Ghana, Places, Positive, Promoting

Asabaako – Ghana’s New Beach Festival

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I hope you have heard about Asabaako, Ghana’s new music festival taking place on Busua beach on the 5-6 of March 2011 ( yep, also called the independence weekend, and yep, I really said BEACH).

It all seems so lovely! Party on one of the most beautiful beaches of Ghana, friends coming together, creativity and arts, rooftop DJs, concerts with Ghana’s freshest acts and in between quick dips in the sea. Did I say I was going?

On the stylish and informative Asabaako website you can find more info, including accommodation and transport. They also have an Asabaako Facebook page and an Asabaako behind the scenes blog!

And what does Asabaako mean? Well, you just have to go to their website to find out!

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Ghana, Places, Political, Promoting

Film Premiere 15 Feb: Witches of Gambaga

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Tomorrow the 15th of February at 10 am Yaba Badoe‘s documentary film premiers at the British Council in downtown Accra. The film, the Witches of Gambaga, shows us the destiny of women arriving at the notorious camp for witches that has been established in the north of Ghana, sent by relatives who believe they are witches. The film sheds light on an important human rights issue that I discussed earlier on my blog – Do you believe in witchcraft? You can also see the trailer for the film in this post.

If you cannot make the Tuesday morning, Yaba is also taking her film to Ashesi university college on Thursday the 17th in the afternoon (and to University of Ghana on the 18th, University of Cape Coast on the 22nd and FESPACO towards the end of the month!). Email me at khadu at ashesi.edu.gh for more info.

Today is 14th February, Valentine’s day. However, other news that makes my valentine’s spirit sink is the man who butchered his wife in broad daylight and the pastor who decided to fondle a woman who came to him for “prayers and deliverance”. It seems that hidden underneath messages about eternal love, sent with fluffy bears, heart-shaped cards and red roses lies a reality that many times is violent against women.

I long for the time when Valentine’s Day comes and goes without women being abused and hurt by those near them. Until then, join me in learning more about the situation for the thousands of women declared witches by their communities right here in Ghana.

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Ghana, Kenya, Netherlands, Promoting

This Is Africa – A New Culture Website

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My friend Emilie pointed me to the This Is Africa site. It is a spanking fresh culture site that trumpets “Africa for a new generation!” and sports subheadlines like “city life”, “music” and “art&fashion”.

It looks great, slick and graphic in a very modern way. The page has a lot of cool links, for instance to the Ghana based (?) DJ and contributor Akwaaba Music / Benjamin Lebrave. It also features African artists’ music videos in a unique and cool format called The White Room – here Ghana’s Wanlov the Kubolor is one of the artists featured.

But then there is something that makes me suspicious: The website is designed for the specific purpose of connecting Europe a.k.a. “the West” to Africa:

This Is Africa is a media organisation that brings Africa and the West closer together via African contemporary urban culture.

As such, it is funded by the EU. It is managed from Amsterdam as the Director, Editor and Web-manager all live there.

So I cannot help but to ask myself: This Is Africa?

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People, PhD, Promoting

Free and Open Source Software for Academics

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This afternoon, I went to an inspiring lecture by Joshua Kwesi Aikins as a part of a two-day lecture series for graduate students at Institute of African Studies at University of Ghana. These were some of the free and open source softwares that were recommended. I have ordered them in what I feel is the order of importance to my research endeavor.

1. Zotero. Keep all you references handy. Add more by “harvesting” bibliographic info from websites (like Amazon, Google Scholar etc.). Insert references into any document and by the click of a button add bibliography or change referencing format. Just as all open source software, there is plenty of information online on how to get started, see for instance this Zotero guide. Amazing!

2. LimeSurvey. A free tool you can use to create online surveys (they can also easily be printed). The basic results are immediately visible, and if you want to do regressions etc. LimeSurvey exports to the most common statistics programs (also as free and open software). Fantastic!

3.RQDA. A software that enhances and facilitates qualitative research.  RQDA lets you work with text documents (for instance transcribed interviews) and code them. Then you can sort your coded text fragments and analyze or even make a quantitative analysis of them. Wonderful!

These were just a few of those mentioned, but on my top list to download (I am already using Zotero).

Update: The Academic Productivity blog has more software tips.

What free and open softwares would you add to the list?

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Blogging, Ghana, Ghanablogging.com, Positive, Promoting

GhanaBlogging Progress

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The group I co-founded with fellow Swedish-Ghanaian Blogger Maya’s Earth, GhanaBlogging, is in the habit of meeting monthly. Today at 3pm at Café dez Amis (former Afrikiko) it is time again.

Right now we have some interesting and positive developments and thinking about formalizing ourselves into something more than a group of friends, into some kind of organization. This is for two main reasons.

First, we are getting more and more invitations for collaborations from companies and other organizations (Google Ghana, Nokia, British High Commission etc.). This is wonderful, but it is becoming unclear who to contact and how to spread information properly. I am also proud to say we are a very critical group who feel strongly about being independent, so this is another issue when market forces knock on your door.

Second, we are growing like crazy! Before Christmas, more than 70 bloggers wanted to join us! At the last meeting we were more than 15 bloggers present! ( If you also want to join us, fill this GhanaBlogging form and we will get back to you!) This means we need to streamline the application process further – and just welcoming double the amount of members we have is a great task that requires organization.

Despite these changes the group is still very much a group of friends, meeting, discussing and laughing.

See you later!

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Ghana, Promoting, Sweden

Ghana International Book Fair with Tranan

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Today, I am going to the 9th Ghana International Book Fair, taking place at the Trade Fair in Accra.

There I’ll be meeting up with Sara and Styrbjörn from Swedish publisher Tranan which publishes African writers in Swedish. I will also meet their counterpart in Ghana, Akos from Sub-Saharan Publishers and hopefully also have some time to browse around and buy some books. Maybe even run in to my colleague Accra Books and Things!

This weekend, the Book Fair in collaboration with Tranan will hold some interesting workshops, one on Creative writing that I plan to attend.

I feel so lucky to know these interesting people and to be able to experience Ghana’s own book fair, because what is better than books?

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Ghana, People, Places, Promoting

Magnus in Ghana on Swedish TV

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tv4 Ghana Magnus Ericsson

Yesterday, I was seated in my friend Magnus Ericsson’s house to see how his TV-debut came out in the TV4 program Felix stör en ingenjör (translates into: Felix – a well-known Swedish TV-personality – disturbs an engineer).

Well, Magnus did wonderful!

The program provided (a tiny bit of ) information about the Sweden Ghana Medical Center Magnus is working on and featured some truly wonderful footage from Ghana. There were also some funny episodes including a wall gecko, a fetish priest known from Facebook (see pic below) and a tailor made fantasy coffin that made us Swedes present in Magnus’ living room shriek with laughter!

See the program on TV4 play.

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Personal, Promoting

My 80 m2 Dream House

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Borrowed from mylife80m.com

As my two year rent is coming up next year (yes, paying rent in bulk in Ghana is common), I have recently been daydreaming about building a simple home that I could call my own for that amount (and yes, likely a lil’bit more).

Recent daydreaming coupled with surfing led me to the following tantalizing  “High Design/Low Budget” site describing My Life in 80MQ2 (although the budget aspect is debated in this blog comment thread). With well thought through design allowing for spacious entertaining areas as well as two baths, a separate kitchen, an upstairs bedroom with a walk-in-closet, a laundry room and a terrace attached to the kitchen this house has it all! (ok, maybe not a guest room, but could you not sleep on that couch?).

Alas this week I am dreaming about having my friends over for dinner parties/ waking up / drinking coffee / storing my fabulous Ghanaian dresses / in this stylish, sustainable, compact living house.

A room of my own…

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Ghana, Places, Promoting

Bitter Sweet Oil – Film on Oil and Gas Exploration in Ghana

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I got this invite for today, Thursday, in my e-mail and thought it might interest some of you.

Special Invitation to the Official Launch of Bitter Sweet Oil a Docu-Drama film on Oil &Gas exploration and Extraction in Ghana

The World Bank Ghana Office in collaboration with the Centre for Development Partnerships (CDP) & Media in Partnership for Development invites you to the Official Launch of Bitter Sweet Oil a Docu-Drama film on Oil &Gas exploration and Extraction in Ghana.

Date: Thursday, 7th October, 2010

Time: 5:30 pm

Venue: Silver Bird Cinema, Accra Shopping Mall.

So although I am not sure I understand what a “docu-drama” is, I do find it interesting to hear what the World Bank, which recently lended Ghana USD 300 million, and Centre for Development Partnerships, who I haven’t heard of before, have come up with. (Maybe it is the outcome of this call for proposals from last year? or related to the Oil and Gas dialog also of last year?)

Who’s views will they present? For who is the oil bitter and for who is it sweet?

I am also interested in seeing some visuals of this so-much-talked-about oil!

See you there?

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Ghana, Political, Promoting

The Witches of Gambaga – Trailer

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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.

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Ghana, Personal, Promoting

New Edition of Ghana Guide Out – Bradt 2010

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The Ghana guide 5th editionBradt Guide for Ghana has come out in a new edition, August 2010. This is the most comprehensible guide to Ghana in English and – they should really pay me to say this – worth every pesewa if you are planning to trek around this green country!

Here is the backside blurb, letting us all know this fifth version was crafted in 2010:

Ghana is an ideal destination for first-time visitors to Africa; rich in little-visited national parks, forest reserves, cultural sites and scenic waterfalls, blessed with bleached white beaches and lush rain forests of the Atlantic coastline. This stand-alone guide, the only one available, caters for both the budget backpacker and the luxurious resort wallower. Including authoritative history and wildlife sections, updated accommodation and restaurant recommendations and a wealth of background and practical information, Bradt’s Ghana covers the country with unrivalled detail and knowledge. Ghana defeated Sudan 2-0 in Accra to become the first African team to reach the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. What better time to catch this friendly, English-speaking and hassle-free country as it revels on a soccer high?

Do check out

For opinions on the new guide you can read this Lonely Planet forum thread on if it is worth to buy the newest version (it is) and the Scotts/Four Villages ecstatic post on what their updated review meant for them.

To me, this guide book (I carry around a well used 4th Edition) has been invaluable and most Ghana travelers seem to agree.

What is your opinion on the Bradt Ghana guide?

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