Circumspecte

Hi everyone, Ghana's 2nd Blogging & Social Media Awards is ongoing and I'm excited to let you know that Circumspecte and myself have been nominated for a total of THREE categories! Best Blog Best Female Blogger and  Best Twitter Profile You can vote by  clicking here  - all you need is your email address and a few minutes. Voting ends  March 28, 2014.  I also encourage you to take a look at some of the other nominees, a lot of great content and folks. I must say that after our nomination and subsequent win for  Best Citizen Journalism and News last year, having three nods is very encouraging and tells me that maybe I'm doing something right :) Thanks to everyone who nominated/votes for me and everyone who reads, follows, engages and supports me. Jabdulai vs. Circumspecte That said, I'll admit I am a bit surprised about a couple of things. First, that jabdulai.com (the "second generation" of Circumspecte) made the list in lieu o...

Grand plans. That’s what we had. Of where we’d end up, how we’d end up, when we’d end up. I mean, we said “let’s leave it to Allah, let’s wait and see”. But really, the levers in our mind had long clanked away. Breaking news: I will never be Ghanaian, African [insert whatever label] enough. Trust me, I have tried. To hold on to the vestiges of who I think - we think - I should be To reformulate the   Ghanaianness   in me  Down to the last ei, o, and more recently, the last tweaa I mean, how can you possibly not know how to Azonto It was the fad. Now it’s vintage.  Encoded in our identical histories. Yet it seems you missed that particular memo. “Too American”, “Too White”, “Too Outspoken”, “Too Different” Yeah I know.   You make me aware of the fact daily. With every “It’s not how we do things”, Each “why can’t you be like…” But see - we traded all those possibilities in. The minute I checked in, went throu...

“Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.” Oprah Winfrey  said that. She should know, she kept a gratitude journal for sixteen years ! So here's the deal: as part of Circumspecte's " Behind the Seens " project we're inviting you to keep a "Gratitude Journal" this year - beginning Monday February 3 ! Why participate? Well, I don't know about you, but we seem to always be in a state of wanting. I definitely have moments where I finally have something I'd wished or prayed for moments ago...and yet I'm off chasing down another "want" or "need" without appreciating that which I do have. If Oprah's theory is right, you'll see more goodness in your life. If it's wrong, you'll still get to learn something about yourself and life. If you're like a writer like myself - or want to develop your...

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...

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. The man who best embodies the ideals and principles we cherish; the ideals and principles worth pursuing. Passion. Courage. Perseverance. Forgiveness. Conviction. Love. Humility. Purpose. Faith. Vision. The list is endless. What a soul. He was from us, but not of us. Unlike many, he understood the changing tides of life, the stark contradictions which easily elude us. He was a leader in the truest sense of the word; he sacrificed his personal ambitions for the good of his nation, his people. There are almost no words to capture the essence of this man; his work; his symbol; his legacy. Mandela's very being speaks for itself. "In him, we saw so much of ourselves," South African president Jacob Zuma said during his statement on Mandela's passing. I would add, in him, we see so much of who we could be . And that it especially true for us Africans, for societies where the concept of leadership, human rights, freedom is still a mi...

Photo Source Everyone around her seemed to have that one person to love. Each lonely soul she had previously found solace in had eventually been joined by that stunning other they had been patiently waiting for all morning. And yet she was still alone at her table, typing away empty words on her machine which looked like it would also leave her in three seconds. She looked around one last time, her eyes silently begging for a lonely friend, someone who looked as empty as she felt. Someone who would make her feel the soothing comfort of lonely company. None. Every customer at this restaurant had someone to lean on, someone’s hand to brush against during flirty laughter, or someone’s eyes to gaze into as a whispered lover’s intense conversation lost the two in a world of their own. Rolling her eyes she dove back into her work and lost herself in the black words she was typing. Suddenly she felt a presence. An intent gaze had fallen upon her and stayed there. She felt her b...