Adinkra are visual symbols, originally created by the Akan of Ghana and the Gyaman of Cote d'Ivoire in West Africa, that represent concepts or aphorisms.
Adinkra are used on fabric, walls, in pottery, woodcarvings and logos. Fabric adinkra are often made by woodcut sign writing as well as screen printing.
They also can be used to communicate evocative messages that represent parts of their life or those around them.
I’m a Ghanaian..! I'm a proud African..!!
Do you have any Ghanaian in you? Would you like some?
Not long ago, I was at a Ghanaian function when I overheard a conversation between two young ladies. The older of the two was advising the other, who was about to visit Ghana for the first time. Ever the inquisitive mind, I moved closer to hear what the older friend had to say. I cannot recount all the details of her advisement, but never in my life have I heard the terms “voodoo” “and “armed robbers” so many times in one conversation.
As the younger listener imbibed her friend’s negative comments about our motherland, the anxiety in her face became palpable. Unable to bear it any longer, I decided to interject with a much-needed, albeit cliché-infested statement.
That episode got me thinking. Have we all bought into this distorted image of our country? I mean, is that all we know about Ghana? I wish I could say that the dialogue I witnessed is a departure from the norm, but the reality is that it is not. Among second generation Ghanaian-Canadians, there is a disconcerting lack of knowledge about Ghana.
The sentiments expressed by the older interlocutor are not an aberration from the general view that many of our youth have of our homeland. This perception is nothing short of caricature that is propagated by the mainstream western media and, regrettably, in Ghanaian movies.
The truth, however, is that we cannot blame members of the younger generation for subscribing to this view of Ghana. That a significant number of our youth subscribe to this caricature tells me that the older generation is not doing a good enough job of teaching them about our country and its vast array of cultures.
Many of the youth have not even had the privilege of visiting Ghana, much less live there for an extensive period like most of us older folks have. Those of us who have had that privilege can attest to the beauty and diversity of Ghanaian cultures. We have to do a better job of educating our children, younger siblings, nieces, and nephews about our homeland. If we do not do so, the mainstream media will continue to do it for us.
As a people, we need to make it of higher priority to educate our youth about our cultures, languages, and values. In our own capacities, we can do a lot to conduce to a generation that is knowledgeable of its roots.
Here is a simple proposal to actuate this idea: Next time you chance upon young Ghanaians in a conversation of similar nature, approach it as a teachable moment – a chance for you to impart knowledge about our beloved country. That seemingly small gesture can go a long way in eradicating the negative perception that many of our youth have of Ghana, our motherland.
I do enjoy meeting people I follow via social media and it’s always nice to meet-up in real time, hold discussions on various topics and share ideas.
In short, I would say: I like people, I like meeting them and I also do enjoying holding sessions of brain-storming, developing ideas and working on projects with them.
Isn’t that nice? Shouldn’t I just go ahead and continue?
Mac-Jordan, Ethan & David Amanor in front of Smoothies Pub
In my previous post; Ethan Zuckerman Visits Ghana, I wrote inviting technology savvy, social media folks living in Ghana, especially Accra who wanted to spend their Sunday afternoon sharing ideas and contributing to a discussion instead of the normal spending time with the family, visiting the beach and so on...
Ethan happened to be at the venue (Smoothies Pub, Osu) for the meet-up earlier than we proposed, but whiles waiting for at the venue, BBC Correspondent in Accra; David Amanor came by for an interview with him and had wanted to interview a couple of the bloggers on; "How Ghanaians are using internet their daily lives. The Good & the Bad". The incident leading to Ethan been very early happened to due to a technical error beyond my control and I guess, Google Calendar have a hand in this. Will elaborate on that part later.
There was no agenda for this particular meeting. It was more of an open-forum were questions came from members and attendees on social issues, citizen journalism, internet infrastructure in west Africa, intellectual property law and politics which Ethan was surprised to realized, most Ghanaian bloggers don't write about it for reasons known to themselves. **security**
In sharing a view about the Nigerian movie industry from his latest blog-post; "Either you make films or make excuses" - ICT and the Nigerian film industry, Ethan made us aware, how Nigeria’s film industry been the third largest in the world in financial terms, with revenues in the neighborhood of $200-300m a year and still have privacy issue.
He also asked about online piracy and Ghallywood films and whether we were using BitTorrent to download these movies. Everyone laughed at this question because, nobody downloads Ghanaian movies online. You can grab a copy from the nearest CD/DVD vendor across the street.
The fact is;
the level of net connectivity in Ghana is generally higher than in Nigeria, the cost of downloading a video from BitTorrent, vastly exceeds what it would cost to walk onto the street and buy a film from a local vendor. To the extent that YouTube is a threat to Nigerian and Ghanaian film, it’s a threat to expatriate audiences, not domestic ones.
At the event, I noticed a couple of gadgets which is very typical for such meet-ups; one iPad, four Blackberry's, one iPhone & a couple Nokia's. Alexander Sulzberger; CEO of Ecoband Networks - a small IPS Company in Accra provided us with FREE internet from his MTN FastLink Router. He also came along with his iPad giving the chance to Ghana Blogging members especially GamelMag to see it physically after hearing about it for a while since it's release.
In the end, everyone was glad about the meet-up and requested for more of such meetings in the future. Well, I'm tasked to do that.
Know of any interesting person coming to Ghana for a few days and want to meet locals for these types of meetings, just let me know and I shall get the right folks around.
Photos from the meet-up are on my Flickr Page. Happy blogging.....!
Are you a blogger or a social media activist living or visiting Ghana, especially Accra and want to meet-up with follow bloggers/geeks this weekend? This is your chance!
Ghana Blogging; (a network of bloggers who have passion for Ghana and write about this great and peaceful country) is proud to host Ethan Zuckerman, author of …My Heart’s In Accra blog on Sunday; 25th July, 2010 from 3:00pm till 6:00pm at Smoothies Pub on the Osu-Oxford Street. [Two blocks away from Papaye Fast Food Restaurant heading toward the Shell Filling Station.]
Ethan Zuckerman at TEDGlobal 2010.
Ethan Zuckerman is the co-founder of Global Voices Online; [a global citizen media network] in collaboration with Rebecca MacKinnon. He’s also the co-founder of Tripod.com; a web-hosting enterprise.
Ethan also founded Geekcorps, a non-profit technology volunteer corps. Geekcorps pairs skilled volunteers from US and European high tech companies with businesses in emerging nations for one to four month volunteer tours. Volunteers have served in 14 nations, including Ghana, Senegal, Mali, Rwanda, Armenia and Jordan, completing over a hundred projects
Maker Faire Africa is only a month away and African Digital Art is extremely excited about this event. Maker Faire Africa – a celebration of African ingenuity, innovation and invention and will take place in Nairobi, Kenya from 27th - 28th, Aug 2010.
The 2-day event will see Makers/Innovators/Inventors from all over the world especially, Nigeria, Tanzania, Malawi, South Africa, Liberia, Pakistan, Uganda, Madagascar, India, Ivory Coast, Ghana and the USA coming to display their latest inventions and products, and also socializing and dialoging on the challenges facing the current generation and suggest ways to improve upon the lives of people through the inventions and ideas.
Bojo Beach is one of the most beautiful and cleanest beaches in Ghana. It has features that no other beach in Ghana or the world can contest with.
Although not a very big beach, it is a great place to hang out with your love ones if you want to have abundance of beach life and sneak away from the busy city of Accra.
The beach is about 20km from west of Accra and its becoming a very poplar beach destination for many tourists in Ghana. This nice beach can be found on your way to Kokrobite Beach.
When in Accra, do well to visit this beach and share your experience with other. I heart Accra!
"Is Ghana ready for climate change?" and "Can Ghana solve its waste crisis?"
To answer these questions, the festival will hold two sets of panel discussions at the British Council on 4th and 8th June. The whole event began on June 3, 2010 and will be continuing till June 10, 2010.
Series of environmental documentaries have been scheduled to be shown at the following locations; British Council of Ghana, Trashy Bags, Alliance Francais and the Goethe-Institute. As part of their open air screenings, which attract over 7,000 people last year; the organizers have decide to show 5 films at the refugee settlement in Budumburam on the outskirts of Accra.
Preceding the open air screening at the refugee camp in Budumburam, a concert headlined by Mastretta, a ten-piece chart topping Spanish band will perform together with Kings Jubilee and a few other local artistes.Since its inception in 2004, EFFA has screened over a 100 films covering wide range of issues; Sanitation, Plastic Waste Management, Environment etc. Internationally about 1000 films have been screened at different locations world-wide..
At the formal opening, Dr. Juliette Tuakli, Chairperson of EFFA, said the festival started as a small collection of friends and film enthusiasts who came together to watch films that concerns about the environment.
There was a climate change drama sketch titled "Heat Wave" presented by the Theatre Factory after the premiere of "a long dry season" a film directed by Dr.Kwesi Owusu; co-director of the festival. This documentary looks at the impact of climate change in Ghana with a focus on women’s livelihoods. It reveals the dwindling water levels at Akosombo; site of Ghana’s hydroelectric dam, significant sea erosion at Keta and threats to the cocoa industry.
A list of Ghanaian made-documentaries which will be shown at the festival includes: "A long dry season" (10mins, Dr. Kwesi Owusu), "Agbobloshie" (9mins, Young Filmmakers Workshop), "Ghana’s Plastic Waste Menace"(14mins, Dr. Kwesi Owusu), "Greening the City" (7mins,Dr. Kwesi Owusu) "Stop the Noise" (6min,Young Filmmakers Workshop), "Electronic Waste"( 10mins, Dr. Kwesi Owusu) and "Environmental Patrol strikes again" (6min,Young Filmmakers Workshop)
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