I N K U L U M O... The power of dialogue ...

Karibu Alan...

2009-03-09T04:35:00.000-07:00

It is with great joy and excitement that we are about to welcome the very first baby boy into our family.. "King" Alan (ok.. ndakabya.. but i do think he's going to be a King), my eldest sister's soon-to-be-delivered baby boy is already abundantly blessed by the mere fact that he'll be born from young, generous, healthy, hard-working, God-fearing parents... And what more would a child desire than having me for an aunty?? I mean, really... i envy the child.... A warm welcome to you Alan

Child Media with Plan Rwanda

2009-01-13T01:05:00.000-08:00

In its endeavour to increase the profile of children's voices in public spaces, and thus promote children's rights to participate, Plan Rwanda, a Community Development Organization, is currently implementing a Child Media Project that will draw on lessons learnt from previous Media projects to create greater impact in the area of Child media/participation. This project seeks to build the capacity of journalists and media outlets and of children and youths to further and more effecively engage in child media programming.

More specifically, Plan Rwanda seeks to promote the long-term voice of children and youth in the Rwandan media, and thus help promote children and youth as active participants in development discussions, by providing them with the skills they need to develop their own media programming and by training professional journalists to be cognizant of children’s and youth’s issues and children’s participatory techniques as they develop their own content..

As Umberto Eco, a professor of Language and Semiotics, once said " If you want to use television to teach somebody something, you first have to teach somebody how to use television."

A little joke to light up your faces with a smile

2008-12-19T00:31:00.000-08:00

The General Manager of The Rocket Guards Ltd, a recently married man, was being interviewed by a leading newspaper in East and Central Africa. The interviewer was curious to know why the gentleman had placed an ad on their paper wishing to hire someone who can worry for him for a fee of 50,000 Kenya Shillings per month.

“I don’t get it.” Said Ms. Florence W. “Why would you hire someone for that amount of money to worry for you?”

“You know this world we live in is filled with many reasons one can get sick. I really don’t want to get sick because of worrying.” Answered Mr. Muiruri

“It’s hard to find anyone that earns that kind of money nowadays. Maybe you are one of the very few.” Continued the reporter.

“You’d be surprised, but I also don’t earn that kind of money.” Replied the newly married man.

“But sir, how are you going to pay the person you’ve hired to worry for you?” asked the smart Stundard newspaper reporter.

“Well I let him worry about that too.”

Plan Rwanda and Nokia's YETAM project linked to AMANI film festival

2008-12-18T22:18:00.000-08:00

2nd Annual - Amani- Film festival starts on Friday 27th Dec in Rwanda, organized by Urungano Youth and Media, a local association of young journalists and filmmakers that uses film, radio programs, newspapers and other media channels to promote peace in the Central African Great Lakes region.

This year the event is supported by Plan Rwanda, among other Organizations, to enable YETAM participants as well as other children and young people of Rwanda to voice out their opinions and share with the public and local leaders.

YETAM- Youth Empowerment through Arts and Media-, an Art and Media project run by Plan Rwanda through the support of Nokia, uses the power of media to enable children and young people to share their realities from their own points of view. In Rwanda, the project kicked off in August 2008 with children & youths suported by Art & Media organizations and working together to create art and series of 2-5 minute films about their communities to generate discussion and action among their peers in Africa and around the world through innovative mapping, social networks and new media.

DON'T MISS out on the film festival, an opportunity to learn more about filmmaking; to share with media experts; to learn as children share their works, their experiences and discuss their rights; and to debate around issues of peace, human rights (especially child rights and women's rights) and development in the region..

http://www.amanifilmfestival.org/

Merry Christmas

2008-12-17T00:47:00.000-08:00

Only two days to go before i start my leave... Festive season is right around the corner ...

My foreign colleagues are disappointed that they can't feel the Christmas spirit in Kigali- some say the city is dead, some others that Christmas isn't as "hot" in Kigali as it is in the neighbouring countries-..

Happy holidays to you all, God bless you and your loved ones..

Where do i start?

2008-12-15T02:56:00.000-08:00

Back from the Social media workshop.. and the next thing i'm doing is blogging. This tells you- the workshop organizers- how excited i am and how attention-grabbing the workshop was, right?!!!

Big-up to Linda, Mika and all the bloggers for sharing and leading us into an era of blogging!!

Let me get started... rather let me familiarize myself with this (new) tool

Cheers to you all