#moneypowersex: the blog @openforum2012-blog - Tumblr Blog

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Graca Machel speaking at Open Forum 2012 (via Verdade Magazine)

#Graca Machel #speakers #moneypowersex #Verdade Magazine

The 21st century land rush

nigerianculture

RIP to The Nigerians that lost their lives in the airliner crash in Lagos.

Read the details of the crash here.

"The masterful Femi Kuti at work" ~ herzimbabwe.

#Open Forum 2012 #moneypowersex #Femi Kuti #performances #experiences

"When Zimbabwean activist, Rudo Chigudu, made us all emotional about gender injustice"

~ herzimbabwe

#Open Forum 2012 #Zimbabwe #activist #gender #Sex #moneypowersex #Rudo Chigudu #feminist #feminism #Africa #African #experiences

'a moment of interaction' by herzimbabwe. featuring minna salami, nana darkoa, and spectra asala.

#Open Forum 2012 #Youth Summit #herzimbabwe.com #experiences #moneypowersex

It’s a long ride from the swanky swag of Cape Town’s Convention Centre to the gritty unaffectedness of the township of Philippi. We are in town for a conference on inequality. Thousands of words of analyses, mind-bending philosophies, but inequality doesn’t get much clearer than the trip to Philippi.

I am in the networking zone, surfing a sea of intellectual encounters, when I encounter Tunisian graffiti artist eL Seed. He’s carrying bags full of canisters, on his way to Philippi to do some street art. “We’re leaving right now, come!” eL Seed’s got this lightning-and-rainbows enthusiasm about his art. It’s contagious. I grab my bag.

The mood is edgy on the drive. The anti-gravitational thrill of sharing beauty, grounded by a discomfiting self-awareness steeped in the pungent scent of privilege, the space from which we operate. eL Seed is grappling with the contradiction. “Do you think they’ll be offended?” He asks me. “Like, who does this guy think he is, that he can just walk into our community and do his art?”

I want to say no. No, of course not, a thing of art is a thing of beauty, a gift from the heart is never misplaced. But who am I to say? We are bringing art and asking nothing in return except that most sacred incorporeal asset – personal space.

“I don’t know,” I tell him. “You’ve linked up with people in the hood; I think that’s the important thing… ?” The question mark. It lingers uncomfortably through the rest of the drive. The politics of ‘giving’ are not for the ‘giver’ to decide.

The township of Philippi was established as a residential zone by South Africa’s apartheid government in the 80s. It was one of the final mass relocations of black people to the distant outskirts of Cape Town. Three decades later, government policies have shifted, but foundational geopolitics remain cemented in the country’s economic and social architecture. The place we are going today used to be a rubble dump for the Philippi area. Now twenty thousand people call it home – Sweet Home, to be precise, is its name.

#Media #Youth Summit #participants #El Seed #Paula Akugizibwe #street art #Cape Town #Philippi #graffiti #calligraphy #exoeriences

The Open Forum 2012 has come to an end in Cape Town, South Africa, with Day three putting a spotlight on Money, Power and Sex: The paradox of unequal growth, where the need for effective sex education was stressed.

There were lively and witty discussions on issues surrounding sex, with some strong argument focused on inequalities and homophobia as well as policies and legislation relative to women’s rights to sexual pleasure.

One of those sitting on the panel at a plenary session on The Politics of Sexual Pleasure was Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah of the African Women’s Development Fund, who runs a blog called Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women.

“Growing up, I had very little sex education, which was basically limited to…you watch TV programs and that teenage girl gets pregnant and she gets thrown out of school, that’s all I knew—those sad stories,” Sekyiamah told West Africa Democracy Radio (WADR) at the recent Cape Town forum.

Seyyiamah explained that this was what led her to start her blog.

“I didn’t know you can have safe sex, you can use contraceptions, sex should be pleasurable, I din’t know all of these issues,” the Ghanaian blogger added.

OpenForum 2012 was organized by four Open Society foundations in Africa convening in Cape Town from 22-24 May to discuss Africa’s future, in the face of present day realities.

WADR’s Peter Kahler caught up with the Ghanaian blogger and Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah explains her motivation.

Listen to the audio, here.

#Media #Press #Open Forum 2012 #Sex #Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah #moneypowersex

In May 2012 the OpenForum took place in Cape Town, South Africa. The gathering brought together activists, artists, academics, policy-makers and business people to discuss the factors that will influence the African continent over the next decade. Leading up to the OpenForum, our partner website This Is Africa organized radio debates with Bush Radio in Cape Town, Ghetto Radio in Nairobi, XFM and YFM in Accra around the themes of the Forum. Altogether, 12 guests representing community based youth projects, media, literary publications and musical groups exchanged thoughts about the promises and challenges of democracy in Africa.

The Cape Town debate was hosted by SA hip hop legend Shamiel X and Bassie Montewa, the Bush Radio presenter who’s a legend in the field of talk radio in the Cape. The panel was made up of a diverse group:

Marion Wanza, sports coordinator at the Proudly Manenburg organization Rebbecca Davis, journalist for Daily Maverick Rithuli Orleyn, spokesperson for September National Imbizo Nicolas Kock, lecturer, Institute for Social Development, University of the Western Cape Simone Witbooi (Hemel Besem), hip hop artist, social activist, development worker

The recording of the discussion has been re-edited by host Shamiel X into a podcast featuring 19 South African hip hop tracks, most of which are not available anywhere else. Another Africanhiphop.com exclusive!

Listen to podcasts and check out track list here.

#Media #podcasts #Open Forum 2012 #moneypowersex #African hip hop #hip hop #South African

A short clip of the proceedings of the Open Forum 'Sex' sessions. Beautiful people, brilliant minds, amazing conversations. Stay tuned for full video!

Produced and Directed by Illume Creative Studio (http://illume-cs.com)

#Open Forum 2012 #Sex #sessions #video #moneypowersex