April Fools' Day - To Fool or Be Fooled.

Tomorrow is 1st April - April Fool's Day…!  If somebody does a practical joke or hoax on you on this day, don't get mad nor feel embarrassed because whoever that person is (or yourself) has a perfect excuse - its April Fool’s Day!

Before I started writing this post, I kept asking my colleagues at work about the origin of this day and what actually happens but couldn’t gather much information from them ad they don't really pay much attention to this in the past years.

Traditionally, in some countries, such as the UK and South Africa the jokes only last until noon, and someone who plays a trick/joke after noon is called an “April Fool”.  In Canada, France, Ukraine, Russia, The Netherlands and some parts of the US, the jokes last all day.

The news about the recent earthquake which was rumored to be hitting Ghana and made a lot of Ghanaians slept in the open space for hours; surely is a perfect prank on April Fool’s Day. David Ajao's post; Earthquake scare in Ghana. Is Ghana prepared? and Ethan Zuckerman's post; The Ghanaian Earthquake Hoax on the Hoax stories explained more, though. What happened to the one who caused that prank? Let’s see more pranks from you tomorrow..!

A good April Fools’ Day prank needs good planning, so get on it! Don’t just go abusing people if you don’t know what to do. I came across this link which has a few positive and non-abusive pranks you can play on your colleagues, friends and even families.

In Ghana, how do people celebrate this day? Do you agree we skip it tomorrow and spare each other from lame practical jokes and fake drama? Have you ever played a prank on your friends/families during last year’s April Fool’s Day? Do you mind sharing your views on April Fool’s Day in Ghana? How would you celebrate this day?

Photo Credit: Getty Images

ZOOM ZOOM - The Career of Azumah Nelson

Does the name Azumah Nelson ring a bell? How well do you know him? What about this iconic title “Zum Zum”? Have you ever wanted to know more about the “Professor” of boxing from Ghana and how his career took off the way it did…?!?!

Somewhere in August 2009, during Maker Faire Africa ’09 in Accra, I got in touch with British-Ghanaian Writer/Director Sam Kessie at the fair, where she made a call to other filmmakers and film-lovers to help make movies from Ghana more interesting to the international community by introducing production value, originality and creativity because Ghana has a lot of stories to tell.

Priscilla Afua Sam also known as Sam Kessie in the industry is the brain behind the Documentary Film: - "ZUM ZUM - The Career of Azumah Nelson" which premieres at the Silverbird Cinema in Accra, Ghana.

Date: Saturday, April 17, 2010

Time: 7:00pm - 10:00pm

Location: Silverbird Cinema, Accra Mall. Accra-Ghana

From the slums of Bukom; a suburb of Accra comes the inspirational story of a young man who believed his destiny was to become a King amongst Kings. Azumah, ‘Zum Zum – The Professor’ Nelson was the World Boxing Council - World Champion for over a decade, putting the little West African coastal nation of Ghana on the map.

We follow the humble story of a man who believed in himself and became the Terrible Warrior, and arguably the greatest boxer to come out of Africa. With highlights of rare footage and interviews from Azumah and many others, this is the true testament of the legend’s career.

This is a MUST watch. Bookmark the date; April 17^th, 2010 and make sure, you grab your tickets in advance.

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World Water Day.... A view from Ghana Blog-o-sphere!

World Water Day is a day observed on March 22 since 1993 when the United Nations General Assembly declared March, 22 as World Day for Water, according to Wikipedia.

As part of this year's observation of the day which was under the theme;

World Day for Water: Communicating Water Quality Challenges and Opportunities

The day was observed with a hash-tag #WWD on twitter.

Jemila Wunpini Abdulai, author of Circumspecte Blog and an active member of the Ghana Blogging Group suggested we make the day a Ghana Blogging Universal Day post. This means, all members shall write posts related to water and water issues on the day [March, 22] and throughout the week. Below is a round-up of the various posts by members on World Water Day.

Emmanuel K. Bensah presented two pictures in his post which he describes as “blue gold” which none of us could do without. He also shared his sentiments on why can't we invest into state-run systems rather than privatization;

I'm concerned on this day about the role of private management companies that purport to resolve our water problems–how effective are they in the long run? Is it not better to invest money into state-run systems to develop capacity?

Suffering at the Mercy of Water was the title of Gameli Adzaho's post. He shared his view on how important water is in our daily lives;

We all know how important water is in our daily lives. We use water to cook food, rehydrate our bodies, keep our bodies clean and so on. Water also plays important roles in both natural and man-made systems. Simply, water is life.

In his conclusion he says:

It is quite obvious that although water is essential for our survival on the planet, some natural and man-made factors have combined to make us suffer from this natural resource. This has created the situation whereby, although water is life, it has become sickness, suffering and even death for large swathes of the world's population

Nana Yaw Sarpong, a broadcast journalist, a concerned African and a believer in the third option of this world shared how his employer, Radio Universe on the campus of University of Ghana decided to run several reports on water issues. He also described how water runs only late in the night in Dansoman, a suburb of Accra where part of his family resides in his post entitled, Water Is Life:

If a Member of Parliament in Ghana's current government can get US$50,000 for a car of his/her choice, why can't he/she fix the water problems [burst pipes and so on] in his/her constituency? He asked!

He also stated how he can't comment on the same water issue among the rural folks in Ghana in the paragraph below;

I cannot begin to talk about our rural folks. It would seem as if I'm making a mockery of their plight, the country's plight. But if those in Sunyani, Takoradi, Accra, Tamale and Kumasi cannot get constant water supply, how could my grandmother in Ejisu-Juaben lift up her hand to be spotted? It is sad. They cannot boast of good, clean water from their pipes if those pipes exist at all. Except for their age-old technology of boiling water to make it safe for drinking, I wonder what the situation would be!

Jemila Wunpini Abdulai in her post described Water as Ghana’s “Forgotten Oil”. In her opening paragraph, she stated how “Ghana's Oil-find” is the main topic of discussion in the Ghanaian circles these days. She quoted from both the Bible and Quran to support her post on the importance of Water;

Continue reading more here....

Photo Credit: Anderson Cooper's 360 Blog.

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TEDxYouthInspire LIVE in Accra, Ghana.

On Saturday, April 10, 2010, from 8:00AM – 6PM GMT, the inaugural TEDxYouthInspire conference will be held at the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT in Accra, Ghana. The free one-day event, a first for young African visionaries ages 14-25, will welcome a host of youth speakers, a Ghanaian dance ensemble and an Academy Award-nominated short film.

Organized along the theme “A Good Head & A Good Heart”, taken from Nelson Mandela’s 1995 autobiography; Long Walk to Freedom, TEDxYouthInspire will exhibit how radical thought and integrity of spirit combine to create unlimited possibilities for a brighter future.

The outpouring of support for TEDxYouthInspire exemplifies the need for more events like this for young people,” says Raquel Wilson, event curator, “As our speaker line-up suggests, youth everywhere are ready to solidify their contributions towards making the world a better place.”

TEDxYouthInspire welcomes the following speakers to give the talks of their lives:

Iyinoluwa E. Aboyeji, 18, a Nigerian teenager with a passion for philosophy, global politics and economics, is President of the Board for University of Waterloo publication Imprint. Using his weekly column “E is for Error” to discuss development and post secondary education, he aspires to be a tenured professor by age 25.

The Asanti Dance Theatre is a dynamic ensemble that combines traditional, contemporary and freestyle dancing along with drumming. Founded in 2003, the group raises awareness of prominent issues facing West Africa and is dedicated to developing and preserving the cultural heritage of Ghana.

Yawa Hansen-Quao, 26, is a women’s empowerment activist and firmly advocates that “one cannot love an Africa one does not know.” Believing that women must play a central role in spurring economic and social advancement in Africa, Yawa supports travel as a tool to “transform people without permission”.

Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah is the host of Joy FM’s Super Morning Show.

Mac-Jordan Holdbrookes-Degadjor, 25, a social media activist, who’s passionate about Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D), Networking, Youth empowerment and ending poverty through Education. With three blogs to his credit, he often writes about global events, social entrepreneurship, traveling and how it feels to be a geek in Ghana.

Shirley Osei-Mensah, 18, is an Internet entrepreneur and student at Keystone National High School. Unable to attend a regular classroom, she takes all coursework online and uses her web exposure to inspire others, provide tips about entrepreneurship and advise on earning an income online.

Esi Yankah, 25, is founder and president of The Africa Mentor Network and creative director for Yankah and Associates. Cautious to always live a life that is cheerful and purposeful, she does not believe that entrepreneurs are an extraordinary breed of people; rather, as she explains, “We just back our faith with action.”

Ghana Google Country Manager Estelle Akofio-Sowah will host TEDxYouthInspire.

TEDxYouthInspire is sold out; however a live web-steam of the event will be available online at www.tedxyouthinspire.org Individual and corporate sponsorship packages are still available.

Additional information about TEDxYouthInspire can be found by visiting www.tedxyouthinspire.org. Follow us on Twitter at @TEDxYouthInspir or Facebook at www.facebook.com/tedxyouthinspire.

Credit: Raquel Wilson