Does the name Azumah Nelson ring a bell? How well do you know him? What about this iconic title “Zum Zum”? Have you ever wanted to know more about the “Professor” of boxing from Ghana and how his career took off the way it did…?!?!
Somewhere in August 2009, during Maker Faire Africa ’09 in Accra, I got in touch with British-Ghanaian Writer/Director Sam Kessie at the fair, where she made a call to other filmmakers and film-lovers to help make movies from Ghana more interesting to the international community by introducing production value, originality and creativity because Ghana has a lot of stories to tell.
Priscilla Afua Sam also known as Sam Kessie in the industry is the brain behind the Documentary Film: - "ZUM ZUM - The Career of Azumah Nelson" which premieres at the Silverbird Cinema in Accra, Ghana.
From the slums of Bukom; a suburb of Accra comes the inspirational story of a young man who believed his destiny was to become a King amongst Kings. Azumah, ‘Zum Zum – The Professor’ Nelson was the World Boxing Council - World Champion for over a decade, putting the little West African coastal nation of Ghana on the map.
We follow the humble story of a man who believed in himself and became the Terrible Warrior, and arguably the greatest boxer to come out of Africa. With highlights of rare footage and interviews from Azumah and many others, this is the true testament of the legend’s career.
This is a MUST watch. Bookmark the date; April 17th, 2010 and make sure, you grab your tickets in advance.
Jemila Wunpini Abdulai, author of Circumspecte Blog and an active member of the Ghana Blogging Group suggested we make the day a Ghana Blogging Universal Day post. This means, all members shall write posts related to water and water issues on the day [March, 22] and throughout the week. Below is a round-up of the various posts by members on World Water Day.
Emmanuel K. Bensah presented two pictures in his post which he describes as “blue gold” which none of us could do without. He also shared his sentiments on why can't we invest into state-run systems rather than privatization;
I'm concerned on this day about the role of private management companies that purport to resolve our water problems–how effective are they in the long run? Is it not better to invest money into state-run systems to develop capacity?
We all know how important water is in our daily lives. We use water to cook food, rehydrate our bodies, keep our bodies clean and so on. Water also plays important roles in both natural and man-made systems. Simply, water is life.
In his conclusion he says:
It is quite obvious that although water is essential for our survival on the planet, some natural and man-made factors have combined to make us suffer from this natural resource. This has created the situation whereby, although water is life, it has become sickness, suffering and even death for large swathes of the world's population
Nana Yaw Sarpong, a broadcast journalist, a concerned African and a believer in the third option of this world shared how his employer, Radio Universe on the campus of University of Ghana decided to run several reports on water issues. He also described how water runs only late in the night in Dansoman, a suburb of Accra where part of his family resides in his post entitled, Water Is Life:
If a Member of Parliament in Ghana's current government can get US$50,000 for a car of his/her choice, why can't he/she fix the water problems [burst pipes and so on] in his/her constituency? He asked!
He also stated how he can't comment on the same water issue among the rural folks in Ghana in the paragraph below;
I cannot begin to talk about our rural folks. It would seem as if I'm making a mockery of their plight, the country's plight. But if those in Sunyani, Takoradi, Accra, Tamale and Kumasi cannot get constant water supply, how could my grandmother in Ejisu-Juaben lift up her hand to be spotted? It is sad. They cannot boast of good, clean water from their pipes if those pipes exist at all. Except for their age-old technology of boiling water to make it safe for drinking, I wonder what the situation would be!
Jemila Wunpini Abdulai in her post described Water as Ghana’s “Forgotten Oil”. In her opening paragraph, she stated how “Ghana's Oil-find” is the main topic of discussion in the Ghanaian circles these days. She quoted from both the Bible and Quran to support her post on the importance of Water;
On Saturday, April 10, 2010, from 8:00AM – 6PM GMT, the inaugural TEDxYouthInspire conference will be held at the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT in Accra, Ghana. The free one-day event, a first for young African visionaries ages 14-25, will welcome a host of youth speakers, a Ghanaian dance ensemble and an Academy Award-nominated short film.
Organized along the theme “A Good Head & A Good Heart”, taken from Nelson Mandela’s 1995 autobiography; Long Walk to Freedom, TEDxYouthInspire will exhibit how radical thought and integrity of spirit combine to create unlimited possibilities for a brighter future.
The outpouring of support for TEDxYouthInspire exemplifies the need for more events like this for young people,” says Raquel Wilson, event curator, “As our speaker line-up suggests, youth everywhere are ready to solidify their contributions towards making the world a better place.”
TEDxYouthInspire welcomes the following speakers to give the talks of their lives:
Iyinoluwa E. Aboyeji, 18, a Nigerian teenager with a passion for philosophy, global politics and economics, is President of the Board for University of Waterloo publication Imprint. Using his weekly column “E is for Error” to discuss development and post secondary education, he aspires to be a tenured professor by age 25.
The Asanti Dance Theatre is a dynamic ensemble that combines traditional, contemporary and freestyle dancing along with drumming. Founded in 2003, the group raises awareness of prominent issues facing West Africa and is dedicated to developing and preserving the cultural heritage of Ghana.
Yawa Hansen-Quao, 26, is a women’s empowerment activist and firmly advocates that “one cannot love an Africa one does not know.” Believing that women must play a central role in spurring economic and social advancement in Africa, Yawa supports travel as a tool to “transform people without permission”.
Mac-Jordan Holdbrookes-Degadjor, 25, a social media activist, who’s passionate about Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D), Networking, Youth empowerment and ending poverty through Education. With three blogs to his credit, he often writes about global events, social entrepreneurship, traveling and how it feels to be a geek in Ghana.
Shirley Osei-Mensah, 18, is an Internet entrepreneur and student at Keystone National High School. Unable to attend a regular classroom, she takes all coursework online and uses her web exposure to inspire others, provide tips about entrepreneurship and advise on earning an income online.
Esi Yankah, 25, is founder and president of The Africa Mentor Network and creative director for Yankah and Associates. Cautious to always live a life that is cheerful and purposeful, she does not believe that entrepreneurs are an extraordinary breed of people; rather, as she explains, “We just back our faith with action.”
TEDxYouthInspire is sold out; however a live web-steam of the event will be available online at www.tedxyouthinspire.org Individual and corporate sponsorship packages are still available.
Are you a Social Media freak/fan based in Ghana especially, Accra? Are you positive about creating awareness on social issues such as; Education? Are willing to volunteer, meet-up and share ideas with people who share a lot of information in the Cyberspace?
I’m very privilege to inform you about another social event happening in the month of March in the city of Accra. It’s the first ever Twitter Festival dubbed: AccraTwestival2010. Follow AccraTwestival for more updates and if you want to get involved. It is an event been co-organized by myself; MacJordaN & RodneyQuarcoo and a few volunteers based in Accra. It is scheduled to happen on Thursday March 25, 2010 and is aimed at supporting a great cause; that is securing Educational materials for children in deprived areas in Ghana. We figured it’s very impossible to say NO when you get the opportunity to throw a great meet-up with interesting people from all corners/areas of Ghana - all in the name of charity.
What is Twestival?
On Thursday 25 March 2010, people in hundreds of cities around the world including; Accra will come together offline to rally around the important cause of Education by hosting local events to have fun and create awareness.Twestival™ (or Twitter Festival) uses social media for social good.All of the local events are organized 100% by volunteers and 100% of all donations go direct to projects.
What is the Impact of Twestival?
On 12 February 2009, the first Twestival Global was held in 202 international cities to support @charitywater, who we saw doing incredible work to help the almost 1 billion or 1-in-6 people in the world that don’t have access to clean and safe drinking water.Over 1,000 volunteers and 10,000 donors fund raised $250k+, which resulted in more than 55 wells in Uganda, Ethiopia and India having a direct impact for over 17,000 people. Watch the videos of the first Twestival well drilled in the village of Mai Nabri, Ethiopia.
What does Twestival 2010 focuses on?
In 2010, we turn our focus to education and 72 million children in the world who don’t have the opportunity to go to school. @Concern Worldwide has been selected by the Twestival global team and local organizers to be the recipient because of their comprehensive and well respected approach to Education.This is an issue that involves many different elements; hunger, water, teacher training, building of schools, etc.We hope to use the power of our global event fund-raising and social media influence as a vehicle to give people insight into this cause on a deeper level.
Where will the Twestival funds will go?
Each city hosting a Twestival will be given the opportunity to select an area of education to support.This will be recognized with a special icon on their website once they have set a goal.For as little as $28USD they can provide the uniform, books, pencils, and paper a child needs to attend one year of school. Concern Worldwide is able to guarantee that 100% of Twestival funds will go direct to project costs.This means that the money would be used for material purchases (curriculum, desks, pencils) as well as project activities such as construction of schools; rehabilitation of classrooms; teacher/management training; PTAs; HIV/AIDS school clubs; water and sanitation in schools; health education in schools; education advocacy; vocational/life-skills training for youth, farmers and women; and curriculum development for secondary school/university.
Sponsorship
We are in the process of seeking sponsors for this event. If you want to help make this event a successful, feel free and contact us through the event’s blog; http://accra.twestival.com/ and we shall be glad you did. If you know any organization/company/individual that is capable of sponsoring, kindly email their details and we shall contact them with as soon as we can.
Let’s all meet-up, create awareness on Education and share ideas for the future. Accra Twestival… Let’s Go
Does the name Azumah Nelson ring a bell? How well do you know him? What about this iconic title “Zum Zum”? Have you ever wanted to know more about the “Professor” of boxing from Ghana and how his career took off the way it did…?!?!
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