Video trailer: Darfur Now »
By Kofi on Nov 16, 2007 in Charity, Film/Television, General, Politics | 0 Comments
Official trailer for Don Cheadale’s documentary Darfur Now.
African style and business trends worldwide
By Kofi on Nov 16, 2007 in Charity, Film/Television, General, Politics | 0 Comments
Official trailer for Don Cheadale’s documentary Darfur Now.
By Kofi on Nov 15, 2007 in Business, Charity, Fashion, Film/Television, General, Music, Politics, Technology, Travel | 0 Comments
By Kofi on Oct 23, 2007 in Charity, Film/Television, General, Travel | 0 Comments
As much as we hate to believe it, Africa is still the charity case of choice for celebrities looking to get public sympathy. Time and time again the African brand gives instant credibility and humanizes the privileged and their brand image. With every case in the news I am reminded of how much work we still have to do to get to a point where the African brand means more than charity. As serious as the work may be, humor is always welcome. (via AfricaBeat)

By Kofi on Oct 7, 2007 in Charity, General, Music, Travel | 0 Comments
Slate posts a hilarious story on a Malawian family’s adoption of Britney Spears’ children. A must read!
“Los Angeles, where the Federline children have been living, is one of the richest cities in the world, trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of depravity, narcissism, and veganism. Nearly 27 percent of the children in Los Angeles suffer the misfortune of having celebrity parents. Mr. and Mrs. M were stunned by the deplorable conditions these victims live in. Children are subject to verbal abuse via cell phone, and babies are dangled over balcony railings. “Fathers kill mothers, and then put out badly written books about it,” Mr. M said. “And the names these children must bear,” said Mrs. M. “Apple, Fifi Trixibell, Fuchsia, Moxie CrimeFighter, Pilot Inspektor, Sage Moonblood—what kind of future can these poor children have?” - Slate.com
Thanks to Afromusing for the link.
By Kofi on Oct 4, 2007 in Charity, Film/Television, General, Music | 0 Comments
By Kofi on Sep 26, 2007 in Books/Magazines, Business, Charity, Film/Television, General, Music, Technology, Travel | 4 Comments
By Kofi on Sep 26, 2007 in Business, Charity, Events, General, Politics | 0 Comments
By Kofi on Sep 24, 2007 in Books/Magazines, Business, Charity, Events, Fashion, General, Politics, Technology, Travel | 1 Comment
The 4th edition of the The Carnival of African Enterprising has launched at Nii Simmonds’ Nubian Cheetah blog. As with the previous 3 installments of ideas, this edition highlights some of the best posts from the African business/entrepreneurship blogosphere. I’m happy to see that as the carnival continues, there are new names and perspectives being added. This edition covers Blogging Trade & Investment Forums, Business in Africa, Entrepreneurship in Africa with posts on:
By Kofi on Aug 17, 2007 in Books/Magazines, Charity, General, Politics, Travel | 2 Comments
If there was any doubt about how ineffective and out of touch old-world charity organizations have become when it comes to Africa(ns), here is an example. UNICEF Germany put time, effort and valuable resources into producing this recent ad campaign which “shows four German kids who appeal for solidarity with their contemporaries in Afrika”. In an attempt at drawing a familiarity between German and African children on the topic of education Jung von Matt/Alster - UNICEF’s ad agency - came up with the brilliant idea of showing typical German children with mud spread across their faces. Taglines for the ads include: “In Africa, many kids would be glad to worry about school”, “Some teachers suck. No teachers sucks even more”, “In Africa, kids don’t come to school late, but not at all”, and my personal favorite “I’m waiting for my last day in school, the children in Africa are still waiting for their first one”.
Needless to say, the ads have caused a lot of controversy. When “help” efforts like UNICEF’s and the eerily similar Giorgio Armani’s Kate Moss cover are so off mark, you know there is a serious need for African intervention at the planning stages. Someone tell these guys to give me a call before they embarrass themselves further and continue to lose money.
By Kofi on Aug 8, 2007 in Business, Charity, General, Politics, Technology | 0 Comments
If ideas are capital, why is Africa investing more on things than on information, and more on the military than on education? Suddenly, I realized what this idea could mean for Africa. If the pen is mightier than the sword, why does a general earn more than the work of a hundred writers combined? If ideas are indeed capital, then Africa should stem its brain drain and promote the African Renaissance, which will lead to the rebirth of the continent. After all, a renaissance is a rebirth of ideas. And knowledge and ideas are the engines that drive economic growth.
From Philip Emeagwali’s speech delivered at the University of Alberta, Canada, September 23, 2006 (read more)