Monthly Archives: October 2010
Tanzania Decides: Sights from TZ Elections
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Woman showing her support for the Tanzania ruling party CCM in Dar
Civic United Front supporter wearing his party's colors heading to CUF raly in Morogoro
Paul the Octopus also has a say in Tanzania Elections - he predicts CUF to win in the island of Zanzibar
European Union Observers checking out one of the campaign rally in Tanzania - Tanzanians are heading to polls for presidential and Parlamentary elections on Oct 31.
CHADEMA supporters carrying planks urging Tanzanian to elect their leader Dr Slaa to be next president of Tanzania.
Former CCM supporter handing CHADEMA's Dr Slaa the CCM shirt as a sign of switching parties
Mr Ipyana Seme, displays CHADEMA membership cards surrendered by people who defected to the ruling party , during a campaign rally at Mbalizi in Mbeya Region on Sunday. Left is CCM Union Presidential candidate Mr Jakaya Kikwete. (Photo by John Lukuwi)
CUF supporters, in Vespas, imain mode of transportation in the Island of Zanzibar escorting their presidential candidate Seif Sheriff Hamad (not in picture) to pick up the forms for intention of running in Tanzania elections 2010
Tanzania Decides: Lisa M Rockefeller confronts Kikwete on Facebook
Lisa M Rockefeller urge Tanzanians to reject Kikwete a 2nd Term
Lisa claims her family- The New York based Rockefeller, one of the richest people in the world have been pouring hundred and thousands dollars to NGO’s and other organizations in country without seeing any of the funds help Tanzanians – She confronted Kikwete on his facebook page this morning.
Corruption Rising sharply in U.S., GREECE AND ITALY: Report
Countries hard hit by the recent global financial crisis including the U.S. rated most corrupt, an international watchdog said Tuesday.
The annual report of Transparency International found that Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore tied for first place as the world’s least corrupt nations.
According to the report, Canada improved from last year’s eighth-place ranking to come in sixth, after Finland and Sweden.
TORONTO VOTES
The 2010 Toronto municipal election will be held on October 25, 2010 to elect a mayor and 44 city councillors in Toronto, Ontario. In addition, school trustees will be elected to the Toronto District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board, Conseil scolaire de district du Centre-Sud-Ouest and Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud. The election will be held in conjunction with those held in other municipalities in the province of Ontario (see Ontario municipal elections, 2010). Candidate registration opened on January 4, 2010 and ended on September 10. Advance polls will be open October 5, 6, 7, 8 and 12, 13, 16 and 17.
Check how your candidate did?
Aga Khan’s J-School Will Educate Media Owner
By KHALID MAGRAM
Aga Khan University’s new Graduate School of Media and Communications in East Africa soon will commence on a unique mission of teaching media owners about their responsibilities in a society. It will also concentrate more on training journalists from developing world on how to deliver quality analysis in wake of events such as referendum, civil conflicts and elections.
HH the Aga Khan delivering a lecture on pluralism & Journalism in front of a packed audience at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
His Highness said, therefore the school of journalism is going to be about educating the owners on what are their responsibilities in a society, what are their responsible to the region – because ultimately they have to decide what it is that they want to distribute within their own countries.
“Conveying quality information in developing world has been very challenging for many years for our network (the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN)).”The Aga Khan added. “For example finding a competent journalist to write on comparative government in developing world is very big problem, which mean when there is referendum on constitution the actual value of that referendum becomes subject to question.”
He was quick however to point out some exceptions efforts of journalists work in the developing world. He cited a veteran Ghanaian journalist, who recently wrote of African journalists’ contributions on number of essential events in Africa.
Kwame Karikari, executive director of Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), recently summed up the power of autonomous journalists when he wrote of their
“…remarkable contributions to peaceful and transparent elections in Benin, Cape Verde, Ghana, Mali, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia; to post-conflict transitions … in Liberia, Mozambique and Sierra Leone; and to sustaining constitutional rule … in Guinea, Kenya and Nigeria.”
Aga Khan’s host, the Institute for Canadian Citizenship’s John Ralston Saul and founder of the Symposium asked the Aga Khan how exactly the new grad school would be able to do things different from other j-schools elsewhere, which seems to be engaging more in teaching of technical stuff and not the content of what is it to be a journalist.
The Aga Khan replied that the media owners would be primary beneficiary of the graduate school – by ‘educating the media owners’. A fascinating concept Saul noted – bringing thunderous laughter from the audience that included senior Canadian journalists.
The Aga Khan once again emphasized the urgency of pluralism challenge during his speech at Royal Conservatory of Music in Downtown Toronto.
“Independent news media and journalists free from external control and constraint are key element in building stronger pluralist societies,” said Aga Khan, who is also spiritual leader of world’s 14-million Shia Ismaili Muslims
His Highness also noted that a wide-open internet allows divisive information to travel as far and as fast as reliable information. There are virtually no barriers to entry and anyone responsible or irresponsible – can play the game.
“The way we communicate with one another has been revolutionized,” he says.
“However, more communication has not meant more cooperation.” More information has also meant more mis-information – more superficial snapshots, more shards of stray information taken out of context, he said.
“We are at a particularly complex moment in human history. The challenges of diversity are frightening for many people, in societies all around the world. But diversity also has the capacity to inspire,” His Highness the Aga Khan said.
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10th annual LaFontaine-Baldwin Symposium
H.H The Aga Khan with his host and founder of the LaFontaine-Baldwin Symposium John Ralston Saul discussing pluralism after Friday night speech by his highness. Photo by Khalid Magram
HH the Aga Khan delivering a lecture on pluralism in front of a packed audience at the Royal conservatory of Music in Toronto. Photo by Khalid Magram
I believe one can live creatively and purposefully as both a devoted Muslim and a committed European – Aga Khan
History,challenges and the future path for pluralism in the world societies was the main theme in His Highness the Aga Khan’s Friday night lecture in 1,135 seat Koerner Hall at Royal Conservatory of Music. The event was hosted by Institute for Canadian Citizenship
Quoting a Yale emeritus on Pluralism, the Harvard graduate the Aga Khan said: pluralism was a critical variable in the decline and rise to power of all the so called ‘hyper world powers’ – from the Persian empire,Tang dynasty, ancient Roman Empire and the United State.
HH the Aga Khan is the forty-ninth hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. He assumed the office of the Imamate in July 1957, and since then he has worked on an international scale to improve living conditions and foster social, cultural, and economic opportunities for men and women in the developing world. The Aga Khan Development Network, which he has established over the past 50 years, encompasses foundations, universities, and programs in 30 countries, including Aga Khan Foundation Canada. His Highness the Aga Khan has received numerous awards, distinctions, and honorary doctorates for his service to humanity.
The independent media everywhere- free from government and religious influence should step up the plate in educating and informing the masses on importance of pluralism.
To watch the webcast please click here
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Canadian and African businesswomen unite to encourage international trade
By Khalid Magram
Africa and design have been two longtime passions of Kathleen Holland, president of KMH International, who is using her expertise as a market strategist and business consultant to assist small African business enterprises to enter the market and maintain successful relationships with distributors and retailers in Canada and globally.
For Holland, a 2009 nominee of the Organization of Women in International Trade’s Joanna Townsend Award for an Export Champion, it all started with a Canadian trade mission to Africa in 2002. She says the contacts and information she gathered during the mission proved to be pivotal in developing an international business plan. Another pivotal point came after the trip, when Holland was introduced to the non-profit Canadian and African Business Women’s Alliance (CAABWA), in which she found the mentorship she was seeking.
Canadian and African women created the CAABWA, which fosters business linkages between Canada and countries in Africa. Its mandate is to support African women who are entrepreneurs in their efforts to participate in international trade. One of the major opportunities that CAABWA offers is its internship program. Holland, who is now a board member with the organization, advises anyone who is interested in working in Africa to apply for the CAABWA internship, which is awarded though Canadian International Development Agency.
Holland also credits CAABWA for her own professional success: “CAABWA has played a very important role in my career working in Africa,” she says of becoming an integral part of the growth and success of small businesses on the continent. Holland’s contribution is in design, where she helps to transform African art into high-end home design and decor products, which sell internationally.
Holland also created Design Africa, a brand-led marketing vehicle that supports international market access for product designers and handicraft manufacturers from Africa.
The endeavours have taken the global businesswoman to several African countries, including South Africa, Ghana, Senegal, Swaziland, Zambia, Ethiopia, Mali, Uganda, Kenya and Burkina Faso, which hosts the continent’s largest craft festival every two years. Gone Rural, based in Swaziland, is one of the companies that has benefited from Holland’s expertise.
The non-profit organization, which creates unique home accessories, is the source of sustainable home-based incomes for 740 rural Swazi women, most of whom are caring for orphans with HIV/AIDS. Despite such a daunting task, the attitude of these women is what Holland holds dear: “My heart overflows when I have the opportunity to work with such inspiring women,” she says. “Theirs is the most amazing story.”
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Michelle Muir’s debut collection of poetry, Nuff Said
Poetic Justice
Michelle Muir’s new book of poetry touches on everything from erotic desire to education
By Khalid Magram
Playing with words just comes naturally for spoken-word artist Michelle Muir, who is showcasing her one-of-a-kind style in her debut collection of poetry, Nuff Said. Her unique method involves Muir (who also goes by the moniker Nuff Said) alternating between several imaginary personalities, all of whom she now brings to the pages of her book.
Solid Sistah, as she also calls them, are featured every few pages and give the reader their two cents on varied topics. “They are my layers of mood and attitude,” she says. “All of them, word warriors.” So, who are these six mythical divas? There’s Dina Desiree, the conscious and liberated one, and Nikki, who is a friendly and forever-smiling diva. There’s also a forked-tongue militant named Mona, a modest Ms. Muir and Indigo, a performer and a dreamer. Lastly, there is Shugga, a bootylicious beauty.
Muir, who is also a teacher with the Peel Region District School Board, entertains her readers through the Solid Sistah and a multi-dimensional journey on topics including race, class and gender. Her poetry also touches on education, community pride, love, erotic desire and politics through drama, spoken-word and music.
“I wanted to write this book since I learned how to write,” says Muir, who was CBC Radio’s 2006 Poet Laureate and the 2006-2007 Poetry Face Off champion. It was these experiences that helped her rise to poetic prominence. But Muir’s poetry, which cleverly fuses the language of the modern-day urban setting with her personal take on African-Canadian rhythm, began much earlier than 2006.
She learned spoken word by hearing her parents recite West African stories. There was also her stutter, which she credits as a catalyst for mastering wordplay. “Because of the stutter, I wanted to say many things in as few words as possible,” she says. “I learned how to play with the words while learning to control the stutter.”
She’s come a long way since then, having performed spoken-word poetry for audiences across Canada and the United States, even being dubbed an ambassador for literacy. With the fifth track of Muir’s spoken-word CD, which comes with her book, it’s easy to see why. The track addresses “lapses in our synapses,” and is an inspirational poem about the lack of actions, disregard and discontent of Africans and Africa.
“I believe all of us are writers, the question is how and what you write and what tools you use,” Muir says. “Nuff Said poems speak of social issues, topics that make people think.” Her award-winning poems, My Fantastic Voyage to Planet Irresistible and I Hope They Ask the Things I Didn’t, are also included in the debut poetry ensemble. “After reading this book, there is nothing more to say in terms of who people might think I am,” she says. “This is it, enough said.”
