone in any culture can be a part of Val Day," said one young woman (interview, Feb. 10, 2002). Valentine's Day sanctions gestures and words of affection in a culture otherwise characterized by public and private reserve. Valentine's Day is "the one chance you get to tell people how you feel," said one female secondary student (interview, Feb. 5, 2002). "Valentine is wonderful. I can hold my boyfriend's hand and walk down the street," said another secondary student(interview, Feb. 5, 2002). Advocates of Val Day are insurgents for romance in aculture uncertain of the future of more practical approaches to relationships.

This morning, these inputs paved the way for an interesting discussion over breakfast with my sweetheart.

Pic: Walking together on a beach early in the morning - my idea of romance! Happy Valentine's Day everybody!

Busy Everyday Life

2010-02-13T11:19:00.005+01:00

This week was also not a good blogging week - what is happening to me?
Well, let me tell you and at least that gives me a few days respite!

These days I teach Monday through Wednesday. It is a lot of preparation work, since I am teaching two classes that are new to me. It means all lectures, assignments, readings and handouts have to be prepared from scratch. I knew this semester was going to be heavy and truly, even though I love my work I have been very busy.

As you all know, I am also hoping to soon start my PhD at University of Ghana. The update is that my department in January arranged for supervisors and now it is up to the School of Research and Graduate Studies to officially admit me to the program. Yesterday, I was tired of waiting and wrote a letter of inquiry into the application process to involved parties. And I think that was a good thing to do, because all the three recipients were not in their offices when I came around.

Outside of work and study, I am engaging in civil society. I am a part of the Fabulous Feminists (FabFem), the Accra Book Club (ABC), the Accragio choir (but that's a different blog post, Sppp) and the Ghanaian bloggers' group Ghanablogging.com.

The FabFem met yesterday, a fun meeting as usual with young, female, fabulous, professionals with one or two things to say about feminism. Especially interesting for this meeting was that we talked about what we as a group can do for our community. I'll keep you posted. (also, a new member of the group recognized me from my blog! celebrity life, here I come!)

The ABC last month read Swedish (!) writer Stieg Larsson's book from the Millenium triology. I missed that meeting, so I look forward to saying a thing or two on Lisbeth Salander's impact on Swedish society at the ABC meeting next week. This month we are reading Lawrence Hill's The Book of Negroes (and hey, there's another blog post).

Ghanablogging.com is meeting the week after that, but as I am the anchor of the group, every week there are things to take into consideration. People who want to join our network, have meetings with us etc. Last week my colleague Edward and I spoke about blogging at Radio Universe, University of Ghana's student run radio. At this point in time we want to spread the blogging habit or citizen media to others and are planning an event around that.

Tonight there is a performance with a female flamenco group with the scariest and best name, Mala Sangre, at the Alliance Francaise. 8.30 pm!

And that is my busy everyday life!

Involuntary Absense

2010-02-09T17:27:00.004+01:00

So some of you might think I decided to check out completely just because I turned 29 on Sunday.

But that is not the case. I mean, Yes, I was a bit shocked ("29, already? Wow, that means I am soon to be 30, iiiiaaaah"). Yes, I went to the beach to unwind. Yes, I had a glass of good, red wine (or two).

But my absence here has nothing to do with that and all to do with an Internet Service Provider that has painted the town red.

Literally.

Update: And I'm not the only one noticing, see Nyani's very similar post here!

Did I Dance with Kojo Antwi? Part III or Photo Evidence

2010-02-03T17:20:00.008+01:00

Finally, courtesy of pro-photographer Nyani Quarmyne there is photographic evidence of that

YES, I DANCED WITH KOJO ANTWI*!

This is for you my loyal readers! :-)

Read Part I and Part II of this story here and here.

*a legend according to Esi, see for yourselves here.

Work Blog

2010-02-02T07:24:00.001+01:00

Just to let you know I have incorporated my favorite pasttime, blogging, into my work. *drumroll* I p r o u d l y p r e s e n t

Social Theory Blog

a classblog for Social Theory, one of the courses I teach at Ashesi University this semester. Follow it if you want to (re)discover social and political philosophy.

Or just know what I do for a living.

In the picture Socrates is emptying his cup of poison with some ironic words about that citizenship entails following state decrees, even if those decisions kills you.

UPDATE: I'VE NOW FIXED THE LINK, SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE!

New Ghana Road Tolls Today

2010-02-01T09:07:00.005+01:00

The increase in road tolls in Ghana takes effect today.

A regular car that used to pay 5 pesewas is now paying 50 p, a heavier car like a pick-up or trotro which used to pay 8p now pay 1 GHC (or about 70 US cents). That is an increase of 900% and 1150%!

Since I moved to Ghana three years ago, there has not been any increase in tolls, so I guess it was long overdue. The amount can of course be discussed. At present, maintenance is minimal on motorways and highways. This means street lights rarely work, potholes sometimes resemble craters and abandoned broken-down vehicles can be found anywhere, yes even on the fast lane of the motorway! It seems clear money is needed to make roads in Ghana safer.

However, as the toll increase was published in the newspapers last week, no reason was given for it, no promises were made, no connections were made with above stated problems. We were just informed through newspaper ads that "The Ghana Road Fund under the auspices of Ministry of Roads and Highways...solicits the cooperation of Motorists to comply with payment of the new tolls at the various toll collection facilities". Information was published in newspapers, but for a 1000% increase, is that enough? I was surprised that there was little discussion about it.

Because even though, something clearly needs to be done about Ghana's roads, the effects of this increase in tolls become almost like a tax on commuting. With a congested capitol, maybe that is not the best measure... For me who commute to Accra using the Tema motorway my monthly costs is up by 18 GHC or a little less in USD. That's in a country where average monthly salary is about 160 GHC per month (1326 USD per year in 2007 according to Gapminder).

Just now, Joy FM is reporting that some people are refusing to pay and there is chaos at the toll booths at Tema motorway.

Hence, short term, this toll has made it more difficult to get to work. Still, I'm cautiously hopeful about the long-term improvements.

Pic: A trotro pays its tolls at the Ashaiman/Tema toll station last week, most likely happily unaware of the changes of today.

Did I Dance with Kojo Antwi? Part II

2010-01-25T23:24:00.003+01:00

He gestures for me to come up on stage, "Come!" and I feel myself letting go of my handbag, barely glancing over to see if my husband takes it for me and taking a few decisive steps onto - is this happening? - the stage. Kojo Antwi helps me up and seductively holds my hand and leads me to the center of the stage. While walking he says something like "Clap for Obruni" in his microphone. The crowd starts to cheer.

The crowd? THE CROWD? Oh my! Some 1000 pairs of eyes look at me, some are clapping and selected laughters suggest that some are expecting a funny performance including a dancing obruni, but luckily stage lights are blinding me somewhat, and we start to dance.

The music is good, I am wearing comfortable shoes and my favorite dress, I am dancing with the man of Rocklyn, Afrafranto and Odo ye de sin sika and we are all in this place out of love and empathy for Haiti.

What he looked like up close, this mysterious Mr Music man? I do not remember. Was he holding my hands? I don't remember. In the moment, I just decide to myself to enjoy the song, the dance, the moment of having so many individuals' attention.

It only fully hit me much later, when the concert was over and I was congratulated by a smiling husband, a crowd of acquaintances and friends, including students at Ashesi University, that Yes, I did dance with Kojo Antwi!

DOES ANYBODY HAVE PICTURES OF THIS PERSONALLY SIGNIFICANT MOMENT? Please email to kajsahallberg -at- gmail.com
Thanks!

Did I Dance with Kojo Antwi?

2010-01-24T12:41:00.008+01:00

Before we headed to the Haiti Benefit Concert I mentioned here, we had dinner with some friends. One of them had heard the rumour that Kojo Antwi wouldn't come to the benefit(sadly his personal website is very heavy to load, so maybe his MySpace is a better option for you who with less fast Internet).

I was disappointed. Antwi's songs were some of the first Ghanaian pieces of music I heard when I started dating my husband back in 2002. The romantic, lovers rock style tunes in Twi/English/Ga always spoke to me - also others think he Tops the List of Ghanaian Love Songs - although some of his melodies might be just too synthesizer-sweet. Anyways.

When we arrived at the concert, there was no place to sit. "Everybody" was there to support Haiti earthquake victims. We were standing with a bunch of others on the side of the stage, dancing and enjoying from there. After an hour or so, some space opened up on the first row.

When Kojo Antwi did in fact come out on stage I felt a big smile spread across my face. As he started singing a song in Ga "Baa sumo me" (Come love me), I stood up to dance, two ladies joined him on the stage dancing, I was smiling. THEN. Mr Music Man walks over to the side where I am standing, points at me and gestures me to come on stage.

To be continued.

Pic from Creative-Africa.org

Ghana Loves Haiti Concert

2010-01-20T17:39:00.006+01:00

The Friends of Haiti and Ghana Red Cross has sent out a joint press release about an upcoming concert to raise funds for our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

The campaign consists of a star-studded benefit concert in solidarity with the People of Haiti which will be staged at Alliance Francaise on Saturday the 23rd of January; and an SMS campaign aimed at raising GHC two million. The venue for the concert has been donated by Alliance Francaise, with all the billed artistes also performing free of charge.

Except for putting together a b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l poster, the stars performing are really stars too, Kojo Antwi, Kubolor, Kwabena Kwabena, Black Rasta, Becca, Ambolley and many more. Tickets go for 10 GHC. On top of that Foundation for Contemporary Art, will also have an exhibition in the same space where 30% of the proceeds will go to the Ghana Red Cross fund for Haiti.

To conclude, there seems to be many reasons for attending this event, out of which the noblest is of course to extend a hand to the suffering people in Haiti, but I'll be going to shake my ass just a little bit as well.

Fellow Ghana bloggers Holli , Obed , Edward, MacJordan and Nana Kofi seem to also be thinking about Haiti.

Are you?

Pic: From the official invite to the concert, courtesy Ghana Red Cross and Friends of Haiti.

Blogging in Sweden

2010-01-19T17:26:00.006+01:00

I came across some interesting information about blogging in Sweden, compiled by the Swedish research institute World Internet Institute - I wonder where similar information about Ghana could be found?

In 2009:
- 400 000 Swedes had their own blog.
- 6 percent of all Internet users in Sweden had blogs and 37 percent read others' blogs.
- 20 percent of Internet users 16–25 years are writing or have been writing a blog and 60 percent of users in the same age group read others' blogs.

Amazingly, figures also show that a third of the group "young women" what ever that means, have at some point had a blog and that two out of three in this group read others' blogs. The overall number of 400 000 blogs is also impressive.

Two thirds of bloggers (64 %) write about everyday life, one fourth (26 %) about a hobby or special interest. Only 6 % blog on politics and 4% about work.

I don't know how I'd categorize my blog, as I feel I write on politics, special interests (blogging especially!) AND everyday life. Also I hope to blog more on work...I should maybe call it a work blog to be more unique...

On a more serious note, the World Internet Project which the Swedish research institute discussed above is a part of does not have any partner organizations in any African country! How can they then be called the "World" Internet Project? Even though there are no figures (?) for Africa and Ghana, I have the strong feeling there is room among the 44,3 million Internet users for much more blogging! (and mapping of the same phenomena!)

Pic: The Africa Facts courtesy of World Famous Design Junkies via Holli and Scarlett Lion, thanks!

Ghanablogging January Meet-Up Today

2010-01-14T15:09:00.003+01:00

Today Thursday 14th Jan 2010, the network of bloggers called Ghanablogging is meeting at our regular hangout, Smoothies in Osu, Accra, Ghana at our regular time 6.30pm.

If you are a blogger who happens to be in Accra, you are very welcome!

On the Usefulness of Blogging and Tweeting: Earthquake in Haiti

2010-01-13T17:12:00.006+01:00

Feeling so sad as I read the live reports of the earthquake in Haiti, see for instance the continuously updated BBC report here.

This people that has been through so much, why? Today, I think of my colleague with Haitian roots, my college friend from Haiti and my UN-peacekeeper friend who used to live in Port-au-Prince. I think of their friends and their families.

As I was driving to work this morning, they said on the radio that communication with Haiti has collapsed and it will take time before we know the scale of the disaster. However, at that time, I had already read a number of tweets from Haiti.

Citizen media, including blogs, video reports and Twitter are becoming more influential as sources of information these days. See Global Voices' Georgia Popplewell's early tweet-based report here , her colleague Janine Mendes-Franco later account here or problogger Dan Kennedy's extensive compilation of citizen media about the Haiti Earthquake here.

If anyone ever doubted that blogging and tweeting could go beyond navel gazing, I guess today we have evidence of the contrary.

Hopefully this access to on the ground information will also make a difference to the Haitian people.

More on Togo Team Attack

2010-01-12T17:13:00.003+01:00

Through an email from a fellow blogger, I was pointed to Ethan Zuckerman's interesting analysis of what happened in Angola.

He writes:

Hosting Africa’s biggest football tournament – that is, up until the World Cup later this year – was probably a good branding move for Angola, which has made vast strides since the Angolan civil war ended in 2002. The mistake was in holding one of four sets of matches in Cabinda.

Reading the full article, it struck me how fragmented news is these days and how hard it is to get the full picture.

Good News for Ghana's Economy

2010-01-12T09:20:00.005+01:00

“We want to move the economy forward quickly and we want to try as much as possible to make an impact on the road sector, which includes city, urban and feeder roads,”

was the message from the Finance minister yesterday according to Joy FM, as he announced the government is releasing 160 million Ghana Cedis for projects that were stopped after the 2008 election.

Can I say hurray?

1. Roads for development = yes, thats the analysis! (when will power and water be on the list, by the way?)
2. At the time, I supported freezing funds as there were transparency issues for some contracts, but as time went along...and business life in Ghana almost came to a complete stop I ehhr...changed my mind.
3. Hopefully, this action will have a trickle down effect (although it is a long way from 25 big companies and the Kofi and Ama on the street)and might turn the Ghanaian economy around.

Or what do you say, am I being way too optimistic now?

Pic: A collapsed sign from an totally unrelated project.

SLS Literary Contest

2010-01-10T10:00:00.000+01:00

I challenge all the good writers I know to enter into the Summer Literary Seminars Unified Literary Contest, see a message from the organizers below:

Summer Literary Seminars is announcing its annual unified (Montreal, Lithuania and Kenya) literary contest, held this year in affiliation with Fence Magazine. We are thrilled this year to have Mary Gaitskill judging the fiction, and Mary Jo Bang judging the poetry.

Contest winners in the categories of fiction and poetry will have their work published in Fence, as well as the participating literary journals in Canada, Lithuania and Kenya. Additionally, they will have the choice of attending (airfare, tuition, and housing included) any one of the SLS-2010 programs – in Montreal, Quebec (June 13 - 27); Vilnius, Lithuania (August 1 - 14); or Nairobi-Lamu, Kenya (December).

To summarize, this contest has two really good prices,
1. publication in Fence magazine and
2. a sponsored stay at a writing workshop to develop one's skills!

The catch? It costs 15 USD to enter the contest and the deadline is just around the corner (February 28, 2010).

Read more about the Summer Literary Seminars Unified Literary Contest here.

Pic: Write something someone else can read!

Dramatic Week: Nigerian Terrorist, Togolese Team Attacked and Oil Curse

2010-01-09T12:37:00.008+01:00

This week passed really quickly.

I went back to work, now preparing for the spring semester. I had one friend leaving town (bye Uli!) and one coming back (Hi Tuuli!). It is somehow a big relief that the holidays are over and regular life and routines are back.

But as my personal life settled down, there were some shocking news this week that I'd like to comment on.

The Nigerian Terrorist
As I am sure you heard, a man was caught on board a plane from Amsterdam to Detroit, US with explosives. Some curious facts about this incident was that he was on the list of terrorists, the 550,000 names long list. I guess that list was too long, but that wasn't my point. He hid the explosives in his underpants and is therefore now called the "underpants bomber", but that wasn't my point. He was from Nigeria and started his journey in Ghana, but that wasn't my point either. Yesterday, in a discussion someone said American medias found it suspicious the terrorist bought his ticket in cash. Ha! Last time I bought a plane ticket in Ghana I t-r-i-e-d to pay with a credit card, but was refused. It seems like it is a forgotten fact that many parts of the world runs stricktly on cash. There are many other things to say about this thing, but I'll leave that to my fellow bloggers Oluniyi and Obed.

The Attack on the Togolese Soccer Team
The African Cup of Nations that is supposed to take off tomorrow, Sunday, got to a horrible start when the Togo national team was attacked in DRC Congo on their way to Angola. The bus driver was killed and at least two players plus two other people were injured, according to the BBC. They were supposed to play Ghana for their first match, but the team do not know yet if they can play the tournament at all. This was the main discussion yesterday night and our sympathies go out to our neighbors in Togo!

Investigations into the Ghanaian Oil Sector
The first investigations (?) into Ghana's new oil sector might lead to prosecution according to the Attorney General, Betty Mould Iddrisu. Fear has been raised many times that the financial blessings that come with a big oil find, might be a curse leading to the rich getting richer...Let's see, this investigation might be good news?

Hoping for less drama next week.

Pic: Closing the door to this week and stepping out into the next.

Happy New 2010!

2010-01-04T13:21:00.004+01:00

I took off for Cape Coast for a few days: new year's celebrations, bonfire, fireworks, chilled drinks, grilled fish etc., but no worries - now I'm back behind the computer.

My plan was to by the first days of 2010 move you guys over to wordpress and a stylish, crisp, new blog I have been working on there. However, as I am so stubborn I want to build it myself, along the line I messed up somewhere and am now faced with an error message instead of a fresh blog. Boo.

Still, I think the new year (and decade) has started on an interesting note for me. How has it started for you, dear reader?

Pic: from above described celebrations in Cape Coast, Ghana.

New Year's Eve Ghana Style (does not involve goats nor champagne)

2009-12-30T13:12:00.004+01:00

Seriously, Ghanaians!?
Noone is throwing a New Year's Eve party? Not even a small one?

”Traditionally” (would be interesting to know when and where this practice comes from), New Year's Eve in Ghana is a day for contemplation, gratitude and prayer – clearly a Christian holiday! Most people dress in white (celebratory clothing) and head for the churches around 8-9 pm. The final hours of the year is spent praying, listening to sermons and singing hymns. Many times, the sermons are held outside the church room, as the crowds cannot fit inside the chapels and churches. The transition to the new year has nothing like the festive ”10-9-8-7…”, rather it is a very serene and gradual change with nothing special to mark midnight. However, around 1 pm, many people start heading home. (And from what I hear, some of these churchgoers then changes into other clothes and head out for a drink, but this is a different story).

So, what is the problem? Well, it is strictly personal, I suppose: I just miss the European way of celebrating New Year's Eve. I miss having to choose between parties. I miss the anticipation for the New Year. I miss planning ahead for a most luxurious evening with shiny and glittering outfits, chilled champagne and beyond good foods. I miss the obligatory chant of ”10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-HAPPY-NEW-YEAR!” I miss kissing friends and family in a delirious state and then topping it off with more bubbly and dancing!

However here in Ghana, it seems no parties are planned for tomorrow night and I am still the only one considering Christmas the main Christian holiday in December.

Pic: Party outside of Ghana.

Christmas Ghana Style (of course it involves goats!)

2009-12-25T12:13:00.007+01:00

The holidays have come to all creatures on this earth. How are you celebrating them? This is how some of my fellow bloggers are honoring the holidays.

Nana Kofi was especially happy with his gift this year, Ato KD sent a message to all who is close to his heart and interact with him on his blog, Holli decorated her unorthodox tree, Afrocentric urged us to think twice about what we are celebrating, Maya Maame has been xmas style busy and Yngvild has some authentic snow on offer!

As for me, I am celebrating with my Ghanaian family. Yesterday we had fun at the local beach. Swimming and enjoying some softdrinks and "biskits". Today early in the morning two goats were slaughtered and they are being cooked I write this. Soon, I will be going over to my mother-in-law's for goat light soup, dance and laughter, cousins and uncles, drinks and jokes!

Dear reader, I wish for you a time of year that is not just about filling your belly, but also filling yourself with stories to take you through the next year.

And may I suggest: If you overflow with tales, you might want to start blogging?

Pic: Santa in my friend Vera's house.

Twi Course in 2010

2009-12-23T12:12:00.000+01:00

Here's a message from the Goethe Institute in Accra:

Since the current TWI courses at the Goethe-Institut Accra are highly appreciated we are proud to announce the ongoing of our TWI courses in 2010!!

The Goethe-Institut is offering Twi Classes for Non-Twi speakers (beginners and advanced).

The course focuses on communication - within a short period you will be able to discuss in Twi with your Ghanaian colleagues, neighbours, friends & people in town.

Join us! Are you ready?
Eyε paa! Sε wofro dua pa a, na yεnpia wo.
That’s wonderful! The person with good intentions receives support.
(=If you mange to climb a tree we will push you)

Time & Date

Beginner (very basic knowledge):
Mondays, 5:30 pm – 7 pm
January 4th till March 8th, 2010
Price: 90 GHc

Advanced:
Tuesdays: 5:30 pm – 7 pm
January 16th till March 9th, 2010
Price: 90 GHc

Location
Goethe-Institut Accra, Kakramadu Road, Cantonments (next to NAFTI), Accra.

Registration
Please send the registration form to infospr@accra.goethe.org
Payment should be made before the course starts. Just get in touch with our registration officer.Tel: 021-776764

Since I moved to Ghana, I wanted to learn Twi, see my post here for example. I have been taking the beginner's course this semester and can testify to that these courses are effective. Remember the song?

Enti, seseara meko di bronya!

Oluniyi Ajao's Report from Ghanablogging Session

2009-12-22T10:08:00.003+01:00

Here are the excellent notes from the session I led on blogging yesterday, courtesy of Oluniyi David Ajao, one of the most successful bloggers out of Ghana.

Noteworthy is also that 24 people signed up to receive more information about ghanablogging.com after the session. Yihaa!

Also, see the Flickr photostream here (where I borrowed the photo for this post).

BarCamp Ghana Underway: Blogging Session

2009-12-21T15:29:00.005+01:00

I am right now at BarCamp Ghana 09, all details can be found in Oluniyi's blog here or the official BarCamp Ghana site here.

It came to a slow start, but "everybody" is here, many members of ghanablogging.com, lecturers, industry reps, entrepreneurs and cool students - so networking is great!
Importantly, I will be leading a break-out session on blogging in an hour. What I will talk about is

1. Why should you blog?
2. How can we together create Internet content that is relevant for Ghana?
3. How can online activities be taken in to the "real world"? (with the example of ghanablogging.com)

Hope to see you in my session!

BarCamp Ghana '09 is On

2009-12-17T16:37:00.005+01:00

So, now it's official: I am making my BarCamp debut early next week! The Ghanaian version of this world wide "unmeeting" is taking place at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) in East Legon, Monday the 21st December the whole day. See more information about the event here.

Although the strange name of this happening suggests something as scary as "camp", I am still excited about the free meeting format and three more things.

1. It looks like ghanablogging will be holding a session about forming real life groups from online communities.

2. The organizing group this year are much more locally anchored compared to in 2008 when (it seemed like?) all organizers came from abroad.

3. The founder and president of Ashesi University, Patrick Awuah is giving the keynote address, and he is a very good speaker! As he is also my boss, that part of the BarCamp will be like a regular day at work...:-)

Hope to see some of you there!

Tonight is Eha-Lakasa Poetry Slam 09

2009-12-16T17:34:00.004+01:00

I'm terribly excited, a urban and outright cool event like a poetry slam for the first time in Ghana!

It takes off tonight Wednesday 16th of December 2009 at Alliance Francaise (close to 37 tro-tro station) at 8.30 PM. This is what the poets themselves say about the event.

EHA-LAKASA is the name, POETRY is the movement, SLAM is the battle. “EHA-LAKASA POETRY SLAM 09” is a unique initiative intended to redefine the poetry landscape in Ghana as a medium of communication and exchange of ideas. EHA-LAKASA is a straight talk, street philosophy, poetry and music expressed by the arts. This is the first undisputed lyric-smith battle to storm our nation's capital; it will be a night of fire works with lyrical vibration. 15 Eha-lakasa poets will enter the ring but only 5 will survive and 1 should stay alive.

So, of course I am looking forward to the competition part which gives this program its special edge, but I am betting the best performance of the evening will be by my talented friend Sir Black. Stay tune for YouTube updates!

Pic: Sir Black, credits to Foundation for Contemporary Art Ghana.

A Degree in Digital Anthropology, Anyone?

2009-12-16T01:48:00.000+01:00

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Some exciting news was reported by the Culture Matters blog today here and it is just typical. Only four and a half years too late the graduate degree of my dreams come into being.

Just taste the exotic words D-I-G-I-T-A-L A-N-T-H-R-O-P-O-L-O-G-Y ! Then imagine yourself reading exciting blogs and analyzing Facebook for a living.
Here's some information from the lovely institution University College London (UCL) putting forth this "so 2010!" program:

The new MSc in Digital Anthropology–begun in the Autumn of 2009–is well positioned for becoming a world leader in the training of researchers in the social and cultural dimensions of information technologies and digital media.

Digital technologies have become ubiquitous. From Facebook, Youtube and Flickr to PowerPoint, Google Earth and Second Life. Museum displays migrate to the internet, family communication in the Diaspora is dominated by new media, artists work with digital films and images. Anthropology and ethnographic research is fundamental to understanding the local consequences of these innovations, and to create theories that help us acknowledge, understand and engage with them. Today's students need to become proficient with digital technologies as research and communication tools. Through combining technical skills with appreciation of social effects, students will be trained for further research and involvement in this emergent world.

More can be found on the UCL Anthropology website here.

Too late for me, but maybe just in time for you?

Ghanaian Blogger at COP15

2009-12-14T23:33:00.007+01:00

I can proudly announce that our own Ghanablogging member MacJordan landed in Denmark on Sunday to cover the United Nations Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen (COP 15). See his account of his first day at here.

The climate meeting which has been going on for a week and culminates on Friday has already been given a lot of attention in media. We have heard about African countries wanted to be compensated financially, the west roaring back that it was just the corrupt African leaders that wanted cash, then came a leak in some countries pre-writings and then EU announced money will be given...Earlier today, I even heard accounts of "chaos" in the corridors in Copenhagen and arrests of hundreds of protesters...more drama than the average afternoon soap-opera?

Who in the world can we trust to give us the truth?

I know I will turn to my man MacJordan for updates. He will be reporting on his blog and on Global Voices.

Pic: Climate changes will very likely affect the West African shorelines.

Nobel Prize in Ghana

2009-12-10T16:11:00.005+01:00

Image via Wikipedia

The 10th December every year is the day when the Nobel Prize is awarded. In my native Sweden, this is a festive day - "everybody" talks about the prize and follow the gala on TV. The medias are full of information about the laureates, their ground-breaking research - but also about the guests and their fashion, the Nobel menu and flower arrangements and the world class entertainment program. Also, students in Stockholm prepare, as they have a crucial role in the evening gala following the award ceremony.

I am proud to say the Nobel Prize was founded by a Swedish businessman, Alfred Nobel, and has become one of the most well known and respected academic prizes in the world. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo, the other five (Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Economics) in Stockholm as Norway and Sweden were in a union at the time of the establishment of the prize. Although it is a Swedish/Norwegian prize, prominent researchers and personalities all over the world are awarded every year. A prominent example is Kofi Annan who shared the Nobel Peace Price in 2001. Other African and diasporan laureates can be found here.

The full list of this year's laureates - among them Barack Obama (Peace Prize) and Ellinor Ostrom (Economics) can be found here. The touching lecture by this year's Literature laureate Herta Muller about the symbolic meaning of handkerchiefs and other things can be read here.

Jusr now, I will cook something very nice and complicated for myself - maybe even open a small bottle of bubbly I have on cooling and enjoy the festivities from behind my computer screen. Geographically far away from the Blue Hall, but in my imagination right, right there.

Skål!

Holiday Season in Ghana or Afehyia Pa

2009-12-09T09:00:00.001+01:00

As the Christmas spirit this year is all around, see for instance in the Ghanaian blogosphere Maya Maame telling us about how the elections stole the season last year here, Holli discovering some unorthodox decorations here and Esi working on her Ghanaian wish list here, I thought I'd add to the festivities with a song.

Originally, it was sung at the Goethe Institute Christmas party last week. "Afehyia Pa!" in the chorus means something like "May a Good Year Come to Meet Us!" And hrm, yes, that is yours true blogger second from left.

Gallup World Poll Supports My Migration Research

2009-12-02T14:29:00.006+01:00

Right now I am extremely excited as comparative evidence supporting my research is available from Gallup.

What I am interested in is why so many of the Ghanaian university students seems to want to leave the shores of Ghana.

What sets my research apart from a lot of other migration research is that I do not study the people who actually migrated, the returnees or the remittances/funds migrants send to their counties of origin. Instead I, along with other researchers such as Jorgen Carling who has written about Cape Verde, am interested in the migration aspiration or potential migration as Gallup names it in recent articles stemming from the Gallup World Poll. Looking at what people think could be looking at the causes for future movements as actions, especially those which requires planning and funding, are preceded by thoughts.

Gallup goes as far as calculating the impact on the population if people who were interested in migrating actually did (or could). Even though I think this particular calculation is suggestive rather than academically helpful as it adds flows together robbing them of their unique causes, it shows some interesting trends. Gallup's Potential Net Migration Index (PNMI) shows that Ghana would loose and gain inhabitants resulting in a drop of 45% of its population! This while neighboring Cote d'Ivoire and Benin would drawback only 20% and 10% respectively. Why these differences?

Also, this newly presented data suggests - just like I have suggested in my research - that richer individuals are more likely to want to migrate compared to poorer individuals. This seems to be true for all income level countries, contrary to the common belief that people would like to migrate for pressing economic reasons. Similarly, evidence from China suggests that the higher your education, the higher your desire to migrate is. I have the hunch the same is true for Ghana.

Finally, it feels like a tap on the shoulder to read that Gallup's Chairman and CEO Jim Clifton (read his whole article here) with all the information he has access to calls migration, my field of interest, "the great global dream" and predicts that

The evolution of 'the great global dream' is going to be the material of a million Ph.D. dissertations.

I know he is at least right about one such dissertation!

Pic: Dolled up African ladies thinking about migrating?

13 Things Not to Miss When in Ghana

2009-11-29T20:32:00.008+01:00

An acquaintance who is going to Ghana for the first time in December writes to me:

What should I not miss when in Ghana?

And even though I wrote about Ghana Highlights not long ago, I can't help but to craft a list as an answer to her very open question. Here are the 13 things you must not miss when in Ghana.

1. Fufu- Ghana's national dish of a spicy soup with fish and meat and a delicious gooey ball of fufu.
2. A funeral (!)
3. A cold Star at sunset.
4. Omo tuo with Groundnut soup - Northern Ghana's national dish.
5. Ripe mango and sweet green "Fanti" pineapple.
6. High life music (some of the big hotels in Accra have live bands) and contemporary music ( such as the one performed at Bless the Mic on Thursday's at Cinderella's in Accra)
7. Cape Coast or Elmina castles for an insight into West Africa's history.
8. Kakum rainforest, see WikiTravel page here
9. Grilled tilapia - this ginger and chili infused sweet water fish smells so good my vegetarian friend recently crossed sides...
10. Blue Skies ginger and pinapple smoothie
11. Buying colorful wax print or tie-n-dye cloth and getting clothes sown for you.
12. Chasing crabs on the beach. Mission impossible?
13. Braiding your hair. The best souvenir!

As I live to eat, this list is in hindsight a bit biased towards food and drink (1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10 and possibly also 12). Which Ghana musts have I forgotten?

Pic: Bon appetit!

Ghanaian Entrepreneurship: Maksi Clothing Starts with a Boom!

2009-11-27T12:16:00.004+01:00

Today, I am proud of fellow blogger Nana Darkoa who, together with her sister Abena, has creted a clothing line: Maksi. Right now the she is featured on Tv3 saying

"fashion is part of life"

and

"tonight, amazing models will be walking a catwalk specially built over a swimming pool."

Indeed, 7PM tonight a fashion show is taking off at the classy African Regent Hotel. I've seen a sneak peak of some of the clothes on Facebook and they look young and fun with a local flare.

I think this initiative is part of something bigger, something inherently Ghanaian - entrepreneurship. Most Ghanaians I know (!) has a company on the side of their regular job. Many of them dream about one day doing it full time, but understand you have to start small. Many of them are excellent sales people who cater to the needs of their country. It is very inspiring and exciting!

Maksi Clothing might be an especially professional venture with a big launch with hired models, good photography and copy writing, but it is definitely part of a much wider trend of Ghanaian entrepreneurship.

Adidas Apologizes: Kente Is Our Inspiration

2009-11-25T19:47:00.004+01:00

Do you remember the Adidas shoe which was marketed as "Kenta" style misrepresenting the West African Kente cloth that I wrote on here?

Fellow blogger Kwabena/GhanaHype today posted the reply he got from Adidas when complaining of their ignorance. The core of the message is

We regrettably made an error in the copywriting process when describing this shoe.

Read it in full here.

In the pic: A Kente weaver shows how to make Kente.

University Strike in Ghana?

2009-11-22T10:40:00.003+01:00

Read my report at University World News on the current situation here.

To be continued.

Ashesi Awarded Again! Microsoft Alumni Foundation 2009 Integral Fellow

2009-11-20T09:53:00.007+01:00

It seems Ashesi Founder Patrick Awuah is on a winning streak - This week, he was honored with the 2009 Integral Fellow Award by his former employer, Microsoft. See press release here and finalist video above.

The mission of the award is

to catalyze the collective power of the Microsoft alumni and leverage our resources on innovative, scalable, transformative solutions to our world’s challenges. Integral Fellows serve as that catalyst, sharing their stories of struggle, success, and inspiration.

Even though I am not particularly a fan of Microsoft, I must say it really impresses me to hear about them having an "alumni" foundation. It is something very modern about a company suggesting that employees will at some point "graduate", not quit (or stay the rest of their working lives). So far, none of my former workplaces have considered me an alum - but I guess they should. I still care about what is going on where I have spent thousands of productive hours and I owe much of my success to what I have learned with them - and I guess it reflects well on them too when I do well elsewhere.

Is this the new work market we see unfolding?

Strike in Public Universities in Ghana

2009-11-16T20:09:00.004+01:00

Today came with the news of that Ghana's two major universities, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and University of Ghana (UG) are closed due to strikes among the teachers. This immediately affects the mid-semester exams at these institutions and reportedly libraries also closed and students could be seen "roaming about in search of a place for research", according to Joy FM.

When we discussed the situation at my workplace today, opinions varied from that teachers should continue to provide a service for paying students - to that government has had time to do the correct payments and should not be worrying already low payed lecturers with delays. I know for sure this is affecting a lot of people (including myself who is waiting to hear from UG about my PhD application) who re just trying to get an education.

I've heard friends talk about the university teacher strike in 1995 which lasted a whole year. Lets hope this will be solved quicker!

Pic: Graduating students at University of Ghana

Review of Film About Blogging : Julie & Julia

2009-11-15T23:56:00.009+01:00

Just saw the first major motion picture to be based on a blog, Julie & Julia.

It was interesting to see a film (loosely) based on a blog, but I must say my friends and I much preferred the story about the eccentric cookbook writer Julia Child, whimsically performed by Maryl Streep, compared to the bland "heroine" Julie the Blogger. Ultimately, a blog should provide you with stories you otherwise do not get access to, but this blog seemed to be a rather predictable story on how to become a famous blogger.

Still, the film was an entertaining Nora Ephron construction complete with lovable supporting characters (the Julix husbands), lovely Parisian bistrot milieus and loads of butter-drenched food to love.

Enjoy the official trailer here. Bon Appetit!

Ghana Highlights

2009-11-12T23:38:00.005+01:00

Had some friends staying over and spending a lovely day with me. They had just arrived from the cold north and were extremely content with the weather, the food, the lodging - well, everything!

Their fresh and foreign outlook made me see that some things that have become ordinary to me, actually are quite extraordinary. Of course, as their one-day host I also tried to show Ghana from her best side. And what a day I had! Here are today's highlights.

5. Cruising in my car seeing the vivacious street life pass by.
4. Swimming in a nearby hotel pool (I could really do this every day, if I only weren't so "morning challenged").
3. Visiting with my Ghanaian family, they are wonderful and fun!
2. Fruit for breakfast: Pineapple, papaya and perfectly ripen mango.
1. Talking about Ghanaian culture - names, funerals, political history, everyday life. All so rich!

As I watched them get into a taxi towards the beach, I somehow knew I had been able to give them a taste of the traditional Ghanaian welcoming - Akwaaba!

Ashesi Founder Recieves Prize

2009-11-09T11:50:00.005+01:00

Woke up this morning to some very fine news. My employer received the John P. McNulty Prize of USD 100,000 with this wonderful motivation:

"In Patrick Awuah we have found not only immense personal leadership in founding Ashesi, one of the African continent's first liberal arts universities, but in the school's commitment to ethics and civics as a central part of education, he has guaranteed future generations of leaders for Ghana, Africa and the world."

Read the whole press release here.

I am proud to go to work today!

Patrick Awuah and I at a conference in August 2008.

Step Forward

2009-11-05T08:25:00.005+01:00

Today, I have been invited to give a seminar on my proposal at University of Ghana. I have prepared a simple outline of the most important stuff: working hypothesis, theoretical backdrop and methodology and will in between argue for the relevance of this study.

Wish me luck!

Pic: Science in Ghana in the 1960s as presented by Prof Abena Osseo-Asare.

Adidas Hidden African Inspiration: The "Kenta" Shoe

2009-11-03T18:11:00.007+01:00

Yesterday,Kwabena, a fellow blogger alerted us Ghanablogging members of that Adidas is using Ghanaian Kente cloth on a shoe calling it Kenta and acting as they invented it.

Kente is Ghana's (and Togo's) pride, being delicately woven in narrow strips by skilled craftsmen - almost always men. Kente is then sewn and worn at very festive occasions such as weddings or just a few strips over the shoulder as a sign of beauty and wealth.

An interesting debate weather or not one can say Adidas "stole" has arisen on ghanablogging's mailing list (hopefully soon the other side of the debate can be read here and here). I'm all for intellectual property rights, but can a country or an ethnic group have the right to a weaving technique? Have we even tried to patent it? Sure, it would have been nice had Adidas recognized their (potentially huge) market in Ghana and West Africa and called Kente by its real name...but it is a crime not to do so?

As has rightly been pointed out, African Americans, Caribbeans and also other ethnic groups in Ghana have also claimed kente as of late and I don't hear them saying it is Ghanaian/Togolese.

Actually, these days a lot of the Kente for British and American markets is made by Asians, see this book Money has No Smell by Paul Stoller for more info on this interesting transnational phenomenon.

So rather than forming a blog-war against Adidas, should we instead sue China?

Let me also offer a bonus conspiracy theory: Adidas call it "Kenta" to avoid any legal issues with people claiming "Kente". Aha!

In the Pic the famous Kenta shoe. Photo credit to Adidas.

Ghana Guide on the Web

2009-11-03T11:06:00.003+01:00

The Bradt Travel Guide to Ghana (most recent edition is 2007) by Philip Briggs is now available on the web with Google books! See link here.

This guide is positively personable, amazingly accurate and dot on detailed (including great maps of places before Google Maps even existed!). I recommend it to anyone coming this way!

In the pic: Me and my husband being tourists in our country, I think around xmas 2007.

International Conference on African Culture and Development (ICACD)

2009-10-30T07:29:00.001+01:00

In two weeks, Accra hosts an interesting conference, 2nd International Conference on African Culture and Development, ICACD. The program can be found here.

The secretariat of the newly founded organization is placed in Ghana's commercial hub, Kumasi and it was also there the first conference was held in 2008. A participant, Erica Borgstrom, published her reflections after that first meeting here. She writes:

The conference illustrated precisely how complex the idea of ‘Africa’ is whilst physically demonstrating how competing agendas affect this notion. The premise of ICACD is to be an ‘African Cultural advocate’ to influence policy, placing culture on the broader African development agenda. For its inaugural meeting, ICACD attracted an array of individuals with varying backgrounds and aspirations. Their differing agendas soon became apparent in presentations and discussions. Primarily, this resulted in the (often confusing) multiple and differing use of the word ‘culture’, consequently affecting their attitudes towards an implementation of ‘culture’ in ‘development’.

Africa is not one! Why an initiative like this will not start with the scope of West-Africa - or even Ghana - is beyond me. Because, just like for the AU, geographically broad initiatives that recognize no difference in agendas or set any rules for membership, become toothless.

The second item brought up in the quote above, I also found very interesting since I personally recognize this problem of defining 'culture'. Being interested in the arts in Ghana, I have been confronted with this often conflicting of interpretations to 'culture' - two brought out by Borgstrom are 1) the touristic and sometimes stereotypical "traditional" culture including dancing and drumming and 2) the culture linked to how we choose to live our lives. And then I'd like to add the 3) culture involving all artistic expression, focusing on contemporary expressions, that Borgstrom does not discuss.

However, the issue is critical - what kind of development do we get if culture (whatever the definition might be) is not included? Also, I'm guessing the other executives (I'm the treasurer) of Accra Cultural and Arts Network (AccraCAN) will be there. So, I might steal time away from my regular job to go see if discussions have progressed since last year.

Pic: people and sculptures of people at a vernissage in August at the University of Ghana. Sculptures by the Ghanaian artist Kofi Setordji.

Morning News Routine

2009-10-28T09:32:00.006+01:00

How are you, dear reader?

I hope you are well, maybe you have finished your morning coffee or tea and are now looking forward to the two productive hours of the day - those before lunch.

I on the other hand am still sitting at home and doing my daily online media routine (Joy FM, DN, maybe Aftonbladet, The Big Picture - loved the picures from Indian festival Diwali- etc) and will only soon let the Kwame Nkrumah motorway take me to work.

A lot is going my way these days. I feel like a juggler who gets more and more balls thrown at her - but still manages to keep all balls in the air. Fun work (with flexible hours allowing me to keep many of my routines), interesting side projects and fun people with whom to spend my spare time. Let's hope it continues that way.

I only wish I had more time for my blog. That is for you, dear reader!

Picture of a the sky in Tema on a day that is going to be good.

How To Start A Blog in 5 Steps

2009-10-25T12:56:00.004+01:00

This is the tip I gave to a good friend when she asked me how to get started with blogging:

Think about what you want to say and formulate it in one sentence, maybe something like "A Colombian's Thoughts about Sweden, Relationships and Jewellery",
Choose a simple name for your blog (preferably easy to say and spell)
sign up with a blogging platform, for instance here.
When you blog do it regularly, once every two weeks, once a week, every day, doesn't matter, but keep the pace.
And you must send me the URL when you are up and running! :-)

More tips on blogging can be found on fellow Ghanablogging member Oluniyi's blog, here.

In the pic the blogger mentioned above and another pro-blogger, White African from the meeting described here.

Rebranding Nigeria and Brand Ghana: A Good Idea?

2009-10-22T00:22:00.006+02:00

As I was driving home, I came across an interesting program on BBC, Rebranding Nigeria (I'm trying to embed the program above so you can listen). The program was essentially a discussion about the initiative to rethink Nigeria in positive terms. In the journalist Henry Bonsu's own words:

Can the home of 419 internet scams, corruption and voodoo ever transmit a positive image?

Is rebranding Nigeria futile and meaningless? Even possible? Or the light beginning for a country that has just (10 years this year) resurfaced from military rule? The only way forward? You can join a similar discussion on Global Voices Online here.

What to me is the most interesting thing with this debate is that the image of Africa is finally debated, critiqued and possibly recreated - by Africans - in a more representative way. Because really, it doesn't make any sense to say 160 million people are all fraudsters.

But also, after reading about my Nigerian sister Adadze's experiences (I'm thinking of Mama Christina and Police Brutality) in her blog Two Tears in a Bucket the other day, I'm thinking our neighbor Nigeria and its people needs a change.

Of course we are slightly, slightly behind in Ghana, but we are actually also looking into branding ourselves better. Just last month, we had Simon Anhult, (selfproclaimed?) nation branding guru, come talk and then set up our own Brand Ghana office, see this article.

To be continued...

CinemAfrica: African Film in Sweden

2009-10-20T12:51:00.004+02:00

Tomorrow, CinemAfrica opens this year's African film festival in Stockholm, Ubuntu! According to the program 14 films will be shown. None of them are unfortunately from Ghana, but one from Senegal (Mother) and one about Liberia's President (Iron Ladies of Liberia). See the trailer on YouTube here.

Tickets for the festival can be bought at BioRio.

Interestingly, the Urban Africa Movement that I blogged about here is showcasing some of its photos during the festival.

Oh, I love all of this. I think I have to arrange a similar event in Tema.

No Ibrahim Prize for Kufuor

2009-10-19T12:43:00.008+02:00

It was just announced (see for instance BBC here) that Sudanese business mogul Mo Ibrahim will not be awarding any former African leader his The Ibrahim Prize this year. The prize is the largest monetary prize in the world with its 5 million USD over 10 years and 200 000 annually for the rest of the recipient's life. The idea with the prize is to create debate around governance and provide positive incentives for democratic and transparent leadership in Africa.

Ghana's ex-president John Kufuor was one of the favorites for the prize along with South Africa's ex-leader Thabo Mbeki. Earlier this year, when Kufuor stepped down after eight years of rule, he was much applauded. Currently, he works with the UN-WFP. However, his name has also been mentioned in the questionable deal in which Ghana Telecom was sold, including the cable that connects Ghana to the rest of the world, to Vodafone Netherlands. I have blogged about Kufuor here, here and yesterday here.

The founder of the prize, a business man profiting on the telecom business in Africa, says in an interesting interview - to be found in whole here - about his success:

"I'm the same person. I still drive the same type of car. I live in the same house. Most of the money I made has gone back to Africa, or is going back to Africa. I decided the money will go into something really effective and worthwhile. That's what I hope our foundation will do."

Interestingly, the only way forward for Africa's leaders is suggested to be the opposite: large sums of wealth.

Still, I am sure the desicion to not award the prize ("no specific reason" was given according to BBC) will give cause for debate on good governance in Africa. Which ultimaltely, in my humble opinion, is the most important goal with the prize.

Well done, Mo Ibrahim!

Developing Blogging - Leaving Blogger for Wordpress

2009-10-18T16:12:00.005+02:00

Let me share some Sunday thoughts about developing my blog. My ideas so far are:
I want to

graduate from the idea of only writing positive things about Ghana into telling my personal stories, related to Ghana or not, being uplifting or not.
be able to express myself better though the design of my blog, so leaving blogger and moving to wordpress.org is an option.
refresh the look of my blog to inspire myself (and possibly others as well).
show my readers I am serious about blogging.
add new categories of content.
change its name and URL into something simpler (I tried on the new name "Urban Africa" some time ago here, but wasn't satisfied with it).

...and soon I'll tell you more.

What do you think? Does the name of a blog matter? How it looks? How its posts are categorized? What topics it presents? What URL it has?

Pic: Climbing higher.

Blog Action Day: Climate Change

2009-10-15T12:47:00.006+02:00

What is blog action day?

Blog action day or BAD09 as some blog nerds call it is a day for bloggers all around the world to join forces around one important topic. Last year, the topic was poverty and I participated then too. The result of that can be seen here.

What is this year's topic?

It is Climate Change. I guess with the UN Climate Conference coming up in Copenhagen in December, its a fairly current topic. And there is a lot to say. Check out BAD09's inspiration page that has gathered some very interesting information about climate change, for instance.

Speaking of the urgency of the topic....Last time I went to my native Sweden, I was surprised how the word klimatsmart (translates into climate savvy or environmentally concious or something like that) was everywhere: A train journey was maybe not cheap, but klimatsmart. One brand of milk was more klimatsmart than another. My friend had gotten a colorful brochure in the mail asking her if she was klimatsmart (she wondered here how klimatsmart that brochure really was...). My cousin's new blog even had klimatsmart in the title!

What can be said about climate change in Ghana?

Actually, what strikes me is how not current the topic is in Ghana. The website (organization?) tcktcktck.org is counting down to the UN meeting and tellingly has no story from Ghana on their cool Climate Orb application. Really, when was the last time you heard someone discuss climate change around here?

The rest of the world seems worried about climate change/higher temperatures. One of the effects that have been discussed lately is how this can increase the spread of malaria to Western Europe, South America and even Russia.

But in Ghana we don't worry too much about that. Malaria is already one of Ghana's biggest problems to date.

But do we really need to talk about climate change in Ghana? Shouldn't we rather DO something?

A way to globally reduce the carbon dioxide emissions is to make sure we travel with public transport rather than individually in our own cars. Today, many Ghanaians travel in packed trotros, shared taxis or "Kufuor busses" and hence do not emit too much CO2. Can we say the same about the North/West? But as Ghanaians grow richer - our goal is to become a middle income country as soon as possible - more Ghanaians can also afford their own cars.

In my opinion the problem in the discussion about climate change is that while developed countries are struggling to be sustainable, developing countries are already klimatsmarta, but not by choice. Rather the "environmental consciousness" or sustainable living is caused by last year's topic; poverty.

Climate change issues in the end boils down to politics and income distribution. Will my 4 year old relative in the photo above drive her own car when she has grown up? Is it really fair to try to stop her?

What do you think?

Jazz Festival in Accra

2009-10-13T11:03:00.004+02:00

Starting today and running until Saturday, Alliance Francaise organizes a Jazz festival in Accra. Every night at 8.30 pm there will be concerts with different jazz musicians. Seeing the program, I do not know what to make of it as all names, thus far, are new to me; Babu Group(Tue), Chico Freeman(Wed), Ka-Tam Trio (Thu), André Jaume (Fri)...

But I'll gamble by letting my schedule decide and go as many nights I can.

Pic from an earlier event at AF in Accra.

How Big Is Africa?

2009-10-11T14:14:00.003+02:00

A silly question prompted a fellow blogger, Texas in Africa, to post this pic, developed by Boston University.

Of course Africa is a sizable continent and not a country (there is even merchandise to prove it here), but how often do we really ponder the size of this great continent?

I knew from before the relative size of Sweden and Ghana (Sweden is almost twice as large with less than half the population), but it never hit me that Africa as a whole is so vast that Europe, US (including Alaska) and China could fit inside.

I must say this overlay of maps intrigues me.

What are your thoughts when you see it?

Chimamanda Adichie: The Problem of A Single Story

2009-10-09T12:41:00.005+02:00

A storyteller has as a job to tell stories that are engaging and important. Chimamanda Adichie's account of how single stories have inflicted on her life - and on the African countries we love, is both engaging and important. The single (negative) image of "Africa" that I have been trying to complement in 200+ blog posts here on Rain In Africa, she covers in under 20 minutes.

And luckily, it has been recorded as a TED speech that I can recommend to all of you. For you who are temporarily busy, her powerful conclusion can suffice for now - but when you have time, do listen to her in full.

When we reject the single story, we regain paradise.

Chimamanda Adichie most known works are: Half Of A Yellow Sun (I can't believe I haven't blogged about this book - I adored it) and Purple Hibiscus.

New Poetry Blog: Soursweet Ghana

2009-10-05T23:00:00.005+02:00

Last week, I got a chance to do to an impromptu presentation on blogging to a room filled with young women. I wrote on it here.

Tonight, I got an email from Lizzy, a woman who was there and inspired by the talk started her own blog!

She has chosen to present her beautiful poetry combined with stylish photos (her own?) to illustrate the feel. I like the the poems because they discuss common literary themes like the village and the rose, but in a way that carefully avoids clichés. Here's a passage that I enjoyed particularly:

The sun was to be married
Her groom was the moon
Though they met often they never got married
For their meeting brought darkness

The name of the blog is also intriguing: "Soursweet Ghana". Find it here.

I'm so happy I could inspire to this!

Pic from the above-mentioned Women and ICT event.

Ghana Recommendations: Tampico Island

2009-10-04T20:36:00.003+02:00

I thought I'd recommend some Ghanaian favorites to you, my dear readers, over the next few weekends, starting with a drink.

Have you tried the new Tampico?

Tampico is a super sweet "juice drink" made in Ghana (but part of an American originated multinational company). Most probably it has more color and sugar in it than any fruit, but in this new version with the tantalizing name "Island", Tampico has really reinvented itself and gone from chemical sweetened mix to...Island drink!

The rich flavored yellow drink poured over a glass full of ice cubes - to dilute the sugar somewhat - surely makes a Sunday sweeter.

Pic: They should have let me do the marketing in Ghana...Photo from my backyard.

Sibling Blogs

2009-09-29T14:33:00.004+02:00

My siblings Freja and Aron have finally

1. moved abroad and
2. started to blog

What took you so long?

I think your blogs are the funniest around (unfortunately only in Swedish with few additions in German (Freja) and French (Aron)). Could it be because we grew up together?

Or because one of you is a stand-up comedian/culture producer/actor and one a professional juggler/male nanny?

In the pic: Aron and Freja during a happy moment 2007.

Ghana, Women and ICT

2009-09-24T22:36:00.006+02:00

Today, I attended an interesting meeting at the AITI-KACE in Accra on Women and ICT in Ghana.

In a country where general access to computers and Internet is low, women tend to be underrepresented in ICT professions (except when it comes to data entry). However in Nigeria, AITI-KACE's Director General Dorothy Gordon informed us, many ICT classes are totally made up of women and many women in our neighboring country have their own IT companies. Some have even set up IT companies in Ghana!

How can Ghanaian women catch up?

The young educated women in the crowd shared with us that they mostly use computers, many had them in their homes, for checking email and social networking, like facebook.

I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to on the spot present Ghanablogging.com, the aggregator - or list - of Ghanaian blogs I started with a friend back in 2008. I also mentioned two Ghanaian blogs that could serve as inspiration for women who were interested in creating content on the web, rather than just consuming it:

Esi's blog Wo Se Ekyir and
Nana Darkoa and Co's blog Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women.

The response was great, people wanted to know more about Ghanablogging.com and how to start their own blog, so now I am invited to AITI-KACE's Inspiration days 7-8 Oct to talk more about blogging.

Anyone out there who wants to join me in spreading the gospel of blogging?

In the pic some of the participants at the meeting and Dorothy Gordon, Director for the AITI-KACE.

Forward Ever, Backwards Never

2009-09-24T11:09:00.007+02:00

Exhausted by the Nkrumah celebrations, I return to the blog with some less than monolithic notes about my daily life, hope thats ok...

Thursday and Friday are my days for research (Mon-Wed I teach and prepare for class or grade stuff) but so far very little research has been done since University of Ghana has not yet gotten back to me on my PhD application. I note my own naiveté in this post from 2007, when I thought the application process would be swift. Ha.

Here is the full story (well, minus all the trips I've taken to "check on my application"): I submitted in March. The university then extended the application period with a month. Sigh. Then the Graduate School went on vacation, then they had to check if my application was complete (it was), then it was sent to the department I wish to study at - Institute of African Studies. The semester started. Then their board met to discuss the graduate proposals, I believe that was on the 2nd of September, so now I don't know what they are waiting for.

I intend to go there today to find out and push my fate. Forward ever, backwards never.

Then I'm having lunch with a very interesting friend and maybe a meeting with Gordon of Aedhotep Developments that I wrote on here.

Later in the afternoon, 3-5 PM there is a meeting on Women and ICT at Kofi Annan Center for Excellence (AITI-KACE). Lets see if I make it there, it does sound interesting.

In the pic, me at University of Ghana in March of last year after starting my application by beginning on my proposal...

Kwame Nkrumah: Known by Many Names

2009-09-18T11:31:00.000+02:00

This collection of Nkrumah's (positive) nicknames is being showed at Nubuke Foundation, more details on the exhibit here.

The Messiah
The Saviour
Fountain of Honour
Teacher
Redeemer
Leader
The Infallible
The Ideological Mentor
Show Boy (Which Maya Maame blogged on here)
Osagyefo (Redeemer in Twi)
Asomdwehene (King of Peace)
Oyeadieeyie (Repairman, someone who puts things right)
Kasapreko (Someone who speaks her/his mind)

Blogger AntiRhythm adds two historically interesting names to the list. His christian name "Francis" - and the confused misspelled name that FBI used in their file "Ukrumah", read the stories here and here.

Time Magazine, in August 1962, added "Africa's biggest ego" to the list.

Kwame Nkrumah: The City of Tema (Part 2)

2009-09-17T22:45:00.006+02:00

Landmarks in concrete.

The Cocoa Silos

The Kwame Nkrumah Motorway

One of these monolithic structures were never used. The other is the backbone of the Greater Accra economy.

I amuse myself with thinking about if the two had been used - and developed - since the 1960s.

What do you think, does it matter?

Kwame Nkrumah: The City of Tema (Part 1)

2009-09-14T08:39:00.001+02:00

Over this week, we have a Kwame Nkrumah theme at Ghanablogging.

I thought I'd write about an important aspect of Nkrumah's legacy. The industrial harbor town of Tema. My new hometown. (I know its beside the point, but also there is almost nothing about Tema, GH, online!)

Let's start my exposé on Tema with Nkrumah's own words. We go back to February 10th, 1962 and the Official Opening of the Tema Harbor. Kwame Nkrumah walks up to a podium and gives his speech.

"By taking advantage of the river systems of West Africa, it should be possible - again, by concerted action - to connect the hinterland, far outside the boarders of Ghana, with this great port of Tema. Thus, in this harbour of Tema, we see a unifying force and an essential requirement in the progress towards African Unity"

Hence, Tema was just one part of the grandiose plan of Africa rising. Tema should be a harbor not just for Ghana, but for Africa. Still today, Burkina Faso, Mali and other landlocked countries are highly dependent on the Tema harbor. What whould they be today without this sea port?

Nkrumah continued his speech with comparing the existing Takoradi harbor "designed by the colonialists to facilitate the exportation of the wealth of the country" to this new sea port. He said:

"Tema is the sign post of the future. It represents the purposeful beginning of the industrialisation of Ghana. It is the signal for industrial expansion, a challenge to our industry and intelligence and a hope for the future."

Tema and its connection to a bright Pan-African future will be my starting point for future deliberations on Tema.

Pic: My first view of the Tema harbor, Xmas 2004.

Kwame Nkrumah: Events in Commemoration

2009-09-13T14:20:00.004+02:00

There have been complaints about that Ghana has not managed to plan the centennial of Kwame Nkrumah's birth very successfully. See for instance popular journalist Ato Kwamina Dadzie discuss it here.

It might be true, but let me in the interest in what actually has been planned not go into it further, but instead kick off the KWAME NKRUMAH WEEK with the following Nkrumah celebratory events.

1. Sunday 13th September (today!), Nubuke Foundation opens its photo exhibit of Kwmae Nkrumah's life. In addition to the enlarged photos, a document called a "lexicon" will be presented chronicling Nkrumah's life and deeds. Time: 3.30PM. The exhibit can be viewed until 10th of October. (see picture)

2. Monday-Tuesday 14-15th September, The Dubois Center in collaboration with some other groups organize a symposium. Monday it will be situated at University of Ghana, Tuesday at the center in Labone, Accra. Time: 9AM-5 PM both days.

3. Thursday-Sunday 17-20 September, festivities in Nkrumah's hometown Nkroful organized by the Kwame Nkrumah Centenary Planning Committee announced on Peace FM and referred here.

Hope to see you at some of these events!

Next week: Blogs on Kwame Nkrumah

2009-09-12T15:36:00.004+02:00

All of next week, a group of Ghanaian bloggers including myself has decided to dedicate to Ghana's first president Kwame Nkrumah.

The week leads up to Nkrumah's 100th Birthday, celebrated on the 21st of September.

As Kwame Nkrumah had enormous impact on Ghana and all of Africa, I hope you will read some of the other Ghanaian blogs this upcoming week. They can be found on or Ghanablogging aggregator here.

Pic: One of the most used photos of Nkrumah, tinted purple by me. Who was the photographer?

Shirley Frimpong-Manso's New Movie

2009-09-11T12:12:00.001+02:00

For you who, like me, LOVED The Perfect Picture (I posted on it here ) - I have some good news.

According to the blogger Ameyaw Debrah, Writer/producer/director Frimpong-Manso's new film will be called A Sting in A Tale and can best be defined as an "adventure comedy". And it's coming in November!

What ever it is, I'll go see it.

Also, I wonder who would know how much her previous film made at the box office in Ghana and around the globe?

Ps. There is no decent picture of this superwoman online, please NKA, do something!

No Rain in Africa? Few Reports on Flooding in West Africa

2009-09-10T19:04:00.004+02:00

One might almost think that there is no Rain in Africa, judging from the extremely sparse Ghanaian journalistic reporting about the flooding that has misplaced 600 000 people in Northern Ghana and other West African countries. According to some reports 25 Ghanaians have already died in the floods.

While BBC had this flooding among its top news yesterday, see for instance here, the issue was glaringly absent from the Daily Graphic front page, the most read newspaperin Ghana on the same day.

On popular news site Ghanaweb, I find only this article on the floods, source CNN (!)

Also reliable radio channel Joy FM, do not place any significance on the flooding in the country. The same CNN article (!!) is what they have listed under Africa/International on their webpage here.

One would think since Ghanaians are dying and we live relatively close to the scene, Ghanaian journalists would be the first to report on this horrible situation to the surrounding world. But sadly, the situation has not improved at all since I blogged about the flooding in 2007 here . What I said then was

people write me about the floods in Ghana - note the irony of that I write a comment on it on my blog “Rain in Africa”. Anyways apparently these floods make it to the news in Sweden, Spain and the US.

Is this news not relevant to Ghana? Do we not care?

Map borrowed from BBC.co.uk/Africa

Website on Ghanaian Food

2009-09-07T23:16:00.007+02:00

Through Gayle Pescud's post on Global Voices on Ghanaian cuisine "You Are Invited", I stumbled across Betumi, an extremely well-researched website on Ghanaian foods, created by obruni cum expert Fran Osseo-Asare.

Osseo-Asare writes on many (all?) different aspects of Ghanaian foods - the culture surrounding it, how to make fufu, grilled tilapia and Fante kenkey, as well as the ceremonial uses of Oto etc. The website is complemented by a couple of books (which I have not seen in Ghana) and importantly also features a blog! Latest updated on Thursday on the Ghanaian breakfast served to the Obamas in Ghana on their visit in July.

Osseo-Asare beautifully summarizes the Ghanaian kitchen like this:

I think of Ghanaian cuisine as a kind of culinary jazz. The pepper, tomatoes, and onions, and possibly the oil, form the rhythm section. The stew is one musical form, like blues, the soup and one-pot dishes are others. Like a successful improvisation, the additional ingredients vegetables, seeds and nuts, meat and fish harmonize and combine into vibrant, mellow creations. While Ghanaian cuisine is very forgiving and flexible, there are certain "chords" or combinations that go together, and others that do not. Part of mastering the cuisine requires learning these chords and developing the sense of what goes with what: gari or fried ripe plantain or tatale (ripe plantain pancakes) with red bean stew; kenkey with fried fish and a hot pepper sauce like shito; banku with okra stew; chicken with groundnut soup; soup with fufu; palaver sauce with boiled green plantain or yams or rice.

Read my other posts on Ghanaian foods aka culinary jazz here.

Pic: Jazz in Accra in July 2009.

Ashesi Campus Groundbreaking in Berekuso

2009-09-02T06:54:00.001+02:00

On Saturday, I was fortunate to experience the groundbreaking - or sod-cutting - of the new Ashesi University Campus in Berekuso, up in the Akuapim Hills in Ghana. This beautiful hill lies about an hour drive north of Accra and was breezy and green on this joyous day.

The university which is currently housed in a residential area in down-town Accra, hopes on this campus extend its student population from 400 to 600 and of course provide a less distracting and more beautiful environment.

The ceremony came off to a bit of a late start, but that was lucky since the townfolk of Berekuso had to climb the steep hill by foot and arrived just in time for the chiefs' arrival. I can safely say all of Berekuso town were there, small and big, clad in gold, colorful cloths or in school uniform.

The whole experience was wonderful, but I think the most touching part of the day was when the chief explained how welcome the university was by telling us that a residential developer had inquired about purchasing that very hill for a project.

- But we would rather have an educational institution here in Berekuso.

Or maybe the most emotional part was when we cheered for Patric Awuah, the founder of the University during the presentation of dignitaries. And then his mother was introduced and the crowd went from loud cheer to complete euphoria!(Gotta love the Ghanaian mother-centered culture!)

Other articles on this event were written by Friends of Ashesi/Todd Warren, Peace FM, and the official version here.

New Job, New Week

2009-09-01T10:08:00.007+02:00

Last week, was my first at my new job.

As always when you start something afresh there is loads of information, faces and guidelines to take in

"you must create a new password", "Hi, don't you remember me?", "you should park here" etc ad infinitum.

In this case there is also a class of 47 students as I will be teaching Expository Writing for freshmen, or first year students.

Already all this steady stream of new has provided me with the best quality sleep for a long, long time. And already I love my new job!

Pic: White board answers for "how do you become a better writer?" It says Reading, Interview, Listening, Vocabulary, Critical Thinking, Dictionary, Write more, Talking more.

More Broadband in Ghana

2009-08-26T11:41:00.004+02:00

Chinese company Huawei are to ensure broadband infrastructure in all of our green country within two years. The initiative falls under the government's ICT Backbone Development Programme. Bloggers, lets keep an eye on this!

I read it here.

What a thing!

2009-08-23T09:00:00.000+02:00

I present without much further ado: translate.google.com.

As of now, Swedish articles I've written (and written about) will be possible to read in English, see for instance the UPDATE at on the Adopted article some days ago!

Confused Blogging

2009-08-22T11:20:00.003+02:00

Dear Reader,
I'm back to my first blog name "Rain in Africa" again.

Why? Well, maybe the new name was implemented in a rush. Yeah, without me thinking about consequences of a name change, how it has to be discussed with you. But also its meaning...A new name has to be really good and self explanatory. I guess what I really wanted to do was to finding a name that captures the essence of my blog, something that says "I write about Ghana" (because really, I don't write much about Africa), then buy a domain so that you will have something like iwriteaboutghana.com - simple and nice.

I have also been contemplating leaving blogger for the more advanced wordpress (org more likely than com), now that I spend so much time blogging and talking about blogging.

So, I am just temporarily going back to "Rain in Africa", soon I will migrate to something all again different. But the content will be, more or less, the same.

Any questions?

Suggestions also much welcomed, of course.

Article about Adopted Exhibit

2009-08-19T23:18:00.007+02:00

This week my article (in Swedish only UPDATE: Now also in some sort of English with Google Translate here. ) on the Adopted art recently exhibited at the German Goethe Institute here in Accra was published in the Swedish Traveling Exhibitions Newsletter here.

Below, I translated a brief part illustrating what the thought-provoking exhibit by Gudrun Widlok was all about.

The center of the exhibit is the adoption office where one can apply to be a "adoptive family" or an "adoptee". Here are 100 photos of Europeans who wish for an African family as well as a painting where an African family is holding a picture of their new, European family member.

In the pic a Ghanaian family at the opening of the exhibit describes the experience of adopting a European adult .

UNDP Photo Contest: "Picture This"

2009-08-19T14:05:00.004+02:00

Stumbled upon this photo contest "Picture This: Caring for the Earth".

The rules are as follows :

Photos submitted for the contest should also document people in Africa working to mitigate or prevent the effects of climate change or environmental degradation in general. They should be taken from a journalistic sensibility and tell a human story. They could profile a breaking news story, or an on-going project; they could also profile a particular African and her or his work, or a community and its work.

There are two categories: individual photos (up to 5 entries per person) and photo essay (one photo essay, 4-10 photos per essay, per person). You may only enter one category.

You must enter as either a professional or an amateur.

You musthave lived in a country of Africa for 12 months between August 2007 and August 2009.

There is still 6 weeks to go and I think I will enter. It would be really great to own a professional camera, but even greater having Wangari Maathai glance at something I saw through my viewfinder.

In the pic: The supposedly number one prize.

"Revisiting Modernization" Conference Gets Revisited

2009-08-17T11:05:00.006+02:00

Today, my article about the conference "Revisiting Modernization" organized two weeks ago by University of California & University of Ghana was published in the University World News/Africa Edition webbased newsletter here.

Just at the opening of the conference, I'm sure you remember I blogged on it here.

Ghanablogging Grande! Report from August Meet-Up

2009-08-14T10:46:00.007+02:00

Yesterday, at out monthly meet-up we had visitors from Maker Faire Africa, Maneno and some probloggers like WhiteAfrican. All in all about 20 people joined in at Smoothies in Osu.

We learned about Maker Faire Africa which is an initiative to boost African inventions, upscale them or just spread their usability from country to country. They have set up camp at the Kofi Annan IT Center in Accra for the weekend and I'll be heading over there in a bit.

Also Miquel from the African-inspired blogging platform Maneno (meaning ”words” in Kiswahili) told us about how he came up with the idea after visiting the Kongo where internet is slow and expensive. Maneno is tailored for the subsaharan conditions and seek to invite more Africans to become bloggers. He posed some interesting questions to us.

Internet is quite reliable and not too expensive in Ghana. So would SMS posting be interesting here?

Discussion followed where most ghanablogging members seemed to think mobile solutions could catch on in Ghana. Also Internet - even if available - is largely restricted to the elite in Accra.

Miquel also asked:

What do bloggers in Ghana write about?

We had difficulties summarizing the rich and varied blogosphere in Ghana, but compared to the very different Nigerian blogosphere where blogs serve a more political purpose. IN Ghana we mentioned blogs about lifestyle, current affairs and poetry, but there are many other subjects. Coming up soon on ghanablogging.com will be listing blogs in "categories", maybe that will help?

Finally, problogger Eric/WhiteAfrican/Afri Gadget talked about blogging as a job. Eric grew up in Kenya and Sudan and studied in the US. He told us how blogging started as a hobby, just like for most of us, and grew, grew and grew. He stressed producing your own content rather than just writing about others work or reposting it. A blog with new content, could be the only place to go for certain type of information! He writes about technology in Africa and when starting the AfriGadget site recently it quickly surpassed his popular personal blog, WhiteAfrican.

Not anybody can be a blogger, he said. You have to be consistent. After 6 months you have to keep posting, your readers will expect it.

Present were Ghanablogging members David Ajao, Samson Ojo, Toke Olagbaju, Nana Kofi Acquah, Nana Yaw Asiedu, Cornelis Rouloph Otoo, Edward Amartey Tagoe , Gameli Adzaho and Emmanuel K. Bensah jr.

and not yet members, but hopefully soon, Nii Ayertey Aryeh and Lora Akati.

Some of the interesting guests were Miquel Hudin of Maneno, Erik Hersman (WhiteAfrican and AfriGadget), Klaas Kuitenbrouwer, William Kamkwamba (lead name at MFA), 'Tosh' Hamilton Juma, Nigerian entertainment blogger Chika Okafor and Brian Shih.

And me.

It was the biggest number of bloggers so far convened in Ghana! Thanks to everybody for coming and maybe we should try to invite guests a bit more often?

In the pic: David Ajao, Eric Hersman and Klaas Kuitenbrouwer being nerdy.

What Do You Do?

2009-08-13T09:55:00.005+02:00

I recently got the question:

"What Do You Do?" from a reader. (Thanks, Alison!)

"Good question", I replied.

Because, truth be told, I don't really know myself. This is by far the most common question people ask you in this modern day and age and when not employed, it is a question I've come to dread.

As my goal is getting back into academia, I try to practice writing as much as I only can, sometimes I write for free like here on the blog, sometimes as a freelance writer (most often I link to the Internet version of the publication here on the blog). I have come to really enjoy the journalistic process of pitching an idea, doing research including interviews and then do the write up and admire the result...

But practicing writing will only take you that far, so in March I applied for a PhD position at University of Ghana/Institute of African Studies and I'm hoping to hear from them any day now *crossing fingers*. I want to write about the aspiration to migrate - or not to - among university students in Ghana, an under-researched topic and at the same time a vital part of Ghanaian urban life.

But the lengthy explanations to follow the above stated question might finally be of the past as I recently landed a part time job as a lecturer at Ashesi College University, a liberal arts college with some very interesting goals and values that I earlier posted on here. Appropriately, I will be teaching writing.

Now, what do you do?

Pic: I write.

Don't Confuse Urban Africa, The Blog with...

2009-08-11T12:02:00.000+02:00

...The web store Urban Africa

...The book Urban Africa by Simone and Abouhani (2005)

...The Flickr album Urban Africa which has following overlapping raison d'etre with this blog:

Africa has untold vital urban spaces and a rich legacy of a 2.000 years long history of urbanization. However, in the vast majority of flickr groups related to Africa, nature and wildlife photography are predominant. Africa appears as a rural and ‘exotic’ scenery where humans, animals and landscapes build a more ore less harmonious unity.

Pic of a Bead and Wire Ndebele Radio that can be purchased on the Urban Africa store website.

Tropical Contemporary Architecture: How to build a house in Ghana

2009-08-10T12:38:00.004+02:00

What is more urban than buildings?

Let me start the born-again blog with posting something on Ghanaian architecture or more precisely things to think about when building your house in the tropics.

Currently, there is a building boom in Ghana and virtually every other person seems to be building a house. Cement prices just hit the roof (see this article) and this coming weekend Ghana's first ever (?) home improvement fair is taking place. Also,this is a topic that just recently has started to interest me, I guess with the opportunity of one day building my own house in Ghana drawing nearer...

First of all, lets think about the property/land you need to acquire. Fortunately, the blog Makola Law has done a checklist on what to think about here.

Second, there are ways to build a house that is environmentally friendly, cost effective and automatically cool. Forget expensive and unhealthy ACs! Check out the inspiring and sometimes surprisingly simple tips for tropical design at Aedhotep Developments. Just to give you an example of something easy to do:

Plant tall trees on the east and west sides of the house to shade walls

Other options include using a new technique to build, such as the one provided by ItalConstruct in Ghana which uses polystyrene sheets and iron mesh to create a house that imitates a cooling box! See a video on the technique here.

Third, when you have a plot and a sustainable structure...what makes a house Ghanaian? Is it Kente style design of the exterior that I wrote on here? Or adinkra symbols like a friend has incorporated in his home exterior? Is it a compound style design like the traditional Ghanaian houses? It is using Ghanaian materials like bamboo and clay bricks? Using African architects? Or is just any house in Ghana a Ghanaian house?

Picture of a, in my view lovely, Ghanaian contemporary designed house courtesy of Aedhotep Developments.

Rain in Africa is now Urban Africa

2009-08-09T21:02:00.002+02:00

Today, after more than two years with rich rain falling on this site, I decided to change the name of the blog.

Urban Africa is a more forthright name since anyone immediately can understand what it is about. It is snappier. Also Urban Africa has the advantage of being just two words that do not easily blend and they are easy to spell!

Next step will be moving to wordpress.com, but since they do not allow my tags to move along, I think I need to prepare carefully before I go.

What do you think of the new name?

Ghanaian Names Return: A Trend?

2009-08-07T12:29:00.002+02:00

Recently, Ghanaian traditional names seem to have gained popularity. FAF spotted it first here.

He writes:

A trend that I've seen lately though suggests that might be about to change in the next generation. I cant say I've done much research into this so it's based largely of a few friends that I'd lost contact wiht suddenly popping up on Facebook and other places with the English names gone.

It's nothing drastic like coming up with a whole new name, just simply dropping the English one and letting the usually Ghanaian middle names take precedence.

Victoria is now Nana Ama
Isaac is Nene
Franklin changed to Kojo Ohene
Raymond morphed into Paa Kojo
Dorcas likes to be called Nana Konadu
Bright is now Kwame

The phenomenon is jokingly called "Name Dropping", by above mentioned blogger. Remember where you heard it first!

So, Ghanaians like their Ghanaian names - and why shouldn't they?

As a foreigner living in this country I have also adopted one. I'm EwuraAma to some friends, neighbors, business contacts unhidden joy. Sometimes I use it beacuse it is practical. My Swedish name (Tagsa? Aiysha?) is often not heard right and NEVER spelled right - but other times it isn't even about practicality, I just want to show people I care about Ghanaian culture and that I am trying my best to be a part of it.

At the other end, I also find it easier to remember Ghanaian names since they many times can be related to a weekday, which leads to a discussion "oh, so you are also born on a Saturday, then we're twins!" or "I have a good friend who is also a Thursday born!".

The only problem with this trend is that sometimes when I meet with friends half of us, both men and women, are called Nana!

Pic: Painting at the DuBois Center that I snapped some time back and I now feel illustrates this topic very well.

Henning Mankell Talks about Imagination on BBC The Forum

2009-08-06T20:53:00.005+02:00

Swedish writer and Africa-lover Henning Mankell was on BBC the other day in a very interesting discussion with Indian economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and Iranian British chilspsychotherapist Camila Batmanghelidj (love the "Batman-ish" name!).

Henning Mankell was making the claim that imagination is more than just an expression of creativity - sometimes imagination is used for raw survival. I was driving when I tuned into the program and it was so fascinating that I never wanted to reach my destination. Hear for yourself here.

Illustration by Emily Kasriel borrowed from the BBC The Forum to visualize the above described discussion.

Conference Season in Ghana: ASWAD

2009-08-05T23:25:00.004+02:00

New week, new conference. This time it is the 5th Biennial Conference for the Association for the Study of the World Wide African Diaspora.

The conference, which has the title "Africa, Diaspora, and Pan-African Agendas", has been going on since Sunday, however unfortunately I haven't been able to go to every day. In addition to my spotty attendance, about five workshops and panels happen at once so I have probably just experienced a fraction of this year's conference but what I know for sure, to paraphrase Oprah, is

1. It is the first ASWAD conference on African soil

2. Kwame Nkrumah would have turned 100 years this year

3. We still dont know enough about slavetrade and its consequences

4. Diasporan and African studies need to converge for any Pan-African agenda to progress

And finally and most uplifting:

5. A new generation of Pan-Africanists is emerging!

In the pic, the new generation of Pan-Africanists (including Robtel Neajai Pailey, Carina Ray and myself) listen to one of the old-school activists, Jaqueline Ki-Zerbo.

Nkrumah's Daughter

2009-08-03T22:59:00.006+02:00

On Sunday evening, I had the privilege of meeting Honorable Samia Nkrumah, Ghana's first president Kwame Nkrumah's daughter - and herself currently an MP for CPP - at an event. Here's the photographic evidence.

And while I'm shamelessly bragging, the man sandwiched between us is also an MP, Honorable George Blankson more specifically from Mfantsepim Constituency where my Ghanaian family has its roots!

Interestingly the event was hosted by another Ghanaian leader's daughter, Professor Abena Busia who is the daughter of Prime minister Dr. Abrefa Busia. As Dr. Busia was the leader of the opposition against Kwame Nkrumah and his party CPP whose reign ended with a coup d'etat, I thought it was very appropriate - even touching - of Prof. Busia when she publicly acknowledged Samia Nkrumah in the audience and with a few words put history behind us.

I have earlier written about Kwame Nkrumah here and here.

"The Birthplace of Cool" - Bono on Ghana

2009-08-01T15:54:00.004+02:00

I had totally missed that U2 singer, cum activist Bono wrote a column on Ghana and Africa in the New York Times just before Obama's visit.

After reading the article I think to myself that something about Bono's efforts is somehow so...arrogant and at the same time wonderfully naive. It talks about important things like the G8 meeting and how Africa is the birthplace of humanity. I guess it can't be summarized, but here is a sneak peak to show you what I mean:

On a visit there (Ghana in May 2006), I met the minister for tourism and pitched the idea of marketing the country as the “birthplace of cool.” Just think, the music of Miles, the conversation of Kofi. He demurred ... too cool, I guess.

Haha, pitched (haha, that word alone!) a marketing idea to a Minister of Tourism after having spent a few days in a country, how arrogant is not that?...but on the other hand, if now Bono says Ghana is cool, then why not take his word for it?! I guess we thought about marketing our chocolate, our gold, but we never really thought of marketing our ability to be cool.

And now three year after Bono's visit, does Ghana even have a tourism marketing strategy?

The column can be found here.

Pic: Bono in Ghana 2006 borrowed from U2station.com

Academic Conference in Ghana: Revisiting Modernization

2009-07-28T00:38:00.008+02:00

Today, I visited the official opening of an academic conference, Revisiting Modernization, which is organized as a collaboration between Institute of African Studies at University of Ghana and University of California. I am covering the conference for University World News, will post the article in this space once it is done.

Not only does the conference have a very interesting program - it is open to the public. I am especially recommending their evening programs, the standard was set tonight with a superb dance performance (again a Ghana-US collaboration), tomorrow we can look forward to an art exhibit and on Wednesday a film screening with films such as Baby Ghana, one of the first films recorded in this country!

The conference is the first in a series of three planned in Africa. After this one comes Senegal in 2011 and South Africa in 2013!

Also mentioned in the blogosphere here and here.

SIDA Jobs: Update

2009-07-24T16:24:00.003+02:00

In June, I wrote about a job scam using the name of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, SIDA here.

Today, SIDA's information unit have made a statement (see it in full here) where they officially denounce this so called job opportunity.

Note!
Advertisements for recruitment to positions as Project Officer at Swedish International Development Agency (Sub Regional Office) in Ghana, have been published in local newspapers in Ghana. Sida has NOT published these advertisements. There are currently no posts available for Sida in Ghana.

Maker Faire Africa in Accra 14-16 Aug

2009-07-24T09:05:00.000+02:00

Maker Faire Africa (MFA) "a celebration of African ingenuity, innovation and invention" according to their website. It is hosted by AfriGadget and will take place August 14-16 at the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT in Ghana's capital, Accra.

On their blog, they urge the visitors to Maker Faire Africa to register by sending a text message with their name or email address to:
+233261685159

After you register, you will receive an SMS response containing a 8 digit hexadecimal confirmation number. When you show up at the event and give that number to us, you will be entered into a drawing where you have a chance to win a prize.

Still there's no program for the event, so I don't really know if it'll be like a software development workshop, a conference, a fair, a market filled with African gadgets or a mix of all of the above (or something yet again different).

But maybe it is worth the chance/risk - this event is free to the general public!

Abba World - Please Come to Ghana!

2009-07-23T16:02:00.004+02:00

Just read about Abba World here, an interactive exhibit that this year starts touring the world. Finally a permanent museum will be opened in Stockholm, Sweden.

It will be more of a experience center than a traditional exhibit. We let the visitors sing live with "the Abbas" in a hologram setup, they can record songs and videos and even take photos with the group.

Det blir mer av upplevelsecenter än traditionell utställning. Vi låter besökarna sjunga live med Abborna i ett hologramsetup, de kan spela in låtar och videor och även låta sig fotograferas med bandet.

I understand they will set off in Australia...If the organizers only knew how popular Abba is in Ghana! Not a week go by without me hearing "Fernando", "Dancing Queen" or probably most often "I believe in Angels"...

I believe Ghanaians would sing Abba songs better than any other people on the planet.

Pic borrowed from the above discussed article.

The New Liberia: Far From Budumburam

2009-07-22T20:09:00.005+02:00

Just outside of Ghana's capitol Accra lies Budumburam, the vast refugee camp for Liberians with was founded with the help of the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR in 1990. A volunteer describes the camp like this:

Spatially, the camp is divided into twelve zones, ten of which are in the main camp area and two on the other side of the main road from Accra. Beyond the entrance to the camp is the main square which is surrounded by small stalls. In the middle are the UNHCR notice boards, which are checked regularly in hope of resettlement placement in the U.S.
Around the main square are the principal public amenities such as the camp clinic. The two main streets leading from the square are lined with small shops, stalls, bars, video clubs and Internet cafes. In addition to the official camp zones, there are also four “Gaps”: areas outside of the officially recognized organization of the camp. Mostly young people who came without parents or other relatives inhabit the Gaps. Together they form a sub-culture based heavily on black American youth culture and Rastafariah identity. The Gaps tend to be shunned by most people in the mainstream camp.

Between midnight and 5am there is a self-imposed curfew at camp and there are neighbourhood watch teams who patrol the camp at night. Even if I were allowed to walk around camp at night I for sure would not as there are no electricity which means you can’t see shit and the camp it self is a enormous labyrinth of small streets and allies so the possibility to get lost is as big as it gets.

The water and sanitation facilities at the camp are poor, and together with waste disposal need urgent attention. Due to the poor and expensive sanitation facilities on camp, many residents are resorting to “The Gulf”, a patch of bushy land at the outer perimeter of the camp. This is a problem because the Gulf is where accounts of molestation, rape and murder are taken place.

What is going on in this camp is a real shame, from just driving by it looks like a gigantic slum that has been misplaced. When reading the account above, I realize it is worse. Luckily as of recently many NGOs, researchers and volunteers walk the camp and shed light on what is going on there.

What is going on in Liberia itself, and why you should go there for vacation is discussed in this personable Washington Post article. Reading it I realize I have a lot to learn about the new Liberia.

For instance, did you know they have Star beer in Liberia too?

Pic with the Liberia flag with embedded map borrowed from www.feedmypeople.org.uk.

Kiss My Teeth or Sounds with Meanings in Africa

2009-07-20T19:13:00.005+02:00

Alleluia!

I had wanted to write about how as a process of me learning Twi I have now gotten to the non-verbal sounds used commonly here in Ghana. One sound in particular is very useful.

But how do I describe a sound on my blog? Recording it and posting a sound clip is out, 'cos I don't master it quite yet - its really difficult!

But then today, there (facebook) it was: In Writing. Now you might understand what I am talking about:

KMT = kiss my teeth aka tsuos aka tweeeeee(sound) aka the sound African people make when they are angry

It seems the sound I was talking about is called "kiss my teeth": although my Ghanaian husband had not heard that name, but "tsuos" or "tweee" sounds about right. But I think "angry" doesn't really cover it - its more close to extreme disappointment, grave nonsense and deep mistrust. Effectively used, it can even be a potent insult.

Often used about a (useless) person:
- As for that thief, *tsuos*

Or to correct a child:
- Did I not tell you to stop doing that five times already? Hm, *tweeeeee*

Or to stress an (upsetting) occurrence, as the Facebooker in question describes:
- they dont give plastic bags in that shop, nonsense i forced her to give it to me KMT

In the pic, my young friend is attempting the sound. - What? I have to stop playing with my toys and go shower? KMT!

Update:
According to comments on this post this is not an African sound per se, but also common in the West Indies, South America etc. I was also informed that Guyana Gyal posted on the same topic years ago here, she also added a useful manual on how to do it!

To suck you teeth, you got to pout you lips in a li’l pout, clench you top and bottom teeth close, close. Push the tip o’ you tongue against you teeth. Suck in air. Stchuuuuu….when you want to finish close you lips…uuup.

Nubuke and New Morning

2009-07-18T10:30:00.006+02:00

Since I the day before yesterday challenged my fellow bloggers to take a positive twist to their blog posts, I am here leading by example.

There are a lot of new cultural initiatives in Accra and Ghana, often very ambitious and heartwarming, much needed and deeply interesting. Two of them have taken names that suggests "sunrise", Nubuke means New Dawn in the Ewe language, New morning is the other one - coincidentally they are also my two favorites.

Nubuke Foundation focuses on recording, preserving and promoting Ghanaian culture and history though art. On their website they ask some interesting questions which further defines their purpose:

How best do we preserve the rich Ghanaian legacy in the face of 21st century challenges?
How do we engage with the globally challenged Ghanaian?.
How do we pass down our oral history when families are now split between several continents?
How do we define ourselves indigenously?

They have newly opened their wonderful, spacious premises in East Legon, close to Penta Hotel. About once a month they invite us the general public to an art opening of works that have never been seen before...Like the recent photos of 20th Century Architecture in Ghana.

Tomorrow, Sunday 19th July they invite you and me and everyone we know to the exhibit "Rendez-Vous: Contemporary Ghanaian Art". The opening with music and small chops starts at 3.30 PM.

My other favorite new initiative is:

New Morning Café which is a stage for young musical talents of Accra.

They put up a wonderful show that has so far taken place on Fridays (see review of "Slam Friday" here) and Saturday evenings at exquisite singer Bibie Brew's private home in Tesano, Accra - but I heard rumors that the show will be moved to Tuesdays due to Bibie's engagement as a judge with a talent show in Lagos recording on Saturdays.

A night at New Morning Café is filling for body and soul, wonderfully relaxing and interactive in the most positive sense of the word!

Look out for the next New Morning Café Evening!

In the pics, interactions with the founders of above described establishments.

The Economist's Analysis of Obama's Visit

2009-07-16T18:53:00.006+02:00

See weekly news magazine The Economist's levelheaded article on Obama's visit "How Different is His Policy" here.

They are probably right in principal: the American policy on Africa might not see too many changes even under Obama's administration, but clearly no Economist reporter got the on-the-ground energy from Obama's visit to Ghana - "well received" does not start to cover the euforia!

President Obama made a point to visit Africa within his first year as president and by so doing shared the enormous attention he still carries with the continent. In respectfully and boldly delivering some well-known truths like "development depends on good governance" to an African parliament Obama did something to us living in Africa that cannot be measured in monetary policy.

The "tone shifting a bit" makes the whole difference.

Pic borrowed from the above discussed article in The Economist.