It will be a couple of years after the brouhaha surrounding the first African bloggers conference in Grahamstown SA and its supposed lack of diversity, but it’s finally good to see the announcement about an African bloggers conference in Nairobi. Hopefully those of you who felt that Grahamstown could have “looked” better will take this opportunity to help shape Kelele into what you’d like it to be as far as representing the African blogosphere (yes, no bitching after the fact is what I’m saying!).
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Related tags: and [+], Africa [+], kenyaelection07 [+]
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KELELE - The African Bloggers’ Conference
» Mentalacrobatics 
What is Kelele?
Kelele is an annual African bloggers’ conference held in a different African city each year and run by an organising committee in that city. Kelele will be held for the first time in August 2009 in Nairobi, Kenya.Why Kelele?
Kelele is the Kiswahili word for noise. We are organising a gathering of African bloggers in the tradition of historical African societies where everyone has a voice. Where society has room for debate and discussion. With too many voices marginalised or simply ignored in Africa society today for a variety of reasons we believe that technology in general and grassroots media tools such as blogs in particular represent the most powerful way in which to give Africans back their voice. We are gathering in Nairobi in August 2009 to make a powerful, positive, inspirational noise that will be heard across the continent and beyond. KELELE!The theme of Kelele ’09 Nairobi is Beat Your Drum – we want to connect the traditional Africa method of getting your message across vast distances – the talking drums – to the 21st century and the tools we use today to get our message across, blogs and the Internet. We anticipate that this conference will continue to be called Kelele wherever it is held. For example Kelele Nairobi ’09, Kelele Accra ’10, Kelele Cairo ’11 and so on.
When will Kelele ’09 Nairobi take place?
August 2009. We have tentatively booked the 13th – 16th August 2009.Here is a summary of the proposed programme:
Day 1 August 13: Arrival in Nairobi and official opening
Day 2 August 14: Conference Day
Day 3 August 15: Skills/Training Day and Outreach Day. Official closing
Day 4 August 16: Sight seeing / departureSister events
The African Bloggers Awards, which aims to recognise the top blogger from each African country. The winner from each country will be invited and sponsored to attend Kelele ’09 Nairobi.Budget
Every successful event needs the backing of some great sponsors! We’d like to invite all organizations with an interest in blogging, Africa and citizen media to become a sponsor of the inaugural African Bloggers Conference: Kelele!There are a variety of ways that you can become involved as a sponsor for Kelele - your contribution doesn’t only need to be financial in nature. If you’d like to find out more about the sponsorship opportunities, please email daudi.were AT gmail.com
For more information please contact
Daudi Were – daudi.were AT gmail.com
Erik Hersman - erik AT zungu.com
Ndesanjo Macha - ndesanjo AT gmail.com© Mentalacrobatics for Mentalacrobatics, 2008. | Permalink | 3 comments
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Kenyan Bloggers Meet Up Tonight
» Mentalacrobatics To celebrate the end of another week and to herald the beginning of the weekend, a bunch of Kenyan bloggers/blog readers/blog enthusiast/secret bloggers/potential bloggers/relatives of bloggers will be meeting at Alpenhofs, next to Prestige Plaza on Ngong Road at 6pm TODAY Friday 3rd October. Nothing formal, no agenda, just catching up to find out what people have been up to, making new connections any excuse to spread some good blog karma. It looks like some very interesting people are going to be coming and so should you. Really. You have no excuse no to come. Spread the word.
© Mentalacrobatics for Mentalacrobatics, 2008. | Permalink | 2 comments
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Why Ushahidi is important
» Mentalacrobatics White African and Afromusing have informative posts on how you can vote for the Ushahidi project on the Netsquared mash up challenge. If you had voted before, please go and vote again. This project really is ground breaking. Let me tell you a little bit why.
Report Acts Of Violence In Kenya
At the end of January I attended a media forum organised by Internews Network. The forum was for the media to examine the way local and international media covered the post election violence. A self-assessment session. It was a fascinating way to spend a morning. The room was filled with hacks. Newspaper journalists, TV reporters, radio presenters, from the broad spectrum of media houses in Kenya. The big national broadcasters, the vernacular radio stations, the religious radio stations, and yes even the bloggers. I was invited to attend and to speak as a blogger and I gave a presentation on the way the blogosphere had covered the election and the post election violence.
In a session towards the end of the forum the discussion moved on to what we all could have done better in terms of our coverage. One statement that stood out for me was a comment that a lot of the reporting of the violence by Kenyan reporters/bloggers read like it was done by strangers. Kenyan reporters/bloggers were writing about things in their own country like strangers. For example, we all talked about Rift Valley militias like they are some kind of abstract phenomenon. Who are these militias? Who is funding them? Where do they live? What were the doing the day before the election? What do they call themselves? What are the names of the members? As Kenyans journalists they felt that these are the things they should have covered from the beginning.
The same applies to the victims. We always complain about how Africans are reduced to statistics. Remember when Al Qaeda bombed the US Embassy in Nairobi and western media reports named the foreigners who died and left out the Kenyans, or when flight KQ507 went down and we heard international media reports which named a list of nationalities and ended with “the rest were Africans”? Well here we are in the middle of the greatest crisis our country has ever faced and we couldn’t even name our own victims.
A few reporters spoke out against this criticism. One reporter said that as a Kikuyu woman she would have to be mad to approach the family of a victim of “stray” police bullet to ask his name as the public felt the police were working to protect the Kikuyu, and would have to be completely bananas to try and interview members of any Rift Valley militia who were busy running around rounding up Kikuyus. Valid points perhaps but they were quickly knocked down. After all, the moderator remarked, as professional reporters you must have more than one way to find information. Just because you can not approach the family directly is no excuse not to be able to identify the victim of violence or to do a story on the identities behind the militias.
A couple of people raised another concern, that it was completely unrealistic for us to think that it is possible to name all or even most of those victims of violence. They felt that it was nice in theory but in reality it was unworkable. An Indian journalist who has been based in Kenya for the last few years as a foreigner correspondent told us about the example of Calcutta.
After riots in Calcutta left over 3000 people dead one of the newspapers, I think it was the Calcutta Daily Telegraph, launched a project to name each of those victims and it succeeded. 3000 people and they wrote all their stories. If they can, we can too.
It is unacceptable that people, our people, remain numbers. It is unacceptable that as Kenyans we can feel comfortable in the continuing anonymity of the ultimate victims of the post election violence. And let us be honest, we are cowards if we continue in this way.
It takes guts to look death in the face, to find out whom this person was, where they worked, where they went to school, to hold their children, to speak to their partners. To find out what their dreams were. It takes guts but it is necessary.
Take the example of James Odhiambo:
- James is 24 years old.
- James is the sole breadwinner for his family.
- James works at a petrol station as an attendant.
- One of his colleagues at the petrol station is called Brian Oluoch.
- James was killed in Lurambi at the junction on the way to Shikoti, Kakamega in Western province, Kenya.
- According to eyewitnesses he was shot by the GSU.
- The police were unable to pick James’ body, as they did not have enough fuel for their vehicle.
- James Odhiambo was buried on Sunday 13th January 2008.
- James was buried in Homa Bay, Nyanza province.
- Brian and other friends from the area travelled to Homa Bay to comfort the family.
- If you would like to help the family directly you can contact Brian on +254.724.912.015
The national media declined to run James’ story so how do I know about it? I know because Mr.Michael Arunga, who works for World Vision in Darfur, was on holiday in the area at the time and took pictures, which he allowed Afromusing to post on her flickr account. Afromusing then wrote a blog post with all the information above she put on her personal blog and on Ushahidi.
Report Acts Of Violence In Kenya
In one blog post of 399 words James went from being just another number. James went from being just another dead body in the “over 1000 causalities” of the post election violence in Kenya to being James. Afromusing’s post is disturbing and saddening. It is also powerful and necessary. Afromusing’s blogpost and Michael’s pictures humanised the death of a young man, personalised it, and made it real and relevant.
This is why the Ushahidi project is so relevant and so necessary. We as Kenyans are guilty of having short-term memories. Yesterday’s villains are today’s heroes. We sweep bad news and difficult decisions under the carpet; we do not confront the issues in our society and get shocked when the country erupts as it did two months ago. Ushahidi gives everybody, anybody, the opportunity to get his or her experience recorded. Through SMS, through email, through the internet, through meeting an NGO worker who will write down what happened and share it with us. Ushahidi is a project that has to be owned by those who use it; they have to believe in it. They have to trust it; they have to feel a part of it. Ushahidi is not the end but the beginning. We have the information, we share it, and people will run with it. Hopefully we will get the stories behind the numbers. Just as with James we can inject a little humanity back into the lives of these people who were killed because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The project is recording not just incidents of deaths, but of all the violence. The project is not recording just the negative stories but highlighting the doves who are working for peace in our communities as well. And the project needs all your help to survive. Ushahidi needs your help, needs your votes. Please vote for this project on the Netsquared challenge. You can find full details on how to do this here. After you vote, please get involved by submitting your experiences and those of the people around you to the database. Instructions on how to register to vote are here and here.
Thank you.
Report Acts Of Violence In Kenya
© Mentalacrobatics for Mentalacrobatics, 2008. | Permalink | One comment
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One big happy(ish) family
» Mentalacrobatics A few years ago I posted a comment on a friend’s blog (which sadly no longer exists) in which I remarked that the Kenyan Blogs Webring reminds me of a typical African extended family. Fluctuating from supportive to destructive, from connected to disjointed, from sane and united to crazy and dysfunctional. Those family members who always believe that there is someone in the family out to get them and thus they constantly whisper conspiracy theories while looking over their shoulders? Well KBW has them too. Luckily we have a lot of sane, sensible and funny family members too.
Every once in while I get reminded that some people have way too much time on their hands! In the past 12-18 months I have been slowly switching webhosting companies as I search for more reliable, personal and courteous service. The webhosting company I left was called BlueHost
and the webhosting company I now use is called A Small Orange.
(Some of you sharp ones will have figured out by now where this post is going!)
Bluehost’s primary colour is, naturally, blue. A Small Orange’s primary colour is, naturally, orange. Kibaki’s Party of National Unity primary colour is blue and Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement primary colour is orange. If this was not proof enough that I am Odinga’s number one fanboy, the mere fact that I choose a Webhosting company with the word orange in its name and now display a button with an orange is proof enough for some that mentalacrobatics.com is embedded within Odinga’s camp. Hehe.
People, sometimes a webhost is a webhost and not a declaration of political affiliation! Honest!
© Mentalacrobatics for Mentalacrobatics, 2008. | Permalink | 7 comments
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Official spokesmen not reliable sources of information
» Mentalacrobatics Sometimes it feels sweet to be right. Other times it sucks to be right.
In June last year I was heavily criticised for writing a blog post with the title “Suicide Bomber Hits Nairobi” when downtown Nairobi was rocked by an explosion. I had sourced that information from a Reuters report which quoted a policeman saying that the explosion looked like the work of a suicide bomber.
The criticism I received focused on my use of the words “suicide bomber” and centred on the argument that it was irresponsible for me to report the explosion as a bombing until the police had released a statement. I wrote a post titled, “In Defence of Bloggers” in which I argued that in Kenya currently it is COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS to sit around and wait for a statement from the police or indeed from the government. Where was the official police statement on the Mount Elgon clashes and where was the official police statement on the Mungiki beheadings I wondered at the time? I argued that the Official Government Spokesman and Official Police Spokesman are not reliable sources of information. This was obvious to me then, it is obvious to all now.
Kenyan TV has shown clips of young men being gunned down by police and the police spokesman states that he believes the clips have been manipulated to look like something out of “Rambo”. The country is burning and the official Government spokesman went on TV to say that there are a “few skirmishes here and there.”
I am attending a media conference on Wednesday where I will speak on behalf on bloggers and believe me I will repeat that bloggers are the ultimate source of primary information in Kenya today.
And despite my argument being proved right by time (after all those who led the criticism against me then are now leading the insults against the official spokesmen) I wish that we had a mature political system where at least the police would realise that they work not for a single political party or regime. But that they work for the country.
Sometimes it sucks to be right.
© Mentalacrobatics for Mentalacrobatics, 2008. | Permalink | 4 comments
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Citizen Media - Kenyan Election 2007
» Mentalacrobatics A big thank you to all Kenyans both here at home and abroad who are blogging this election. Whether it is the live blogging of results or sharing your thoughts and fears it is good to hear so many voices. Thank you also to all of you who have left comments and sent emails over the election coverage on this blog or on something you may have read on KenyaUnlimited. Comments and interaction are an integral part of the blogging process; your efforts are also appreciated.
What we are doing is revolutionary in terms of local news coverage and in generating local web content; imagine the impact we will have on coverage of the 2012 election. There are a couple of reasons why this blogging effort is important:
- We are showing that citizen media is alive and well in Kenya.
- We are showing that Kenyans regard the Kenyan citizen media is a valid source of information.
- We are showing that citizen media can react and publish faster than the main stream media in Kenya.
- We are showing that you do not have to be “on the inside” within the ECK nerve centre at KICC or within a major media house to report on what is going on with the election with authority.
- We are showing that the internet is a valid tool for spreading and sharing information.
- We are showing that the Kenyan street is aware and articulate.
- We are creating local and original web content.
And perhaps most importantly (for our brothers and sister in the main stream media)
- We are showing that citizen media and the main stream media can not only co-exist but even compliment each other.
Now a call to arms literary rather than literally, if you have a blog write your thoughts about this election. Whether you are in Kenya or not, whether you are Kenyan or not. We need more voices from the wanainchi writing about their country. If you have left a comment or sent an email and do not have a blog, please start one. If you can send an email believe me you have enough technical skill to write and post a blog post. Register at WordPress.com for free and you’ll be on your way. Then register on the Kenyan Blogs Webring (KBW), which is also free, and you will have a wide readership from your first post.
This is very important for those of you who have asked me to remove certain KBW members from the webring or remove their posts from the KenyaUnlimited Aggregator as you do not agree with what they are saying. Many of you already have own blogs yet I notice that your own blogs are silent on the issues you raise with me. If someone writes something you disagree with by all means let your voice be heard as you present your counter view, and the best place to do this is on your own blog (which if you are a KBW member will appear on the same aggregator where the post you objected to appeared).
Finally, I have been getting many requests asking if you can reproduce the content on this blog in your newspapers, aggregators etc. Everything on my blog is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence.
This means you are free to:
- Share — to copy, distribute and transmit the work
- Remix — to adapt the work
Under the following conditions:
- Attribution. You must attribute the work to me. A link to the original blog post with a line saying written by Mentalacrobatics or written by Daudi Were should be fine.
I think that is fair. You can read a short version of the license here or if you are very particular about these kinds of things you can read a full version here.
© Mentalacrobatics for Mentalacrobatics, 2007. | Permalink | 2 comments
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Locked out of your WordPress blog?
» Mentalacrobatics If you are running WordPress and find yourself locked out of your own blog with an error message that reads like this:
Error 403
We’re sorry, but we could not fulfill your request for /blog_directory/wp-login.php on this server.
Your Internet Protocol address is listed on a blacklist of addresses involved in malicious or illegal activity. See the listing below for more details on specific blacklists and removal procedures.
Your technical support key is: unique-key-number-here
You can use this key to fix this problem yourself.
If you are unable to fix the problem yourself, please contact your-email-address and be sure to provide the technical support key shown above.Do the following:
- Please check to see if you have the Bad-Behaviour plug-in installed.
- If you do update to version 2.0.11 immediately.
More information on this post.
If you are trying to leave a comment on a WordPress blog and get the above error message please direct the blog owner to the link above. Apologies to anyone who was locked out of Mentalacrobatics.
(Hehe for a minute there I thought I had been hacked/cracked/banned!)
© Mentalacrobatics for Mentalacrobatics, 2007. | Permalink | One comment
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kenyaelection07-
9:01
Youtube video on call centers in Kenya
» Kenyan Pundit Bitange Ndemo and Nesbitt of Kencall are featured. Click here to watch. AOB: Rising Voices has announced their second round of grant funding of up to $5,000 for citizen media outreach projects…”Ideal applicants will present innovative and detailed proposals to teach citizen media techniques to communities that are poorly positioned to discover and [...]
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Global Voices
» Mentalacrobatics
I have joined the Global Voices Advocacy team as one of the sub-Saharan reporters in their network of bloggers and online activists throughout the developing world that is dedicated to protecting freedom of expression and free access to information online.
I have also joined Global Voices as one of the sub-Saharan reporters. My focus on Global Voices will be to highlight blogs, bloggers and blogposts which cover any human rights issues in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In effect I am a foot solider under the joint command of two of the most engaging bloggers out there, Sami, Head of Advocacy at Global Voices, and Ndesanjo, the Sub-Saharan editor at Global Voices!Global Voices Advocacy …
… seeks to build a global anti-censorship network of bloggers and online activists throughout the developing world that is dedicated to protecting freedom of expression and free access to information online. The aim of this network is to raise the awareness of online freedom of speech issues and to share tools and tactics with activists and bloggers facing similar situations in different parts of the globe. The network is meant not only to provide support to its members, but also to produce educational guides about anonymous blogging, anti-censorship campaigns, and online organizing. By collaborating with software developers, activists, and bloggers, the network hopes to design new and more appropriate tools to protect our rights on the Internet.Global Voices aims to
- Call attention to the most interesting conversations and perspectives emerging from citizens’ media around the world by linking to text, photos, podcasts, video and other forms of grassroots citizens’ media being produced by people around the world.
- Facilitate the emergence of new citizens’ voices through training, online tutorials, and publicizing the ways in which open-source and free tools can be used safely by people around the world to express themselves.
- Advocate for freedom of expression around the world and to protect the rights of citizen journalists to report on events and opinions without fear of censorship or persecution.
If you come across or know of any blogger, blog, blogpost I should be aware of please let me know, I will be very grateful.
If you are interested in writing a regular round-up of Kenyan blogs for Global Voices, following in the footsteps of brilliant pioneers such as Mshairi and Afromusing, please get in touch with Ndesanjo.
© Mentalacrobatics for Mentalacrobatics, 2007. | Permalink | One comment
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