I've recently noticed on our blog counter that we seem to been getting quite a few hits from the United States. I've got a little something for you guys:
Our friends over at ONE are running a petition to push Congress to pass a bill essential for the delivery of President Obama's promise of donating over a billion dollars to Haiti to help with reconstruction. You can add you name to show your support here.
Similarly, the Millennium Campus Network is pushing for Obama and Congress to make the necessary policy changes to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 (specifically, global education, global health and sustainable development in Haiti). You can sign their petition here.
Unfortunately, those of us outside the United States are unable to add our voices to these causes. We hope those of you who can will join us in holding leaders accountable for their promises in the fight against poverty. I'll be sharing any updates as I see them, so keep an eye out for those!
--Updates-->>
Great news! early this morning (last night for you Yanks), Congress voted to pass the bill that will make the promised funding to assist with Haiti's reconstruction and debt relief possible. More details here. Result! Now let's rally behind the Millennium Campus Network campaign to see those policy changes happen!!
***
President Obama has released his MDG plans; you can check them out here! I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported these campaigns... little by little, we're all able to make a difference :)
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
ONE Africa Award
Do you own or work with a company that works to advance the Millennium Development Goals in Africa? If so, you might want to consider applying for the ONE Africa Award for a chance to win up to $100,000. From ONE's website:
Applications must be submitted by Friday 24th September either via their online application form or an uploaded Microsoft Word or PDF document. Applications should be sent to oneaward@one.org. You can also send any questions you have to this address.
Click here for award criteria and here for eligibility requirements. Best of luck!
"Throughout Africa, there is amazing progress to end extreme poverty and preventable disease. New ideas and exciting approaches are transforming lives one day at a time. The ONE Africa Award seeks to highlight the dynamism and achievements of African individuals and civil society organizations who are building a better future for their communities, countries and continent."
Applications must be submitted by Friday 24th September either via their online application form or an uploaded Microsoft Word or PDF document. Applications should be sent to oneaward@one.org. You can also send any questions you have to this address.
Click here for award criteria and here for eligibility requirements. Best of luck!
We've been reading...
Looking to cell phones to deliver aid in [Niger]
Wall Street Journal -- After a crisis, aid workers have found that giving a limited amount of money to the poorest people can help them buy food and weather the storm. But especially in remote or unstable places, doling out cash can be a logistical challenge. Enter the mobile phone. Workers in Niger are testing a system that allows people to store credits on cell phones and transfer the money to vendors to buy things like millet and rice. It might sound more complicated or expensive than physically giving out money, but it doesn’t require things like armed guards and trucks regularly travelling hundreds of miles with bundles of cash…
Leaders accused of breaking their promises as AU talks start
Daily Nation -- African leaders have not kept their promises and are failing their citizens, according to a new report released today as Heads of State arrive in Kampala for the African Union summit. The “State of the Union” coalition is the first of its kind set up to monitor how African governments are delivering on their development commitments — from increasing investment in health care and agriculture to improving human rights and tackling corruption. Drawing on studies from 10 key AU nations, the report paints a picture of unfulfilled agreements, missed targets, and failure to invest in the development of the continent. Most of the landmark announcements made at previous AU Summits are far from being implemented. A scorecard issued with the report rated South Africa as the best performer of the 10, closely followed by Algeria, Egypt and Senegal, but it noted that all the governments have a lot more to do. Nigeria and Cameroon came last...
Why women are the economic backbone of Rwanda
CNN -- Six days a week Bernadette Ndizigiye puts her skillful hands to work. Stretched out on the floor of an empty classroom in Kigali, Ndizigiye and 20 other women weave baskets to earn their keep. Her job at the Agaseke Project, a government run cooperative, has earned Ndizigiye a steady wage, her first savings account, and a taste of financial empowerment. "I can pay school fees for my children. I can buy them clothes and food and when I go out to the street people can see that I am really smart," she said. Women like Ndizigiye are the economic backbone of today's Rwanda. The 1994 genocide left behind a population 70 percent female and when the bloodshed stopped it was women who picked up the pieces and started to rebuild...
Access to Water is Transforming Life in Rural Areas
allAfrica -- Kalla Niang, 12, is highly self assured and energetic. She is busily preparing herself for high school, an opportunity that, until recently, would not have been available to her. She lives in the village of Darou Ngaraf in northern Senegal. Like many girls in rural Senegal, Kalla and her sisters are responsible for many daily chores, including drawing water from a communal well that is located far from their village. "My sisters and I had to rise before dawn to fetch water, and we were very often late for school," she said. "We always arrived very tired because drawing and carrying water is not easy." Lack of energy and time for an education was not the only danger that Kalla and the other villagers faced by not having access to a reliable source of water. Drawing water from unregulated sources of water put them at risk of diarrhoea and malaria...
Lites
Fighting corruption with tattoos
Historic 200% Capital Increase Recommended for African Development Bank
AU, Nepad And AfDB Launch Reinvigorated PIDA in Kampala
Wall Street Journal -- After a crisis, aid workers have found that giving a limited amount of money to the poorest people can help them buy food and weather the storm. But especially in remote or unstable places, doling out cash can be a logistical challenge. Enter the mobile phone. Workers in Niger are testing a system that allows people to store credits on cell phones and transfer the money to vendors to buy things like millet and rice. It might sound more complicated or expensive than physically giving out money, but it doesn’t require things like armed guards and trucks regularly travelling hundreds of miles with bundles of cash…
Leaders accused of breaking their promises as AU talks start
Daily Nation -- African leaders have not kept their promises and are failing their citizens, according to a new report released today as Heads of State arrive in Kampala for the African Union summit. The “State of the Union” coalition is the first of its kind set up to monitor how African governments are delivering on their development commitments — from increasing investment in health care and agriculture to improving human rights and tackling corruption. Drawing on studies from 10 key AU nations, the report paints a picture of unfulfilled agreements, missed targets, and failure to invest in the development of the continent. Most of the landmark announcements made at previous AU Summits are far from being implemented. A scorecard issued with the report rated South Africa as the best performer of the 10, closely followed by Algeria, Egypt and Senegal, but it noted that all the governments have a lot more to do. Nigeria and Cameroon came last...
Why women are the economic backbone of Rwanda
CNN -- Six days a week Bernadette Ndizigiye puts her skillful hands to work. Stretched out on the floor of an empty classroom in Kigali, Ndizigiye and 20 other women weave baskets to earn their keep. Her job at the Agaseke Project, a government run cooperative, has earned Ndizigiye a steady wage, her first savings account, and a taste of financial empowerment. "I can pay school fees for my children. I can buy them clothes and food and when I go out to the street people can see that I am really smart," she said. Women like Ndizigiye are the economic backbone of today's Rwanda. The 1994 genocide left behind a population 70 percent female and when the bloodshed stopped it was women who picked up the pieces and started to rebuild...
Access to Water is Transforming Life in Rural Areas
allAfrica -- Kalla Niang, 12, is highly self assured and energetic. She is busily preparing herself for high school, an opportunity that, until recently, would not have been available to her. She lives in the village of Darou Ngaraf in northern Senegal. Like many girls in rural Senegal, Kalla and her sisters are responsible for many daily chores, including drawing water from a communal well that is located far from their village. "My sisters and I had to rise before dawn to fetch water, and we were very often late for school," she said. "We always arrived very tired because drawing and carrying water is not easy." Lack of energy and time for an education was not the only danger that Kalla and the other villagers faced by not having access to a reliable source of water. Drawing water from unregulated sources of water put them at risk of diarrhoea and malaria...
Lites
Fighting corruption with tattoos
Historic 200% Capital Increase Recommended for African Development Bank
AU, Nepad And AfDB Launch Reinvigorated PIDA in Kampala
15th AU Summit draws to a close
Although the theme for this years AU Summit was supposed to revolve around maternal and infant health, the issue of Somalia quickly became a priority. One week before the Summit was due to start, a series of bombings targeted at innocent civilians watching the World Cup occurred in Kampala. These incidents were subsequently found to have links with Somalia. The AU has agreed to deploy an additional 2000 troops to Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
Other issues, such as climate change, NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development), and of course, maternal and child health were discussed. For a more detailed account, see here. Here is a summary of issues discussed and the measures agreed to address them (from New Vision Online):
Bashir and the International Criminal Court
Mutharika said the AU asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to suspend its indictments against Sudanese president Omar El-Bashir for one year as the union investigated the allegations against him. The ICC issued two arrest warrants against Bashir, accusing him of crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur. The latest warrant was issued last month. Mutharika asked if the court had a right to try Bashir, when Sudan is not a member of the ICC.
AMISOM’s mandate in Somalia unchanged
Mutharika said the UPDF together with the Burundi forces making up the AMISOM made strident gains against the Al-Shabaab terrorists. He appealed for co-operation from international bodies like the UN, saying the problem was no longer for Africa alone. He added that the recent terrorist bombings in Kampala were meant to discourage them from attending the summit, but their attendance had shown that terrorism has no place in today’s world. Asked whether the summit had changed the mandate of AMISOM from mere peacekeeping to combat, he said they had not debated it but it would be decided by the Peace and Security Council. Ping added that changing the mandate would call for new equipment like helicopters, which are not available. Guinea and Djibouti willing to contribute troops, he added.
Maternal, infant and child health
Ping said the members agreed to form a group to monitor and report on the progress of maternal, infant and child health. Mutharika said the summit had agreed to place the welfare of women and safe motherhood at the forefront of their development agendas this year. “If we improve the welfare of women, access to food and health care, maternal mortality will significantly reduce,” he said.
Other issues, such as climate change, NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development), and of course, maternal and child health were discussed. For a more detailed account, see here. Here is a summary of issues discussed and the measures agreed to address them (from New Vision Online):
Bashir and the International Criminal Court
Mutharika said the AU asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to suspend its indictments against Sudanese president Omar El-Bashir for one year as the union investigated the allegations against him. The ICC issued two arrest warrants against Bashir, accusing him of crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur. The latest warrant was issued last month. Mutharika asked if the court had a right to try Bashir, when Sudan is not a member of the ICC.
AMISOM’s mandate in Somalia unchanged
Mutharika said the UPDF together with the Burundi forces making up the AMISOM made strident gains against the Al-Shabaab terrorists. He appealed for co-operation from international bodies like the UN, saying the problem was no longer for Africa alone. He added that the recent terrorist bombings in Kampala were meant to discourage them from attending the summit, but their attendance had shown that terrorism has no place in today’s world. Asked whether the summit had changed the mandate of AMISOM from mere peacekeeping to combat, he said they had not debated it but it would be decided by the Peace and Security Council. Ping added that changing the mandate would call for new equipment like helicopters, which are not available. Guinea and Djibouti willing to contribute troops, he added.
Maternal, infant and child health
Ping said the members agreed to form a group to monitor and report on the progress of maternal, infant and child health. Mutharika said the summit had agreed to place the welfare of women and safe motherhood at the forefront of their development agendas this year. “If we improve the welfare of women, access to food and health care, maternal mortality will significantly reduce,” he said.
Friday, July 23, 2010
5 Leadership Lessons
Posts seem to be getting a bit sparse again. Hmm. Anyway, here's an excerpt of an article I saw on 'Leading Blog', one of the blogs we follow. They share 5 leadership lessons from Joseph S. Nye's book, The Powers to Lead:
Joseph Nye is a professor at Harvard University. You can read the article in its entirety here.
1. Almost anyone can become a leader. Leadership can be learned. It depends on nature and nurture. Leadership can exist at any level, with or without formal authority. Most people are both leader and followers. They “lead from the middle."
2. Smart leaders need both soft and hard power skills: co-optive and command styles. Both transformational and transactional objectives and styles can be useful. One is not automatically better than the other. Leaders depend on and are partly shaped by followers. Some degree of soft power is necessary. Presence/magnetism is inherent in some personalities more than others, but “charisma” is largely bestowed by followers.
3. Appropriate style depends on the context. There are “autocratic situations” and “democratic situations,” normal and crisis conditions, and routine and novel crises. Good diagnosis of the need for change (or not) is essential for contextual intelligence.
4. Leadership for crisis conditions requires advance preparation, emotional maturity, and the ability to distinguish the roles of operational, analytical, and political work. The appropriate mix of styles and skills varies with the stage of the crisis.
5. The information revolution and democratization are causing a long-term secular shift in the context of postmodern organizations—a shift along the continuum from command to co-optive style. Network organizations require a more consultative style. While sometimes stereotyped as a feminine style, both men and women face this change and need to adapt to it. A consultative style is more costly in terms of time, but it provides more information, creates buy-in, and empowers followers.
Joseph Nye is a professor at Harvard University. You can read the article in its entirety here.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
YLMP Awards Day
As promised in my email a few weeks ago, I have some more details for you about our fast approaching Awards Day. But first, to remind you:
Where: Databank
When: 14th August 2010
Time: 10am – 12pm
It will be a day to reflect on how far we've come since the Programme started, and of course, to honour you as mentors. Everyone who participated in the Programme (all mentors and mentees) will receive certificates. In addition to this, there will be awards for the 3 best junior and senior mentors* as well as for the winners of our 'Mentee's Choice' awards - Most positive, Most hardworking, Natural born leader, Future president, Always on time, and Most likely to write a book in future.
Please note that attendance to the Awards Day is strictly by invitation only. We have, however, made provisions for all mentors, mentees and speakers of the YLMP to attend.
*Awards are calculated across a set of six criteria such as meeting and Mini Seminar attendance and handing in Appraisal Forms. Points are allocated to each mentor depending on their performance on each criterion. Awards will be presented to mentors with the highest total score.
Where: Databank
When: 14th August 2010
Time: 10am – 12pm
It will be a day to reflect on how far we've come since the Programme started, and of course, to honour you as mentors. Everyone who participated in the Programme (all mentors and mentees) will receive certificates. In addition to this, there will be awards for the 3 best junior and senior mentors* as well as for the winners of our 'Mentee's Choice' awards - Most positive, Most hardworking, Natural born leader, Future president, Always on time, and Most likely to write a book in future.
Please note that attendance to the Awards Day is strictly by invitation only. We have, however, made provisions for all mentors, mentees and speakers of the YLMP to attend.
*Awards are calculated across a set of six criteria such as meeting and Mini Seminar attendance and handing in Appraisal Forms. Points are allocated to each mentor depending on their performance on each criterion. Awards will be presented to mentors with the highest total score.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Technology & Development
We are, as they say, in the age of the computer. To many, it seems strange to imagine keeping in touch without mobile phones, or looking for information without the internet. With technological advances come many different possibilities for advancement... to save time here, to make more money there. Smart phones are becoming more and more common place, bringing with them a wealth of applications that support a vast range of functions. Technologies are now able to work in a synergy with each other - phones with the internet, mp3 players with maps and satellite navigation, even watches serve as USB data storage systems these days. All these allow for an increased free-flow of information which is crucial to development.Developing countries are often cited as being technologically backward, and (perhaps more often) lagging behind their more developed counterparts. Encouragingly however, increasing numbers of people are realising the benefits of technology and are becoming more and more innovative in its use. Even better, individuals in developing countries are adapting this technology and making it work to solve their specific problems and address their needs.
The question about technology is not whether or not it brings benefits - because for the most part, those are clear for all to see. To some, technology is simply a means by which to make life easier. To others, it has become an absolute necessity. Can we then say that technology is absolutely necessary for development? In cases such as areas of rural Zambia were the internet is allegedly more accessible than clean water, you have to wonder whether priorities have been set correctly, if at all.
This is not to say that these targets should be made at the expense of technological advancement. In some areas, mobile phone technology is being used to save lives, and to say advances in technology should be scrapped in favour of other 'more important' issues would be foolhardy. Where then, do we draw the line?
Some would say there is no need for such a line to exist. If, for example, there is a way of using one to achieve progress in another, that would optimise benefit for all concerned. An example of such a case can be found with Zack Matere, a Kenyan potato farmer - and from what it sounds - a would-be entrepreneur and philanthropist as well.
The 50 Kenyan shillings (about 66 US cents) he spends a day accessing information on the internet each day proves to be too expensive (or as some might say, frivolous) for the majority of people in his local community. Recognising the benefits and potential for advancement that can be gained by the wealth of information online, Zack plans to post useful information (on agriculture, health and education) on his local information boards.
"The internet is quite an individual pursuit. But a noticeboard is more of a group thing", he explained to the BBC. "So if I post an item on a noticeboard on potato disease, for example, the community can read it, talk together and come to a decision."
You can read more about Zack's story here. It is this kind of innovative thought that can propel development in rural and even urban areas, even if this can only initially be achieved by taking baby steps.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Women mentors night
This is for all lady university students and graduates out there. The Eagle Women Empowerment Club is organising a Ladies Mentoring Night in collaboration with Vital Voices (one of the blogs on our Blog widget on the side) and the National Union of Students. It is planned to be a "forum for peer learning, information exchange, business development and access to resources and tools, all of which are supportive of building networks for women in Ghana.
"The Programme is designed to engage experienced Resource persons who have excelled to interact with tertiary students."
It will be held in the British Council Hall on Friday 23rd July between 5 and 8pm. Speakers will include Juliet Asante (CEO of Eagle Productions Limited) and Comfort Ocran (CEO of Legacy & Legacy), fellows of the Africa Leadership Initiative, a programme Databank Foundation is involved with. The following topics will be discussed:
· Becoming An Entrepreneur
· Choosing a Career
· Investments
For further information you can call 0244- 228288, 0244-075678 or 020-9210718.
Thanks for the information David!
"The Programme is designed to engage experienced Resource persons who have excelled to interact with tertiary students."
It will be held in the British Council Hall on Friday 23rd July between 5 and 8pm. Speakers will include Juliet Asante (CEO of Eagle Productions Limited) and Comfort Ocran (CEO of Legacy & Legacy), fellows of the Africa Leadership Initiative, a programme Databank Foundation is involved with. The following topics will be discussed:
· Becoming An Entrepreneur
· Choosing a Career
· Investments
For further information you can call 0244- 228288, 0244-075678 or 020-9210718.
Thanks for the information David!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
We've been reading...
New power in Africa... and beyond
Patricia Sellers, FORTUNE -- Leadership, essentially, is about inspiring others to carry on a mission. The leadership opportunity compounds in a connected, viral, global community. Here's how leadership can spread: In 2006, Fortune and the U.S. State Department launched the Global Women Leaders Mentoring Partnership. Every year since then, we've selected two dozen or more of the best and brightest young women leaders in developing countries and invited them to the U.S. to shadow women who attend the annual Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit. Mentor/CEOs like Andrea Jung of Avon (AVP), Ellen Kullman of DuPont (DD), Ann Moore of Time Inc. (TWX), and Ursula Burns and Anne Mulcahy (now chairman) of Xerox (XRX)--plus top women execs at companies like Wal-Mart (WMT) and Exxon-Mobil--have hosted these international women. Ideally, the mentees return home and apply what they learned to improve their own community...
Single Entity to promote women's empowerment
UN -- In a bid to accelerate the empowerment of women, the General Assembly today voted unanimously to create a dynamic new entity merging four United Nations offices focusing on gender equality, a move hailed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other senior officials. “The newest member of the UN family has been born today,” Mr. Ban told the Assembly after it passed the resolution setting up the new UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, to be known as UN Women. “This is truly a watershed day,” he declared. The new body will merge four of the world body’s agencies and offices: UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues, and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW)...
Tony Hayward and the failure of leadership accountability
Rosabeth Kanter, Bloomberg -- BP doesn't need an engineer at the helm. It needs a leader. Of course engineers matter, when the task is stemming damage from the largest oil spill in U.S. history. BP needs all the talent it can get. Scientists, engineers, and technicians, including the 2500 BOP employees sent to the Gulf from all over the world, have a critical role to play in cleaning up the environmental mess. But BP must also clean up an organizational and cultural mess. The company needs a leader who engenders confidence. CEO Tony Hayward has had over six weeks in the spotlight to demonstrate his leadership capabilities. Yet the situation keeps getting worse: escalating damage in the Gulf and a whopping 35% drop in BP's stock price...
Has the G8 delivered on its Africa promise?
BBC -- In July 2005, leaders of the G8 group of developed nations promised a $50bn (£33bn) aid-boost to poorer countries. Five years on, Ian Brimacombe of BBC World Service explores how the decision affected the lives of some people in Africa. It was 12 years ago when Ethiopian cancer survivor Fantu Shoamare had her first cancer scare. She had just had a baby and noticed a lump while breastfeeding. Her family raised money for her treatment, and she was able to arrange to receive drugs from abroad. They were not available inside Ethiopia at the time. "I was very very lucky to get the medicine, to get the specialist treatment," she says. "I am lucky. God helps me. Now I am OK"...
Lites
Indian investment in Africa
China to build $8bn oil refinery in Nigeria
World Cup an economic success
Government hints of ‘mentoring’ under NYEP
Ethiopia on Track to Halve the Poverty Rate by 2015
Patricia Sellers, FORTUNE -- Leadership, essentially, is about inspiring others to carry on a mission. The leadership opportunity compounds in a connected, viral, global community. Here's how leadership can spread: In 2006, Fortune and the U.S. State Department launched the Global Women Leaders Mentoring Partnership. Every year since then, we've selected two dozen or more of the best and brightest young women leaders in developing countries and invited them to the U.S. to shadow women who attend the annual Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit. Mentor/CEOs like Andrea Jung of Avon (AVP), Ellen Kullman of DuPont (DD), Ann Moore of Time Inc. (TWX), and Ursula Burns and Anne Mulcahy (now chairman) of Xerox (XRX)--plus top women execs at companies like Wal-Mart (WMT) and Exxon-Mobil--have hosted these international women. Ideally, the mentees return home and apply what they learned to improve their own community...
Single Entity to promote women's empowerment
UN -- In a bid to accelerate the empowerment of women, the General Assembly today voted unanimously to create a dynamic new entity merging four United Nations offices focusing on gender equality, a move hailed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other senior officials. “The newest member of the UN family has been born today,” Mr. Ban told the Assembly after it passed the resolution setting up the new UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, to be known as UN Women. “This is truly a watershed day,” he declared. The new body will merge four of the world body’s agencies and offices: UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues, and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW)...
Tony Hayward and the failure of leadership accountability
Rosabeth Kanter, Bloomberg -- BP doesn't need an engineer at the helm. It needs a leader. Of course engineers matter, when the task is stemming damage from the largest oil spill in U.S. history. BP needs all the talent it can get. Scientists, engineers, and technicians, including the 2500 BOP employees sent to the Gulf from all over the world, have a critical role to play in cleaning up the environmental mess. But BP must also clean up an organizational and cultural mess. The company needs a leader who engenders confidence. CEO Tony Hayward has had over six weeks in the spotlight to demonstrate his leadership capabilities. Yet the situation keeps getting worse: escalating damage in the Gulf and a whopping 35% drop in BP's stock price...
Has the G8 delivered on its Africa promise?
BBC -- In July 2005, leaders of the G8 group of developed nations promised a $50bn (£33bn) aid-boost to poorer countries. Five years on, Ian Brimacombe of BBC World Service explores how the decision affected the lives of some people in Africa. It was 12 years ago when Ethiopian cancer survivor Fantu Shoamare had her first cancer scare. She had just had a baby and noticed a lump while breastfeeding. Her family raised money for her treatment, and she was able to arrange to receive drugs from abroad. They were not available inside Ethiopia at the time. "I was very very lucky to get the medicine, to get the specialist treatment," she says. "I am lucky. God helps me. Now I am OK"...
Lites
Indian investment in Africa
China to build $8bn oil refinery in Nigeria
World Cup an economic success
Government hints of ‘mentoring’ under NYEP
Ethiopia on Track to Halve the Poverty Rate by 2015
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