Promoting

>Nubuke and New Morning

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>
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.

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>The Economist’s Analysis of Obama’s Visit

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> 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.

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Promoting

>Do Something Good on Mandela Day

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>
Music-(that-makes-me-happy)-video from the organization working against HIV and Aids which took its name from Mandela’s prison number.

This Saturday, Nelson Mandela turns 91 – you might remember his 90th birthday concert from last year – and urges people to do something good for their communities on this day. Such a nice Mandelaish idea!

Just as Good News South Africa, a website with all the good news from our most southern African country. For a smile every week, subscribe to their newsletter.

So, im going to do something nice too: I CHALLENGE all my blogging friends to write something POSITIVE on Saturday!

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>Update: I Saw Obama!

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> To update you on my three places to spot Obama, this is what happened:

1. Kotoka Airport

Airforce One came in about three hours after leaving Rome and the G8 meeting, we never knew Europe was so close! I was hanging out with some friends in a bar and when we heard he had landed with Michelle, their daughters and Michelle’s mother (I believe the fact that the whole Obama Family visited Ghana might change the image of Africa in some small way, i.e. Africa is suitable for family vacation) and we headed to the airport area…which was completely closed down. Rumors said they were staying in newest hotel in town Holiday Inn, which was in complete darkness exept for the penthouse…hm.

2. La Polyclinic

BINGO! At about 11.20 am the entourage with numerous shining cars in its motorcade swooshed by. My friend and I had been standing in front of the clinic since about 9. Although it was hot, crowded and the opportunity to view the American president very limited it was so worth it when he finally came by and we were in the smiling, waving and roaring crowd.

3. Viewing the speech with AAAG

Due to traffic out of the city we never made it. In stead we listened to the speech with the taxidriver on his radio on a channel that filled every breathing pause of president Obama with a deep voice saying “Peace FM”. Kind of killed the rhetorics.

I am so pleased! Finished my Obama weekend by dancing to MUSIGA’s “After Party”. I hope your Obama-weekend was fine too!

Pic: Obama family at the Cape Coast Castle, borrowed from lexpress.fr

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Blogging, Political

>Obama’s Visit – A View out of Ghana

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>

Why has Obama chosen to come to Ghana as his first stop in Africa? Does it mean he chose not to come to the regional big brother Nigeria and his paternal home country of Kenya? Will he give a policy speech on Africa whilst in Ghana? How are Ghanaians preparing? Are they happy to host the first black American president?

These are questions that have already been debated thoroughly (see Ghanablogging.com’s Abena being quoted here for example), hence I’d like to write on an issue much less discussed.

How can we living in Ghana at this time take part of the visit?

It has been made clear that president Obama will not address the general public directly, nor will there will be any parade in which we can see the Obamas, wave or take photos. Weather has been blamed for this decision, and yes, it has been raining extensively lately, but maybe it is more a security issue?

So here I give you the 3 places one will get the Obama fever up close:

1. Airforce One will land at Kotoka Airport at 8 pm tonight, at least one can see his plane there.

2. La Polyclinic is his second stop tomorrow morning after meeting the recent presidents of Ghana for breakfast (Rawlings, Kuffuor and Mills). I’m guessing they will convene at the Osu Castle and then drive (??) to La Polyclinic just 5 minutes away on the beach road.

3. The African-American Association in Ghana (AAAG) will watch Obama’s speech together at the Mensvic Grande Hotel in East Legon Saturday morning (starting 10 am). I think that will be a good place to get the Obama vibe for us who sadly were not invited to the International Conference Centre in Accra where he will give his address.

And on Saturday evening 7 pm at the Dubois Centre in Labone, Accra there will be a concert (Featuring among others wonderful singer Bibie Brew) saluting the popular visitor who at that point will have left beautiful, and rainy, Ghana.

Ill update you on how it all went on Sunday.

This is is a shared blogpost for ghanablogging.com.

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>Help, House Bats Are My Neighbors!

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> Their high-pitched screams were a sound I could not place the first time I heard it. But at dawn as I was standing in front of our new house I must have been blind to not see them…the hundreds of bats that came out from under our roof…
As for me I thought it was highly exciting and exotic to share shelter with some tropical insect eater, but I soon was made aware of how much they disturb with their screams and …shit (which can also be a possible source of disease).

Our new neighbors get hungry around six in the evening, just like us, however that is also the time they ”go to the market”. This turned out to be the key to their moving out. Yes, moving.

The exterminator we called made us understand that bats are an endangered species and cannot be fumigated, poisoned, trapped or in any other way killed, however, one can lawfully seal the roof one wishes they do not enter. Hence, a carpenter came to seal the whole roof with metal netting after dark and after they had flown out yesterday.

Later in the evening as they returned, they started circling the house looking for a way in. At one point there was like a cloud of bats trying to get in. But they didn’t get into the house again and last night just one or two of them returned to try again.

However they managed to enter my dreams. I was tossing and turning all night, agonizing over what I’d done. In my dreams however, the bats and I were living in friendly coexistence.

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>Moving Houses

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> Today, the time has come to move from buzzling community 8 to the more calm – from the looks of it at least – community 11 here in Tema.

I’m just now going for the key from our landlady and then arranging with my gardener to come move my garden (!).

Today we plan to do the most part of the move – big stuff, books, clothes, TV etc. but then come back here and sleep (and more importantly use the Internet one last time).

Pic: A new door opens…beautiful door of new house.

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Blogging, Personal

>Positive Review

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>I have by my fellow blogger Nana Yaw in his poetic blog Anti-Rhytm been mentioned as a “Blogger Beloved”. The kind words he has for my blog follows.

Kajsa is from Sweden, but as Ghanaian as can be. Her sincere life-views will warm the cockles of your heart.

Thank you!

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>On Private Universities in Ghana and Africa

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> Did you know that private higher education in on the rise in Ghana and Africa?

Read about why and what consequences it is having on Ghana in my feature article in University World News – a newsletter about global and local academic trends.

You can subscribe to the African version of the informative newsletter here.

Picture of a sculpture of a graduate from a public Ghanaian university, University of Ghana just outside of Accra. Photo: Kerstin Alm

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Ghana, Promoting

>Rain Rain Go Away! (Rain in Ghana)

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>This Ghanaian musicvideo “RAiN RAiN” by rapper Scizo and music video director Nii Mantse Aryeequaye/ReDD kaT (more on the video here) is very appropriate for this season. We have rain almost every evening and floods of it. Tropical thunder is also part of the deal.

In the video a popular childrens’ rhyme is used in different ways to give a cool familarity to the song. I liked especially the part in the beginning and the end where school children were repeating it, just like one can see them do anywhere in Ghana.

“Rain, rain go away, little children want to play”

Other references to Ghanaian everyday life is Kelewele (fried ripe plantain with chili and ginger), nimtree ( a very medicinal tree) and “hustler life” – does it need an explanation?

Scizo is a new artist but soon coming out with a second video which just as this one will be recorded in Accra’s Jamestown reports ghanamusic.com. According to the comments on YouTube, “this video is the illest in GH? now”.

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>My Third Midsummer in Ghana

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> Today is Midsommarafton, one of Sweden’s biggest holidays and just as all the other Midsummers in my life – it is celebrated! Here in Ghana the special feel of that “finally it is summer” is difficult to bring out since the tropical weather is constant, but the food and drinks and a few songs can be arranged. Also, I have been celebrating midsummer on the blog since I moved here:

2007 I spent midsummer with some Swedish friends in Accra.

2008 I hosted a big to-do in my garden with the Swedish diaspora that was here then (and later missed home anyways).

This year, it’ll be a bit more low key.

A beer on the beach with a friend and a flower in my hair.

In the pic: A hibiscus flower in my garden.

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