A STROLL WITH IAN KOMAC (For World Photography Day)

“What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce” ~Karl Lagerfeld

Image Credit: Ian Komac

To achieve big things in life we need to keep our eyes on the big picture. I admire photographers a lot because they are experts in the art of making these big pictures. With a trained eye and simple click they reveal the beauty that lies in and around us.

Ian, my guest on the stroll today is a unique photographer with a unique photography technique. He makes pictures that mimic dreams; capturing moments from the subconscious and making them real and alive.

We talked about Belgium, his photography technique, his dream tourism destinations and much more. Here is my stroll with Ian, lights, camera, action:

A STROLL WITH NINA DEVANI (For World Internet Appreciation Day)

     “The internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow” ~Bill Gates

Image Credit: BBC

Have you ever forgotten your password?  Has your social media account ever been hacked? Have you ever been scared or worried about your personal data online? Well, worry no more oh earth! Somebody is here to save us. (hehehe) Ladies and gentlemen, meet Nina Devani.

Nina is one of the youngest entrepreneurs in the world today. At only 14, she’s the founder & CEO of Prompt Me Nina—an application designed to help people remember all their passwords without ever giving them away. Which is totally awesome I must say; and considering the rising tension in the world lately as regards cyber security, I decided to take a stroll with Nina for today’s World Internet Appreciation Day.

She told me about how Prompt Me Nina works and how she plans to expand her idea, about what she thinks of the recent cyber security challenge the world is facing, and lots more. Here’s my stroll with Nina:

RURAL-URBAN-INTERNET MIGRATION

Guest Writer: Milliscent Maduagwu

Image Credit: brainsolis

The internet has totally changed the way we do things. It has accelerated the speed of the jet age; fast banking, fast shopping, fast communication, fast marriages... It has just generally increased the speed at which the earth rotates around its axis

Although this same speed hasn't been without its hiccups. The NSA scandal, Wikileaks revelations, and multiple attacks from hackers have made us rethink our stand on this great invention. An invention that has really come a long way, and has been developed by so many minds.

A STROLL WITH KEITH MILSOM (For International Left Handers Day)

“The right half of the brain controls the left half of the body. This means that only left handed people are in their right mind” ~Anonymous

Lauren and Keith Milsom

Lefthanders have rights! Yeah! They do…and most especially today because, it’s lefthanders day! Happy Lefthanders day to every left hander on earth :)

Although as a child I really didn’t think they were special, on the contrary I even felt they were disabled (hehe). Maybe it’s due to the number of times I was corrected—mostly with a cane—by my parents for using my left hand to eat, write, or collect/give things to my elders. But I think my view about left-handedness has changed a great deal since then.

My guest on the stroll today is a leftie who is doing so much for other lefties in the world. He’s the founder of the Lefthanders day, and he also runs ‘Anything Left-handed’; a shop that sells only left-handed things! Awesome right? (heheh)

In course of our stroll he told me about the challenges a lefthander faces in a right-handed world, about what motivated him to found the Lefthanders day, and if he thinks being left-handed is a blessing or a curse…well, here we go:

THE CHANGE THEY DO NOT DESERVE…

Image Credit: abcnews

It is quite fascinating the way people stratify and stereotype. If the society frowns at something, it is bad. If tradition forbids it, it is totally destructive. What justifies something being good, bad, acceptable, unacceptable, right, wrong…public opinion? The majority weighed against the minority? 

YOUTHS SPEAK: GETTING HEARD, CREATING CHANGE!

Today is International Youth Day recognized by the UN and even though this year's theme is focused on youth immigrants and the challenges faced, Write Paragraphs decided to go fundamental by shining the spotlight on youths from different countries, paying attention to the challenges they face and finding the possible solutions. In doing this, we decided to get youths to write in two paragraphs the challenges faced and solutions. Here are some of the entries we got;

A STROLL WITH GRACE IHEJIAMAIZU (For International Youth Day)

                           “It takes a very long time to become young” ~Pablo Picasso

Image Credit: Grace

It is often said that “the young shall grow...someday”, but when is that someday? The youths of this generation are tired of ‘waiting to grow’, ‘waiting for tomorrow’, ‘waiting to ripen’...

 

My guest on the Stroll today is a young social entrepreneur who is also tired of waiting to get ‘ripe’, and so she founded the RYPE initiative ; dedicated to raising young and productive entrepreneurs who will provide solutions to the problems the world faces on a daily basis. Grace founded RYPE in 2010 and since then her efforts have been recognized by the US Department of state, the British Council, Google, and recently the Future awards.

We talked about; youth and youth development, her social entrepreneurship projects, and her nomination for ‘The Future Awards Africa Young Person of the Year 2013’’. Here’s my stroll with Grace, get inspired:

TEARS FOR OGONI

Guest Writer: Annah Dornubari

Image Credit: UNEP

Women weeping and wailing 
Hearts pounding and pounding
Boots worry the weary feet to flee
Then suddenly 
And so soberly suddenly 
Your offsprings are sliced, slain and slaughtered 
Still some sawn asunder 
Your once bright streams 
Blurred by your black blood

THAT EXTRA BOTTLE...

Guest Writer: Milliscent Maduagwu

Image Credit: International Beer Day

Ask them they'd tell you; ask the drunkard lying in that gutter; ask that club girl who is having a kidney problem or the guy that can't pay his children's school fees today, when only last night he had his pocket filled with his salary just before he entered that bar. Ask them and they'd all tell you the same thing; it's that extra bottle that took everything away.

A STROLL WITH HOSEA DEZIAH ISAAC (For International Day Of Friendship)

       “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” ~JesusChrist

 

Image Credit: Hosea Deziah Isaac

Many people have different definitions for the word ‘friend’; Mark Zuckerberg will tell you a friend is someone that sends you a request on Facebook, Abraham Lincoln will say a friend is someone that gives you a book to read that you haven’t read before. Ask that regular guy on the street and he’d tell you that a friend in need is a friend indeed…well, for me that word friend can be defined in three simple words; Hosea Deziah Isaac.

Don’t get me wrong though, I’ve got a long list of friends and acquaintances from around the world. In fact strolling had even increased that list a great deal, as many of my stroll contacts have automatically become my friends, but I’m shinning light on my relationship with Hosea because of the special impact it has had on my life for the time we’ve been friends—that doesn't mean my other friends haven’t had a special effect on my life though, a lot of people have J hehe.

I guess you might be asking what your business is with my friends…well, today is International Day Of Friendship and the United Nations wants us to shine the light on friends and friendship all around the world to foster peace. I hope after reading this stroll you’d be inspired to celebrate those special people in your life too. Here’s my stroll with Hosea:

KNOW IT. CONFRONT IT

Guest Writer: Amadi Chizi Victor

Image Credit: royaltimes.net

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver most commonly caused by a viral infection and it is characterised by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. There are five main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E. Although the burden of the disease caused by viral hepatitis is growing according to statistical reports, most people including health workers are still in the dark about the general concept and more so the physiological significance of this disease.

A STROLL WITH JACK ANDRAKA (For World Hepatitis Day)

                               "Hepatitis doesn't always present symptoms"  ~Karen Gonzales

For Hepatitis, killing is as easy as ABC...DE (no pun intended...haha) I still remember that night about 11 years ago, it was a great night and we had just finished dinner until mum’s phone rang. She received a phone call telling her that Grand pa had passed away, mum cried, dad cried, we all cried—grand pa was so close to mum that he used to always carry her on his lap when we visited the village—They say he complained of a severe headache and his eyes were yellowish...That was it, suddenly his liver couldn't take it anymore. RIP Mr. Akpan John—See you in heaven.

It’s not just Grand pa, many people around the world no longer have the liver to live because hepatitis had eaten it up. WHO says about 1.4 million people die annually from the Hepatitis infection. Well, the vaccines are there, but the thing is the waves of diseases that are fighting the Medical world in recent times have created a vacuum in this generation—a need for that innovator, that genius! That’ll stand up and confront these diseases.

My guest on the stroll today is a genius—and he embodies every letter of the word genius—he’s one of those people that are tired of seeing obituary posters and hearing death statistics on TV, so he stood up and did something. He participated in the INTEL ISEF competition—the world’s largest high school science research competition—and he won! His ground breaking research on pancreatic cancer helped him come up with a new method of diagnosing cancer that is 168 times faster, 26,000 times cheaper, 400 times more sensitive, and has a 99% success rate! Yeah, wow! That’s the same thing I said when I first read about him (hahah). You’d also notice that Cancer and hepatitis are similar in the sense that early detection is the only key to surviving their attack. So I had a stroll with Jack and we talked about his research, the possible solutions to the Hepatitis problem in the world, and much more. Here is our discussion:

MALALA'S SPEECH AT THE UNITED NATIONS

Image Credit: ibtimes

''In the name of God, The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful. Honourable UN Secretary General Mr Ban Ki-moon, Respected President General Assembly Vuk Jeremic Honourable UN envoy for Global education Mr Gordon Brown, Respected elders and my dear brothers and sisters; Today, it is an honour for me to be speaking again after a long time. Being here with such honourable people is a great moment in my life.

A STROLL WITH NDABA MANDELA (For Nelson Mandela International Day)

“During my lifetime, I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” ~Nelson Mandela

Image Credit: theeye

First of all, I’d like to say Happy Birthday to Rolihlahla, Madiba, and every other special name they call you around the world. . . Get well soon!

Welcome to THE STROLL my name is Ebenezar. On today’s episode we celebrate the greatest symbol of peace and equality on earth! I grew up watching movies about him, hearing his musical eulogies play on the stereo, and though I was only two years old when he made history by becoming the first black president of South Africa, his life and story is still an inspiration to me, and will remain an inspiration to anyone that will ever live on planet earth!

If you’ve been following the news you’d understand that Mr. Mandela is a bit down in the hospital right now and is not physically fit to have a stroll with me today (Yeah, sad) But not too worry, I’ve got a perfect replacement; someone that has the Mandela blood running in his veins—and I literally mean that—(hehe)

My guest on the stroll today is Madiba’s second-eldest grandson, Ndaba Mandela. He holds a Bachelors degree in political science and international relations from the University of Pretoria, and the foundation he co-founded, ‘The Africa Rising Foundation’ illuminates the same love for Africa that his grandfather has, and also displayed in his early years. We talked about what it feels like to be a Mandela, his dreams, and the future of African leadership. For Nelson Mandela International Day 2013, here is my stroll with Ndaba:

IF I DIE TODAY. . .

Image Credit: UN

My elbows are balanced on the little white plastic table before me as I stare with vacant eyes at nothing in particular. On this day, I am particularly conscious of my existence and how I have contributed little or nothing to the growth of my immediate society. This consciousness stems from having seen the life of a great man, Nelson Mandela and all he has achieved and the sudden realization that time is gradually slipping out of my hands. I am of those who sit and watch things unfold in the society and complain, never putting myself out there in the fore-front of things and fighting for the good of mankind. Today however, I start to take action. As I stare, my thoughts began to take shape and my inner man began to converse with me…

BLACK, WHITE, MANDELA

Image Credit: the elders

There are only a few people that get the kind of honour Mr. Nelson Mandela is getting today. Having his birthday recognized by the United Nations--over 190 nations--and if you look at his life closely you'd realize he truly deserves it.

Rolihlahla was the tribal name given to Nelson at his birth. His father was a respected chief of Tembu, a black African group in south Africa. He attended the University college at Fort Hare--one of the few colleges that accepted black students at the time--and during his third year, his passion for justice was shown when he stood up against the school authority because they took away all powers from the Students Representative council for no reason. Well, he was later suspended because of his protest! But this was the earliest sign of his equality/anti-apartheid activism that later became his life goal.

A STROLL WITH SCOTT FLANSBURG (For World Population Day)

  " Which is the greater danger; nuclear warfare or the population explosion?. . ."  ~ Isaac Asimov

Image Credit: Adam Taylor

It’s all about counting on the stroll today; counting ourselves, counting our gains and losses, and counting on me J because you know I’d always be here to bring a great episode of the stroll everyday on the UN calendar. My name is Ebenezar Wikina, welcome to the stroll, and happy population day!!

It’s now socially acceptable to say you’re bad at maths. In fact people brag about it on TV and radio every day, and if like me you had a hard time memorizing your multiplication table, then you’d really appreciate my guest on the show today.

He’s popularly called the human calculator and currently holds the world record for adding the same number to itself more times in 15 seconds than a person can do using a calculator. (Yeah J awesome) He’s an author, educator, and global patron for World Maths Day. Also considering the fact that population has to do with census and census has to do with counting and counting needs calculators and maths, I decided to contact Mr. Scott for a stroll on today’s world population day.

We talked about the increasing birth and mortality rate, family planning, and he also shared some of his maths secrets with me too—for students having problems with maths, I think you’d like to see this one—so, for World Population day 2013, here is my stroll with Mr. Scott:

REFLECTIONS: MY TEENAGE YEARS

Image Credit: medindia.net

I haven’t always been this sane. I was as crazy as they come. You never could get me to sit down in one place, not put my hands in that jar, not taste that drink, and not have that fun…not live that life. You never could tell me what to do if you wanted to survive to say you ‘advised’ me. I was my own person, and I made my own mistakes and lived with them. Hell, I always wanted to make mistakes! I was daring and took risks a lot. I considered this living. The fast lane of life was for me. This makes me remember my friends, my cliques. We had dubbed ourselves the risk takers. Well, that was before everything changed for us.

A STROLL WITH KUKOGHO IRUESIRI SAMSON (For Writers Day)

         "A blank piece of paper is God's way of telling us how hard it is to be God" ~Sidney Sheldon

Image Credit: Kukogho Iruesiri Samson

Hello, my name is Ebenezar, welcome to the stroll. The challenge of every young writer out there is finding a platform; that stage where they can stand up and make their voices heard, and for over the years no one has really been willing to build that stage.

My guest on the stroll today hasn't just thrilled readers with the works of his pen, but has also touched the lives of young writers around Nigeria. Using the rising popularity of social media as his primary tool, sir KIS (as he is popularly known on social media) has built a large literary family online—Words, Rhymes, and Rhythm—armed with their quill and ink J to combat any social vice that raises its ugly head.

Kukogho is a Nigerian writer, blogger, multimedia journalist, and social media expert. I admire him greatly, and I strongly believe in his dream of re-writing the world, one verse at a time. I really had fun strolling with him as we talked about writing, writers, and the future of African Literature. Well, here is our discussion;

A STROLL WITH THE CNN FREEDOM PROJECT (For World Day Against Child Labour)

"Child labour and poverty are inevitably bound together and if you continue to use the labour of children as treatment for the social disease of poverty, you will have both poverty and child labour to the end of time" ~Grace Abbott

It’s funny where the stroll takes me to sometimes, this time it has taken me to the Royal Television Society News Channel of the Year! Cable News Network 

CNN has a freedom project that has been dedicated to fighting modern-day slavery since 2002, and considering the fact that child labour is one dominant form of slavery in this generation, I decided to have a stroll with Mr. Leif Coorlim (The Executive Editor of the CNN Freedom Project)

We talked about  poverty and the global fight against child labour; the contribution of the justice system in eradicating child labour; and lots more. It was really fun strolling with Mr. Leif, in fact it was a dream come true for me, and I really hope after reading this you’d get inspired to join this global ‘war’ against child labour. Well, here is what we discussed;