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Let’s brainstorm in Washington..

25 October 2011 By Marieme Jamme Leave a Comment


We are delighted to be hosting Africa Gathering in Washington DC for the second time. On November 4th and 5th we will be discussing diverse issues ranging from the arts to technology, from health to entrepreneurship. We want this event to demonstrate that Africans are investing, taking risks and actively assisting economic and social development in Africa.
We will gather on Friday Afternoon to brainstorm and share ideas.

Talking points will include:

  • Social entrepreneurship education: What do we know about social entrepreneurship in Africa today?
  • Growth and good governance in Africa: Where do we stand?
  • Technology: are social networks enough?
  • Business development: how can we help ideas become reality in Africa?
  • Financing the diaspora: who is funding the projects?

    • Confirmed speakers include Geoge Ayitteh, the Ghanaian economist and Voice of America radio presenter Jackson Muneza M’vunganyi.
    Thank you SAIS (School of Advanced International Studies) for hosting our event.

    Follow Africa Gathering on twitter for updates! Event Hashtag is #AGWASHINGTON
    Join our Facebook Fan Page
    Follow our QR code

    Filed Under: Africa, Blog

    Africa Gathering brainstormed with ONE

    28 July 2011 By Marieme Jamme Leave a Comment

    Joint blog by Jamie Drummond and Marieme Jamme:

    Africa Gathering and One today co-hosted a meeting at there London offices to share information and discuss both short and long term solutions to the current crisis in the Horn of Africa.

    Discussion focused on how to ensure there is a platform for African voices to be heard on this issue, including those from the Horn of Africa, and especially from Somalia, to advocate for solutions that will stick.

    Often in the past the international community has not listened sufficiently, nor acted with a sophisticated understanding of cultural issues or the local situation. As a result opportunities for progress have been missed. We are determined to do our part to ensure mistakes are not repeated.

    Attending were a cross section of representatives from the African entrepreneurial community,  international development community including Muslim Aid, Disasters Emergency Committee and other development groups, diaspora communities, artists and Somalian grassroots groups as well as members of the media.

    Amongst many views expressed, we discussed the following action items, and many of the attendees agreed to act together to:

    1. Encourage the media to interview local experts and voices from the region about short and long term solutions.
    2. Campaign aggressively that the short term and long term financing gaps are met. ONE has launched a petition calling upon world African and world leaders to do just this. - Short term: the short term financing gap for the famine and crisis appeal must be urgently met.So far a short term need of $2bn has been identified, about $1bn has been contributed, a further $269m has been pledged but not yet contributed, and a gap of $739m for which no pledges have yet been made by the international community. You can follow the latest in appeal pledges and contributions here -Long term: the long term financing must also be found for sustainable solutions especially through often-promised investments into agriculture and food security in the Horn and indeed across Africa.African governments have promised to spend 10% of their budgets on agriculture through the Maputo Declaration – yet only 6 governments so far have met this promise. Similarly the international  community promised many times including at the L’Aquila G8 to fund long term agricultural development in the developing world especially sub-Saharan Africa, yet so far donors have only met 22% of their promises according to a recent report on Agriculture Accountability by ONE.
    3. Advocate for a political solution and roadmap for Somalia out of this entrenched  crisis. It is appropriate that regional bodes like the OIC and others, for example the Qatari government, show leadership on this issue and work with Somalian civil society to come up with a lasting solution.
    4. Further encourage African leadership in civil society and the diaspora, both cultural, policy-making and private sector leaders, to step up and raise their voices more on this issue with practical actions in mind.

    Attendees included:-

    Saif Ahmed CEO MADE in Europe
    Mark Tran Journalist Guardian
    Hadeel Ibrahim Executive Director Mo Ibrahim foundation
    Kingwa Kamencu President Oxford African Society
    Kath Hindley Deputy Chief Executive DEC
    Andy Shipley News Editor Plan UK
    Mustakim Waid Public Relations Manager Somali Relief and Development Forum
    Jonaed Afzal Emergency Response Manager Muslim Aid
    Marieme Jamme Spontone Global Solutions Africa Gathering
    Sol Guy Co-founder 4REAL Manager of K’naan
    Bunmi Olurantaba African Blogger
    Lilly Peel Features Editor Panos.org
    Katheleen Bomani Africa Gathering
    Belinda Otas African Blogger/Journalist
    James Birch APPG on Agriculture
    Tolu Ogunlesi African Blogger for 234NEXT
    Dean Ricketts Watchmen Agency
    Hussain Abdullah Frontline SMS
    John Morris Journalist
    Bernard Aryeetey Save the Children
    Mark Galloway The International Broadcast Trust
    Dawda Jobarteh Africa Progress Panel
    Amber Rudd MP for Hastings
    Molly Mattessich http://www.PeaceCorpsConnect.org
    Nii Simmonds The DAIN Network

     

    Filed Under: Africa, Africa Gathering, Blog, Global Development Tagged With: , , , , , ,

    Africa Gathering: June event Highlight

    28 July 2011 By Marieme Jamme Leave a Comment

    Is Social Media really revolutionising Africa? That was the question asked by many people present at the recent Africa Gathering event held at the Guardian Offices last June.

    The use of Twitter and Facebook in the Arab Spring has made social media the star of the international development show this year with everyone from governments, activists, civil society, the Diaspora and every one else trying to understand just what social networks can do and how to use it to engage with one another.

    But along with the hype, a voice of reason has also risen to say emphatically that technology in and of itself can do nothing. Twitter doesn’t start revolutions, put can help the people on street, have their say in how our world should evolve.

    What social media can do – and does well – is to amplify voices. Through Twitter retweets, Facebook likes and blogs written or shared, the digital space acts as an echo box for views that would have once struggled to reach the masses.

    If the value of social media then is in its ability to give voice to the voiceless, this begs the question, why don’t we hear more from Africa? And Africans? A complex answer was teased out from the many views shared at this year’s Africa Gathering in London last June.

    The first part is obvious: the masses do not have access to Internet based social platforms. While connectivity on the continent is growing exponentially, the infrastructure to support it – electricity cables for example – has hardly changed in several decades. In this regard, Africa remained the dark continent – literally – generating only 4% of the world’s electricity but having a sixth of the total population.

    Without access to the Internet, people are using tools that are relevant and could enter the mobile phone. Its evolution into this multi-purpose tool not just used for communication, but also for financial transactions, accessing market information and now increasingly, improving transparency and accountability, is well documented. But how often do media organisations or civil society factor it in when wanting to engage with Africans?

    A significant point about culture was made late in the day. There is no doubt that Africans are social but Africans are also orally cultivated.  Throughout much of the continent, history used be told through stories under the palaver trees and much time was spent in gatherings were people can talk about the issues that are important to them. To continue that same spirit this is now channelled in to a 140 character tweet is invariable to decide to not include the African story.

    As the event was held at the Guardian and it still holds that the media have a vital role to play in shaping the development discourse and perceptions of the developing world, how traditional media organisations use of social media to speak with Africans and to hear from them has never been more important. But if the process, as Kevin Anderson, a speaker at the event and former Guardian journalist put it is about “seeking, finding and amplifying the right voices,” there is still much work to be done as the Africa Progress Panel and The Gate Foundation highlighted it in their team up talk.  Let’s ask ourselves if we are creators, spectators or just participants. See you at the next gathering!

    By Eliza and Marieme.

     

    Filed Under: Africa, Africa Gathering, Blog Tagged With: , ,

    Thank you from Africa Gathering

    24 June 2011 By Marieme Jamme 1 Comment

    Thank you to the Indigo Trust foundation, the global development and sustainability team at the Guardian and of course all of you friends of Africa Gathering. We could have not done it without you. The event was fantastic and everyone enjoyed it. It was also an honor to have you all again at Africa Gathering. Thank you for attending and supporting us.
    More reviews, videos and pictures will online soon please feel free to share them and tweet them.

    Our Curator talking to David Thomas

    AG London – Mariéme Jamme from Africa Gathering on Vimeo.


    We hope you can join us a the next Africa Gathering event, details to be confirmed soon, please follow us twitter for updates.

    Filed Under: Blog Tagged With:

    Nairobi 2010 Event Highlights

    15 December 2010 By Marieme Jamme Leave a Comment

    We are back from Nairobi where we had 2 amazing days organising Africa Gathering 2010. Thank you all for your support during this year, we could not do it without you.

    Thank you to the ihub team for kindly hosting and sponsoring the event.

    Friday was highlighted with our appearance on Kenya’s Biggest News TV station with Larry Madowo. Thanks to all who attended, watched and responded to the “Africa Innovating in ICT” conference

    Before we had the privileged to be interviewed by Larry Modowo on his Business Bulletin, we had three workshops; the first one was on governance and transparency where Aly-Khan Satchu led the Q&A discussion.

    Aly-Khan is a prominent Business figure in Kenya, he supports and mentors young entrepreneurs and Businesses with excellent workshops called Mindspeak, he ran our Business making your ideas happen workshop.
    Mark Kaigwa and Marieme Jamme delighted us with an ambient workshop on Social Media and the impact it could have in Kenya. Mark, a social media strategist, encouraged the audience to look into social media more as many Kenyans are now going online and Marieme shared with our audience the Visibility, credibility and profitability formula and importance in telling stories and generating content. She said “If you don’t tell your story no one else will do it for you”

    Erik Hersman aka @Whiteafrican on twitter gave a Key Note speech on entrepreneurship in Kenya and briefed us on the potential of the Ihub to spur Innovation in Kenya.

    We were then joined by the BBC Africa have your say, where they explained how they are engaging with Africans. The Show is very active on twitter as part of their new media strategy. Miriam and Alex shared with us how they are using twitter to engage with the Diaspora and African countries.
    @chrisbrogan joined us from the US, but sadly for technical reasons we could not hear him. We enjoyed his video however.

    We finished the day with Q&A where interesting questions were asked about Social Media in Africa.

    Day 2 was a beautiful day in Kenya. Acumen Fund Buju Mondearas shared their Vision for East Africa, by highlighting the investment they made in projects like ikotoilet and how they are supporting the Kibera Slum with small projects.

    Nine more speakers joined Buju during the day including Nimbus ltd, MGI, Freedomfone with their famous voicemail gadget.

    Some of the projects presented by our speakers varied from Social Entrepreneurship, Mobile Technologies, Transformational Games, Climate Change issues and Social Change.

    Faith Karimi from CNN joined us from Atlanta via skype to talk to us about how there are embracing new media. Ms Karimi told our audience that CNN is engaging with readers, twitters and bloggers to bring new media within their organisation. New Media is Key to CNN.

    Jessica Colaco the ihub Manager shared her passion in making change and show us the amazing AkiraChix team.
    The girls are 20 and 25, Kenyan born coders in java language, php, c++ and dot.net. What was amazing to see was the future Kenya has with those amazing individuals no one is talking about.  We are honoured to have had them on the Africa Gathering platform and are looking forward in meeting them in the near future. They are coding for M-farm a new platform that will help farmers connect. They spoke to Marieme Jamme, we will share the video with you when it’s ready.

    Before closing the Event, Mariéme Jamme, Co-Founder of Africa Gathering, joined by Guy Collender and David Nahinga (New Country Director) shared their 2011 vision by explaining the Africa Gathering journey. Marieme thanked the team in Kenya for their hard work, the sponsors such as Indigo Trust and the Omidyar network for their support and interviewed our speakers which you will find on the website on the video section.

    On behalf of the entire Africa Gathering team, we would like to thank you for your support from day one and wish you wonderful 2010 festive period. See you all next year for another amazing conference series.

    More details of where Africa Gathering will be coming soon shall be posted on the Events page!

    Asante Sana!

    Africa Gathering Team

    Filed Under: Blog

    Africa Gathering Nairobi 10th & 11th of December

    27 November 2010 By Marieme Jamme Leave a Comment

    We are delighted to announce Africa Gathering Nairobi 2010, last conference of the 2010 series- Kenya’s leading technophiles, doers, entrepreneurs and thinkers will gather at the iHub Nairobi to share inspiring, and innovating ideas with the rest of the world.  By joining  the Curators of Africa Gathering you will witness amazing moments, make unforgettable connections, gain exposure, contribute in discussions and build new friendships!  The event will cover 3 workshops and has lined up  amazing speakers to inspire you. An event not to be missed!

    To get more information on the different workshops and listen to the Saturday speakers, go to www.africagathering.org

    Accommodation

    Accommodation is not included in the conference price- You will have to make arrangements by yourself- For more info about the event, or hotel please contact our Ground team on info@africagathering.org

     


    Filed Under: Blog

    Africa Gathering London 2010 Venue

    30 June 2010 By Marieme Jamme Leave a Comment

    We’re all set for another great event at Africa Gathering in London this weekend. Just so you know, we will be at:

    Cruciform Building

    Gower Street
    London
    WC1E 6JF

     

    The Business Networking event is on Friday from 5.30 until 9pm and the main event is on Saturday from 9.30 am to 6pm. 

    Tickets are still available – but be quick, they are running out fast.

    There is more information on the Africa Gathering website.

    Filed Under: Blog

    Africa Gathering: Washington DC event Speakers Announced

    24 March 2010 By Marieme Jamme Leave a Comment

    We’re delighted to announce the speakers for the Gathering we’re holding in Washington DC this April.

    Speakers will include:

    Friday Night Business Networking Event

        Stephen King
        Senior Director, Investments, Omidyar Network

        Bill Zimmerman
        Limbe Labs

        Tidjane Deme
        Google, Country Manager, Senegal

    Saturday Gathering Event
    Shawn Sarwar – VaxTrac
    Jenny Stefanotti – Harvard University
    Nii Simmonds – Wall Street without Walls
    Danya Steele – Excited about Africa
    Sean Coetzee – Woodsmoke
    Molly Mattessich – Africa Rural Connect
    Jepchumba – African Digital Art
    Kit Cody – Rwanda ventures
    Catherine Casey – Acumen Fund
    Mike McKay – Baobab Health
    Mariéme Jamme – Spot One Global Solutions
    Josef Scarantino – African Tech Network
    Teddy Ruge – Project diaspora

    Filed Under: Blog

    Africa Gathering Venue – Washington DC, April 2010

    18 March 2010 By Marieme Jamme Leave a Comment

    We’re pleased to announce our venue for the Washington DC event this April.

    Letelier Theater
    3251 Prospect St NW
    Washington, DC DC 20007


    View Larger Map

    Filed Under: Blog

    Washington DC Event – Hotels

    18 March 2010 By Marieme Jamme Leave a Comment

    Are you coming to the Washington DC event in April?

    We know exactly how hard it is to prepare for a visit to an unfamiliar city, so if you are from out of town, here’s a list of a few local hotels that you might consider contacting about your stay.

    Thanks to Africa Gathering Sponsor Molly Mattessich from Africa Rural Connect for helping us out with this.


    The Dupont Hotel?
    1 day Single Room Advanced booking: $195
    1500 New Hampshire Avenue, Washington DC, DC? – (202) 483-6000?

    Hotel Monticello?
    1 day Single Room Advanced booking: $200
    1075 Thomas Jefferson Street Northwest, Washington, DC?
    (202) 337-0900

    Latham Hotel Georgetown?
    1 day Single Room Advanced booking: $209
    3000 M Street Northwest, Washington, DC?
    (202) 625-1881?


    Key Bridge Marriott
    1 day Single Room Advanced booking: $149
    1401 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA?
    (703) 524-6400?

    1 day Suite Advanced booking: $189
    2500 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC?
    (202) 333-8060?


    Georgetown Suites Harbor
    1 day Suite Advanced booking: $175
    1000 29th Street Northwest, Washington, DC?
    (202) 298-1600


    Holiday Inn Hotel Rosslyn @ Key Bridge
    1 day Single Room Advanced booking: $115
    1900 North Fort Myer Drive, Arlington, VA? #2 (2101 wisc. Ave)
    (703) 807-2000?

    River Inn
    1 day Single Room Advanced booking: $185
    924 25th Street Northwest, Washington, DC?
    (202) 337-7600?

    One Washington Circle Hotel?
    1 day Single Room Advanced booking: $125
    1 WASHINGTON CIRCLE HOTEL, N.W., Washington, DC?
    (800) 424-9671

    Best Western Georgetown Hotel & Suites
    1 day Single Room Advanced booking: $199
    1121 New Hampshire Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC?
    (202) 457-0565?

    Filed Under: Blog
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