Africa has served as inspiration to the fashion industry for many years, and it doesn’t seem like that will be changing anytime soon. In 2010 Western designers caught African print fever and painted the runways in bold, colorful ensembles. The trend continued in 2011 and 2012. Do African designers mind that Western designers such as Gwen Stefani, Marc Jacobs and Diane von Furstenberg are gaining recognition for their use of African prints and textures? Some may, but Gareth Cowden is not one of them.

“Yes, we are definitely going through a phase of influencing [and/or] inspiring the world’s bigger fashion houses,” said Cowden. “But it doesn’t offend me that these people get recognition for their designs. These designers have a better platform to be noticed. At the end of the day they are helping African designers [and] designs get noticed.”

Cowden has been in the fashion industry for nearly a decade; however, fashion was not his original career plan. His foray into fashion was purely out of necessity. After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Kinetics and Ergonomics, he could not find employment. Consequently, he began working as an assistant to fashion stylists in 2002. Since 2004 he has worked as a freelance fashion stylist and in 2009 he founded BABATUNDE. Babatunde is a Yoruba name that means “the father returns.” Cowden believes that it is the responsibility of men to care for their families and their country.

“Many kids in Africa grow up without fatherly influences in their lives due to various reasons,” Cowden said. “In my opinion, this has an adverse effect on disciplinary and respect issues later in life. [Babatunde] is also a reference to our leaders to father and grow our nations rather than growing their own pockets. All in all, we need more fathers to father and nurture Africa to where we deserve to be.”

Cowden is not as dedicated to fashion as much as he is dedicated to helping others. His brand, which features hats, umbrellas, bowties and clutches, is made completely by hand in South Africa. This is not done simply as a measure of pride for his native country, but to provide employment to those in the textile industry, which is vital to developing countries.

“This is done in an attempt to revive the textile and clothing industries in South Africa,” Cowden said. “These industries are slowly dying in South Africa due to cheap labor in countries like China and India resulting in it being a lot cheaper to import fabric and clothing than to manufacture locally.”

It is not only cheaper to import fabric and clothing to Africa, it is cheaper to import Asian immigrants to Africa as well. In 2002 Ramatex opened a factory in Namibia and promised to hire 8,000 workers. Instead of hiring locally, the company imported 25 percent of the employees from Asia. These employees were paid less than the Namibian employees and, to make matters worse, ended up in debt to the company. Due to their low wages, the Asian employees could not afford to pay back the traveling expenses that the company had fronted. Ten years later, Asian immigrants are steadily being imported into the country to provide cheap labor.

Many manufacturing companies in Asia and other countries are relocating to Africa due to a rise in domestic labor costs. Africa has low labor costs, in addition to duty-free access to American and European markets under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. Cowden realizes the importance of manufacturing in Africa. For this reason, he would never relocate permanently.

“It is very important for me that everything is manufactured in South Africa or Africa,” Cowden said. “This is what makes Babatunde a strong African brand. I would definitely consider relocating temporarily. Travelling is very enlightening and helps with learning and growth, both personally and for the Babatunde brand.”

Also important to Cowden is creating awareness through fashion. He has been able to achieve great success as a designer and has been featured in many acclaimed print and online magazines. The audience he speaks his message to has become slightly larger since singer-songwriter Solange Knowles wore one of his hats during New York Fashion Week 2012.

“Due to popular culture and celebrity culture, exposure and awareness grows when ‘famous’ people wear your brand,” Cowden said. “Celebrities are always being featured in the media, so if they are wearing your products it’s easier for your brand to get noticed.”

Cowden is presently working on expanding the Babatunde brand by including more pieces such as trousers and shorts. For more information regarding Babatunde long onto www.babatundestyles.com.

Image Courtesy of   doigstar1

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Colorado, U.S.A. — Paradigm Shift, a Colorado-based non-profit, recently launched an online shop. The Paradigm Shift Shop sells Fair Trade South African crafts handmade by microentrepreneurs who have participated in Paradigm Shift’s holistic entrepreneurship training program.

Around the globe millions work in sweatshop-like conditions, earning barely enough to feed their families. Unfortunately, many consumers are unaware of the exploitation that is often involved in the process of making their goods. Former U.S. president Benjamin Harrison once said, “I pity the man who wants a coat so cheap that the man or woman who produces the cloth will starve in the process.”

To counter the exploitation of workers around the world, a social movement has evolved known as Fair Trade. The goal of Fair Trade is to ensure that workers receive fair wages and working conditions.

With unemployment rates nearing thirty percent in South Africa, the risk of exploitation is high as parents struggle to place food on the table. This has given rise to microentrepreneurship among South Africa’s urban poor. Some of these microentrepreneurs are gifted artisans who sell handcrafted products, which include traditional African wire and beaded keepsakes, recycled paper journals and jewelry.

These artisans exhibit a hard work ethic while continually designing and creating new products. Yet they often lack market exposure and the ability to sell their products in the quantity, and at a price, that would allow them to live above subsistence.

The Paradigm Shift Shop partners with these artisans by selling their products to U.S. customers and retailers. Consumers are now offered the opportunity to purchase with purpose. All Paradigm Shift Shop products are created by a South African artisan and are aligned with Fair Trade standards, which include fair wages and safe work conditions. Each product comes with a two-sided tag that features a picture and story of the artisan who made the product.

“I feel so proud to be working with Paradigm Shift. When I sew for Paradigm Shift, I sew with my heart,” says Francinah, one of the Paradigm Shift Shop artisans who hand-sews baby onesies. With the money that Francinah earns from sewing onesies she is able to provide for her and her son Leroy. In addition to allowing artisans to provide for their families as their businesses grow, they are also able to employ other South Africans who would otherwise be unemployed.

While the Paradigm Shift Shop sells retail products, a majority of sales come from wholesale retailers who sell Paradigm Shift Shop products in their stores.

To learn more about the Paradigm Shift Shop or to purchase a product, visit http://www.shiftingparadigms.org/shop.

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Washington, U.S.A. — Karen Sack, director of international ocean conservation for the Pew Environment Group, issued the following statement in response to a major decision that sends a strong message to those engaged in large-scale illegal fishing. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered three defendants to pay $54.9 million in restitution to the South African government for illegally taking lobsters from that country’s waters over a five-year period.

“These defendants stole an environmental asset from South Africa, and it is only fair that they pay the country back for that theft. This unprecedented ruling shows that the U.S. can and will take concerted action to stop illegal fishing and bring those U.S. citizens engaging in it to justice, whether it has occurred within or outside of U.S. waters.

Most of the illegal catch was shipped to the United States for sale. This is the largest ever restitution awarded by a U.S. court under the historic Lacey Act, one of the oldest American conservation laws that protects plants and wildlife by establishing civil and criminal penalties for a wide array of violations, and most notably prohibits trade in wildlife, fish, and plants that have been illegally taken, transported, or sold.”

For more on Pew’s Global Campaign to End Illegal Fishing, visit www.pewenvironment.org/campaigns/global-campaign-to-end-illegal-fishing/id/8589941944.

The Pew Environment Group is the conservation arm of The Pew Charitable Trusts, a nongovernmental organization that works globally to establish pragmatic, science-based policies that protect our oceans, preserve our wildlands, and promote clean energy. For more information, visit www.PewEnvironment.org .

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On July 18 Nelson Mandela celebrated his 94th birthday with a ‘quiet’ family gathering in the village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Mandela, from the Madiba clan, is the former South African President, and the first black president of South Africa.

Mandela spent 27 years in jail for an armed anti-apartheid campaign. When he was released in 1990 he ran for election in 1994 and won with the African National Congress party. The year 1994 was the first year that black South Africans were allowed and able to vote. After one term he stepped down in 1999 to give the Presidency to Thabo Mbeki. Mandela won the Nobel Peace Prize for the work he completed in his public life.

Every year in South Africa Mandela’s birthday is a large event. This year the day started off with a special song made for Mandela’s birthday. Twelve million school children sang the song across the country which included the lines “we love you father.”

Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale said that South Africans should be very grateful to “live in the same country, breathing the same air, under the same sun with Nelson Mandela.” Sexwale also coined the phrase “Mandela-ism: the spirit of selflessness, sacrifice…”

Nobel laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu claimed “Mr. Mandela taught us to love ourselves, to love one another and to love our country.”

Several famous US figures also celebrated Mandela’s birthday. On July 17 Mandela met with Bill and Chelsea Clinton and they helped him plant avocado and pear trees in his village. Barrack and Michelle Obama issued a statement praising Nelson Mandela’s “extraordinary life and steadfast commitment to the principles of democracy and reconciliation.”

Several schoolchildren also commented on Mandela and his service. Ten year old Thakgalo Ditabe stated, “Nelson Mandela set an example to show us that reconciliation is possible.” Twelve year old Ntando Ntuli said, “he is my hero because he fought for us. He is an icon, the king of Africa.

In South Africa Mandela’s birthday is a day of giving to the poor. Individuals are supposed to spend at least 67 minutes of time helping those less fortunate in celebration of Mandela’s 67 years of service. This UN-backed initiative has been criticized, according to the BBC, because it allows those at the top to not feel guilty instead of change things.

According to the Washington Post South Africa still has a lot of progressing to do. The education system is still terrible and the economy is still controlled by a minority white population.

Image Courtesy of  Archives de la Ville de Montréal

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East Hampton, U.S.A. — The Retreat, a non-profit organization serving victims of domestic violence for the past 25 years, is pleased to announce their 4th Annual Juried Art Show. In the previous three years of the Juried Art Show the Retreat has garnished both national and international attention by reaching artists who have submitted works for consideration as far as South Africa, San Paolo, Brazil, the Midwest, and the entire Eastern seaboard. The message is clear: artists from diverse backgrounds and cultures are showing they care and are coming together to try to end domestic violence.

The show benefits the Retreat’s Domestic Violence Services and is open to all artists with work in Photography, Painting, 2D, 3D, and Sculpture (no video art). The work cannot be larger than 24″ x 36″.

The deadline to enter is August 1, 2012 . Entry fee is $50 per entry, limit 3 entries (1 entry is $50, 2 is$100, and 3 is $150). Actual work will not be judged but have to be submitted in JPEG form. For complete rules and entry form, visit http://www.hamptonsjuriedartshow.com/.

This is a chance to have artwork judged by distinguished members of the art world. The jurors of this competition are:

• Kathryn Markel – Owner of art gallery Kathryn Markel Fine Arts with locations in Bridgehamptonand New York City
• Christina Mossaides Strassfield – Museum Director/ Chief Curator of Guild Hall Museum in East Hampton, NY

The top 25 entries, as decided by the jurors, will be in a group show at Richard J. Demato Fine Arts Gallery in Sag Harbor, New York, opening October 27th – November 5, 2012. The best in show will be chosen after the show is hung by the jurors and will win a solo exhibition at the gallery, at a date to be determined by the gallery owner and winner, within one year of winning. The winner of the 1st Annual Juried Art Show is now represented by a major gallery in New York City.

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Lusaka, Zambia – Representatives of hundreds of thousands of African tobacco farmers will gather at the International Tobacco Growers Association Africa Regional Meeting from May 28 to 30 to discuss outrageous recommendations being developed by international regulators that would destroy their livelihoods.

Farmer leaders attending the meeting from Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe will focus on the recommendations provided by the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) working group on Articles 17 & 18. The FCTC originally recommended that governments of these countries should help tobacco farmers find viable economic alternative crops, assuming that tobacco demand will decline.

Very little research on alternative, economically viable crops has been undertaken and as the group recognises, any future research will require lengthy time trials. However, the FCTC has now put forward unreasonable and absurd measures to phase out tobacco production, without offering the vast African farming community any viable fall-back solutions.

Antonio Abrunhosa, chief executive officer of the International Tobacco Growers Association (ITGA), which represents more than 30 million tobacco farmers and workers around the world, says an entire region’s economy is being put at risk by this “new form of imperialism” by health officials with no experience in agriculture. “With nothing to show for their efforts to find alternatives to tobacco farming, they’re moving toward telling governments to make it impossible for farmers to keep growing tobacco, regardless of the impact on millions of jobs.”

Tobacco farming not only provides a good living for millions of people but it is a vital source of foreign revenue for many of these countries. In Malawi 7 out of 10 workers are either directly or indirectly employed by the sector and tobacco represents 80% of the country’s agriculture GDP.

Francois van der Merwe, chairman of ITGA Africa Region said the decision makers within the FCTC have moved beyond their original intention of helping tobacco farmers find viable alternative crops. “This shift is happening with a complete disregard for the fact that tobacco is one of the only crops that provides sustainable income for many families in this region.”

Jorge Nestor, the Argentinean President of ITGA, referred the vast experience of his association in the search for alternative crops, highlighting the huge investment necessary to develop complementary crops to tobacco, far beyond the possibilities of the majority of tobacco growers’ communities.

The ITGA is a non-profit organization that works to advance the cause of millions of tobacco farmers to the world. It strives to provide a strong collective voice on an international and national scale in order to ensure the long-term security of tobacco farming communities.

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NEW YORK, US – One of underground rock’s most unusual stories of the 1970s, the tale of an obscure debut LP by a Detroit singer-songwriter named Rodriguez becoming a source of hope and inspiration to the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa, is the basis for the thought-provoking new film, Searching For Sugar Man.

The original motion picture soundtrack album will be available starting July 24, 2012 through Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. The vinyl version of the soundtrack will be released by Light In The Attic Records.

Searching For Sugar Man, a Red Box Films & Passion Pictures Production in association with Canfield Pictures & The Documentary Company, distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, premiered in New York on April 24, 2012 at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film opens in New York and Los Angeles on July 27, 2012 and will open in other markets throughout the month of August.

Directed by Malik Bendjelloul, Searching For Sugar Man tells a story that begins with the 1970 release of Rodriguez’s debut album, Cold Fact. In its Reissues Of The Year tally for 2008, Rolling Stone magazine called the album “A remarkable artifact of Michigan hippie soul by singer-songwriter Sixto Diaz Rodriguez.” The soundtrack album on Legacy will compile tracks from Cold Fact and its follow-up LP of 1971, Coming From Reality, reissued to critical acclaim in 2008 and 2009, respectively.

Celebrated Motor City producers Dennis Coffey and Mike Theodore discovered Rodriguez in the late 1960s in a local bar and were struck by his Dylanesque songwriting. A charismatic and mysterious artist behind his shades, Rodriguez had built a strong local following, a true folk hero in the purest sense.

Cold Fact was a fusion of gritty funk with “street-tough lyricism and psychedelic folk arrangements,” in the words of Doug Freeman of the Austin Chronicle. The album’s politically-charged “topical lyrics and druggy avant-garde arrangements” “folk-soul weirdness” and “lysergic gutter poetry” were unique even in the ’70s.

Nevertheless, the album did not succeed commercially, and despite the release of a second LP, Rodriguez drifted into obscurity. Rumors of his fate were widely and wildly exaggerated, ranging from reports of escalating depression to a sensationally gruesome suicide onstage, involving self-immolation.

Meanwhile, the LP had made its way around the world to South Africa, where it was banned by a repressive government. Copies were bootlegged and circulated, and Rodriguez inadvertently became the soundtrack of an emerging liberal African youth, whose resistance movement adopted Cold Fact as its rallying cry. Over the next two decades, Rodriguez became a household name in the country, where the number of copies of Cold Fact would have earned it platinum sales status.

Both sides of the story, Rodriguez’s life in Detroit and the subsequent impact of his music in the smoldering Apartheid era, pre-Nelson Mandela, proved fascinating to Stockholm-based documentary filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul. His subjects have included Kraftwerk, Bjork, Sting, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Madonna, Mariah Carey, U2, Kylie Minogue, Prince, and others.

His short documentary films for Swedish Television’s international cultural weekly show Kobra became the basis for such films as Men Who Stare At Goats (George Clooney) and The Terminal (Tom Hanks). The evolution of the financing, production, and filming of Searching For Sugar Man is as fascinating and complex as the life of Rodriguez himself.

“I describe myself as ‘musico-politico’,” Rodriguez said recently. “I was born and bred in Detroit, four blocks from the city center. Back then, I was influenced by the urban sounds that were going on around me all the time. Music is art and art is a cultural force. As far as my work from Detroit comparing to the South African Apartheid, the similarities echo. The placards of the 1970s in the United States read things like: We Want Jobs and Stop the War – I was looking at the music from a working class.

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New York, U.S.A. – Wednesday April 25 on World Malaria Day, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) named the United Against Malaria (UAM) campaign an official social program of the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations, being held in South Africa early next year.

Although preventable and treatable, malaria kills a child in Africa every 60 seconds. By tapping into the popularity and excitement surrounding Africa’s signature tournament, CAF and UAM have partnered to disseminate life-saving malaria prevention and treatment messages to millions of fans across the continent.

“In order for Africa to compete on the global football pitch, we must have players and communities that are free of malaria,” said Mr. Hicham El Amrani, secretary general of CAF. “We are committed to using the popularity of the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations tournament to raise awareness and increase the fight against this devastating disease.”

With CAF’s support, UAM will develop and distribute local and pan-African public service announcements (PSAs), delivered by African football stars, to educate millions of African football fans about malaria prevention and treatment. Research has shown that audiences retain and act on these messages more often when delivered by their football heroes.

“Football has the most passionate fan base in the world, and during the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations, we have an opportunity to channel that energy toward social good,” said Mr. Leodegar Tenga, executive committee member of CAF and president of the Tanzanian Football Federation. “Through our partnership with United Against Malaria, we create a platform where fans not only remember the football skill on the pitch but the important messages that will help protect them and their loved ones from malaria.”

The endorsement from CAF, which oversees the football activities of more than 50 African countries, represents an unprecedented opportunity to reach malaria-endemic populations. Building on the success of past football tournaments, such as the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the 2011 CECAFA Tusker Challenge Cup in Tanzania, UAM will also encourage the African private sector and political leadership to to play a greater role in stopping global malaria deaths, 91 percent of which occur in Africa.

“We are honored to have been selected as an official social cause of the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations,” said David Kyne, campaign manager of United Against Malaria. “We are so grateful to CAF for its active and ongoing support in the fight against malaria and for offering United Against Malaria such a powerful platform for improving and saving lives.”

To learn more about UAM, please visit www.UnitedAgainstMalaria.org or follow on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/UnitedAgainstMalaria

Image Courtesy of   Gates Foundation

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Africa has become one of the fastest growing regions in the world, now firmly positioned as a global investment destination of choice. In 2012-13 alone, the continent is expected to grow by 5% and it is estimated that Africa’s GDP could be US$2.6 trillion by 2020.

While it is clear that individual countries perform economically with different levels of success, there are significant business opportunities across the continent driven by an insatiable demand for Africa’s resources, a rapidly growing population with an unprecedented rise in consumer demand, and the related infrastructural development that is urgently required in all areas.

Reflecting on these mega-trends shaping Africa’s future, Tim Bashall, Head of Strategy at KPMG Africa says: “We are obviously dealing here with long term investment strategies. The African story still has elements of political and economic uncertainty but overall business opportunities are greatly improving. Investors are therefore thinking in cycles of 15-20 years.”

Tata Africa’s Managing Director, Raman Dhawan explains that they took a conscious decision to expand into Africa since the leadership of the Indian conglomerate acknowledged the need to export.

“We came to South Africa and Africa to build a footprint on the continent, and we are looking at sectors which are untapped, such as the telecoms. We have successfully managed to establish ourselves in about a dozen countries including South Africa which we consider as a benchmark for our operations in other African countries.”

Many investors are still weary of potential risks of putting money into Africa. Says Tim Bashall: “We are aware that people worry about political risks and change of legislation in different African countries. But it has become a lot better.” African countries have become increasingly stable and there are many promising examples of public sector reforms which have helped to improve the business landscape, including improving regulatory frameworks.

Key to mitigating the risks is to have local presence on the ground which creates relevant and adequate capacity to deal with the prevailing realities and challenges. The lack of well-trained human resources offers a chance to build a work force suited to the business environment.

“We pursue a strategy of hiring global business leaders for our African operations who have proved themselves elsewhere. To us, it is not important where the talent comes from as long as we get the talent we need. Of course, human capital is one of the major business risks in Africa, yet corporations have successfully managed this challenge for decades but have failed to tell the success story,” Says Henri Obi, Chief Operations Officer at Helios Investment Partners.

To potential investors looking for opportunities in Africa, KPMG’s Dapo Okubadejo has a number of suggestions. “Buy and build existing companies, invest in value-chains while adopting partnerships in the logistics and distribution sectors, engage proactively with regulatory institutions, thoroughly build your human capital and adopt a portfolio strategy approach.”

“Doing business in Africa requires a lot of patience and time, but the rewards can be very high. It is important to understand the local cultures in African countries where companies want to invest,” further notes Henri Obi.

Image Courtesy of   Attila JANDI / Shutterstock.com

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A new report by 13 leading international and Congolese civil society groups asks the international community and Congolese government to urgently agree upon a new deal to reform the Congolese military. The report argues that the lack of political will to reform the security sector in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) risks not only billions of dollars of international aid but also the stability of the country.

“At the end of the day, many of Congo’s seemingly intractable conflict-related problems can be traced back to dysfunctional security services: the army, police and courts. The Congolese government has failed to take concrete action to reform these vital institutions,” said Emmanuel Kabengele, National Coordinator of the Congolese civil society Network for Security Sector Reform and Justice.

“Yet the international community has continued to sustain the government, investing money and effort with no actual return. It’s high time that donors demand that Congo engage in real army reform.”

The report, Taking a Stand on Security Sector Reform, was completed after extensive research and interviews in DRC and donor countries. It argues that the army not only fails to provide security but actively preys upon the population, being one of the major perpetrators of human rights violations in the country.

“An effective security sector – organized, resourced, trained and vetted – is essential to solving problems from recruitment of child soldiers, internal displacement and rape, to economic growth or the trade in conflict minerals,” says the report.

The report concludes that the main reason for the failure of army reform in DRC is a lack of political will from parts of the Congolese government – notably those elements which have benefited from endemic corruption.

“The very people in senior positions of the government and military who are responsible for effecting reform continue to profit from the current army, either in raking off salaries of servicemen, kickbacks, or involvement in illegal mining, trade or protection rackets” said Dismas Kitenge, President of the Congolese organization, Groupe Lotus and Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

The paper underscores the critical role the international community must play. In just five years, the report documents that donor countries alone have invested more than $14 billion into the DRC.

Yet only 1%, or $140 million, was spent on security sector reform. International aid is now equivalent to nearly half of the DRC’s annual budget. As such, donors have considerable leverage over Congo. Yet despite this enormous investment, the DRC has actually gone backwards. The DRC is ranked last in the world on the UN’s main development index.

“The international community’s investment in DRC has yielded poor results. Numerous armed groups send thousands of child soldiers into battle, and women and children continue to bear the brunt of violence. Adequate health care and personal security remain the exception rather than the rule,” said Ben Affleck, Actor, Director and Founder of Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI).

“Donors must work to convince the Congolese government to undertake drastic military reform. Unless a new course of action is adopted, we run the risk of losing much of the investment that has already been made.”

The costs of accepting the status quo are high, for the Congolese people but also for the international community. In addition to the traditional donors – US, EU, UK, France and Belgium – key partners such as China, South Africa, and Angola all have a vested interest in the stability and long-term prosperity of the DRC.

“The new government must seize the opportunity to refocus attention on implementing sustainable and effective reform,” said Pascal Kambale from the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA). “Now is the time for the international community and Congolese government to work together to reform the police and army so that Congo is capable of protecting its own civilians.”

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Optimists opine that it’s just a matter of time before the animation industry in Africa explodes, but realities on the ground present a different picture all together.

According to Paula Callus of Bournemouth University, African animation has a history that is at times as old as European animation—its earliest animations date to 1916 in South Africa, the 1930s in Egypt and the 1950s in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Sadly the African animation industry remains relatively small to make an impact on the world market.

While good animation is very expensive and labor intensive, animators on the continent are not just worried about securing financial aid. With questions about piracy issues, who is going to watch the films, and who will pay to watch, constantly at the back of their minds, animators are scared of investing, and only the bold ever think of this genre.

Challenges facing animators in Africa vary depending on the country. In many nations, difficulties include lack of training facilities and institutions that offer animation courses, along with a subsequent lack of production ready talent, an absence of investment in local series and commercials, and an economic situation that makes it difficult and expensive to buy equipment and software.

Animation in Africa is an art that has been abandoned by institutions and ignored by production and distribution circuits. Animators in most countries have very little or no government support. This lack of support, contends Ogova Ondego— an art and culture critic from Kenya— has seen many talented animators leave the region for greener pastures.

In his article ‘Sub-Saharan Africa’s Father of Animation Films Speaks Out’ Ogova says that leading animation producers and directors such as Burkinabe Cilia Sawadogo, Ivorian Vincent Gles and Congolese Jean-Michel Kibushi have been forced to set up shop abroad.

South Africa is perhaps the only country in the region where there is government support available for animation. In her article “Animation in Africa: Going Beyond the ‘Low-Cost’ Option,” Karen Raugust reports that the Department of Trade and Industry offers a rebate of 15% of productions and 30% of co-productions if the local spend is more than $100,000, while the Industrial Development Corp. provides funds for films made in South Africa.

In addition to seeking recognition, animators in the region have to fight on their own turf with foreign imports. Local animation houses face competition from international studios, as networks and other distribution channels rely mostly on foreign fare, particularly for children.

Africa has had rare moments to redeem herself, yet even on these occasions nothing has been forthcoming. UNESCO’s ‘Africa Animated!’ was Africa’s best shot at propelling the industry to new heights, but with Africa’s over reliance on donations and reluctance, the project could not get beyond the workshop phase.

UNESCO’s intent was to train local animators and encourage the production of animation with African themes. The initiative offered three training workshops in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa, which were attended by animators from 10 countries.

But even with so much ambition for Africa, UNESCO’s project could not last long. The project that had since the early 2000s conducted training on the continent, folded away in 2008. The folding away just proved how difficult it can be to sustain animation production.

More so, the young trainees who were mentored during this program have failed to live to expectations. None have so far made an effort to realize the aims of the project. Godfrey Mwampembwa and Kwame Ny’ong’o—who were among the trainers during Africa Animated— are the few who appear to keep the initiative’s aim alive. Known by his pen name Gado, Mwampembwa has since 2008 been the brains behind the XYZ show—Kenya’s satirical political TV series— now in its fifth season.

“The future is in our hands. We need to keep up with the technological development. Yet even if we have the expertise the current film-interested individuals have to be educated. Our people need to own the stories they tell,” articulates Kwame Nyong’o, a leading animator in Kenya whose 2011, 10 minute animation ‘The Legend of Ngong Hills’ continues to enjoy screenings in festivals around the world and other specialized screenings.

Africa has a long way to go before it commands its fair share of the world’s animation industry. But for this to happen animators have to dispel the notion that animation is meant only for children.

The creation of Tinga Tinga tales- which uses Tanzanian-inspired art to bring animal-centered African folk tales to life—in Kenya three years ago has positioned East Africa as a contender for a strong Africa animation industry. Tinga Tinga Tales is a co-production of Homeboyz entertainment with the UK’s Tiger Aspect Productions.

All in all, the future remains uncertain for a continent that has a poor animation representation. Despite so many ambitious initiatives that aim at promoting animation in Africa, to date Africa’s animation industry can only boast of one full length animated film: ‘The Legend of the Sky Kingdom,” by Phil Cunningham. With such awful results one can’t help but wonder what the future holds for an industry that is said to be worth $80 billion.

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As the democratic process in Africa grows momentum and the people express their will, news from the Continent continues to dominate the headlines. The people are increasingly challenging the status quo, their efforts recalling the works and philosophy of the late author and director Ousmane Sembene, known as the “Father of African Cinema.”

Sembene’s life work was designed to get Africans to reject deeply embedded colonial views of themselves and to recognize their collective power to solve Africa’s problems. Now his films, and those of other award-winning directors, will be available for rental through digital download as Electronic Media Network (M-Net), the South African-based corporate broadcaster, producer and distributor, launches the largest-ever collection of award-winning African cinema content, the African Film Library.

The Video On Demand (VOD) collection will provide film lovers around the world with easy and affordable access through digital download to 110 films from some of the most creative minds in the industry, while providing African filmmakers a much-needed global distribution platform.

The African Film Library’s premiere will be marked by the online release of 14 films by or about Sembene. A native of the West African nation of Senegal, Sembene was first a celebrated novelist.

At 40, yearning to inspire social change and to reach a wider audience in Africa, he directed the first film by a sub-Saharan African, the 1963 short ‘Borom Sarret’ (The Wagoner). The auteur went on to direct many feature films, cinematic works meant to help Africans liberate themselves from mental yolks that lingered long after independence from colonial rule and to urge collective action in overcoming societal ills.

“Africa must get beyond deriving everything from the European view. Africa must consider itself, recognize its problems, and attempt to resolve them,” said Sembene.

One of the oldest film industries in the world, African cinema—which began with ‘Ain El Ghezel’ (The Girl of Carthage), the 1924 Tunisian film by Chemama Chikly—has long been overlooked by those outside the continent as being limited to educational, documentary-style productions. The programming available through the African Film Library, however, dispels this myth with a mélange of short and feature films spanning the genres of comedy, drama, musical and sci-fi, both narrative and documentary.

M-Net has negotiated the rights to around 700 works. The launch is the culmination of a project which began more than three years ago and has seen the digitization and restoration of the continent’s finest cinematic titles.

Film rentals are $5.00 per movie and can be accessed by registering and purchasing credits at www.africanfilmlibrary.com. Users are then able to watch the film multiple times within a 36-hour period.

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Echelon Corporation announced two micro grid deployments in India and South Africa that integrate distributed generation to compensate for disruptions in utility-supplied power. The first-of-its-kind in the two countries, the micro grid deployments involve dynamically managing demand and energy supply mix for a residential community and a retail mall to deliver reliable service cost-effectively.

The model micro grid deployments are at Palm Meadows in Hyderabad, India, and Clearwater Mall in Johannesburg, South Africa. Palm Meadows is an 86-acre integrated gated community with 335 homes and residential services. Clearwater Mall in Johannesburg is a retail building with more than 240 stores.

Such micro grids are likely to be a best practice in emerging countries grappling with intermittent power supply, and are also applicable in environmentally conscious countries that are aggressively incorporating renewable and intermittent energy sources into the distribution network.

“Smart micro grids are an ideal way to integrate local generation at the community level and allow for customer participation in the electricity enterprise,” said Michael Anderson, senior vice president of Worldwide Markets for Echelon. “Micro grids sit at the edge of the smart grid and provide real-time analysis, decision making and control.

The Palm Meadows and Clearwater Mall deployments are great examples of how Echelon’s commitment to leading the worldwide transformation of the electricity grid into an energy control network can foster market innovation. The concepts demonstrated in India and South Africa can be replicated worldwide to improve power reliability and to integrate energy efficiency solutions as well as renewable generation.”

The Palm Meadows community ties into the grid at a dedicated substation and sources energy in bulk from the utility. The community also runs diesel generators and will incorporate solar generation in the future. Residences within the community are equipped with Echelon smart meters that connect into data concentrators at distribution transformers and feed near real-time usage information to Echelon’s Networked Energy Systems (NES) system software.

Echelon partner Grene Robotics’ Skynet management application automatically turns on local generation if utility-delivered power is inadequate. The Skynet software interfaces with the NES system software and creates a bill for the customer that reflects the customers’ actual use of lower cost grid power and more expensive locally generated power.

Customers have the option of reducing usage at times when the more expensive energy is being supplied. The Palm Meadows micro grid is providing reliable service even during frequent utility grid outages and enabling the customer to make intelligent trade-offs between comfort and cost.

“When you flip that light switch, turn your television on, or boot up your computer, you expect power,” said Kiran Penmatcha, CEO of Grene Robotics. “Like a national power grid, the Palm Meadows micro grid manages generation, distribution, and the regulation of the flow of electricity to its households.

We are pleased to have helped implement a proven, open and multi-application energy control infrastructure that enables Palm Meadows to become distributors of energy within their community. Today, the community is evaluating the integration of solar generated electricity for the future. On March 29, the community may look to add other applications, such as outdoor lighting control on the same infrastructure.”

The frequency and length of blackouts in South Africa can have devastating effects on its commercial sector. For example, the local South African public utility had to institute a system of rolling blackouts over a period of four months to balance electricity demand, in which supply was interrupted at least once or twice a day on an average of four hours at a time.

The Clearwater Mall tenants, which consist of nine anchor stores, and more than two hundred other local and international fashion and quick serve food outlets, restaurants, banks, electronic goods and other specialty stores, require reliable electricity so they can continue to run their business.

The mall’s new retail micro grid solution based on Echelon partner PMT’s Meteringonline energy management application, employs Echelon smart meters, data concentrators, and NES system software to submeter individual tenant usage, so they can pay only for their actual energy usage rather than the industry norm of paying for energy on a square footage basis. Furthermore, tenants can opt-in to power supplied by local back-up generation when blackouts occur.

PMT’s Meteringonline application interfaces to Echelon’s system software and reconciles usage with energy source, allocating tariffs based on actual use. The on-demand energy services allow the store owners to manage their energy usage and associated costs and maximize revenues.

“South Africa experiences major power shortages with rolling blackouts on a regular basis, therefore implementing a rock solid energy control networking platform for Clearwater Mall and its tenants was of utmost importance,” said Graeme Mellis, director of PMT. “The Echelon solution with our Meteringonline system software created a perfect micro grid solution for Clearwater Mall to deliver multiple applications to its tenants, such as submetering, selective back up generation and consolidated billing.”

According to Pike Research, interest in implementing micro grids is spreading among educational, commercial, government, healthcare, industrial, and research campuses. A new report from Pike Research forecasts that total installed generation capacity for campus micro grids will increase by 164% between 2011 and 2017, rising from 620 megawatts (MW) to 1.6 gigawatts (GW).

By the end of the forecast period in 2017, the clean tech market intelligence firm anticipates that the campus micro grid market will reach $777 million in annual revenue.

“Micro grids are an aggregation and optimization platform that can squeeze the most value out of existing and new distributed energy assets, whether they are solar photovoltaic generation technology or smart meters enabling demand response.

Micro grids are the building blocks of a smart grid whose modularity can shrink energy consumption by 10 to 15% through more intelligent networking,” said Peter Asmus, senior analyst at Pike Research.

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A newly formed entity, The Business Leadership Council for a Generation Born HIV Free, met here January 9 with a delegation of six United States Senators, the US Ambassador to South Africa, a broad array of leading business executives, and South African Government leadership to highlight recent advances fighting AIDS and to pledge a collective determination to end mother-to-child transmission of HIV by the last day of 2015.

“We need the power of the private sector, working together with governments around the world, to get this done in 48 months,” said John Megrue, CEO of Apax Partners US, and Chairman of the Business Leadership Council, a newly-formed group of business leaders that will be launched during the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month. “It is unacceptable that 360,000 children were born with HIV last year around the world.”

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina led the congressional delegation, and was joined by Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, Sen. Kay Hagen of North Carolina, Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, Sen. Mike Johanns of Nebraska and Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina.

In South Africa, the efforts are being led by the Government of South Africa with support from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and from UNAIDS and from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the world’s leading financing institution dedicated to supporting large-scale prevention, treatment and care for these three diseases, and other partners.

The Global Fund, which has already committed over US$22 billion worldwide, is a unique public-private partnership in global health that has proven highly effective. ”Thanks to strong government leadership, South Africa has made dramatic strides toward ending mother to child transmission of this virus,” said Mr. Megrue.

“In business, we take deadlines seriously, and work to ensure they are achieved,” said Natie Kirsh, CEO of Jetro. “This effort must be no different, and we as business leaders commit to bringing our expertise and resources to the table in this 48 month race.”

Mr. Kirsh was joined by several of South Africa’s most prominent figures and business leaders, including Executive Mayor Alderman Patricia de Lille, Deputy Minister of Health Gwendolyn Ramakgopa, former President F.W. De Klerk, singer-songwriter and HIV/AIDS-activist Annie Lennox, Bridgette Radebe, founder of Mmakau Mining, Andrea Kerzner, Founder of the Lalela Project, Brian Brink, Medical Director ofAnglo American and Christo Wiese, Chairman of Pepkor & Shoprite SA.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/khym54/

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In its new Travel Trends 2012 report, flight comparison site Skyscanner has revealed that Australia and New Zealand are seeing a resurgence of interest from the British travelling public. Skyscanner, which has over 15 million users a month, analysed its vast data on user flight searches to produce the report on global travel trends.

Both countries have long had close ties with the UK with strong tourist traffic going in both directions, but the report reveals that interest has increased during 2011. Flight searches to New Zealand were up by 35.4% (making it the fourth biggest rising destination in Skyscanner’s report) and flight searches to Australia were up 24.9%, making it the 20th biggest rising destination.

Travel to New Zealand was boosted significantly by the Rugby World Cup which took place during autumn 2011. The total number of visitors arriving for the rugby has now been confirmed at 133,200 against a forecast of just 95,000 for July through to the end of October.

Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive Kevin Bowler hailed it as a fantastic result. He said: “We promoted the New Zealand message hard around the tournament and so expected to see this sort of growth from traditional rugby-loving nations like Australia (up 17,200 people, 21.2%), South Africa (up 4,900 people, 417.4%) the UK (up 2,800).”

This increase in interest is expected to have a knock-on effect for tourist visits to New Zealand in 2012. When Germany hosted the football 2006 World Cup, tourism bosses reported an increase in travel to the country for the following 24 months.

Australia’s boost in interest is thought to be partly attributed to innovative advertising campaigns with partner airlines targeting the UK market. In 2010, Tourism Australia partnered with Emirates, while in February this year, an GBP800,000 advertising campaign with Singapore Airlines had both TV and online slots to boost visitor numbers in the wake of flooding in Queensland and wildfires in Perth.

In autumn 2011, Tourism Australia also worked with ITV on a major broadcast campaign with UK breakfast show Daybreak. The promotion, in partnership with Qantas, saw 50 winners and their companions head to Australia, with their holiday adventures featured on the television programme from November 7-11, generating excellent publicity for the country. Tourism Australia also sponsored Paul Merton’s Adventures, a UK Channel 5 travel programme running for six weeks from October 19.

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Permits allowing mining less than 6km from a World Heritage site in South Africa were approved in July 2011. The permit allows Australian-owned Coal of Africa Limited’s (CoAL) subsidiary, Limpopo Coal company Pty ltd. to mine near Mapungubwe. In 2003, UNESCO listed Mapungubwe as a World Heritage Site.

The Mapungubwe National Park lies at the confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo rivers in South Africa. In the early 1930’s, Ernst van Graan, a farmer and prospector, convinced a Mowena local in the Limpopo province of South Africa to show him where a fabled hill of gold was. The Mowena showed the farmer the hill and on it, an archaeologist’s dream of artifacts were found.

From the Mapungubwe hill, priceless artifacts and information regarding life in southern Africa AD 1300 were found. A golden rhino statue, glass beads and pottery were found on this site. These recoveries tell much about the societal and technological advances occurring around this time.

Groups opposed to the Coal of Africa’s mining so close to a World Heritage site have launched an interdict in an attempt to stop the Vele Colliery operations. The group goes by the name Mapungubwe Action Group (MAG).

It is comprised of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa, the Association of Southern African Professional Archaeologists, the Peace Parks Foundation, Birdlife South Africa and the Wilderness Foundation of South Africa. They are concerned about the proximity of Vele to Mapungubwe as well as the impact the activities will have on the biodiversity of the unique area.

On IOL.co.za’s Business Report, Nick Hilterman writes “CoAL has been ramping up public relations around the proposed 8,500 hectare largely opencast coal mine in the Mapungubwe cultural landscape, next to Mapungubwe Park and World Heritage site and across the rise from the Zimbabwe component of the forthcoming Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation area.”

The Action Group’s chairperson, commented to a South African Newspaper, The Mail and Guardian, “The interdict application is an interim measure that seeks to prevent the mine from carrying on any mining or related operations on Vele,” Hilterman said.

The applicants have lodged internal appeals against both the decision to grant the mining right and the decision to approve the Environmental management Programme. The decision on these appeals is pending.

Mining Weekly reported that “CoAL has stopped all activities requiring the use of water after a coalition of nonprofit organizations appealed the integrated water use license.” The company is allegedly engaging with the Environmental Affairs minister, Edna Molewa to resolve the matter as soon as possible.

Should CoAL get it’s way, the Vele Colliery should produce about 5 million tons of soft cooking oil over a 25-year period. A website dedicated to the cause of protecting Mapungubwe, lists five things that people can do to help keep CoAL off the World Heritage site, of which one is to sign their petition and another to reach out to the authorities.

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The world famous South African artist William Kentridge was a very special guest on May 27 at MAXXI, the National Museum of XXI Century Art located in Rome’s elegant Flaminio district. In an interview by Carlos Basualdo, curator at Large Maxxi Arte, the filmmaker and theatrical director, who is also a skilled draughtsman, spoke about his problematic view of art and, above all, life and its dependency. This was revealed to be not so far from the Ancient Greek philosophy of “panta rei”: Everything flows.

Born in Johannesburg, Kentridge gained a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and African Studies in 1976. Afterwards, he received a diploma in Fine Arts from the Johannesburg Art Foundation, and, at the beginning of the 1980s, decided to study mime and theatre at the L’École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris.

He evidently took a 360 degrees training which highly affected his broad, original and sometimes strongly politically-oriented artistic production – ranging from drawing, to sculpturing, performance art, film, television, and so on. He is probably one of the South African artist who can boast the most about his major exhibitions at, most notably, the museums of modern art of San Francisco and New York, and whose six great works are displayed at the Italian MAXXI.

However, he is more widely known as a unique film animator. In fact, his distinctive technique, which consists of filming the same collages or charcoal drawings over and over again, is world renowned because it goes against the traditional rules of cell-shaded animation. He is famous for meticulously making small changes from time to time in his filming, allowing an evolution of the drawings and preserving traces of their past.

But it is not just about the simple mastery of an experimental artist, skillful at altering his drawings creating optical illusions. Kentridge has always had a deep awareness of the historical and philosophical scope of his actions as well: “In the same way that there is a human act of dismembering the past there is a natural process in the terrain through erosion, growth, dilapidation that also seeks to blot out events.

In South Africa this process has other dimensions. The very term ‘new South Africa’ has within it the idea of a painting over the old, the natural process of dismembering, the naturalization of things new,” he argued in an introductory note to Felix in Exile, one of his famous film.

Likewise, art itself might be thought of as an infinite and varying migration never reaching any destination and basically determined by body and change: “the work has to be created with the rhythm of the body”, the creator stated at the event at MAXXI. The objects are unstable, achieving statuses which are always going to change: even meters and kilometers “are not so reliable as they seem.”

His work deals with an artistic and existential metaphor, shown at the Italian contemporary museum through some witty animated movies. One of them was about three bicycle wheels concurrently spun by three Kentridges using utensils. The Dada experiment provokingly demonstrated how wheels, out of their common usage, produce movement as well as time while their spokes was being turned.

They might become rhythm itself. Moreover, “these films are about what it is even inside the drawing: drawing is primarily a physical activity, it is about a movement of the body,” where the pencil is “a piece of chunk at the end of your hand” through which you give your rhythm depending on “the energy that comes (…) through the body,” Kentridge added. Thus, the drawing appears to be a sort of theatrical exercise due to different degrees of tension produced by the body, “which correspond, in theatrical terms, in different kinds of performance.”

Questioned by Basualdo what the movement of the wheels had to do with his drawings as far as endlessness was concerned, William Kentridge appeared without any doubt. Art is about transience: “there is a kind of promiscuous migration of images from one form to another, something that starts as a drawing coming to a film, the film coming to a piece of theatre, and the spinning wheels coming to an idea for theatre performance.”

Furthermore, according to the artist, the film itself is very much about “provisionality, the work not being fixed. It is not a photograph, it’s a photograph 25 times a second.”

Overall, like bicycle spokes or evenly maneuvered hands of a clock, man is only a fragile player repeating always the same drama over a unique piece of paper.

Just like the famous Kafka’s parable called My destination which the South African creator called attention to at the end of his event. In fact, essentially man is just “a talking clock,” he concluded.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.115135405239696.28892.115135238573046

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Here is the story of a lady. God, how beautiful she used to be. Wait, what? Why am I using the past tense? Well, dear reader, that is because this is a pretty sad story which involves inequality, hate, and stupidity. Never would I have imagined that such a thing could happen. But let’s start from the beginning, then you will able to have your own opinion.

Not so long time ago, I was in the Southeast country of the continent where giraffes and rhinoceros have breakfast together. I was supposed to make a photo report, but well, the sun was too hot, and let’s just say that the bar makes a better argument than a roasting hot car.

Now that we have a location and a bar as you might expect, what about the character?

She was the waitress at the bar I used to go to. She was so gracious, that I have the impression that the very air would obey her. She had the perfect height for a woman, her black hair would kiss her back and meet it like the lazy dew sometimes comes to caress flowers. Her sweet face was a wise compromise between the joy and straight. An air of comfort seemed to come off of her. I couldn’t fall into her charm. I didn’t want to date her in the least. She was something too pure and too perfect to ask out. So we began to talk each other, she told me she was from one of the townships who fence off the big city. She told me how she had to give up her studies to take care of her brother and sister, and how her life wasn’t very fun. This wasn’t because of her work, or the fact that she had to take care of her family, but because of what she was: a lesbian. I was quite surprised by this, a lesbian? Thanks to you, a million guys are happy on youporn.

But apparently, in her country, «men take youporn for the real life…». I was quite afraid by her thoughts.  Did she mean that people hand job themselves on the streets? A whole country of wanckers. After all why not, the French are not so different. But what was she said to me was way too far away from my worst thoughts:

“Actually, if you are a lesbian here, well you have a lot of chance to be rape. Not because you’re prettier, but because you’re a different. You see, despite of the 2002[1] and 2008[2] law about the homosexual way of living, lots of guys consider being a lesbian to be like a disease. And the cure to this is rape. According to them, girls will ‘experience’ the full joy of ‘boy’s love’ if they experience it, no matter what, and using the force is something  legitimate.”

I have to admit, I was quite shocked by this speech. Not knowing what to say, I simply and naïvely asked: “And what about the cops?” The reaction I saw was a veil of darkness, mixed with sorrow covering her face, but her joy was still there. Not really joyful but a kind of brightness that didn’t leave her face. Then she continued: “But you know, stupidity is something normal in our society. I’m sure that things will change. They have to. After all, our greatest president stayed in jail 27 years. That’s everything I know.”

Her optimism was a human example. Despite of everything she was living through, she could still keep a smile.

On the way back to my hostel, I couldn’t think of anything else besides what she had just told me, such attitudes were too cruel to exist still. I bought some cigarettes and asked the guy at the counter what he thought about lesbians. His face seemed to puke before he spoke:

“I hav’ no time to rape ‘er b’t fortunat’ly someone do!” “But I have a friend who raped. He broke her tooth, hit her, bit her, then left her with garbage, place she deserved, they have to be corrected.”

That’s it, a corrective rape. Unfortunately, I think the name speaks for itself.

I politely smiled and thanked him for my cigarettes, while I was regretting my question. That is a fact, lesbian girls in South Africa are usually raped and nobody cares. They are humiliated and treated like a poor piece of sick meat that should be cured, and nobody says anything.

On the last day of my stay, I went to the bar to say bye to my friend. She wasn’t there.

“Surely sick” was the answer of the bartender. I was quite sad to leave this country without saying good bye to her, and all I could do was just leave her a note.

Two days ago I was in Paris, and in the french newspaper Le Monde, I read an article which was titled  “A young lady hit to death”. The first thing I saw was her name. Teeth, ears, eyes, everything were gone, according to the article. Why? Because she used to love women.

I never was in South Africa. I read an article in Le Monde and I felt so sorry for those involved, that I wanted to write a short fiction story about the events. I hope everything will change really soon.

Here is a video from the website Youtube edited by the newspaper the Guardian:

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