LETTERS
Letter 1
Dear Kubara Zamani,
I trust that this email finds you well.
Chimurenga (www.chimurenga.co.za) is a journal of writing, art, culture and politics published out of Cape Town, which, since its first issue (2002), has received excellent reviews for its originality, the quality of its content and its willingness to tackle subjects other publications might consider too difficult or controversial to address. Moreover, several contributors have won international awards for their work published in Chimurenga: Binyavanga Wainaina and Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, respectively 2002 and 2003 Caine Prize Winners; Ishtiyaq Shukri won the 2004 European Union Literary award; Seffi Atta was short-listed for the 2006 Caine Prize; and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie became the 2007 Orange Prize Winner.
I noticed on the Ligali web page (http://www.ligali.org/article.php?id=1925) that you / Afrikan Quest did a commendable review of (the maestro) Ayi Kwei Armah’s ‘Osiris Rising’ and ‘KMT: In The House Of Life’.
Could you suggest stores that Chimurenga should be at?
If you have any other queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Best,
Liepollo Rantekoa, Distribution & Promotions, CHIMURENGA (who no know go know), TEL: +27(21)422 4168. FAX: +27(21)424 1673. SKYPE: liepollo. Web: www.chimurenga.co.za / www.chimurengalibrary.co.za / www.myspace.com/whonoknowgoknow
Letter 2
To: afrikanquest@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: NUBIART DIARY (4 Oct 09) - Guinea Massacre
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2009 05:26:59 -0400
Give me hope out of Afrika, my brother - just one leader with a vision...
- Greetings,
name the leader and I’ll do some research and see what they are up to and if it makes sense I’ll be happy to say so. There’s your challenge!!
Kubara
So there is the challenge we are setting all our readers. Tell us inside 500 words about an Afrikan President, Prime Minister or equivalent head of state who you think represents for the people. You can pick any leader from Afrika, the Caribbean, The Americas, Asia and Oceania / Pacific (Melanesia / Micronesia / Polynesia, etc). You can use either prose, poetry or bullet points / note form. Let it reach us at Nubiart Diary by Nov 30, 2009 and we will publish them during December. The only rules are:
- no former leaders.
- no opposition leaders, activists or organisations.
- the leader must be Afrikan (we will leave the definition as wide as possible).
- the country’s population must be at least 40% Afrikan.
- Western Sahara, Somaliland, South Sudan, etc, that have full government structures are eligible.
- Barack Obama is ineligible.
This is a serious attempt to improve our future coverage of Afrikan people and issues. All the contributors whose articles we use will receive either a copy of a show from the Afrikan Quest archive or a music CD. Please let us know which of the following geographical areas are of special interest to you:
1) Central Afrika; 2) East Afrika & Indian Ocean; 3) Horn of Afrika; 4) North Afrika; 5) Southern Afrika; 6) West Afrika; 7) Caribbean, Central & South America; 8) North America; 9) Asia & Pacific; or 10) Europe.
To help concentrate minds we reprint below an interview with Mo Ibrahim from AllAfrica.
INTERVIEW: MO IBRAHIM ON AFRICAN LEADERSHIP
Published: 5 October 2009
Ahead of Monday’s announcement of the 2009 Ibrahim Index of Governance, the survey which ranks the quality of Africa’s governments, Mo Ibrahim, the Sudanese-born cellphone pioneer who founded the index, sat down with AllAfrica’s editors. Excerpts:
Why did you decide to focus your philanthropy on the governance index and the leadership prize?
There’s no reason for us to be poor or hungry or backward, because Africa is a very rich continent. It is one of the largest continents on the earth. There are only 900 million Africans – two-thirds of India. It’s not like we are overpopulated. And we have all these great natural resources.
The main problem impeding our development is governance – or rather the lack of it. All good things start from good governance; all bad things start from bad governance – and that’s an area that’s rather sensitive for anybody to address. Africans themselves need to sort it out. It isn’t appropriate for others, given commercial and other interests, to be involved. We, as an African foundation, decided to take up this issue.
What is good governance? Is it a lack of corruption? Transparency? Is it democracy, participation, human rights? Is it economic opportunity? Is it women’s and social rights? Is it health? Is it a good education system? Is it jobs for the kids? Actually, it is all of this.
So we embarked on this ambitious project to measure the quality of governance in every African country. This is the third year we are producing the index. It is a living project. It is evolving and improving as we understand more of the issues.
The interesting thing now is the Africanization of the process of producing the index. More and more African institutions are helping to produce this index. This year we have included North Africa, so it is covering all 53 states of the African Union. We also worked more on defining the parameters or the components of the index. Instead of 58 parameters, we are measuring 82 or 83 parameters.
What are the major obstacles you face in compiling the index?
The process threw up a number of interesting issues. For example, take poverty. We could not find any reliable measurements of poverty in Africa – a very important component. We found data to be patchy, very old and sometimes non-existent. We tried to find how many Africans are living on less than one dollar or less than two dollars [a day]. We had to drop that important indicator, unfortunately.
The problem is that the statistical offices in African countries have been neglected. They sort of vanished or died, and nobody is paying attention to that, neither the governments, the internationals, multilaterals or the donors. That raises a very important question. How are we going to measure the Millennium Development Goals? How do we measure effectiveness of aid? We throw billions of dollars at the aid industry and yet we are unable to [ascertain] the outcome. This is a major problem that we ask all the stakeholders to pay attention to and try to help us solve.
By compiling this data and publishing the report, are you running the risk that you reinforce negative images of Africa?
No, not at all. The index doesn’t say Africa is bad. The index shows countries that are doing well; it shows countries which are doing badly. More importantly it shows the movement of countries, how they’re moving over time.
Our index last year showed, for example, that the situation of human rights improved in Africa. This year I think that about 26 or 27 countries have improved in general, so it is not at all meant to denigrate. It’s an honest picture of what’s going on. It is a mirror. Some of us are good looking; we look beautiful in the mirror. Some of us are ugly and are going to look ugly because the mirror will not lie. Don’t blame the mirror!
What does the Index say about the impact of conflict on African countries?
It points out the obvious: the countries which scored very badly all have internal conflicts, civil wars. When we address armed conflicts, we always think of how many people died. But conflict also destroys all other services. It destroys education. How can you have schools running when you have armed conflict? It impedes the delivery of health services. There’s no economic activity, so how can you create jobs? It makes it absolutely clear that the first thing we need to address is to stop all these conflicts. They are self-inflicted wounds. We need to actively pursue peace and security on the continent. It is very important to allow the natural development of countries and the delivery of services for our population.
What are the best mechanisms for building peace?
The African Union is getting more active. African elders are playing an increasingly important role – Kofi Annan in Kenya, Graça Machel, who also worked in Kenya and Sudan, [Joaquim] Chissano in Uganda. I also salute the efforts by Thabo Mbeki in Sudan. African civil society has a big role to play. It’s really a collective process, but the heart of it is the need for real leadership.
We love President Chissano in the foundation. Essentially what he did was stop the civil war in his country [Mozambique]. Here is a leader who extended his hand to his enemy and said, “Look, I don’t like it. But you are citizens of the country. Instead of fighting each other in the bush and all of these atrocities, come and let’s fight peacefully in elections and good luck to everybody.” He was able to get those people to Maputo, and they were not harmed or badly treated. He achieved peace in his country. How many lives did he save?
If [Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir] did this, how many lives would he save? Look at [former South African President Nelson] Mandela. Who thought we were going to see a peaceful transition of power in South Africa? Everybody was expecting a bloodbath in South Africa, but it takes leadership of a man like Mandela to come and help that peaceful transition. The role of African presidents and leaders is immense. We hope African leaders will rise up and ensure an end to conflicts in their countries.
Is that why you decided to create the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership?
There are a number of reasons why we have this prize. Number one is we genuinely need to celebrate success in African leadership. An effective leadership can save lives, can help development, take people out of poverty, and change the lives of people. When it’s done properly, it is a massive achievement and needs to be celebrated.
The second reason is the image of Africa outside of Africa. We have good people but nobody speaks about those people.
Every time I speak in conferences in Europe, I ask the audience: if you know Idi Amin, Mobutu, General Abacha, raise your hands. Everybody raises their hands. If you know Festus Mogae raise your hands. Two or three people raise their hands, yet Festus Mogae is a wonderful leader. Botswana had three great leaders in succession. They hand over and go back to civil society. Big deal. Everybody leaves office with clean hands. [Botswana] is moving up to a middle-income country. This is a great achievement. Why has the story of Botswana not been told? (Mogae received the prize last year and Chissano in 2007.)
When Chissano won his prize, we could not contact him. We went to the press conference and our brother Kofi [Annan] stood and read the citation and then the press started to ask questions. Lo and behold, the third question was what was the reaction of Chissano when you told him? And [Annan] said, “I do not know because I couldn’t find him to tell him.”
That day in the afternoon somebody in his office … said, “He’s in the bush. He’s trying to find [rebel leader Joseph] Kony to procure peace between the Ugandan government and [the Lord’s Resistance Army]. He’s somewhere on the border between Sudan and Uganda. There’s no communication. Please if you reach him, congratulate him - it’s his 68th birthday.”
He’s not a young man, but he’s not sitting in his garden around the swimming pool with his friends, having a party, celebrating his birthday. He’s in the bush incommunicado, sleeping rough, eating rough, trying to achieve peace in countries that are 3,000 miles away from his own. This is African leadership; these are responsible people who do the right thing, away from the lights. There are no TV cameras; he’s just doing it quietly.
There are wonderful people in Africa. People knew Mandela because of the situation in South Africa, but we have many Mandelas. It is our duty to honor those people and tell the world about those success stories. When taxpayers here [in the United States] – and I’m grateful to them as an African – reach into their pockets to give money to fight disease or famine, they need to know that Africans themselves are also doing the right thing. That we are not just a bunch of beggars doing nothing, not just waiting for hand outs. All our friends in the west need to know we have leaders like Chissano.
During your prize ceremony in November, you have selected three topics for discussion – food security, climate change and economic integration in Africa. Why these issues?
Seventy percent of African people are involved in agriculture, yet we cannot feed ourselves. The agriculture sector is ineffective, unproductive. We cannot deny the responsibility of African governments themselves.
About seven or eight years ago, African presidents decided that 10 percent of their national budgets would be allocated to the agriculture sector. Two months ago, in Addis Ababa, I checked with the African Union and was shocked to find that only three countries complied with their own decision. Nobody imposed this decision on the African governments. It was their own decision and still they do not honor it. Is that not the responsibility of governments? Does that not raise the issue of governance?
If Africa cannot make food, are we going to make airplanes, are we going to make computers? How are we going to earn our living? It’s a scandal. Unless we take responsibility, take ownership ourselves, nothing will happen, and we’ll keep coming back to: “Please come and help us; we have a famine here.” That is not acceptable.
On the issue of climate change, we [in Africa] are going to suffer more from climate change and from desertification – we’ve been suffering already from this – and it’s obvious we did not put this carbon [in the air]. How can we adapt and mitigate, how can we develop in a green fashion when our economies have been hit due to the excesses of other developed nations? We want justice, and we need to discuss this.
And regional integration?
In this global economy, in this connected world, how can 53 very small African economies develop and go forward? The numbers look terrible. Four percent of African trade is inter-African trade. Four percent of our trade is among ourselves. How can we survive like this? We have a lot of landlocked countries, and I always wonder how these countries manage. Where does their trade go? Does it jump over the neighboring countries or what?
What we see is a terrible legacy of colonialism. When client countries were seen as extended farms for the mother country, they had only one road leading to the port, taking cotton or maize to the mother country and bringing back some goods, and that’s it. Now that is a 50-year-old model. We no longer have mother countries; we no longer have client countries, yet we have not developed a road network between ourselves. We kept our barriers. We’ve had regional economic institutions in Africa for many years, but we don’t really see any progress on the ground.
In Germany or France or Britain, each of them has bigger economy than all of Africa put together. Yet, they formed the European Union to have economic integration and break down barriers. You now drive your goods from Berlin to Scotland non-stop and at no extra cost. No people stopping you every ten miles, asking you to fill forms, to pay a small bribe that delays you. Who do we think we are – 53 little economies trading with God knows whom? The fact is a large number of African countries are not viable. If they were companies, they would have been declared bankrupt. You switch off the light, you say: bye-bye, it doesn’t work.
Why do we have this problem with regional projects? We have wonderful rivers to generate clean power, which we can use to light up all of Africa. Yet everybody wants to build their own little stations. Everybody wants to do their own little thing. It doesn’t work. The cost per unit becomes too high. Just ask any businessman. You need scale for your business to run, reduce your costs, reduce your prices and make sure you’re viable. So we really must address the whole issue here with sanity.
But is there the political will in Africa to do this?
I’m not saying that African countries need to drop their colorful flags or their national anthems. Please, keep it, but integrate your economies! Open your borders, let goods and people move around freely, then we can really move forward.
The sooner we address this, the better. Unless we address this problem, I don’t think there is a future.
http://www.moibrahimfoundation.org/en/section/the-ibrahim-index
FORTHCOMING NUBIART PROFILES
NUBIART: Focus on arts, business, education, health, political developments and the media.
OCT PROMOS
~ ‘Café Africa: Savannah, Sunsets, Safaris’ – Various Artists [Union Square Music Ltd – Out Now] Three-CD box set which divides into acoustic, classic and groove and mood. It reads like a who’s who of the last fifty years of Afrikan music (excluding the five states of north Afrika). You could argue about who was left out but when you look at who is included – Mansour Seck, Kandia Kouyate, Stella Chiweshe & Earthquake, Kasse Mady, Aster Aweke, The Skylarks ft Miriam Makeba, John Chibadura & Tembo Brothers, Oliver Mtukudzi, Franco, Eric Agyeman, Balla et Ses Balladins, Tabu Ley Rochereau, Mbilia Bel, 4 Etoiles, Manu Dibango, Kofi Olomide, Baaba Maal, Mahmoud Ahmed, Sam Mangwana, Mulatu Astatqe, Wallias Band, Teshome Meteku, Sali Sidibe, King Mensah, Thione Seck, Tshala Muana, Segun Adewale, Hukwe Zawose, and more – you should just take it as your primer to the diversity and talent coming from the continent over the last five decades.
~ ‘Africa’ – Various Artists [Documents – Out Now] Whoever came up with the idea of putting out a 10-CD boxed set for a tenner is either a genius or heavily subsidising the project (or has cut the artists royalties?). What you get here is ten full albums five from Kenyan artists, two each from Ghana and DR Congo (called here Zaire) and the last from Uganda. The styles vary from acoustic duos (Gonda Traditional Entertainers), Hi-Life (Nii Mantse King Solomon and Sir Roberto), rumba (Bilenge Musica du Zaire) to modern soul (Shadz ‘O’ Blak and Kawesa). Some people may already have the albums from Them Mushrooms, Original Zengala Band and Safari Sounds Band’s ‘Mambo Jambo’ but like ‘Café Africa’ you can boost your collection and experience the developments of Afrikan music without it hurting your pocket.
~ ‘Ghetto Living’ – Linval Thompson [Thompson Sounds – Out Now] If we hadn’t jumped the gun last month and named Gregory Isaac’s ‘Brand New Me’ as Nubiart’s Album of the Year three months before the year had even ended then this would be a serious contender. Linval Thompson doesn’t like too much about digital music which means this album is based on strictly rockers and rub-a-dub styles from the late 70s and early 80s when he and his friend Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes ruled the dancehalls. ‘Ghetto Living’ includes stand alone dubs to Linval’s vocal tracks and also showcase discomixes a la Channel 1 in 1981. A warning for those of a weak dispensation (or modern short attention span hype) these are real dubs not just the straight rhythm or some trebly hip-hop remix. Warrior King does his career no harm turning up on ‘Bad Boy’. The title track is on a rhythm similar to Mad Professor / Jah Shaka’s production of Ranking Ann’s ‘Immigration Plan’. The album ends with an updated version ‘Halla Dem A Bawl’ on Black Uhuru’s Grammy-winning 1983 ‘Solidarity’ rhythm. As they say in all the world’s ‘best’ stock exchanges, ‘a conviction buy, we are definitely overweight’.
NUBIART LIBRARY – OCT MEDIA:
We will try to recommend books we have read and DVD / videos we have seen and that are available in shops or libraries. However, given the nature and current state of Afrikan publishing and production there may be books, games and films on this list that are worth the extra effort to track down.
~ ‘Fopomoyo Pts 1 & 2’ – Dir: Tunde Kelani [Goldenlink Productions & Communications Ltd] Set in a village where the succession of the King is challenged by one of the losing aspirants who runs away with the staff of authority. Tunde Kelani is the father of Nigerian cinema films which he delivers with more care and ability than the usual Nollywood fare. Added bonus is the acting of the Juju master King Sunny Ade.
~ ‘Eewo Orisa Pt 1’ – Dir: Lasun Ray [Lasun Ray Films & Mustoy Film Productions] Eewo Orisa is a historical story of a king asking his father to prostrate for him not knowing that he is his father, which is against the law of the land. This resulted in tragic bloodshed in the village. Stars Olu Jacobs and Joke Silver.
~ ‘Confessions of an Economic Hit Man’ – John Perkins [Ebury Press ISBN: 9780091909109] We finally got round to actually reading this book although we’ve been reading the reviews and discussing it with people since its publication back in 2005. It basically gives you the blueprint of how governments were undermined, progressive, committed politicians and activists were assassinated and economies were left at the mercy of those who cared more about their bonus and share options than doing anything beneficial. While the main countries that Perkins admits to undermining are not Afrikan (he claims to have specialised in Muslim and Hispanic countries) he is clear the process of reducing a country to servitude is a globalised system. Chapter 25 is of direct interest. Whenever a so-called Chief Economist gives their opinion on finance or investments always remember they are an Economic Hit Man.
NUBIART DIARY:
It’s the run-up to UK Afrikan Heritage Month again so we can only give a small insight into the range and scope of activities. Most local authorities and major venues will have printed brochures. We will only include events in Nubiart Diary that we consider as being in the true spirit of Afrikan development.
~ SANDBLAST present ‘The Story of a Freedom Runner’ (film and talk) screening the film ‘Saharamarathon’ (2004) which poignantly introduces the Saharawi struggle for a free Western Sahara through the annual long distance charity races that take place in the refugee camps in the Algerian Sahara. Followed by Q&A with Salah and Sandblast. On Mon Oct 19 at 7pm at InSpiral Lounge, 250 Camden High St, London, NW1. Adm: free (donations welcome, suggested £3). E-mail: sandblast-arts.org@web231.extendcp.co.uk
~ BTWSC AFRIKAN HISTORY MONTH: IN SEARCH OF ACHIEVERS CLOSER TO HOME. Free audio-visual event featuring achievers of Afrikan descent, based on a) the NARM Naming And Role Models) Project, which highlights Afrikan British male role models and b) What They Said I Should Be: The Story Of Afrikan British Female Movers & Shakers, some conscious poetry and rap; plus fundraiser for Harrow Mayor Cllr Eric Silver’s chosen charity Easyriders Wheelchairs. On Mon 19 Oct at 6.30-8.30pm at Council Chamber, Harrow Civic Centre, Station Road, HA1 2UL. For more info tel: 020 8450 5987. E-mail: info@btwsc.com
~ MERTON COUNCIL AFRIKAN HERITAGE MONTH
- Mon 19 Oct: Storytelling and Poetry Festival at 1-5pm. Adm: £5.
- Tues 20 Oct: Film screening of ‘One Love’ at 7-10pm at Taylor Road Day Centre, Taylor Road, Mitcham Surrey CR4 3JR or Wimbledon Odeon, The Piazza, The Broadway, Wimbledon, London, SW19 1QB. Adm: Free
~ BLACK HISTORY STUDIES LTD events across London in Oct 2009: Tel: 020 8881 0660 / 07951 234 233. E- mail: info@blackhistorystudies.com
- Mon 19 Oct – ‘The Black Presence in Britain before 1948’ at the Enfield Homes, Edmonton.
- Tues 20 Oct – ‘The Haitian Revolution’ at the PCS Learning Centre, Victoria.
- Tues 20 Oct – ‘Who were the Ancient Egyptians?’ at Ealing Central Library, Ealing.
- Wed 21 Oct - ‘Slavery is not our history!’ at the PCS Learning Centre, Victoria.
- Thurs 22 Oct – ‘Magnificent Traditions of Ancient African arts and Crafts’ at the Marcus Garvey Library, Tottenham.
- Fri 23 Oct – ‘The Legacy of Cheikh Anta Diop and the Dismal State of Current Afrocentric Scholarship at the African Caribbean Library, Clapham.
- Mon 26 Oct – ‘The Roots of Black Music’ at the Croydon Clocktower, Croydon.
- Tues 27 Oct - Film Screening: ‘John Henrik Clarke: A Great and Mighty Walk’ at the PCS Learning Centre, Victoria.
- Wed 28 Oct – ‘New National Curriculum and the Possibilities for Real Black History in Secondary Schools’ at the PCS Learning Centre, Victoria.
- Thurs 29 Oct – ‘The Roots of Black Music’ at the Marcus Garvey Library, Tottenham.
- Fri 30 Oct - ‘Who in the Black Community is to Blame for Youth Crime?’ at City Hall, Westminster.
~ THE AFRICA ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP, ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP ON DEBT, AID AND TRADE AND THE ROYAL AFRICAN SOCIETY invite you to the launch of the IMF ‘Regional Economic Outlook for Africa: The Great Recession and Sub-Saharan Africa’. Speakers:
Saul Lizondo, Deputy Director, Africa Department; Abebe Aemro Selassie, Division Chief, Africa Department; and Gareth Austin, Reader in Economic History, LSE. Chair: Sally Keeble MP, Secretary, Africa All Party Parliamentary Group. On 20 Oct at 12:30 - 2pm at the IPU Room, off Westminster Hall, Houses of Parliament, London, SW1. RSVP essential. Tel: 020 7219 2485. E-mail:
odonoghuea@parliament.uk /
~ LEWISHAM COUNCIL BLACK STAFF FORUM: ‘International Conflict - Local Cohesion’. Speakers include: award-winning producer Ishmahil Blagrove, editor of riceNpeas.com; Fiyaz Moghul, OBE, founder of ‘Muslims Against Anti-Semitism’; Dr Lez Henry, social commentator; Martin Newman, who has just returned from Israel; Sarah Sturge who will be showing a slide show of her recent visit to the West Bank; and Leah Levane, a Jewess who will be talking about the relevance of religion / culture and sharing Jewish perspectives. On 21 Oct at 6.30-9pm at Civic Suite, London Borough Lewisham, Catford, London, SE6. For further info tel: Asma on 07901 947 269.
~ VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS JAMAICA present ‘Jamaican Art in London’ until 22 Oct at 9am-6.30pm at the Jamaican High Commission, 1-2 Prince Consort Rd, London, SW7.
~ PAN AFRIKAN SOCIETY COMMUNITY FORUM presents ‘Afrikan Freedom means Defeating Neo-colonialism: Nkrumah @ 100 (1909-2009)’ educational workshops will be held every Fri until 30 Oct at 7–9.30pm at 44-46 Offley Road, The Oval, London, SW9 0LS. Adm: Free. For more info tel: 07940 005 907. E-mail: Panascf@yahoo.co.uk Web: www.pascf.org.uk
- 23 Oct – ‘The Political Growth of Nkrumah After the Theft of His Legitimate Control of State Power in Ghana’. Speaker: Brother Omowale
- 30 Oct – ‘Consciencism: Nkrumah’s Grounded Approach to Afrikan Spirituality’. Speaker: Kwami Agbodza
- 6 Nov – ‘Applying Nkrumah’s Ideas in the Modern World’. Speaker: Sister Affiong
~ AN INTRODUCTION TO RACE AND REPRESENTATION IN THE MEDIA AND ON TELL-LIE-VISION! Dr. Lez Henry will once again be delivering his 9-week empowerment course in Social Studies until 30 Nov on Mon at 7-9.30pm at Unit 9, Eurolink Business Centre, 49 Effra Road, Brixton, London, SW2 1BZ. The course will cost £9 per class employed / £6 concs. The entry code is 009 for Nu-Beyond sessions. For info contact Tel: 020 8480 8068. E-mail: info@nubeyond.com
~ HALALA WOMEN OF FANCY STITCH HALALA: CONTEMPORARY INDIGENOUS TAPESTRIES
African embroidered art works from Fancy Stitch, a non profit job creation organisation in Southern Africa. The brain child of Maryna Heese an artist living in Ingwavuma, the job creation organisation gives employment to over 400 women in the area; this will be the third international showcasing of their work. The works of art tell the women’s stories through the imagery and kaleidoscope of colours and stitches.
Until 12 Dec at Tues–Sat at 10.30am–5pm at Brunei Gallery, SOAS, Thornhaugh Street, London, WC1H 0XG. Adm: Free. More details of the group and their work can be found at www.fancy.org.za
~ THE JOURNEY:
- Ayesha Ogunlabi’s art is an inspired mix of African culture and personal experiences. Spanning all artistic disciplines – painting, printmaking and photography. Private view and artist talk: Tues 20 Oct: 6.30-8.30pm. Until Fri 30 Oct. Mon-Fri at 9am-7pm, Sat at 9am-5pm at Alexandra Park Library, Alexandra Park Road, London, N22 7UJ. Tel: 020 8489 1419
- Cultural Expressions: An exhibition featuring the work of internationally acclaimed artists Chinwe Chukwuogo-Roy (MBE), Alvin Kofi and Jerry Blankson. Cultural Expressions highlights the transient nature of people from the African continent, their traditional values and…their cultural expressions. Until Fri 30 Oct at Mon-Fri at 1-7pm / Sat & Sun at 12-4pm at The Original Gallery, Hornsey Library, London, N8 9JA. Tel: 020 8489 1419. Info: www.haringey.gov.uk/theoriginalgallery
~ AFRICA IN MOTION 2009: Now in its fourth edition and since 2009 is the United Nation’s International Year of Reconciliation, AiM is partly focusing on filmic representations of conflict and reconciliation this year. The films dealing with these often difficult and harrowing topics and images, screened over the first weekend of the festival, will all be followed by discussions with experts in the fields of conflict, trauma, commemoration and reconciliation. AiM is co-hosting a symposium on art and trauma with the Centre for African Studies at the University of Edinburgh on Sat 24 Oct: The exhibition this year links with the theme too; entitled A Truth in Black and White, the photography and painting exhibition in Filmhouse Cafe Bar is a collaborative project between two South African artists. On Thu 22 Oct - Sun 1 Nov. For more info check: on www.africa-in-motion.org.uk.
~ AFRICAN CENTRED EDUCATION IN ASSOCIATION WITH VISIONS AND ASPIRATIONS present a 12 - week Introduction to African World Studies Course. Subjects covered: History, Psychology, Religion and a British Museum Tour. On Thurs 22 Oct and every Thurs until 14 Jan 2010. At 7-9pm at Mama Afrika Kulcha Shap, 282 High Road Leyton, London, E10 5PW. Tel: 020 8539 2154 or 07908 814 152.
Fees: £120 (concs / discounts available).
~ CENTERPRISE present ‘Wordpower: International Black Literature Festival and Book Fair’. Authors attending include: Dr Frances Cress Welsing, Dr Haki R Madhubuti, Nia Reynolds, Paul Ifayomi Grant, Wayne B Chandler, Dr Marimba Ani, Anthony T Browder, Sis Nzingha Assata, Jacob Ross, Dr Robinson Millwood, Onyeka, Paul Simons, Nathaniel Agbahowe, Debii McKoy, Charles Emeka, Anton Marks, Dan Obachike, Dr William ‘Lez’ Henry and more. On 24-25 Oct at Ocean, Mare St, Hackney, London, E8. Adm: Free. For more info tel: 020 7254 9632 or e-mail: eamevor@centreprisetrust.org.uk
~ ‘STRUGGLES FOR BLACK COMMUNITY’: Colin Prescod, Chair of the Institute of Race Relations presents two seminal documentaries – ‘A Town Under Siege’ and ‘From You Were Black, You Were Out’ - that focus on contemporary Afrikan history. On Sat 24 Oct at 4pm at Rich Mix, 35 - 47 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1. Adm: £8 / £6 concs. More Info: http://www.richmix.org.uk/film_prescod.htm
~ SMALL ISLAND EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW: The BBC has transformed Andrea Levy’s award winning book into a two part series. Each part is 90 minutes long. On Sat 24 Oct at 11.30am & 2.30pm at the Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, London, SE1. Adm: Free. Web: www.iwm.org
~ BLACK HISTORY WALKS
- Sun 25 Oct: Trafalgar Square Walk at 11am. A whirlwind tour that reveals 200 years of Afrikan history that stare you in the face every day. Discover the Stolen Generations, female sailors in 1815, Mary Seacole, The Secret of Britain’s ‘Greatness’, Morant Bay rebellion and more.
- Sun 25 Oct: St Pauls Walk at 2pm. True stories of the Financial Business District and how it got so rich. Known as the Square Mile this area is full of Afrikan and Caribbean history if you know where to look.
~ MAISHA SOLUTIONS (PART ONE) will be screening with a Q&A session as part of African History Month for the BFM Film Festival. On 27 Oct at 6.30pm at Shortwave Cinema, 10 Bermondsey Square, London SE1 3UN. Adm: Free.
~ LEWISHAM COMMUNITY POLICE CONSULTATIVE GROUP: Special meeting on Gun Crime in Our Community on 27 Oct. Confirm you attendance with Lewisham Community Police Consultative Group Co-ordinator Marie Morrissey on 020 8314 8975 or e-mail: Marie.Morrissey@lewisham.gov.uk
~ ORGANISED BY THE ROYAL AFRICAN SOCIETY, IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE AFRICA ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP AND THE NIGERIA ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP present ‘Oil, Power & Politics In Nigeria’ Nigeria is a country where petroleum and polio have both boomed, where small villages challenge giant oil companies, and scooter drivers run their own mini-state. Next year Nigeria will have been independent for 50 years. Many Nigerians may not feel there has been much to celebrate, and the common criticism of the current administration will likely remain – too little has been done. Speakers: Michael Peel (Author, A Swamp Full of Dollars, Former FT correspondent); Dr Raufu Mustapha (University of Oxford); and Patrick Smith (tbc) (Africa Confidential). Chair: John Robertson, MP, (Nigeria All Party Parliamentary Group). On Wed 28 Oct at 6pm at Committee Room 5, Houses of Parliament, London, SW1A 0AA. RSVP essential. Tel: 020 3073 8337 E-mail: ras_research@soas.ac.uk
~ REPARATIONS AWARENESS SYMPOSIUM - DEMAND REPARATIONS NOW: Reparation comes from the word ‘repair’. It seeks to identify and redress those wrongs against Afrikan people so that those who suffered will enjoy justice and full freedom to assist their development on more equal terms. Speakers include: Bro Cecil Gutzmore, Sis Nzingha Assata and GAC-UK. On Sat 31 Oct at 10am-5pm at Queen Mother Moore Saturday School Hall, The Methodist Church, Nelson’s Row, Clapham Common, London, SW4 7SR. Adm: Free. For further info contact Nzingha on 07908 203 533.
~ DR FRANCES CRESS WELSING: Lecture by the author of ‘The Isis Papers, the Keys to the Colors’ on 31 Oct at 6.30-10pm at Centreprise, 136-8 Kingsland High Street, London, E8 2NS. Adm: £12 adv / £15 door. |
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