On Friday, the first program in the Frontline 2012 series was broadcast.
The program is a one hour political interview aiming to clarify the issues for the Ghanaian voter in the 2012 elections. Mr Hassan Ayariga of the PNC was my first guest and, save for a technical problem during the first minutes of our transmission, it went well.
I am hoping to be a ble to share a clip with you sometime soon, but for now you have to make do with these pics from the set.
Next show, Fri 28 Sept 2012 at 8.30 PM on TV3.
What questions do you have for this election’s presidential candidates?
Last Wednesday evening, there was a book reading at a coffee house and bookshop in downtown Accra. I have been busy ever since, but still wanted to write something about it. So better late than never, here it is.
The Accra literary crowd is not spoilt with world renowned authors coming to share their work, so it was an exciting evening. Author Nii Ayikwei Parkes, fulfilled most of our expectations. “Literature is a way to have fun”, he mused. With a clear voice and a warm smile, he read his Spoken Word poetry, sang some lines from a favorite song and shared highlights – with some extra italics – from his book the Tail of the Blue Bird (a Ghanaian crime novel that I loved, and I don’t easily warm up to this genre. Maybe this is another post, though).
The discussion that ensued touched on many different topics, but in the center was issues about editorial concerns about readers’ capacity to understand African literature (names, expressions, contexts), the localization of language and Parkes way of using italics to highlight Akan words and expressions in his book.
Maybe the most rewarding thing with the event, apart from meeting a wonderful writer, was that in the crowd I know we had some of the next authors out of Ghana!
I am still recovering from Saturday’s BlogCamp12 event at AITI-KACE. So many people! So many interesting people! So much fun!
As the founder of BloggingGhana, I knew about the scale of the event, but as I have not been directly involved in the preparations I had somehow not expected the massive interest for blogging in Ghana! I was scheduled to be the opening speaker, first thing in the morning, with a short welcoming speech. For a Saturday morning with a Ghanaian crowd, I hadn’t really expected people to be present… but when entering the room, it was almost full!
Kafui writes a very detailed account including his highlights, but I like how he – just like me – was overwhelmed!
Almost 400 participants ‘invaded’ the venue — the burning passion and quest for knowledge was simply overwhelming.
I had awakenings, epiphanies and inspirations throughout the event.
Ofoli-Kwei got the push he needed to start up his own blog,
I’ve spent many a night brooding over the idea of having my own blog but the like we say in Ghana the ”vim” has never been enough.
But then I attended Blogging Ghana’s #blogcamp12 and the vim level shot up like crazy!
At first we weren’t sure how many of us would be there, so we rearranged chairs into a small circle, which we enlarged a couple of times as more joined. Although sometimes shyly, and often very quietly, participants started expressing their fears and concerns about women blogging and what they should/could talk about.
In house poet AntiRhythm summarized the event like this:
Imagine my sweet surprise on seeing so many still-growing minds with yards of yen for social medial relevance at BlogCamp 2012; relevance as content creators and catchers too. Ghana’s rising the right way – led by the youth.
For more reactions, see the Twitter hashtag #BlogCamp12. Pics to come.
Now BloggingGhana has to quickly recoup and think about how we can harness this enormous interest for social media in Ghana! Thanks to all who came and made this day a loud-sounding voice of a new generation!
Looking for an online getaway? Follow blogger extraordinaire, Holli Holdsworth, on the journey of her life (as in she sold it all, bought a boat and will now see the world!)
Holli kept a much read blog writing out of Ghana, and in her last post she writes beautifully about her host country for 16 years:
Ghana raised me from the blinding grip of naiveté, helped mold me, open my sheltered eyes, gave me a new world in which to raise a family and learn some heart piercing lessons about love and loss.
Ghana has been everything to me – from a highschool bully to my tour guide, my big sister, a boss you can never quite please.
Yesterday, I had the privilege to meet with acclaimed Swedish journalist Anna Koblanck.
For an “Africa-nerd” like myself, she is a household name as a writer for Swedish newspapers DN and HD as well as an Africa commentator on Swedish radio.
This time, Koblanck is traveling Africa for a non-journalistic project which I am guessing is not official just yet.
Thanks to our mutual friend Fiona we were introduced and met up for a few hours over coffee (what else?) for a talk about writing, South Africa, Ghana and Sweden, migration, what kind of meat goes into a Ghanaian soup (Answer: all), not identifying as an expat, travels home and elsewhere.
My daughter was also gracing the occasion and I think all four of us had a good time!
Yesterday, I met with the best social media minds of Ghana. Some 15-20 of us in BloggingGhana had our monthly meet-up (Are you a blogger in Ghana? Sign up to join us here).
Last year, just before I left Ghana, we registered the network called GhanaBlogging that has been meeting since 2008. We felt it was time to move to the next step. Actually, we were rather forced to do so due to the massive interest in our group. Now, BloggingGhana (BloGh for short)is our registered name, so GhanaBlogging is history as you are not allowed to register bodies that start with the country’s name in Ghana. We have an exiting year ahead that I surely will write more about on this blog over the months to come.
But back to yesterday, I can happily report the year started well for us. We had great turnout, high level of energy in the group ans most importantly we had some extremely fruitful and some hrm… more fun-oriented discussions.
Ps. After the meeting there was a little discussion on Twitter (seach for #BloGh) and I think Nana Fredua-Ageyman‘s comment captured something vital about the organization:
“one thing about #blogh is the camaraderie. Everyone behaves like he or she knows you before.”
I think that also shows in the photo Edward Tagoe took.
A few weeks back, I got a shout-out from AccraDOTAlt / the organizers of the initiative TalkParti (that I have posted on here and here) to back the documentary they are making. Using a website called Kickstarter, they ask for people like you and me to donate money for a documentary film.
“the aim of this documentary project is three-fold: 1) to document a youthful Accra, bold and cool enough to pull taboo subjects wide open 2) to get personal with young Ghanaians about their experiences on the margins of these subjects – as a lesbian woman, or a transgendered man, or a happy atheist, or a struggling artist in Ghana and 3) to exhibit the pulsating spirit of the indie music scene – the backbeat of Accra – through captivating performances and interviews with featured musicians.”
As I have been to many of these TalkParti events and experienced the uniquely creative and open atmosphere, today I was glad to donate USD 25. Although I find the aims of the documentary important and worthwhile, I have a slightly more personal reason for supporting the project. I want to show that documentary to my kids and say “Mommy was there when it all started!”
Do you think its important to document your surroundings?
(and if you by any chance also want to make sure this documentary is made, go to the Kickstarter page and follow the instructions, still one week to go before the opportunity to pledge is closed )
UPDATE: The project is now fully funded. Congrats to all of us and time to get to work, AccraDOTAlt!
Book cover for "Life After Sept 11th, 10 stories from New York" by Marianne Lentz
Some time ago, my Rotary Scholarship mate from my year in the US, got in touch. We met in 2001 at Reinhardt College in Georgia, US. She is now a journalist and was doing research for a book about the aftermath of September 11th 2001. She wanted me to tell her what I remembered from that day. This is the text I sent her:
“I woke up in my dorm room in the morning of 9/11. It was an ordinary day and after taking a shower I reviewed my Spanish homework. As I was sitting on my bed doing that, I suddenly hear my roommate Michele screaming and run over to her. She has the TV on and screams as she points to the set. As we are watching we see the smoke coming out from the first of the two World Trade Center towers and a distraught speaker voice talks about a second plane and we watch in amazement as that plane hits the second tower.
She has already her phone in hand and calls her mother in Uruguay and hostfamily – the hostfather works in the WTC…I run back into my room as I hear my phone ring, its my hostdad. I dont remember if he is trying to calm me or himself down, but he is letting me know he believes “it is Bin Laden who is behind all this”. It is the first time I hear the name.
Before I am off to class, the news reaches us that also Pentagon in Washington DC has been hit. As I have a friend living in DC, I want to hear she’s alright. I phone her, but cannot get through. A few moments later the news presenters on TV urges the public to stop calling friends and relatives to allow for the phone lines to be used by emergency workers. I feel pretty stupid.
In Spanish class, we talk about what happened and in a later class we stand in a circle holding hands in silence. I channel my confusion and sadness over the events by walking around campus taking pictures of the nature. (I can look for the pics if you think they would be interesting for you, but I dont think thery were very special) During the day, we realize that also Atlanta, a mere 45 minutes away, and its headquarters for CNN and Center of Disease Control are possible targets. The threat creeps closer.
Already the same afternoon, American flags are hanging out from many windows. Over the next weeks, we will fear that our drinking water has been poisoned, that antrax can be sent to our mailboxes and that the terror can strike at any time again. At this time, I had spent only one month in the US, but could still clearly feel that this day had changed everything.”
Today Marianne Lentz’s book is out. It ended up being an interview book with 10 New Yorkers, their memories of that dreadful day and how it impacted on their lives. It’s currently only available in her native Danish, but hopefully soon in English too. I’m proud of you, Marianne!
On Friday, the first program in the Frontline 2012 series was broadcast. 
