BarCamp Ghana 2010

More on BarCamp Ghana 2010

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As I mentioned in an earlier post, I did attend BarCamp Ghana 2010 – which actually makes it my third!  Not too bad, I think.

I will not go on at the length that my colleague, Nana Fredua Agyeman, has written but I would like to offer a few comments.  I did attend the same sessions that Nana mentioned:  journalism and citizen journalism, telling the African story/ies and blogging.

I did miss Farida Bedwei’s presentation though – often one would like to clone oneself so that one can attend more than one session at a time, but it was not to be.  Well, I did see what the Twitter feeds were on the subject (see the hashtag #bcghana), not too detailed but definitely gives one a flavour of what was going on.

For me the best thing was meeting people I may see sporadically – some at GhanaBlogging, some at other BarCamps, but it is also a great chance to meet face-to-face with those one has online contacts.

And I was reminded that there are so many connections between us here in Ghana, as I met someone who was a relative of a work contact who turned out to have attended college in the US where my daughter went for medical/graduate study!  Small world…

 

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Ghana Library Association annual general meeting taking place in Kumasi

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I am a librarian, by training, and by profession.

This week, on 16th and 17th December 2010, the Ghana Library Association, to which I belong, is holding its 2010 Biennial Congress and AGM.

Unfortunately I am unable to attend – as it is taking place at KNUST in Kumasi, but I do hope that it goes well.   I think it will also be a good opportunity for many library practitioners based in the northern part of Ghana, and especially in and around Kumasi, to attend such a function, without having to travel all the way to Accra.   Certainly I know I used to feel a little left out and deprived of events when I lived in Kumasi, so in that sense I think it is very much a good thing.

But for me personally I just couldn’t go. Being away right at the end of the semester, when the piles of returned textbooks grow higher and higher, is not fair to colleagues.  Plus travelling right before Christmas when traffic becomes doubly insane is another disincentive.  And then there are the domestic considerations…   So plenty of reasons, or are they excuses?

I do feel a certain element of disappointment, of course.  I do like meeting fellow librarians and colleagues, and just generally supporting the Association.  The theme of “Open access to information” is also interesting and relevant, though I suspect some of the papers may be on the theoretical rather than practical side.

One small comment:  I wish there were some colleagues who were tweeting about it, but so far I haven’t found any.

But I shouldn’t feel too deprived of networking events, as I will be going to the BarCamp Ghana 2010 event on 18 December which is taking place at Ashesi.  And I know there will be lots of write-ups and tweets to look at during and after the event.

BarCamp Ghana 2010 taking place on 18 Dec 2010 at Ashesi

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BarCamp Ghana 2010

BarCamp Ghana 2010, an ad-hoc gathering where attendees meet for discussions, demos and networking, will take place on December 18 2010 at the Ashesi University campus in Accra. The theme is  “Create dreams, work smart and shape the future”. Following the successes of BarCamp Ghana ’08 and BarCamp Ghana ’09, regional BarCamp events were organized in Kumasi, Accra and Takoradi and Barcamp Ghana 2010 will crown the year as the national event.

BarCamps all over the world have brought together individuals and organizations to collaborate on various projects and businesses. BarCamp Ghana’10 is a FREE event for anyone who is interested in using their skills, talent, and resources to benefit Ghana and Africa as a whole. This year, the focus is on telling stories and discussing ways of how entrepreneurs and businessmen can create wealth in a burgeoning Accra metropolis faced with a myriad of challenges.

Unusually, the pivot of this year’s event revolves around breakout sessions instead of the usual mix of discussions and expert panelist presentations – regardless, experts will be seated in each breakout discussion to facilitate the coherence of relevant facts and knowledge on all respective items for deliberation.  This strategy was inspired by the desired outcome of this year’s gathering which is to stimulate an engaging conference between industry stakeholders, consumers and prospective entrepreneurs on the workings and current realities of industries and services in Ghana.

Impressive yet poignant is our bill of facilitating experts, all of which effect the changes and growing definition of their industries worth and direction in this era. Our confirmed list includes

  • Bernard Avle of CITI 07.3 FM,
  • Leila Djansi of Turning Point Pictures,
  • Oluniyi Ajao of Web4Africa,
  • Solomon Adu-Atefoe of Agric Development Bank,
  • Golda Addo of Energy Solutions Foundation,
  • Mohamed Amin Adam of Publish What You Pay,
  • Philip Gamey of Web & Software,
  • DK Osseo-Asare of Anamcity,
  • Paul Tenejou of ROI-MOB-Lang,
  • Ronke Ampiah of Smiles for Christmas

Register or RSVP your participation today at the BarCamp Ghana Eventbrite website. You may also contact the BarCamp Ghana team through the Eventbrite website for sponsorship opportunities. Also, If you are interested in proposing a breakout session, let us know, especially if you have special needs.

BarCamp Ghana 2010 is proudly sponsored by the Ashesi University, Vodafone Ghana, Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) , GhanaThink Foundation, Fie.nipa, NandiMobile,Mobile Web Ghana and Google . Our media partners are CITI FM, Radio Univers,ModernGhana, GhanaBlogging, Sunlight Radio America, The New Ghanaian, and Skyy Digital. The customer support hotline is 020-1500033. You can send questions, comments, and feedback by SMS and get responses.

See you there!

http://barcampghana10.eventbrite.com/
http://barcampghana.org/

The above is  a press release about the forthcoming BarCamp Ghana.  I’ve been to at least two of them, and look forward to going to this one.