Political | Kajsa HA

Nationalist Party Gains Ground in Swedish Election

September 19, 2010 No Comments

As I write this I am following the election results being reported in my native Sweden.

In Sweden, we have had a Social democratic (S) government for more or less 70 years, however last year a right-wing coalition got the confidence of the Swedish people and this election have been mostly about if S will regain confidence or if the coalition, calling themselves “Alliansen” will be entrusted to continue ruling the country.

However, as the results trickle in, the most surprising outcome (at least to me who have not been to involved in the election for geographical reasons, I live in Ghana) is that the nationalistic party Sverigedemokraterna have gotten almost 6 % of the Swedish vote. This means, in the Swedish multi party system that the nationalistic party has entered the parliament (the barrier is at 4%) but also that the party might get a very important role if the right nor the left get a majority of votes.

So what does this party stand for? Well, their platform is classical nationalist, it is about cutting immigration and thereby solving problems. As someone who is living globalization, I think their program is definitely not a good idea.

But Sverigedemokraterna party leader Jimmy Åkesson was just reported to have said:

– Now other parties have to take our immigration policy into consideration.

More information om the Swedish elections 2010 in English from Alhjazeerah , BBC and the Local.

UPDATE: Let me add my friend Per who is reporting for CNN!

Ghana, Political, Promoting

The Witches of Gambaga – Trailer

September 18, 2010 3 Comments

Recently, I wrote a post called Do you believe in witchcraft? The feedback was many comments,maybe more than on any other post I’ve written, and one of the people who commented was writer and filmmaker Yaba Badoe. I am now passing on this beautiful and sad clip from her, see below a trailer for the film ‘The Witches of Gambaga’.

The section where she tells us about Salamatu being ” a confirmed witch” because of how a chicken dies made me think about the lose-lose method that was used to confirm witches in Sweden back in the days when we hunted women witches: you throw the suspect in a lake, if she floats she is a witch…

I will inform you when the film comes to Ghana.

Photo, Political, Sweden

Almedalen Week in Pictures

July 9, 2010 No Comments

Political, Sweden

Almedalen Week in Political Suit

July 4, 2010 No Comments

Even though the sky is blue and the sun scorching hot, tonight, I am leaving my paradise by the sea to go to town. Why?

Today the traditional one-week event for politicians, journalists, lobbyists and other politically interested start in Visby. It is called “Almedalen Week” as the epicenter of the many meetings is the Almedalen park, where party leaders from the seven major parties give a speech each day of the week. Starting with the current prime minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, tonight.

I thought of working this week, writing some articles for alternative newspaper ETC or the online Swedish news site in English, the Local, but after dropping them an email I never really pursued it further. And maybe for the best.

Now I can attend the seminars, debates and meet-ups I want. As well as my brother Hampus Hallberg’s play, Valet, (see photo) which runs four times: Wednesday and Thursday 1 and 5 pm in Metodistkyrkan on Adelsgatan.

And in between take of the political suit and put on the bathing suit…

Program for the week here.

Ghana, Places, Political

Have You Heard of Nigeria’s Oil Leakages?

June 10, 2010 10 Comments

nigeria oil leak — Veronique de Viguerie / Getty Images

While the eyes of the world are fixed on the BP oil leakage in the Gulf of Mexico outside of Louisiana, US, another much less publicized leak has been ongoing for decades in the oil rich Niger delta in Nigeria, reports the Guardian (and today Swedish newspaper DN).

The Guardian article states:

In fact, more oil is spilled from the delta’s network of terminals, pipes, pumping stations and oil platforms every year than has been lost in the Gulf of Mexico…With 606 oilfields, the Niger delta supplies 40% of all the crude the United States imports and is the world capital of oil pollution. Life expectancy in its rural communities, half of which have no access to clean water, has fallen to little more than 40 years over the past two generations. Locals blame the oil that pollutes their land and can scarcely believe the contrast with the steps taken by BP and the US government to try to stop the Gulf oil leak and to protect the Louisiana shoreline from pollution.

What can Ghana and our emerging oil industry learn from this mess?

Pic borrowed from Veronique de Viguerie / Getty Images at Pikele.

Ghana, Political

Gallup Reveals the Secret Behind Few Africans Banking

May 12, 2010 5 Comments

Few people in Africa have bank accounts. In Ghana, just like the sub-Saharan African region over all, it is 19%, but it varies from 49% in South Africa and 1% in Congo/Kinshasa and Niger.

So why do not Africans go to the bank and open an account?

Gallup includes the answer to this question in their report Few in Sub-Saharan Africa Have Money in a Bank:

“Two-thirds say the lack of money is the main reason why they don’t have accounts.”

What a shocker.

Read the whole Gallup report here! And/or read more Ghana related Gallup news!

Ghana, PhD, Political

Ninety-Nine-Year-Old Graduate and More

May 9, 2010 2 Comments

Recently a World War II veteran and former teacher reached headline news in Ghana (and the world through CNN) as he graduated from business school at the ripe age of ninety-nine!

I wrote an article about this very special ninety-nine year old graduate and the discussion that his achievement gave rise to for University World News(UWN). Here is an excerpt:

In February 99-year-old World War II veteran and former teacher, Akasease Kofi Boakye Yiadom, graduated from the Presbyterian University College Business School in Abetifi, Ghana.

The elderly graduate was featured on CNN’s Inside Africa programme, and he took the opportunity to call on fellow graduates to be loyal and not join the brain drain.

“If it is a scant pay you have to accept it, because it is the government’s money that has been used to educate you,” he said. “If you have finished school and passed your degree, you have to stay in Ghana and serve Ghana.”

I thought it was interesting he entered into the “brain-drain” debate and did something with his 15 minutes of fame. Read the rest of the article about Akasease Yiadom and the “brain-drain” discussion by yours truly.

In the same issue of UWN, Linda Nordling wrote an interesting feature directed to African universities on diversifying funding. She compared the recent consequences of the Icelandic volcano ash on African export industry to the current situation in African academe where African universities are very dependent on student fees and government funding. What if an “ash cloud” or more likely an economical crisis would reduce fees and government funding?

There needs to be a lateral, more diversified strategy for funding of the African universities. Looking overseas for funding instruments, reducing the administrative burden through capacity building and turning to local industry to offer consultancies are the main points offered as a solution, by Nordling. Read the whole insightful article Lateral Thinking for Research Funding.

Ghana, Political

Ghanaians in Ghana Can Vote in the UK!

April 27, 2010 6 Comments

Borrowed from GiveYourVote.org

“While many Ghanaian farmers struggle to fight poverty, the staple rice is American, water is sold through Dutch companies, telecommunications are run through the UK, and Ghanaian tomatoes fail to compete with heavily subsidied European counterparts. A vote in a national election alone is not enough to give Ghanaians a say in the processes that decide this.”

This is the motivation between the interesting initiative Give Your Vote offering UK citizens to give their vote to a citizen of Bangladesh, Afghanistan or – yes, thats right, to a citizen of Ghana!

How to vote in the UK elections?

First read up on the BBC election site, then learn more about the Give Your Vote /Use a Vote for Ghana initiative and finally, vote by text message! Text your name, location, and party of choice (LABOUR, CONSERVATIVE or LIBERAL DEMOCRAT) to +233241561918 or visit a UK election centre in Accra on 30th April.

Ghana, Political, Positive, Promoting

Aid the West: Design for the First World

April 26, 2010 No Comments

I thought I’d promote this lovely competition, Design for the First World – in short, Dx1W, because it is witty, spot on and relevant. By addressing First World problems and speaking to professionals in developing countries, it is directly opposite to so much else I see. The more traditional approach, like the 10 ideas for Africa I wrote about the other week is so much more common.

So this is exciting! I know I’d spend too much time explaining it, so let me just give you the information in original:

“Dx1W has proclaimed 2010 International Year of the First World in Need, and has defined four main areas to address:
– Food Production and Eating Disorders,
– Aging Population and Low Birth rate,
– Immigration and Integration to Society,
– Sustainability and Overconsumption.

Furthermore, one of the major aims of the Year will be to demonstrate the beneficial effects of cultural diversity. We want to recognize the importance of transfers and exchanges between cultures through implicit or explicit dialogue that underlines how cultures and civilizations are interlinked and contribute to the progress of humankind.”

Yes, Food and eating…They have a point here. Population has been deemed the next big crisis for Europe, so good problem to attack. Immigration and integration issues gain attention by the day, but maybe my favorite is the issue of sustainability. If everybody shopped like the West, we’d need more earths!

Ok, some good topics and progress of humankind. Sounds good! Then the organizers of Dx1W go on on a little rant on “solutions” from the west which I think is well deserved, although I feel “pay back” might be taking it one step too far – aid or solutions most often has a good intention behind it (?). Similarily, I think this competition should be done with a helpful attitude and not as a frantic “pay back” attack.

“Our fellows in the first world often come to visit and give us their well intentioned but often very problematic “solutions”. We thought, why don’t we pay back? Dx1W is a competition for designers, artists, scientists, makers and thinkers in developing countries to provide solutions for First World problems.

Deadline May 30st, 2010 11:59 p.m. EST”

All this is just the beginning. For more inspiration, read the Dx1W Blog.

What do you think? Is this just the first initiative, of many to come, to help the First World? A silly prank? An idea that has your full support?

Pic borrowed from Swedish fashion company H&M’s spring collection 2009. Where they had borrowed their inspiration from was not too clear.

Ghana, Political

Earth Hour in Ghana Everyday

March 27, 2010 1 Comment

While the world is getting ready to voluntarily turn off the lights for an hour, we in Ghana are again getting ready for involuntary power sharing…

In Sweden, there will be a big concert in down town Stockholm and many (most?) companies and municipalities have joined the cause.

In Africa only nine countries are registered. Ghana is not part of the official Earth Hour celebrations one can see from the Earth Hour website. Actually, for West Africa only Nigeria takes part – see the official blog here.

Unofficially, we celebrate earth hour every week, sometimes every day. Africa still produces and consumes much less energy than the rest of the world, and yes, sometimes totally involuntarily. According to this article from the Economist in 2007, Africa generates only 4% of the world’s electricity supply. Three of those percent are generated by, and for, South Africa and the northern African countries – leaving the lion share of Africa to 1% of the world’s generated energy!

We need to save our planet, but lets also stop being naive. We don’t have any electricity to turn off in Ghana!

The amazing picture was borrowed from NASAhere.

Ps. Seems like we will rather spend the hour between 8.30-9.30 PM tonight romancing.

Ghana, Political

Ashesi University Questions Accreditation Board Directives

March 12, 2010 5 Comments

At my workplace Ashesi University we aim to educate the future leaders for Africa.Part of that goal is worked on through discussing ethics with the students and practising it on campus.

After much debate, it was decided that students should themselves take responsibility for fair procedure and take exams without proctoring lecturers. Instead, they monitor each other and sign a slip to certify that no violations of the rules have taken place. Or they do not sign and are invited for a meeting to discuss what they have seen or heard and the case is taken before the Ashesi Judicial Committee. This also means all our students are well aware on our policies on academic misconduct. This is the Honour System. Similar systems are practiced at other higher education institutions notably Princeton University and Dartmouth College.

However, not everybody thinks this is a good idea. The National Accreditation Board of Ghana (NAB) recently gave us the directive of suspending the Honour System, read more about it here. It seems that the main objection towards the system is the Ghanaian environment.

The Senior Assistant Secretary at the NAB Richard Agyei told Joy News that he thinks the Ashesi Honour System is

“market copying of what happens in other systems without taking into consideration what your own circumstances are.”

You can listen to the interview on Joy FM here .

Yesterday, we decided to go public with the decision to respectfully question their deciscion. From the press statement here is the appeal to the NAB and the general public:

“We believe that the National Accreditation Board’s decision regarding Ashesi’s Honour System was hasty and was made with insufficient discussion and debate. We ask the National Accreditation Board to listen to the wisdom of our arguments and our logic. We ask the National Accreditation Board to heed the counsel of our forbearers and to remember the proverb: “the one who climbs a good tree must be given a helping hand.” We ask the National Accreditation Board to remember the national anthem of this Republic, which urges each of us to “cherish fearless honesty.”

We also come before the public to ask for support. We ask corporations who have hired Ashesi students, and who appreciate the calibre of the Ashesi Education, to help us make our case to the NAB and to the public. Finally, we ask academics around the world who are familiar with Honour Systems, to share their views with the National Accreditation Board of Ghana.

For our part, we humbly declare by unanimous consent of the Ashesi Student Council, the faculty, the administration, and the Executive Committee, that we are committed to maintaining Ashesi’s Honour System for the conduct of exams. We have the full support of the student body, the Alumni Council, and parents. Whatever the eventual outcome of this debate, let it be said that, “Here are women and men who stand for what is right; who honour the ideals of this Republic; and who believe in a brighter future for Africa”.

You can read the press statement from Ashesi University in full here.

Former Ashesi students Sugar n Spice write:

“The whole idea is simple, write your examination independently, and make sure you reference your work (do it right and you’re safe). Personally, I wrote exams in both situations (with and without proctors) and it feels much more better when you’re left alone without having one or two people walking around the room making you feel much more tensed. Every student is ‘policing’ the other, you don’t know who’s watching you and might not sign the honour sheet after exam.

It’s such a nice feeling when you’re trusted.”

Read their full piece on the Honor System here.

Is Ghana and its “circumstances” so different from other parts of the world that Ghanaian university students can not learn ethics the same way as students in other countries?

What do you think?

Ghana, People, Political, Positive, Promoting, Sweden

Cinderama – Review

March 8, 2010 No Comments

KHA KHA KHA KHA

It gets 4 of 5 KHA’s.

Cinderama was a lovely and vivid play, easily the best I have seen at the National Theatre.

The play, which I wrote about last week here, was written by Efo Kodjo Mawugbe and had some funny and quirky details such as a storyteller who doubled as the Chief’s/King’s linguist or spokesperson and who switched between his roles with a comic “duty calls”. A prince who was studying in London and came onto stage with a hand luggage trolley. A main character in Cinderama who over all wanted to study “agricultural engineering” and who’s beads – not shoe – was left behind at the palace as an only clue to the one who caught the prince’s heart…

The direction of the crew of 16 by Fransesca Quartey was clearly successful in that the message came across (children have rights too!) and through imaginative and quick transitions between scenes (this is normally a problem in Ghanaian theatre). Also, I had to control myself to not shed a tear only 10 minutes into the play. We shrieked with laughter in other scenes. Well done!

Light and sound was coached by Technical Producer Tobias Stål and added a professional feel to the story. Afterwards someone said that the smoke maschine has not come on, well, we did not miss it!

Costumes were colorful and with that extra theatre glamour inclusive of glittering stones, gold threads and many costume changes by costume designer Fabiola Opare Darko and beads – which played an important role – by Kati Torda of Suntrade.

However, some scenes, particularly the one with the gravedigger was in local languages which left out parts of the crowd when others laughed seemingly without end. Throughout the 1,5 hours of the play the worst clichés were avoided, but towards the finale the fairytale ending became almost too sweet with Cinderama vowing to stay in Ghana to “help her country” and the prince nodding along. The interesting nuances in the evil sisters’ behavior earlier in the play were gone when curtains were drawn.

All in all, Cinderama is a heartwarming story.

And the best is yet to come, as the play now leaves the National Theatre and Accra and starts touring the country. I feel so glad many young people in Ghana will have the chance to embrace Cinderama and see family theatre at its best!

Ps. After touring in Ghana, the play travels to Sweden see schedule here or order your own performance here.

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