TED Global, Africa: The Next Chapter

I tried putting it out of my mind for as long as possible. That what you're supposed to do with birthdays, Christmas, and trips to Tanzania.  Otherwise, anticipation throws you into permanent reverie about all the wonderful and exciting things to come or, even more frightening, makes you suddenly erupt in fits of squeals and laughter when you think no one is looking.  Not that I would know from personal experience of course; this is just what I've heard from friends.  Living through either of these common side effects is not a particularly desirable way to spend your time if the party is, say, six months away.

So I tried putting it off for as long as possible.

But there comes a point when the you just can't keep putting off the inevitable.

I'm going to Tanzania!!!!!!

Let me explain.

TED Global 2007

In TED's own words, this is what TED Global 2007, Africa: The Next Chapter is about:

Over the past few years, a growing number of people in the TED community have become passionate about Africa, a continent that appears to be at an important tipping point. Its problems and challenges are well known. Less well known is that across the continent, change is afoot. Instead of relying only on development aid, Africans across the continent are beginning to take matters into their own hands. Ingenious solutions are being applied to tackle some of the toughest health and infrastructure problems. Businesses are being launched that are capable of transforming the lives of millions. New communication technologies are allowing ideas and information to spread, enabling markets — and governments — to be more efficient. And the numbers suggest that incomes are starting to nudge up in some countries and real growth is on the way. A new Africa beckons.

Now, I am the first person to be as skeptical about Afro-optimism as I am about Afro-pessimism, and I am also generally skeptical of expensive and exclusive events.

But then I took a look at the list of speakers on the conference schedule, and then considered the several hundred people with equally fascinating and diverse backgrounds, points of origins, talents, experiences and concerns, and it becomes difficult not to at least consider conversion.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former finance minister of Nigeria and at the time, I believe the only female finance minster on the continent, will be speaking.  So will George Ayittey, author of Africa Unchained, and Jane Goodall who is, well, Jane Goodall.  They even have Franco Sacchi who made a documentary about Nollywood and Spencer Wells, the National Geographic "explorer in residence"/tracking human migrations through DNA and mRNA studies guy, Seyi Oyesola who invented a hospital in a box, and Zeray Alemseged who discovered the oldest fossil remains of a child to date.  Youssou N'Dour will be there. He'll be doing something even better than speaking.

As you can see, Chris Andersen and Emeka Okafor have put together an exciting program. Equally exciting are the attendees: doctors, scientists, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, musicians, circus performers (yes!), writers, novelists, engineers, activists...the list goes on.

Hooray for bloggers!

Emeka--who himself blogs at Timbuktu Chronicles and Africa Unchained, shares his name with a 24 year-old center for the Charolotte Bobcats (Emeka if that is indeed you, kudos for your time management skills), and is an African foodie entrepreneur--has done what is, at least from my own self-interested as well broader perspective, a very smart thing in including several bloggers in the event.

Bringing together for a couple of days such a diverse group of people who are all passionate about something and all share a passion for Africa, is certainly an exciting opportunity for networking, brainstorming, being introduced to new ideas, forced to reconsider old assumptions, generating solutions to create change,etc., but its value is limited unless there is a way to share that conversation with a larger universe of people and sustain that conversation over time.

This is what TED hopes to do with its new website and talk videos, and this is what I hope I along with my fellow bloggers will be able to facilitate during the conference and in the weeks following.  With such a guest list, I'm sure there will be no shortage of people and ideas to write about.

(And in fact to fellow TED bloggers out there, may I suggest we come up with a unique Technocrati tag if there is not one already to help readers track coverage of the conference?  How about TEDGlobal2007, to think out of the box?)

But in the meantime if you are interested in learning more about TED, I suggest you visit their website  or even better, the TED blog.  You can also watch video from past TED events on their website, or check back here as I will be embedding my favorite speaker events in my blog posts.

At the conference, I will be in good Global Voices company.  Ethan Zuckerman, co-founder of Global Voices, co-founder of Geekcorps, author of the blog, My Heart's in Accra, and big geek (as he likes to say) will be attending.  Ethan has a resume of social entrepreneurship that would make you assume he's on the far side of fifty, only he's a very youthful thirtysomething. 

Ndesanjo Macha, the Tanzanian who will teach me Swahili (don't you love how that's his first qualification?), journalist, lawyer,  Sub-Saharan Africa editor for Global Voices, and Swahili blogger extraordinaire who writes at Jikomboe, Digital Africa, and Pop! Tech Blog will also be attending. 

And so will several other bloggers from the Afrosphere.  From the giant badge on her blog, I assume solar evangelist Afromusing will be coming, and so is White African, Mental Acrobatics, whom I had the pleasure of meeting in Delhi, as well as a blogger from Madagascar whose name is escaping me. Anyone else out there in the ether?

Swahili

This is the middle section of my post which will serve for no other purpose than as an opportunity for me to nerd out. 

Ndesanjo has taught me my first two expressions in Swahili: Habari? (How are you?) and Kwaheri (bye).

I could have taken Swahili my senior year of college, the first year I believe Princeton started offering classes, but passed on the opportunity because I didn't think I'd get very far in only one year.  And let's face it, who wants to take Swahili when you could be, say, passed out, head down, cheek pressed against George Ayittey's Indigenous African Institutions (shameless brown nosing), drool gathering in the corner of your mouth precariously close to the page resting on a table somewhere in a cubicle in the bowels of Firestone Library, as you mark hour 23 since you last had human contact that could pass for social interaction. (Not that I would know from personal experience of course.)  This is what we from elitist colleges in America lovingly and euphemistically call the undergraduate thesis.

All by way of saying it would be cool if I knew some Swahili, but I don't.  But It's never too late.  I came across this lovely blog that has posted five video lessons from Youtube of a Kenyan professor at a Canadian university giving a turbo-speed introduction to basic Swahili.  It brings through pronunciation (double vowels are so fun!) and some very basic phrases, greetings, etc.  If you are a TEDster reading this, take them for a spin.  I can't wait to make a fool of myself in Swahili...only to find out everyone speaks English.

Back to Africa

Now amazing as all of these strangers I hope will become friends are, I would be lying if I said that I would be as excited about TED if it were being held in London.  You see, TED is also a chance for me to return to a continent that has fascinated me since I first stepped foot on it three years ago, and far sooner than I ever imagined.   

I don't understand Africa; I don't even know Africa.  I have an impression.  I've only ever lived there for two months of my life, and the farther into the past those two months recede, the more I feel like a dilettante even having a blog called Africabeat. 

This is an opportunity to go back, to learn a little bit more, to get to know a completely different part of the continent, all while meeting people from all over Africa and around the world who are doing really exciting, creative and innovative things.

Mostly, I'll just be glad to breathe fresh air.  To go hiking on mountains without weighing the trade-off between exercise and carbon monoxide poisoning.  When African cities develop, and I mean develop in the suburban, one minivan per family way--and they will--I can only hope that even if it is the Chinese that build those cities, they will be doing it in a less Chinese way. Or at least a less Beijing way.

The conference lasts for just four days, but I am fortunate in that my office lives wherever I can find an internet connection.  Being that I am traveling all that long way, I thought why stay for just one week?  So I decided to stay for five.  But the rest of the summer is open and it's only 300 kuai (US$36) to move my return ticket. 

I want to hike around Kilimanjaro, do the Serengeti safari, lose time in the blue oceans of Zanzibar.  But of course who doesn't do those things when they come to Tanzania?  I'm also hoping to explore some lesser traveled areas...and am open to suggestions.

I plan to go to Uganda as well, to actually see the country and meet the people I spent almost a year of my life writing about from a cubicle in Firestone library without actually having set foot there.

In short, it will be an opportunity to *really* write about Africa again.  And in the spirit of the little Hibiscus project that could, I'll even try writing in Chinese on occasion.

If you have travel suggestions, friends in Uganda or Tanzania who wouldn't mind welcoming a little white girl with an afro, or know any cool phrases in Swahili I should learn, by all means post or drop me an email.

Otherwise see you in Arusha or here on Africabeat!

Kwaheri!

 

Comments

[jen]

that's awesome, jen! congrats!

[jen]

Yay Jen! Phantastic! Can't wait to hear more.

[Mentalacrobatics]

See you there!

[Jennifer Brea]

Hey Mentalacrobatics. I was pretty sure you were coming to the conference, but I hadn't seen anything about it on your blog and was then less sure. I'll add you to the list. It will be great to see you again!

This world of blogging is so small but so global. I'm constantly amazed by how many people or places I never thought I'd meet or see but have, all because I decided to start writing.

[Black River Eagle]

I was(am) gonna write about this upcoming conference in Arusha but I see that you have already done a great post at Africabeat. It is a really, really important 4 days not only for yourself and the other fortunate attendees (speakers and visitors) but also for the people of Africa who can benefit from the TED Global 2007 - Tanzania spinoff. There will be some benefits for average Africans from this high-profile meeting, oder?

I cannot think of a better lineup of CJ's and blog authors planning to attend the TED Conference 2007 than people like Jen Brea, Ethan Zuckerman, Emeka Okafor, and Mental of Mental Acrobatics. The speaker lineup is a BEAST, some of the best minds on the planet. Make it work, Honey, make it work down there in Arusha.

P.S. Who will be blogging LIVE from the TED Conference 2007? GVO or the TED Global folks? We want video feeds too, lot's of them with "wild animals on Safari" in the background. Good luck.

P.S.S. $6000.00 dollars a pop!!! Are they (the TED folks) crazy?? No wonder they need to award scholarships to some of the "needy" attendees. Everybody is needy at those prices.

P.S.S.S. How come there is such little activity at the Hisbicus Project virtual think tank? I haven't received a notice from the group in weeks? Is the project "dead on the vine"? I certainly hope not as that would be a real pity.

[harinjaka]

Hi jennifer,

J'ai eu un grand plaisir en lisant ton aricle, (comme tout tes articles d'ailleurs) je suis un grand fan et j'espère te croiser à Arusha.
à bientôt !

The blogger from Madagascar on your post ;)

[Afromusing]

Hi! I am here too, will try to find you...my name is Juliana. Looking forward to seeing you. (I am reading this post after checking in at ngurdoto) see you!!

[Villager]

I hadn't heard of TED before this month. It is truly a remarkable line-up and as I've looked at the history it has a great legacy as well.

peace, Villager

[SjP]

You are cordially invited to join EbonicallySpeaking.com. This is a new SurfRing designed specifically for bloggers of African descent.

Be among the first and start driving traffic to you site from those interested in the diaspora.

Go here to join EbonicallySpeaking.com

I also invite you to visit Sojourner's Place. The doors are always open.

[111]

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[234]

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[avhaha]

（法新社倫敦四日電） 英國情色大亨芮孟的a片下載公司昨天AV片說，芮孟日成人影片前去成人網站世，sex享壽八十二歲；色情這位身av價上億的房地產開發情色電影商，曾經在倫敦推成人網站出第一場脫衣舞表av演。

色情影片
芮孟的財產成人影片估計成人達六億五千萬英鎊（台幣將a片近四百億），由於他名下事業大多分布在倫敦夜生活區蘇活區色情，成人因此擁有「蘇活情色視訊之王」日本av的稱號。
部落格

他的成人電影公司「保羅芮孟集團」旗成人網站下發行多a片種情色雜av誌，包括「Razavzav女優leavdvd」、「男性世界」以及「Mayfai情色電影r」。色情a片
a片下載
色情
芮孟情色本名傑福瑞．安東尼．奎恩，父av女優親為搬運承a片包商。芮孟十五歲離開學校，矢言要在表演事部落格業留名，起先表演讀心術，後來成為巡迴歌舞雜耍表演av女優的製作情色人。


許多評論a片家成人電影認為，他把情色表演帶進主流社會，一九五九部落格年主持破天荒的脫衣舞表演，後來成人影片更靠著在蘇活區與成人光碟倫敦西區開發房地產賺得大筆財富。


有人形容芮孟是英國的海夫納，地位等同美國的「花花公子」創辦人海夫納。

[avhaha]

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參觀民眾遊覽兩百五十多個攤位AV，AV女優有性感服裝、玩具及情色食品，迎合各種品味。
a片
大舞情色台上表演的是美國野蠻搖滾歌手瑪莉蓮曼森的前妻─全世界頭牌脫衣舞孃黛塔范提思成人影片，這是成人電影她今年a片下載在英國唯一一場表演。

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[dfg]

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