A STROLL WITH JENNIFER EHIDIAMEN (For International Journalists' Remembrance Day)

“I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is an immediate short-term weapon.” ~Tom Stoppard

From the village town crier reporting at the market square to the foreign correspondent on cable TV, we are grateful to all the men and women who invest their time, resources, and even put their lives on the line to keep us all informed on a day-to-day basis. Journalism has evolved over the years, and the evolution of technology has facilitated this process a great deal. Right now we have a wide range of information sources to choose from and we can even share our own views with people from around the world in real time.

My guest, Jennifer, is a tech savvy Nigerian Journalist keen about using the new media as a tool to disseminate information. She’s presently serving as a senior reporter and media trainer at Global Press Institute, and she’s a 2013 new media fellow at the International Reporting project at John Hopkins University SAIS.

We talked about her flare for journalism; the evolution of Global journalism down the years; other youth leadership and entrepreneurial ventures she’s involved in; and so much more. For International Journalist’s Remembrance Day 2013, here is my stroll with Jennifer Ehidiamen;

FLORENTINA (For International Day for Tolerance)

Guest Writer: Dike-Ogu Chukwumerije

Image Credit: wesfaulk

I grew up in the darkness because there was always something wrong with the transformer in our estate, on the boundary between Lagos and Ogun. This was 1992 when Sango-Ota was still a quiet backwater. And the roads in Ojuore were all sand, and crooked. But my brother had a guitar. And at night he would sit, with a lantern at his feet, stroking strings at the edge of the kerosene-scented halo.

Can Science Solve all the Problems in the World? (For World Science Day for Peace and development)

Guest Writer: Richard Oduor

Image Credit: www.kazembassy.hr

In the 21st century, the word ‘science’ means ‘solutions’. The international Observance, World Science Day for Peace and Development, offers us a platform and a chance share our ideas for a better world and reiterate, once more, that science is the solution for all the world’s material problems. Over the centuries, science has transmuted from being a sacred discipline accessible only to a select few to become a way of life. Every single day, individuals, consciously or unconsciously, rely on established scientific principles to make individual, family, community, national, and global decisions. The world would never have achieved the current state of technological advancement without scientific thought. Science is the furnace where ideas are smelt, purified, and modelled into useful tools.

BREAKING CONTROLLING POWERS (Court Weekly)

Image credit: www.theguardian.com

I have always been one to defy tradition and laws I do not believe in; sacrificing for freedom of self and expression, even as I angle to help fight the cause of human right, justice and equality. In this weekly, there is a deep call from within to consider this, take advice (whatever you glean) and speak your mind. Enjoy, even as you think.

A STROLL WITH TADE IPADEOLA (For Day Of the Imprisoned Writer)

“The writer’s curse is that even in solitude, no matter its duration, he never grows lonely or bored.” ~Criss Jami

Some writers don’t just write stories to tickle fancies. They use their pens as megaphones to speak against powers that try to deny people the basic human right of freedom of expression, and often these writers are persecuted, imprisoned, and even killed. That is why since 1981 PEN International has dedicated November 15th to draw attention to persecuted writers around the world.

My guest on the stroll today is a poet, lawyer, and the president of PEN Nigeria. He’s also the winner of the prestigious NLNG Prize for Literature (2013)—one of the biggest literature prizes in Africa—for his book the Sahara Testaments; which has attracted a lot of positive reviews from around the world.

He told me about some imprisoned writers around the world and how we can help them; the secret writing process behind the Sahara Testaments; the various projects PEN Nigeria is involved in; and so much more.

Here’s what we discussed;

OUR VOICES AS ONE: WE CRY ‘JUSTICE’

Stella Oduah, Nigeria's Minister for Aviation (Image Credit: Jaguda)

Structures of whatever structure are put in place, for things to fall in place; leadership structures are no exception. When people gather to choose and implement their choices to represent their interests, be it in national or international affairs, these choices are expected to function well and with the interest of those who have chosen them in mind. Those who did the choosing can and should always hold these choices accountable.The choices are responsible to those who have chosen them; by choices, I mean ‘leaders’ of any kind and on any platform.

TOWARDS A BETTER SCIENCE-DRIVEN SOCIETY (For World Science Day for Peace and Development)

            Guest Writer : John Oyewale

  
I am thinking of science (and inexorably of technology) and at once I am thinking of Archimedes, Avicenna, Dalton, Newton, Boyle, Lord Kelvin, Tesla, Edison, Mendeleev, Pasteur, Koch, Fleming, Harvey, Salk, Roentgen, Einstein, Sanger, the Curies, Sir Gurdon…we could go on and on. I am also thinking of the Industrial Revolution, the rise of the United States of America, the World Wars and their attendant atrocities, the post-WWII arms race, the first manned flights in the skies as well as into space, the discovery of everything from, say, antimalarial drugs to the metabolic pathways of the human body and to the Higgs-Boson particle, the lingering struggle with multi-drug resistance, the incredibly vast network of the information superhighway on which Bill Gates and the perspicacious ghost of Steve Jobs may be driving on, side by side with a Lagos highway beggar and an Ile-Ife market woman…

A STROLL WITH CHINEDU MBAMALU (For World Science Day for Peace and Development)

                                    “Science shouldn't be a luxury” ~Jack Andraka 
 

Since the discovery of the wheel by our ancient ancestors, science and technology has really increased the will of man on earth. We can do almost anything right now; fly into space to visit neighboring planets, take pictures of a fetus developing in the womb, grow a new hairline for bald men, and even cook our food in split seconds. Science is indeed the foundation of our civilization. And whenever we talk about science and innovative ideas, our minds go to the highly sophisticated labs in developed countries because of the quality of ideas and products that have been made in there. But, today’s stroll will shock you!

Meet Chinedu, the man who believes he can revolutionize the Jet propulsion system and No, he’s not a student of MIT, Oxford, or Stanford. He’s a self-taught Nigerian Scientist who taught himself rocket science—I mean that literally—and thinks beyond the limitations of his environment.

We talked about his dreams and how he has managed to stay focused so far; his current projects; and how science and technology can be used for good in the world. Sit back and get inspired, here’s our conversation:

THE UNPUBLICISED VICTIM OF WAR (For International Day for the Prevention of the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict)

Guest Writer: Ojekunle Aderemi





'Though mankind has always counted its war casualties in terms of dead and wounded soldiers and civilians, destroyed cities and livelihoods, the environment remains the unpublicized victim of war.'

I salute every courageous environmental activist, social workers, and others in this celebration of enlightenment which the UN has set aside for the education of the impacts of war and armed conflict on our environment.

A STROLL WITH ADAM WINSOR (For International Animation Day)

"Animation offers a medium of story telling and visual entertainment which can bring pleasure and information to people of all ages everywhere in the world" ~Walt Disney

Animated Adam

As I sat back on the sofa to watch Grace, my kid sister giggle at the same Tom and Jerry episode I laughed at when I was 7, I began to understand how much animation connects history and generations together.

For most of us, animation is only something we get to flirt with as kids and once we grow into adulthood, the ‘seriousness of life’ makes us blind to the beauty of animation. But it’s not all of us though... there are still few who never get blind to this beauty.

Adam Winsor is one of the ‘few’. He is an animator, illustrator, and visual storyteller. We had a stroll for international animation day and we talked everything animation; from cartoons to games to movies. Here’s my stroll with Adam, I hope the ‘blind’ will receive their ‘sight’ fall in love with animation all over again (heheh).

MY JOURNEY INTO ANIMATION (For International Animation Day)

GUEST WRITER: Yvonne Ifeoma

My name is Yvonne Ifeoma, and I'm an animator. Too vague? Ok. I shall attempt to break it down into finer, easily understood definitions. Animations basically involve the creation of moving pictures in a three-dimensional environment; Well, two-dimensional or three-dimensional environment really. This is done by sequencing consecutive images (also called frames). There, still too technical? (lol), okay I'm basically into motion graphics; the optical illusion of moving pictures, still too much? Okay, I bring life to still images. There we go.

I'm relatively new to the animation world, and I have my colleague and friend Donald Okudu to thank for this. Contrary to a popular belief that animators are mostly geeks or nerds with little or no understanding of life and socializing, the reverse proves to be the case (at least with me). Combining artistic ability, creativity, and technological ability, Animations are really quite fascinating. Personally, being able to feature in the creation process of various projects is an entirely new high for me.

FIAT JUSTITIA RUAT CAELUM (For United Nations Day)

Without doubt, the world organization, United Nations, has been working for the betterment of humanity as a whole and as with most organizations, there are flaws, weaknesses, there are also strengths. On Justitia today, below are individual views about the UN and its 'workings'. We ‘judge’ the successes and failures of the UN and encourage its members to work more, for there is always room for improvement.

TELLING THE WORLD WHO WE ARE THROUGH FOLKTALES (For World Development Information Day)

GUEST WRITER: ADEBAYO ADEGBITE

 

Part of the things my siblings and I enjoyed when we were growing up was the stories our father used to tell us. We would sit in a circle, moonlight style (but indoors with a florescent bulb acting as the moon,) while he told us folktales. One thing he also did that time was to write down the stories he told us and ask us to read them and learn to tell the stories as well as form our own. But these stories were not Cinderella or Snow white or Sleeping Beauty (though he made sure we read those as well). They were folktales, tales of the greedy tortoise and his regular cast of cohorts, the dog, sometimes the snail, or the pig usually a medicine man and a king as well. We were able to follow the tortoise on his numerous adventures trying to cheat the other animals but whose capers and adventures always end in disaster. I had the fortune of having a teacher father who made those tales so appealing, that it was like I was watching the tortoise as he puts his father-in-law’s porridge into his cap or as he hatches his plot to kill the king’s favourite hunchback and blame it on the Snail.

A STROLL WITH FEMI OKE (For World Development Information Day)

“Information is the oxygen of the modern age. It seeps through the walls topped by barbed wire, it wafts across the electrified borders” ~ Ronald Reagan

The Jet age has been characterized by speed. Fast money, fast cars, fast food, and even faster world record times in sports. But amongst all these, one thing that has really increased in speed is information. Right now, I can sit in my room in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, and listen to President Obama’s speech in Washington about the debt ceiling; follow Malala’s visit to Buckingham palace; and still track the rising and falling figures from the Nigerian Stock Exchange—all at the same time. That is how fast information can be harvested these days.

My guest, Femi, is a British-Nigerian Journalist who started tracking and disseminating information from the age of 14—as a junior reporter for the London Broadcasting Company. Her talent and the experience she has acquired from working for several international media houses—like CNN, Al Jazeera, and BBC—has equipped her with the ability to convert information into a source for dialogue and development.

Can information really bring development? Do public leaders need to listen more to public opinion? How much has the UN achieved since its inception? These are some of the questions we tried to answer in course of our stroll. She also told me what it felt like moderating several events for world leaders at last month’s UN general assembly, and the dignitaries she met.

Here’s my stroll with Femi, get informed;

A STROLL WITH DOMINIQUE ANSEL (For World Food Day)

        “There is no sincerer love than the love for food” ~ George Bernard Shaw

Whether it’s food for thought or food for stomach, there is no doubt that food is something we all hunger for. Most times in our quest to feed our hunger, we sneak into an overloaded boat at night trying to cross boarders illegally searching for greener pastures; take two extra jobs and work round the clock; or even form queues under the sun waiting for our turn to get a taste of this thing that keeps us all alive on planet earth, Food.

Talking about forming queues, Chef Dominique Ansel will be familiar with this one because, he literally made people to stand—and sometimes sleep—on the streets in New York waiting to get a taste of an awesome pastry he invented; The Cronut™—a hybrid of the croissant and doughnut.

In course of our stroll, we talked about food and sustainable food systems in the world; possible solutions to the global hunger problem; and the Eureka moment when he got the idea for the Cronut™. I hope this wets your appetite. 

Here is my stroll with Chef Ansel, enjoy;

INSECURITY (FOR WORLD POST DAY)

Guest Writer: Shittu Fowora

Fred Alika, 34 and Catherine were close buddies seeing each other; in a matter of months, they should be formalizing their relationship by signing the dotted lines according to the demands of tradition. Naturally this called for openness and an ample amount of trust between them both but there was something amiss.

TO THE GIRL CHILD ( FOR INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL CHILD)

Guest Writer: Okwy Obu
                   

TO THE GIRL-CHILD
(in commemoration of the International Day Of the Girl-Child)

a difficult path 
is hewn out for you
even before
you make your appearance

HYMEN WHISPERS (FOR INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL CHILD)

Guest Writer: Emmanuel Uweru Okoh

Hymen Whispers
(in protection of the Nigerian girl child)

Inverted legislation abound.
The roles you play draw tears
From our tender parts.

MY THIRTEEN 'I WILL NEVER...' LIST (FOR INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL CHILD)

Guest Writer: Mary Ajayi
(Thirteen 'determination points' of a teenage youmg lady for International Day of the Girl Child,  2013) 
                    
MY THIRTEEN ‘I WILL NEVER…’ LIST

*I will never stop dreaming.

*I will never fail to make plans.

*I will never live without principles.

KOROBA (FOR INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL CHILD)

Guest Writer: Oyin Oludipe

Koroba

(Dedicated to dear cousin Iposu Sallamah, and all girl children around the world)

Koroba

You shall often peel the fabled halo

On your lash, trail the heart among darker

Ripples your bowing runnels bring:

Deft tides they yield, of suppleness to time,

Toss charm to the air as shearwaters

The friendless surfs.

You shall often peel the fabled halo

FROM THE NAVEL OF THE SOUL (FOR WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY)

PROFILER: MARY AJAYI

                                 

WHEN WILL DEATH COME?

Five years ago my father tore me open, and every night since then, he continues to open me up. I am thirteen, an only child. My mother is dead; I have no friends and no relatives that I am allowed to see. This is the life I have been given and I’ve grown into it. I will not avenge myself. I do not know how to, nobody cares anyway, even me. I stopped caring sometime along the way. It’s a fucked up life, but I live it. Hope is something strange, joy…I have no memories of it. I do not make wishes, I do not pray. I simply float. When will I stop living anyway? Tonight when he comes again?

A TWEET INTO THE FUTURE: The dreams of a girl who dreams for other girls.

Guest Writer: Ebenezar Wikina

Monday, 23rd September 2013: it started like an ordinary Monday; grumpy, slow, and work promising. After my usual morning prayers I decided to surf the web to see what's new in the world, and I saw a captivating tweet by @malalafund that reads; ''Malala will be making her twitter debut today, send your questions with the hashtag (#Malalafund).'' ''Oh my God!'' I screamed in my head, as I sat up to digest this golden information--in fact, it felt like I had just eaten breakfast--my Monday had just turned around. I celebrated at the thought of actually seeing a 140 character tweet from Malala herself, and the very slim chance of a getting a reply tweet from her, that is, if I'm able to squeeze my questions across to her through the millions of tweets that will be sent to her that evening. I didn't want to get disappointed, so I didn't think about that much. I just wanted to see Malala tweet, and know what she's been up to lately.

THE WONDERS OF A SMILE (WORLD SMILE DAY)

Guest Writer: Adetunji Steve

THE WONDERS OF A SMILE

''A day without a smile is a day that is lost.'' Anonymous

Smiling is a simple act that means so much to the person given but so little to the person giving it out. It only takes a split second to smile and forget, yet to someone that needed it, it can last a lifetime. We should all smile more often. What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure but scattered along life's pathway; the good they do is inconceivable. Many see no reason why they should smile when they consider what is obtainable around them. The environment cum prevailing circumstances do not warrant the free expressions of a smile, they reason.

A CALL FOR TEACHERS (FOR WORLD TEACHERS DAY)

Guest Writer: Chizu Ogbonna
 
TODDLER STEPS ARE BOLD STEPS. (A teacher's account of the first few weeks of a learner at preschool)

 
Some days,you came thrashing and wailing,
Other days you'd come smiling and waving,
Those shades were fickle,
They reminded me to cackle,
When you waved 'goodbye' with a chuckle.
 
To ease your 'loss', I doled out smiles,
To pacify your 'tears', I wrapped you in hugs,
Your moods were fickle,
They reminded me to cackle,
When you held a friend and shared a 'chuckle'.
 
You only sang, moulded, played and sorted
Your folks saw toddler steps, their care 
relieved. 
I saw definite bold steps and care started.
 
I saw a genius,
A bright light, 
To shine for us,
Especially at night.

Chizu Ogbonna (c) 2013

A STROLL WITH VICKI DAVIS (For World Teachers Day)

“I never teach my pupils, I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn” ~ Albert Einstein

They are my true heroes; the blackboard-cleaning, chalk bathing; men and women who devoted standing hours explaining—and sometimes angrily shouting—theories and concepts into my skull that eventually added up in making me who I am today.

I love my teachers. I love teachers and the teaching profession because, it is a noble profession dedicated to moulding the future of people and the future of the world. It is also a profession that needs a lot of patience and passion, and when you talk about passion for teaching, only a few teachers on planet earth have the kind of burning passion my guest has

Mrs. Vicki Davis is a teacher that loves students deeply. Apart from teaching students, she also makes out time to blog on Cool Cat Teacher; her award winning blog where she communicates with other teachers around the world, and cross pollinates ideas on how to move the teaching profession forward. She’s also a mom, public speaker, and the co-founder of the Flat classroom project.

She told me about her passion for the teaching profession, her different projects, and what she thinks about challenges affecting education globally. Here’s my stroll with Mrs. Vicki; you know what they say, ‘when a teacher is talking, you listen.’ So I suggest you listen attentively.

ACTION PLAN!

      It's not enough to read about the International Observance, what will you do to mark it?

ACTION PLAN is a forum created to motivate people around the world to use the International Observance as an instrument for change rather than a monotonous ritual.

On Action plan, we'd suggest ways for you to mark the international observance and expect to get feedback from you in form of videos, audio files, pictures, reports, essays, and any other online document that shows how you observed a particular day on the international observance.

A STROLL WITH MICHAEL BECERRA (For World Tourism Day)

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world” ~Gustave Flaubert

(Image Credit: Michael Becerra)

There’s something about tourists that sets them apart from other people, and that is the ability to see beauty and enjoy the variety of the world—the spice of life.

 

One person that has really enjoyed this spice is Mr. Michael Becerra; a mass communication graduate of the University of South Florida. With his pen, camera, and social media accounts, Mike shares his passion for meeting new people in new places and building relationships around the world. He has traveled the entire United States, Central America, and South America, and he’s still on the road.

 

We discussed his love for travelling, his favorite tourist destinations, and how we can protect different UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Here’s my stroll with Mr. Michael, you can pack your bags and join us;

PIECES OF PEACE #IN SIMPLE TERMS

We know when something is present because we have experienced its absence. We know something is bad because we have seen the ‘good’ counterpart. We know right from wrong because we have experienced both…we know what ‘peace’ is because we have not only seen but experienced otherwise. People have different opinion on what peace means, the level of its importance and how it can be fostered among individuals. If you ask a group of people to give synonyms for the word ‘peace’ and their understanding of it, you’d get varying data. It is good that everyone has a mind of their own and are conscious of it but it is not only better but best if they come together to share their thoughts on matters before reaching a final conclusion. Inna Valdes and Rimesh Khanal(UNESCO peace ambassadors)and I have come together to share our pieces of peace i.e. what we think ‘peace’ means and our advice for individuals concerning it. We hope, you’ll be gracious enough to share your thoughts on peace with us too so we can learn. We do this with a simple focus: to share knowledge and educate one another on matters of peace in different areas of existence…in simple terms.

A STROLL WITH HELOISE DE SMET (For International Day Of Freedom)

“Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged” ~Ronald Reagan

Freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of press, freedom of religion, freedom of information, freedom of gender... we are indeed the freedom generation, but the question is; how truly free are we?

She’s the author of ‘The 7 keys to the Freedom of Being’ and blogs on freedom related issues at Purenrgy.com. Her interest in freedom motivated her to be part of a book project on freedom comprising of 100 authors around the world, and this in turn led her to start the International Day of Freedom as an international observance.

In course of our stroll, Heloise De Smet and I looked critically at the issue of freedom and how truly free we are in this generation. She also told me about her dreams and what it feels like to live in Belgium. Here’s my stroll with Ms. Heloise, feel free to join:

VICTORY OVER LIFE ASUNDER

Guest Writer: Queeneth Agubamah

(Image Credit: datadairy)

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." Reinhold Niebuhr
Suicide is a dark topic. The church sees it as a sin. Starting in the Middle Ages the law made it a crime. Then suicide passed to the mental health profession. So, what is suicide? Sin? Crime? Mental Illness? All three? Many of us who have contemplated suicide saying that suicide is an attempt to escape the pain – a longing for death because life looks impossibly difficult and hurtful. This poignant longing is hardly a new thing.Suicide addiction goes against all common sense. It is among the last things that one would expect to be addictive. But for addicts, it is the best answer.

RETHINKING LITERACY

GUEST WRITER: SHITTU FOWORA

zischina.com

One of the most profound moments in my early education days was when we had a new student, Ejiro. Ejiro wasn’t particularly an extraordinary student but we all liked him to be within our company because he had ‘mouth’. ‘Mouth’ was what we used to describe one who combined brashness and confidence. It was to his credit that the term ‘educated illiterate’ became the catchphrase and the most frequently used diss in school then.  Once the term was shot at anyone, a sudden clash ensues with blood and temper rising by the tens.

A STROLL WITH ADORA SVITAK (For International Literacy Day)

 “Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. It is a tool for daily life in modern society.” ~Kofi Annan

In the world today about 775 million adults lack minimum literacy skills; one in five adults are still not literate and two-thirds of them are women; 60.7 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out. In many developing and under-developed countries, the education of the girl-child is often ignored due to prejudices and illiterate beliefs, but my guest on the stroll is a very educated girl-child who is also campaigning for the proper education of other children in the world.

Adora is a published author, essayist, poet, blogger, feminist, and literacy activist. She has spoken at the TED 2010 Conference, and  the United Nations 2013 ECOSOC youth forum. Presently, She’s the host and curator of TEDxRedmond, and she manages to balance all this with the pressures of regular school and a regular teenage life--a privilege many gifted teens like her don't have.

She told me about her writing and reading skills, her literacy projects, what she thinks about Malala, and how she manages her addiction to semicolons.(hehe) Here’s my stroll with Adora: