Eu tento mais em mais ser eu mesmo, me importando relativamente pouco se as pessoas aprovam ou desaprovam.
Vincent Van Gogh
Não existe nada mais difícil para um pintor verdadeiramente criativo do que pintar uma rosa, porque antes que ele possa faze-lo ele primeiro precisa esquecer todas as rosas que ele pintou até hoje.
Henri Matisse
Somente quando [...]
Voltei pra aula de sapateado (pro começo, diga-se), no primeiro dia foi Mama Africa e no segundo, Barbatuques. Será que estamos dominando o mundo? Depois dizem que não somos potência… afe! Estou trabalhando para que a fama se mantenha, mas ô responsabilidade! Preciso dizer pra professora que entender a letra me atrapalha!
E terminei Harry Potter [...]
- Categories finally expanded from 15 to 20
- Fantastic performances by Omawumi, Rooftop MCs and MI
- Prof (Mrs) Jadesola Akande honoured
You would be forgiven if you thought you were at any of the major Nigerian awards; not just a launch. There was glam, there was glitz, and there was a blinding array of stars as Season 4 of Nigeria’s biggest youth event, The Future.. Awards, was launched in Lagos on the 30th of September.
The venue was rave new place, Studio 868 in Victoria Island and the action started right from the exclusive Nigezie green carpet as cameras clicked away and guests sipped from their cocktail glasses.
The guests were welcomed into the venue by the anchors, Cool FM’s Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi and ace comedian, Jedidiah. Then the show kicked off with comedy and a performance by rave new guitarist, Bez Idakula. This was followed by a special post-humous tribute given by Prof. Pat Utomi in honour of late Board of Trustees member, Prof Jadesola Akande – the award was presented to her son, Debo, by Ms. Bennie Uche.
What followed was a very moving Keynote Speech delivered by the event’s Creative Director, Chude Jideonwo. The, speech, titled ‘Yes We Can’ and which won standing and thunderous clapping ovations traced the story and evolution of The Future Awards over the past three successful years and tied it to the story of this next generation. “In business and technology, music, movies and the media, fashion and beauty, sports and advocacy, comedy and the corporate environment, young people were making such giant strides,” he said, “Why wasn’t the media talking about those ones? Why wasn’t the government trumpeting those examples? Why wasn’t the true story being told that young positive role models were actually in the majority?”
The event saw spectacular performances by Omawumi of Idols West Africa, whose new single, In the Music, got the guests screaming and swaying; ace rapper MI, who ’set the roof on fire’, and the Rooftop MCs who took it to another level with their mega-hit track, La gi mo.
Unveiled at the occasion during a presentation by the event’s PR Director, Emilia Asim-Ita, were the new logo and the new website. Also unveiled was the ‘i am the future’ campaign which is the theme of the entire media campaign for the awards – TV, radio, print and outdoor; working with brand ambassadors; ‘Gbenga Sesan, IK Osakioduwa (Wildchild) and Tara Fela-Durotoye, who are the only three people to have won twice at The Future Awards.
Nominations were also formally declared open as from 12 midnight on that day: the awards have been expanded from 15 over the past three years to 20, and the judges were unveiled to include Mo Abudu (Moments with Mo), Bolanle Austen-Peters (Terra Kulture), Siene Allwell-Brown (Nigeria LNG), with Dr. Reuben Abati remaining its Chair.
Guests at the star-studded party included Stella Damascus, Michelle Dede, Tara Fela-Durotoye, Bukola Adubi, Toni Kan, Ebuka Obi Uchendu, Funke Bucknor, Soundcity’s Onyinye Igwe, the winners of Nigeria ’s Next Top Model with the organizer Joan Okorodudu, Big Brother’s Ofunneka, Najite Dede, amongst others.
The train now moves to the national tours, which will take the Awards team to town hall meetings in Abuja , Kaduna , Enugu , Ibadan , Benin and Lagos to engage the youths at the grassroots.
Nominations are to be submitted via the website and by phone and close on the 31st of October. The date of the Awards proper was also unveiled to be the 18th of January, 2009, in Lagos .
This launch event was held with support from Macleans, Yvent Couture, Zapphaire Events, Nigezie, Total Consult, O’Naphtali, Royal Mega Printing, Wea Concepts, Tremor Perfect, Saheeto, La Bash, and Nigeria International.
In what will go down in history as an urgent response to a clear need, various organizations have thrown their weight behind the ongoing Internet Safety, Security and Privacy Initiative for Nigeria campaign (www.pinigeria.org/isspin). Let’s face it, we all wish for an end to the embarrassing situation that sees an odd number of cybercafe users employing a tool that has helped nations jumpstart their economy to slow ours down. TV shows, media debates and various discussions across the world have pointed accusing fingers in Nigeria’s direction — and some have even given a global vice a name that makes it sound Nigerian! Have you considered how much more trouble may be brewing with the unlimited number of “opportunities” that have now opened up for online criminal acts with the continuing democratisation of access?
This should not be! We can’t sit by and watch our youth waste the two opportunities that we have to compete in the New Economy — time and ICTs. They buy bulk time in cybercafes, own wireless cards and laptops, and are getting smarter by the day. Gone (well, not really) are the days when they only tried to work through eMail messages with obvious spelling errors — and why do they always leave Caps Lock on each time they send emotional lies our way? They don’t only waste time on these acts that have earned us an unenviable number 3 spot in relation to online crime, our inability to help them find better use of new technologies will only cloud the possible use of the same for socio-economic transformation.
Well, all hope is not lost! Various institutions are adding their voice to this campaign by the day. It began with Microsoft — the brain behind the Internet Safety, Secutiry and Privacy Initiative — for that much-needed support to help kick-start the process. Microsoft Nigeria’s committment to a long-term partnership will help Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN) add value to the lives of Nigeria’s youth through the many opportunities that Information and Communication Technologies provide. When PIN came up with the idea of an Essay Competition that will allow young Nigerians to add their voice to “Curbing Cybercrime in Nigeria,” Teledom Group didn’t waste time in expressing their unreserved support for the initiative — and that explains the first set of mouth-watering prizes for the competition. Teledom didn’t stop there, they have also announced prizes for the Quiz Competition that will see secondary school students across Nigeria battle it out and decide who’s boss when the issue is ICTs.
When you have Nigeria Computer Society’s blesisng for an initiative (as we do for the Essay Competition), you can be sure of the professional touch that keeps the effort going. With New Nigeria Club (in collaboration with Generis Solutions) having announced their support for the essay competition and NairaHost also voicing their key support, we can only imagine how exciting this will be for those students who’re presently thinking through (and writing) their essays. Thanks to Empire Mates Entertainment, Planet One and Temwangbon Entertainment, Lagos will feel the vibes on October 25! Let me not say more than that for now… watch out! The ISSPIN “Ambassadors” spread across 11 states and I must thank each of them for the amazing plans they have put together for their own roles in the campaign — and for the work they are already doing.
While the campaign workshops are rolled out in Anambra, Delta, Niger and Ondo states over the next few days, there will be parallel events (led by ISSPIN Ambassadors) in Abuja, Lagos and other locations across Nigeria. We are not surprised at the keen interest shown by various institutions within and outside Nigeria (e.g. Germany, UK, USA) because the message is very clear: it’s time to redeem Nigeria’s lost Human Capital by redirecting the energy of our youth towards appropriate use of online resources. The Internet Safety, Security and Privacy Initiative for Nigeria (ISSPIN) is not just a Microsoft-sponsored or Paradigm Initiative Nigeria-driven project, it’s a nation’s response to a vice that has eaten too deep into the fine fabric of our nation and world.
Join us today… Please visit www.pinigeria.org/isspin, write to info[at]pinigeria.org or call (+234)-741-56-25 to discuss your role in this campaign.
4th October 2008 marks the 7th Birthday of the International Young Professionals Foundation.
Born at the conclusion of the first International Young Professionals Summit in October 2001 on Australia’s Gold Coast, the IYPF has grown in to a strong global network of young professionals spanning 130 countries working together to create a better world for current and future generations.
To celebrate our 7th Birthday, we’ve put together 7 ‘gifts’ for you.
Go here to see all of the presentations, session summaries, and even live recordings from our 3rd International Young Professionals Summit, held 19-23 August 2008 in Manchester UK. Be sure to take the time to listen to the presentation by Professor Jeffrey Sachs on how young professionals can help to achieve the Millennium Development Goals
At the IYPS 2008 portal, there are links to upcoming events to be held on Interwise. We will hold monthly meetings and all are invited. The October meeting will focus on projects and plans for engaging young professionals in the MDGs. The November meeting will be a learning opportunity as we invite someone working on the MDGs to brief us. In December, we will hold our Annual General Meeting + have another projects and planning meeting. Bookmark the portal website and come back regularly to see what is on.
Join hundreds of other young professionals at more than 50 events in more than 30 countries to Stand Up Against Poverty between 17 and 19 October and demonstrate that we are ready to play our role in seeing the MDGs realised by 2015.
Visit mdgpledge.org today and pledge to incorporate the MDGs in to your personal and professional e-mail signatures. It is a quick and easy way to raise awareness about the MDGs and start conversations with your friends and colleagues. More MDG pledges will follow.
We’ve revamped our website. It is now easier to quickly learn about IYPF and find out how to get involved.
Click through to enjoy each gift and share these gifts with your friends and colleagues.
We look forward to working with you all to mobilise and engage young professionals in achieving the Millennium Development Goals over the next 12 months.
The concern for internet safety is a global phenomenon, especially as those who never had access are increasingly being connected through their computers, mobile phones and other devices. While the prevalence of social networking websites, online communities and internet-enabled processes should be great news for individual, corporate and government users, the concern for safety remains a major source of concern. A 2007 Internet Crime report listed Nigeria as number three on the list of the world’s top ten online crime spots; and the prevalence of cybercrime among a sizeable number of young Nigerians goes to show the need for immediate concern, especially with the recent boom in mobile service provision and online payment platforms in Nigeria.
With support from Microsoft Nigeria, Nigeria Computer Society and Teledom Group, Paradigm Initiative Nigeria is proud to announce an essay competition as part of its ongoing social campaign against cybercrime. Essays may only be submitted by students of tertiary institutions in Nigeria and the theme to be explored is “Curbing Cybercrime in Nigeria,” with a focus on what must be done to redirect the energy of young Nigerians towards productive online engagements. Essays, which should not exceed 500 words, must be submitted as Microsoft Word attachments to essay@pinigeria.org by 11:59pm on October 19, 2008. The winning essay will be announced at the campaign event holding in Lagos on the 25th of October, 2008, so all those whose essays go past the first screening exercise will be invited to attend the event. Prizes to be won include Laptops, Multimedia Desktop PCs and GPRS-Enabled GSM Wristwatches.
For more details about the anti-cybercrime social campaign, please visit www.pinigeria.org/isspin or contact info@pinigeria.org
De a poco, Facebook se fue comiendo mi blogging. Si las fotos de cualquier salida terminan en facebook, si "qué estás haciendo" se publica en facebook, incluso desde mi messenger (uso Pidgin, en el que tengo todas las cuentas, incluida la de twitter y... facebook!), el blog termina pasando a segundo plano, porque "el ruido", los amigos y los comentarios terminan pasando por facebook y no por acá... :S
Pero el blog no se da por vencido! :)
Qué es de mi vida?
ElArgentino.com: la primera primicia para este blog es que soy redactor de ElArgentino.com :) Hago mayormente las noticias de política, las de tecnología y las bizarras (de mucha importancia en los medios online). Trillones de gracias a Mauro Federico que me recomendóooo!! :D Ahora sí puedo decir que soy periodista y no sentirme desvalido ante la respuesta: "ah, sí?, en qué medio estás?" jeje...
Al Fondo Hay Lugar: La otra primicia para este blog (y sólo para este blog, porque ya hace un mes que ando en eso) es que, junto a Sol Frontini y Mauricio Pladellorens, estoy haciendo un programa de radio llamado "Al fondo hay lugar" que se emite todos los sábados de 19 a 20 por FM 90.9 y por su sitio www.Antena91com.ar, en Lomas de Zamora :D
El programa es "just for fun" para entretener y entretenernos, con música, noticias insólitas, entrevistas a personajes, algún que otro radioteatro, etc, etc...
Podés escucharnos:
Los sábados de 19 a 20 por la 90.9 si estás en zona sur, o en donde sea que estés por www.antena91.com.ar (sólo con internet explorer)
In 4 days, Nigeria will be four-dozen years old (well, maybe young, considering that others are more than four times older). On that day, which happens to be the last day of a five-day weekend, many things will be said. Politicians, business leaders, religious leaders, citizens, foreigners, men, women, young, old… many will take advantage of the day to say what they hope others to remember long after the day. Counting from one to forty-eight isn’t what you do in a flash, so don’t blame those who say things you wish would not be not added to the long list of bad things that have been tied to this beautiful nation. You will hear (or read) some others and shake your head in disbelief. A few activities may make you proud of the nation of your birth but please brace up for the usual “we shouldn’t be here right now” advice from many who suddenly, on October 1, will become experts at solving every possible problem that exists within the Nigerian space.
But… Beyond what others will say and/or do, what are you saying right now? And how does what you say — and do — add or remove from the dream that exists in your mind for Nigeria? In a generation that respects what we see beyond what lies on (or comes from) the inside, how can I ensure that my daily actions bring Nigeria closer to what I envy in other nations? Regardless of your present location or vocation, it is difficult to deny your silent or spoken wish for a better nation. In fact, that is why you get so angry (which gets so bad at times you dismiss it off as mere indifference) when you hear the not-so-pleasant “songs” that have almost become a daily experience! Watching and listening to a sister earlier today (see video here), I identify with that yearning I have heard (and seen) expressed in various forms as I complete my assignment from one nation to another.
We have celebrated the emergence of a New Nigeria but I ask, as we inch closer to October 1, for the New Nigerians: that generation that will use what they have to create what they wish for. And we do have a lot — don’t look too far, watch TV (and you may add Hi- or DS- as a prefix), listen to the radio, check out that talent at the event! In 2 years, the drums could be rolled out in celebration of the attainment of the gloden age; and the content of that celebration may either be “patriotic denial” (not much to celebrate but at least we turned 50) or pure joy arising from the celebration of your deliberate acts of moving the nation closer to one we can be proud to call home. By the day, I meet young Nigerians who make me proud of being around at such a time as this — a time we have the opportunity to take the destiny of a nation in our hands and rewrite her story.
I don’t know what chapter you’re writing, but I hope your pen has ink for the days — and years — ahead. We are writing the story, and in the days of its publication, many will call the authors lucky. At that time, the smile that will sit comfortably in the corner of their (that should read “our”) mouths will only be traceable to the deliberate acts of contribution that form today’s investment. What will Your Chapter be in the New Nigerian Story?
We all know I'm a big fan of technologies and gadgets... so when I read last week in the New York Times that one of the more innovative genetic mapping companies (23andme) had reduced the price of its Genetic Mapping service (which many companies sell for up to $2-3,000) from $999 to only a few hundred dollars, I decided it was an amazing amount of information and education to be able to get access to for that amount, so I took the plunge and signed up.
A day later, FedEx delivered a Spit Kit to my house, which requires about 10 minutes of spitting into and mixing together with a solution, and your DNA sample is ready to send back! And off it went to Los Angeles, California to a laboratory today. Funny enough, the FedEx Pak they provide specifically says "do not send liquids" on it :)
So in 6-8 weeks, I'll know where my ancestors are from, whether I'm genetically lactose intolerant, whether or not I love broccoli because I can't taste the bitterness in it, and whether or not I'm a bit more likely than average to get certain diseases or be susceptible to certain conditions in my lifetime, along with dozens of other interesting facts. For less than the price of a university course in genetics, I can view and learn much of the world's most up-to-date knowledge on the relationships between genes and personal/medical conditions personalized to my specific genetic data. How cool is that?
You can make a case against "messing with your life" this way (I had an interesting discussion about this with someone just the other night), but I think that given the great power we have as humans to be intelligent and understand life in a way that no other species can, we then have a responsibility to use it to maximize the potential of our lives. Right? I guess it's also just a bit of an extra motivation knowing that you're slightly more at risk than average to do something about it! (from 1-2 times more or less likely than the generally population, in most cases)
I'll check back in with the results in a few months!
We’re blogging live from the Nigerian Bloggers’ Conference…
The conference, which is holding at the Banquet Hall of Elomaz Hotel in Lagos, Nigeria started with a quick introduction by the host (one of Nigeria’s most popular bloggers), Adeolu Akinyemi. Others, who’re busy introducing themselves include the writers of this blog, a weapons engineer, soon-to-be bloggers, blog readers, blogger of the “Gbeborun of Lagos” fame, husbands and wives who blog together, an uncommissioned “Obama speech-writer”, I-must-now-ressurect-my-blog folks and others. From the introductions, it is quite clear that many bloggers started (and stopped, and then resumed again) after reading other blogs.
‘Gbenga is taking us through the definition of a blog or what I’d like to call Blogging 101 or Blogging for dummies. Hmm… his motivation for blogging was fuelled by what he’d like people to say about him at his funeral…lol. One of the reasons he started blogging was to have an outlet for articles he wrote that Newspapers were too scared to print because it didn’t fit their model of political correctness. He also made a personal choice not to blog about bad news because there’s enough bad news out there already. One of the beauties of blogging is the realness of the authors, the way they share the things they truly believe in. Like it or not, blogging can help you to influence things in society, because you have a circle of influence.
Now Olumide is talking and I’m blogging. He’s taking the audience through domain names — what they are and why you should own one. He’s just thrown in a new word — findability — and it says a lot about how owning a unique personalized domain name can help people identify you more easily. “It sets you apart from the crowd, keeps you in control, makes moving easy and helps you keep rakings with your search engines,” he said. I like the “keeps you in control” bit because it helps avoid having adverts that contradict the content of your blog because you’re using a secondary provider’s service. Owning your own domain also shows your seriousness about your idea or business — if only because you pay some money to get that in place each year.
Gbenga Aijotan, of NaijaBrains.com, is presently speaking about online media advertising. He’s discussing the possibility of attracting corporate adverts on blogs having built loyal traffic.
I have the honour to inform you that RIMA Foundation in collaboration with the Association for Information and Image management (AIIM) USA will organize the above captioned course from 14th – 17th October, 2008 leading to Master, Specialist and Practitioner qualification in the field of records and information management, recognised internationally.
RIMA Foundation, a not-for-profit NGO that seek to promote proper management and security of records and information in Nigeria.
Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM), a not-for-profit organization, represents the Information Management community as the global association for both users and suppliers of Enterprise Content Management solutions – the strategies, services and technologies which enable organizations to capture, manage, store, preserve and deliver information to support business processes. AIIM have existed for more then 60 years.
We would like to use this opportunity to request that you nominate some key management staff and other employees responsible for the management of records and information in your esteem organisation to attend the training programme.
We look forward to receiving your nomination within the next couple of days as we have got limited training slots.
Regards,
Oyedokun A. Oyewole
President
RIMA Foundation
3rd Floor
First Shedrach Building
8, Association Avenue
Ilupeju
Lagos, Nigeria.
Tel: 01-8940451, 08023819008
www.rimaw.org
www.rimafoundation.org
Tem alguns anos que faço aikido. Depois posso contar de onde veio a motivação pra começar, mas certamente não está relacionada com o movimento pop que vai fazer da arte o mesmo que fizeram com o coitado do Sun Tzu - eu mesmo estou pensando em escrever: ‘Aikido nas organizações’, ‘Seja um líder aikidoca’ ou, [...]
Putting MDGs into Action: The World Summit Youth Award 2009 - Register now
Salzburg/New York, September, 2008 – The World Summit Youth Award (WSYA) invites young designers and e-Content creators to participate in an international competition. Sought-after are e-Contents that address in an inspiring manner the UN Millennium Development Goals, and use internet and mobile contents to create awareness of the MDGs.
An application form is now available online at www.youthaward.org/apply for all online platforms that are led by youth under the age of 30. Projects may be submitted in the following five categories:
1. Fight Poverty, Hunger and Disease !
Rewards the most effective contents and applications addressing issues of extreme poverty and hunger, offers solutions for those whose income is less than $ 1 a day, supports the reduction of diseases and fights the spread of HIV/AIDS and the incidents of malaria.
2. Education for all !
Gives credit to the most innovative contents, platforms and solutions to give children everywhere, boys and girls alike, a full course of primary schooling, to advance in training for personal development and jobs, and to achieve a high level of understanding and knowledge of the global information society and its problems and promises, challenges and opportunities.
3. Power 2 Women !
Demonstrates the most inspiring contents and communities which promote gender equality and empower women, eliminate gender disparity in education and at work places, facilitate access of women to all levels of political decision making and that strengthen women’s contribution to peaceful resolution of conflicts.
4. Create your Culture !
Celebrates the most engaging online platforms and applications expressing young people’s aspirations, ideas and values, sharing their news, enabling their participation in decision-making processes, strengthening social justice, promoting the knowledge of many languages and cultures, supporting multilingualism, creating new contemporary forms of culture and preserving indigenous knowledge and traditions.
5. Go Green !
Showcases the ground-breaking applications and contents addressing the natural environment, ensuring sustainability, integrating the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes, reversing the loss of environmental resources including biodiversity, reducing the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and improving the lives of slum dwellers.
The application deadline is midnight, GMT on December 31st, 2008. Please note that the online platforms need not be youth-led so long as the specific project is.
An international jury of 12 experts will evaluate the projects, determining three winners for each category. Winners will be given the opportunity to showcase their platform to heads of state, business leaders and civil society at the World Summit Award (WSA) Gala and Winners Conference in June, 2009 in Monterrey, Mexico.
About WSYA
The WSYA selects and promotes best practice in e-Content and technological creativity, demonstrates young people’s potential to create outstanding digital contents and serves as a platform for people from all UN member states to work together in the efforts to reduce poverty and hunger, and to tackle ill-health, gender inequality, lack of education, lack of access to clean water and environmental degradation.
WSYA is therefore both, a showcase to the world for young designers, technologists and e-Content creators as well as a contribution on a global scale to addressing poverty, protecting the environment, sharing knowledge and empowering young people.
The WSYA will be organised 2008 to 2009 as a follow up activity of the World Summit on Information Society and its action plan towards the year 2015. The Youth Award is organised by the World Summit Award Network for the second time after 2005. The 2008/09 contest is organised in partnership with the Cyber Peace Initiative (CPI) launched by the Suzanne Mubarak Women’s International Peace Movement in 2007. The CPI has a mission to empower youth of any nation, through ICT, to become catalysts of change, to create safe and better futures for themselves and others, to address the root causes of conflict, to disseminate the culture of peace and to create international dialogues for a harmonious world. Founding partners of CPI are The Suzanne Mubarak Women’s International Peace Movement, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the International Telecommunication Union, the Global Alliance for ICT and Development, Microsoft, Cisco and Intel. WSYA is also supported by the Internet Society (ISOC).
Get involved today at www.youthaward.org and showcase your project to the world!
Contact Information: Angelika Spraider, WSYA Project Coordinator
ICNM – International Centre for New Media
Moosstrasse 43a
A-5020 Salzburg, Austria
Phone: +43 662 630408
Email: spraider@icnm.net
Web: http://www.youthaward.org
About the WORLD SUMMIT AWARD
“The World Summit Award (WSA) is the global flagship initiative within the United Nations to identify high-quality e-content products and to promote the most outstanding achievements of creatives worldwide in order to develop the Information Society, bridge digital divides and close the content gap. Started in 2003 in the framework of the United Nations’ World Summit on the Information Society, WSA conducts biannually a global contest for the best e-content products and Internet applications. In 2008-09, 168 countries are actively participating. WSA is an invitation project and a global hub for everyone - be it business, government agency, professional association, educational institution or individual - who sees the crucial importance of e-content creation within the new Information Society. It is part of the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development, held under the auspices of UNESCO and UNIDO and in collaboration with the Internet Society (ISOC) and private sponsors.” (www.wsis-award.org).
