What is African? What Do We Know? How Do We Know it?

 PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO GRANTMAKERS ONLY.

Join the Africa Grantmakers' Affinity Group for an evening program that launches the IROKO PROJECT** by exploring who is generating information about Africa and how it is being generated. 

Program

* Networking Reception - Meet new colleagues
* Film Screening: “Movement (R)evolution Africa: A Story of an Art Form in Four Acts (65 minutes)
* Panel: “What is African? What Do We Know? How Do We Know It?”   

Film: Movement (R)evolution Africa:  A Story of an Art Form in Four Acts is a documentary film about African artists in the world of dance creating the stories of their own lives.  Through interviews with the artists and excerpts of their work, the film challenges the notion of African artists as keepers of unchanging traditions.  Far from reinforcing (or inventing) a status quo of tradition or nationhood, the fast-track artists who people this movement (r)evolution continue to reframe rapidly shifting relationships and identities as they create and perform in Africa and abroad.  Read more about this film at http://www.movementrevolutionafrica.com/

Panel: What is African? What Do We Know?  How Do We Know it?
The media plays a major role in shaping our thinking and influencing our actions. Despite the dominance of images and information about Africa created by those outside the Continent, there are other images that debunk the monolithic and negative stereotypes. Today, African bloggers and YOU TUBE contributors have joined the community of world renowned filmmakers, writers, and scholars producing images and information about Africa and what is African.    

MODERATOR 

Alyce Myatt - Currently the Executive Director of Grantmakers in Film and Electronic Media (www.gfem.org),  Ms. Myatt has an impressive background in media. Most recently before joining GFEM,  she was the multimedia editor for OneWorld TV,  Vice President for Programming for the Public Broadcasting Corporation, and Program Office for the John D. and Catherine  T. MacArthur Foundation.    

PANELISTS

David Kobia - Mr. Kobia is Director of technology development at www.ushahidi.com.  He is the  former Head of Internet Services at Latitude 3 Media and Allied Media, in addition to software development experience at Vulcan Publications and Time Inc.

Mr. Kobia is the owner of numerous websites, including www.mashada.com (an online African community); www.travelafrica.biz (tours to Africa); www.scubadivingplanet.com (a site geared to scuba divers) and www.TextHQ.com (a text messaging site) to name a few. You can also keep up with him on his blog at www.DKfactor.com.

Eric M.K Osiakwan (LIVE VIA WEBCAM FROM GHANA) - Mr. Eric M.K Osiakwan is the Executive Secretary both of the African Internet Service Providers Association (AfrISPA, www.afrispa.org) and the Ghana Internet Service Providers Association (GISPA, www.gispa.org.gh). He is also a Visiting Fellow and Scholar at the Stanford University and Reuters Foundation Digital Vision Program @ http://rdvp.org/fellows/2004-2005/erik-osiakwan/, Project Co-ordinator for UC Berkeley TIER Group in Ghana @ http://tier.cs.berkeley.edu and affiliate of the Berkman Centre for Internet and Society at the Harvard Law School @ http://cyber.law.harvard.edu. 

During the past five years, he has been involved in a number of information and communication technology (ICT) related projects and initiatives in the US, Europe and Africa for a number of Governments, companies, NGOs, and international agencies. He is currently a Consultant to the WorldBank’s Information for Development program on Open Access for Africa (InfoDev, www.infodev.org). He is also a consultant to BusyInternet (www.busyinternet.com), UNDP Ghana and OSIWA (www.osiwa.org). 

You can view his new technology initiatives for the Dec. 7, 2008 Ghana Elections at www.africanelections.org and www.ghanaelections2008.blogspot/2008/11/mobiles-for-media-empowerment.html

This event is sponsored in association with New York Regional Association of Grantmakers and Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media

**The IROKO tree is a majestic and sacred African tree often used to create the “talking drum.”  Under the IROKO project, AGAG will carry out a series of activities designed to “branch out” to the broader field of philanthropy and promote learning among funders about opportunities to support development efforts in Africa.