Sir Nigel's Journey…

The United States Embassy is supporting a brainstorming session to raise awareness about the 2011 Apps4Africa: Climate Challenge.  The March 6 session will take place at the Media Centre in Harare starting at 8.30 am. The goal is to develop local solutions to climate change adaptation in southern Africa. Targeted participants include: civil society players, policy makers, academics and technology innovators.

“We are excited that Zimbabwe is one of the four countries in southern Africa eligible to participate in this contest.  It is an excellent opportunity to highlight Zimbabwean solutions, innovations, and technologies to address climate change,” says Jillian Bonnardeaux, Acting Spokesperson at the U.S. Embassy.  “We support Zimbabwean participation in this competition and in doing so demonstrate our commitment to the growth of science and technology fields in Zimbabwe.”

Other eligible countries are Mozambique, Botswana and Madagascar.

The brainstorming session will be facilitated by Marieme Jamme, head of Spotone Global Solutions, the accredited organizer of the contest which will also support the winners with their marketing and communication strategies. The session will explore possible technology options to climate change challenges in Zimbabwe based on an understanding of current issues of climate change in the country. The contest builds on the outcomes of regional climate change adaptation workshops organized by the Adaptation Partnership, which includes the United States and more than 20 other countries.

2011-12 Apps4Africa: Climate Challenge promotes African solutions to climate change. Winners of the contest will be announced in April and they will receive prizes, including cash awards. Challenge partners, including TED Conferences and Indigo Trust, contribute technical assistance, prizes, and follow-on support for the new applications developed.

For more information, please contact Sharon Hudson-Dean, Counselor for Public Affairs, E-mail: HudsonDeanS@state.gov Tel. +263 4 758800-1, Fax: 758802, cell +263 912 559 784

Or

Mariéme Jamme, Group CEO, Spotone Global Solutions (London)

Contact contest coordinator at spotone@apps4Africa.org or visit us on the web

at www.apps4africa.org

I have spoken to many people about the Indigenisation & Economic Empowerment laws in Zimbabwe. I am still trying to fully grasp what all this actually means to me as a Zimbabwean. How does it assist the people I know (or more importantly those people I don’t) who could actually benefit from the various programmes the government have either put in place or intends to put in place?

Nevertheless, I have come to the conclusion that BEFORE we speak about Indigenisation in Zimbabwe, we should perhaps read or at least preview the documents attached below. We might actually be surprised…

Indigenisation Regulations

http://www.box.com/embed/xxehd3p9vb0gggq.swf

Here is the Seeff 1st Quarter Real Estate Report: - First_Quarter_Property_Report[1]

If you’re like me, you’ve been watching the news every day and the situation in Syria gets worse and worse it seems. Incidentally I also remember the first time I watched the movie Hotel Rwanda. I kept wondering where the world was when all those atrocities were taking place. Did we just simply ignore Rwanda? We couldn’t have done that could we? Today, I came home and finally understood where the world was back then when Rwanda was on fire. Simply put, the rest of the world continued living, the reporters travelled and reported on their version of reality and yet the world at large stood by and ignored the situation. How misguided is our moral compass when we can still continue existing in our own lives? It seems we have chosen to simply ignore what’s happening in Syria while we wait for some UN resolution or some referendum the Syrian government promised the same people they’re killing today.  Men, women and children continue to die in daily conflict in cities like Homs? What is wrong with us I ask? I am not a politician but it seems to me that we spend more time and effort attempting to stop Iran from developing their nuclear programme than handling real conflicts in places like Syria. I have slowly come to the conclusion that our moral compass must indeed be off the charts and we simply don’t care anymore; either that or we never really did.

I could be wrong…

I firmly believe Zimbabweans have every right to know how the diamonds are adding value to their own lives. Here’s a Global Witness report dated February 2012 entitled Diamonds A good deal for Zimbabwe? What are your thoughts?

Brendah Nyakudya was the first to ‘inform me’ of the Virgin Active Gym race issue issue. I say ‘inform me’ but she was merely tweeting about this incident and I was listening/reading as I was preparing to leave work after yet another one of those hectic Mondays. You don’t want to know about my Monday by the way. I could tell my friendo i.e. Brendah was err how shall I put it – extremely ticked off and I’m being diplomatic here? I stayed at work a little longer and continued to read up on the issue using various other social media channels. In short I was reminded once again that racism is alive and well. However most of us know this already or have either experienced racism in some form or shape.

Not to belittle this sensitive and extremely important incident but….I have a fundamental issue with this recent incident. You see my problem revolves around how we seem to be drawn to some forms of racism versus others. To clarify myself here; it always seems easier to discuss racism when it’s white on black as opposed to the other way round. Some argue that blacks know more about racism than whites. Is this necessarily true? However, racism like most things in life continues to evolve. I firmly believe that we should tackle racism in general. Let us approach it from a holistic stand point and do what we can to address this destructive element.

I recall when I was living in Sydney many years ago now. I had just finished work and was heading home. I worked in an affluent part of Sydney. I jumped onto the bus as usual and sat down at the front for a change. Opposite where I chose to sit was a middle-aged white lady who immediately stared at me and proceeded to clutch her handbag. Everyone around me noticed this and there was an air of discomfort. What would the black man do next? I was extremely hurt to be honest. Here I was making an honest living and I was riding the bus from work with this lady, who figured I was going to rob or mug her right there in this bus full of other passengers headed on their way. I proceeded to inform this lady that I wasn’t planning on mugging her that day. I think my exact words were ‘I don’t usually mug white ladies on Tuesdays; I usually mug them on Fridays when I’m looking for that weekend cash flow’. She was extremely embarrassed and most of the people around me laughed at my little joke. I think I made my point that day.

Anyway I digress.

What I was attempting to illustrate with this scribe is our collective need for racial tolerance in general. I would like us to acknowledge and address racism even when it’s black on Indian, black on white, white on mixed race et al. In other words, let us not just react as we have with this Virgin Active Gym race issue just because some white gentleman referred to a black lady as ‘bloody k*****’. Let us simply address racism in general. Let us be mindful of government policies that encourage resentment and help perpetuate this seemingly never ending race issue. Let us always be mindful of those around us from different backgrounds, different socio-economic groups and so forth. Let us also make a big deal about racism when blacks are the perpetrators. Racism is still an ugly act irrespective of who is committing the crime. As this incident has clearly illustrated, we still have a long way to go in the fight against this form of segregation.

Aluta continua….