Circumspecte

The current wave of African storytelling is largely driven by access to social media and citizen journalists who literally break the news as it happens. But there's still a lot of content yet to be created - especially in Ghana, Africa. BloggingGhana  has been at the forefront of social media and citizen journalism in Ghana since it's inception in 2009 by a group of 8 friends. Now, the organization has hundreds of active members who contribute to news, information on Ghana, Africa, from the ground up. After five years of meeting and working in cafes, auditoriums, schools, and so on, BloGH is finally coming home. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to BloGHome. With the launch of its #MoreStories fundraising drive, BloGH hopes to raise $10,000 to furnish its newly procured office in Accra (see below). Per it's Indiegogo fundraising page , BloGHome will include a training area for training students, civil society, government actors and organizations on using social media ...

Source: Komla Dumor's Facebook Page "There's so much more to tell about Africa than the usual stories about war, famine and disease." Komla Dumor. Son, husband, father, Ghana's "Boss Player", Africa's storyteller, BBC World News broadcaster, inspiration - courage personified. If anyone had told me that Komla Dumor's Black Star would burst out into eternity on January 18, 2014, I would have called them a liar and then some. His 41 years of life might seem "short" to many of us, but from all indications, this amazing soul found it more than enough for doing what he set out to do: to be a journalist of the highest order and to contribute towards telling Africa's stories. His awards, accolades and  accomplishments  are well recorded - perhaps more so after his untimely demise yesterday from a cardiac arrest in London - and numerous people are sharing their condolences and tributes on social media with variations of the hash...

Initially published on the London School of Economics (LSE) Africa Blog . -- Jarreth Merz’ film  An African Election  covers the highs and lows of Ghana’s crucial 2008 presidential election, giving important insights into the electoral processes which helped safeguard the very stability of this West African nation. With many African presidential elections on the horizon for 2012, the film is a reminder of what is really at stake when it comes to democracy across the continent. Through Merz’ camera lens, Ghana’s political sphere in 2008 unravels. That year, both the National Democratic Congress   (NDC) and the then-ruling  National Patriotic Party  (NPP) – Ghana’s two main political parties – had eight years of governance under their belt since multiparty elections found its roots in Ghana in 1992. Then, as now, each party had its distinctive colours and symbol. An elephant with the colours red, white and blue for the NPP ...

It's day three of the year 2012. Already! First off, I wish each and every one of you a great year ahead. May you have enough of everything you need to achieve your biggest dream and highest potential, and may you never want for the love, support, strength and confidence to get to where you want to be. Second, Youssou Ndour - world renowned Senegalese musician - just announced his candidature for Senegal's presidential election on February 26, 2012! I'll admit, the first person I thought of when I read the news was Wyclef Jean who put in a similar bid for Haiti's presidential seat in 2010. But let's not dwell on that. It's a new year and if the recent past has been any indication, it's that anything is possible. Besides, unlike Jean who didn't even meet the constitutional requirement of having lived in the country for at least five years, Ndour has been very visible on the local scene - mainly through his music - and is also a UN goodwill ambassado...

Hi Guys! Great conversations going on at BarCamp Ghana 2011 which is happening RIGHT NOW! Here's a quick video on some of the key discussions taking place. Not in Accra? You can join in via twitter by following #bcghana . Also, BarCamp Dakar is currently ongoing. Follow via twitter #barcampdakar ! Have a great weekend and I hope you find it useful! -- Salut tout le monde! Plusieurs discussions interessantes se passent actuellement a BarCamp Ghana 2011 (a Accra) et BarCamp Dakar 2011 (au Senegal). J'ai fait un petit video (en anglais) pour expliquer qu'est-ce que c'est un "BarCamp". Si vous vous interessez, vous pouvez suivrez tout en ligne sur twitter. Faire une recherche pour #bcghana ou #barcampdakar . Je vous souhaite un bon weekend!

Dear Ghanaian Movie Industry, Initially, I was upset because you weren't exploring the depth of your potential. But now, you've done the ultimate and unleashed untold anger upon yourself. And not just from me. By sashaying your hips into the 'soft porn' industry, many Ghanaians - and Africans - are fuming mad! There's even a Facebook group called Ghana Movie Industry, What's Going On? Enough Is Enough . What's that you say? Who am I to dare chastise you? Well, for one thing I'm a concerned Ghanaian who's tired of seeing your tasteless movie trailers. For another, I'm your consumer - the consumer is always right, no? - and even though I'm not a big fan of your products, I have sisters, a brother, family and friends who are exposed to your latest exploit. So, it ends up being my business. And finally, I'm someone who really believes that Ghanaians have a lot to offer and consequently, deserve more than you're giving. Great, now th...

On Oct. 29, I received a forward from a friend talking about a supposed miracle in Egypt broadcast by CBS. Curious, I read the message. By the time I was done, I was fuming. Doing a quick google search, I failed to find the so-called CBS video. Maybe they took it off? I don't know. What I do know though, is that the kind of negative information spread online about Islam and Muslims is what makes Islamaphobia so rampant these days. I have come to the conclusion that it's not God's word that sucks, but man's interpretation of it. Consequently, I've resolved to study the Qu'ran myself, and make my own deductions instead of going by heresay. A couple of days after, two things happened. First, I came across a verse in the Qu'ran which outrightly condemns mistreatment of women and children, and specifically decries the burying of children alive (which the supposed CBS video is said to have portrayed) from Surah Al-An-am (Chapter: The Cattle): 139. And they ...