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Morocco Launches Exceptional Support Program for Artists, Authors

June 15, 2020

The Kingdom of Morocco has highlighted the importance of arts and culture as a vehicle not only for national reorientation and foreign policy projection but also to encourage young talents. This was made known by the Moroccoan Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sports, Othman El Ferdaous, who announced the launch of an exceptional program to support cultural actors from the worlds of art and books amid the socio-economic crisis due to COVID-19. El Ferdaous detailed the ministry’s decision on his social networks, including Facebook and LinkedIn.The minister said his department is aware of the national contributions of creators such as artists and writers and their efforts to promote social cohesion and unity.

Moroccoan Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sports, Othman El Ferdaous

To support the sector during the coronavirus-induced economic crisis, the Ministry of Culture launched the “exceptional program to support cultural actors from the worlds of arts and books, individuals, associations, and businesses, to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the state of emergency,” El Ferdaous announced. The exceptional program includes the pre-distribution by the Moroccan Copyright Office (BMDA) of all the remaining distributions scheduled for the 2020 fiscal year, starting June 15.

The BMDA will distribute MAD 35.4 million ($3.65 million) in favor of “adhering authors and creators in particular, the 2019 collections of copyright and remuneration for private copying for the three categories: Lyric, dramatic, and literary in accordance with the recommendations of Authors and Composers (CISAC) and UNESCO ResiliArt P program.” The program also includes the launch of a call for artistic projects for MAD 39 million ($4.02 million) in five main areas including theater and national tours (MAD 20 million or $2.06 million); music, song, performing arts, and choreographic arts (MAD 12 million or $1.24 million); and plastic arts exhibitions or visuals carried by galleries (MAD 2 million or $206,323).

The fourth area concerns the acquisition of works of plastic or visual art from artists for a budget of MAD 3 million ($309,485), at MAD 5,000 to MAD 30,000 per work ($516 to $3,095), to “enrich the collection of the ministry and encourage young talents.”

The fifth area concerns the participation of the National Museums Foundation, which is set to launch an initiative to acquire artwork from Moroccan creators. El Ferdaous also outlined an “in-depth partnership with the National Museums Foundation concerning the loan of works from the unexposed collection of the ministry so that artworks of Moroccan artists could be featured for the public” at national museums and internationally. The ministry said it will work with “high resolution” equipment to digitize the collections.

The minister announced that a call for projects in publishing and books for a budget of MAD 11 million ($1.13 million) to acquire works from bookstores and publishers for their distribution in public libraries will be launched on June 17. The ministry will also publish cultural journals online as part of the initiatives to raise awareness of the importance of reading, as well as the participation of Moroccan authors at international fairs.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Africa’s youth see a future for Bitcoin beyond speculation

August 1, 2019

Paxful is on a mission to increase access to the bitcoin economy for the people of Africa through education.

Seeing a significant growth in digital currency transactions on the African continent in recent years, driven largely by users under the age of 35, leading global peer-to-peer bitcoin marketplace, Paxful is on a mission to increase access to the bitcoin economy for the people of Africa through education.

AN AFRICAN VIEW ON PEER-TO-PEER FINANCE

Benjamin Onuoha, Africa’s Regional Consultant for Paxful (Paxful.com), addressed delegates at a Johannesburg event recently to share insights on the bitcoin and cryptocurrency economy as well as present use cases observed from Africa’s consumers.

He commented: “The people of Africa have been the most ingenious and resourceful of our users – they are redefining our understanding of the uses of bitcoin. The world has much to learn from Africa about the future of crypto-economy.”

BITCOIN USE CASES ON THE CONTINENT

Reflecting on Paxful’s experience in Africa and further afield, Onuoha added: “Three developments made the crypto-economy possible. First, the emergence of peer-to-peer electronic currency, bitcoin, that is powered by the blockchain technology. The second and arguably the most important miracle is the human layer, that connects everyone in the world making this peer-to-peer revolution powered by the people. And lastly, the third miracle is the sharing economy.”

Onuoha listed the following as true use cases for bitcoin: grey markets, speculation, payments, e-commerce, remittance, wealth preservation, and social good.

“Historically, much of the news coverage about bitcoin has tracked speculative activity, where 90% of trading volume is currently centered. This toxic phase is in line with expected adoption trends as the crypto economy, still in its infancy, matures. The next focus point of the evolution is the end-user and their opportunity-laden journey in peer-to-peer finance. It’s about wealth generation – and giving people the means to do it.”

He noted that many young Africans see bitcoin as an opportunity to develop entrepreneurship ventures; users set up side-hustles and their own businesses – which include remittance, as well as import and export enterprises, amongst others.

Demonstrating how the cryptocurrency community can contribute to social good, Paxful recently completed the building of the second school in Rwanda, as part of the group’s strategic commitment to education. Through its #BuiltWithBitcoin initiative, the group is in pursuit to build 100 schools across the continent.

EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION

With over 2,5 million users globally and Africa is the fastest-growing region, in 2018, Paxful disclosed it had seen a 200%+ increase in users in Africa over the previous 12 months. Paxful is observing a new generation of young African graduates and professionals making use of peer-to-peer finance as a way to better engage the global financial system.

Co-Founded by Egyptian entrepreneur Ray Youseff, who is passionate about empowering fellow African youth, Paxful is committed to reaching as many young people as possible to help them better understand the opportunities presented by the cryptocurrency economy. To this end, Paxful launched its first university education drive to expose youth to the true use cases of bitcoin, highlight how to avoid falling prey to bad actors in the crypto-space, and counter the over-emphasis on bitcoin speculation.

Launched at universities in South Africa and Kenya, the Paxful workshops provide key, practical insights, with each attendee also receiving free bitcoin to start them on their journey. Over 1000 youths have attended the events across SA/Kenya.

CHARITIES COULD BENEFIT FROM THE CRYPTO-ECONOMY

To date, Paxful’s #BuiltWithBitcoin initiative has raised over R3 million for charities across Africa and the Middle East. Paxful – has donated over 13,000 Rands worth of bitcoin to GROW with Educare Centres. The donation forms part of Paxful’s #BuiltWithBitcoin initiative and is its first South African charitable contribution.

As a non-profit organization, GROW with Educare Centres empowers qualified, passionate women to own and run successful high-quality Early Childhood Development (ECD) centers, such as daycares and pre-schools, in low-income communities using the principles of social enterprise and micro franchising. With reading being an integral part of the Educare programme, the donation from Paxful will be used to purchase books for their various centers’ mini-libraries.

The GROW with Educare Centres project was incubated by a partnership between The Clothing Bank and Grow Learning Company and currently has 31 ECD centers running across Cape Town, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

“This donation opens new opportunities for our organization to engage the crypto-community in charitable giving. An investment in Early Learning is one of the greatest investments you can make since one teacher influences a generation of learners. We hope that Paxful will inspire others to do the same,” says Helene Brand, Marketing and Fundraising Manager for GROW Educare Centres.

Paxful launched #BuiltWithBitcoin in 2017 to encourage the cryptocurrency sector to contribute funds for humanitarian projects.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

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DHL partners with Teach For Uganda to create greater employability among youth

July 20, 2019

DHL Express, DHL Global Forwarding and DHL Supply Chain, part of the Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPDHL Group), launched a partnership today with Teach For Uganda, a network partner of Teach For All, to eradicate education inequity, raise a nation of true leaders and promote educational opportunities and employability for young people in Uganda.

This marks DPDHL Group’s 18th partnership with Teach For All under the new strategic framework(1), a focus to nurture employability and life skills of young people from difficult socio-economic backgrounds around the world, and its first partnership in Africa.

James Kassaga Arinaitwe, Founder and CEO of Teach For Uganda, said, “We believe in the potential of all children to thrive and become better leaders in their various communities. The partnership with DHL Uganda will accelerate our momentum and help us improve the lives of the children through excellent and practical education and develop our fellows as effective teachers and leaders in their communities and nation.”

Along with providing financial support, this partnership will also see employees from DHL Express, DHL Global Forwarding, and DHL Supply Chain volunteer to support over 36 Teach For Uganda Fellows who will, in turn, make a positive impact in the lives of at least 15,000 students across Uganda.

“According to Uganda Census data, over half of Uganda’s population comprises youth under the age of 29 and it is estimated that 86% of those are unemployed, underemployed or at the level of becoming employable. (2) While we understand there is much to be done in order to close the gap, we hope that the engagement our volunteers will have with Ugandan youth will help improve these numbers,” said Fatma Abubakar, Country Manager, DHL Express Uganda.

Paul Erongot, Country Manager, DHL Global Forwarding Uganda added, “Globally DHL is committed to improving the communities in which we operate. Having been in Uganda for over 30 years, we want to be able to create a positive impact within the local community. We hope our volunteers’ interactions with these youth will help provide them with an understanding of

what the demands of the real working world are, and the skills they need to tackle these challenges head-on.”

Zachary Mukwaya, General Manager, Country Operations Uganda, DHL Supply Chain continued, “We are looking at giving the youth exposure and access to business leaders as well as skills-based training. Over time as the interactions grow between DHL volunteers and the Teach for Uganda students, we hope to nurture a cohort of youth who are more confident, focused and own the skills needed to move forward in their careers.”

Teach For Uganda recruits exceptional Ugandan graduates from diverse fields of study, who are trained to become teachers, known as Teach for Uganda Fellows, then placed in underserved schools and communities around the country as Teach For Uganda participants. These teacher-leaders would commit two years as teachers and mentors to their students.

In addition to giving their time to Teach for Uganda, DHL volunteers will continue to support SOS Children’s Villages Uganda with whom it has had a partnership since 2013.

Deutsche Post DHL Group’s corporate responsibility program “Living Responsibility” is comprised of three programs focused on environmental protection (GoGreen), disaster management (GoHelp) and education (GoTeach). Under the GoTeach program, Deutsche Post DHL Group provides support to Teach For All as well as 18 other network partners in the Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

Young Ghanaian innovator shows Africa’s future lies in its talented youth

July 18, 2019

“It takes a village to raise a child”: as the Fourth Industrial Revolution sweeps across Africa and more of its youth develop coding and other digital skills, there may come a time to update this old saying to: “It takes one child to raise the prospects of a village.” And based on the quest of one young man from a village in Ghana to solve some of the major problems faced by his community, this saying could become commonplace as more young innovators enter the fray.

Inspired by global technology success stories, Mustapha Diyaol Haqq, a 19-year-old from Kumasi in Southern Ghana, realized he too could deliver innovation where it was most needed, starting with his very home town. “Seeing how the big tech companies used innovation to solve some of the world’s biggest problems made me realize how important it is to learn to code,” says Haqq. “I looked online for any free courses that could help me develop coding skills and completed as many as I could.”

Despite being self-taught, Haqq was able to develop a potentially life-saving solution for women across the continent. “I used my knowledge of coding and machine learning to develop a model for diagnosing breast cancer, which I hope to release freely to communities across Africa,” says Haqq.

Also high on his agenda, hunger and food security which he sees as two of the biggest challenges faced by the continent’s rapidly growing population. “Africa relies heavily on smallholder farmers to meet its food production needs. However, much of the produce from farms are spoilt before it reaches the markets in the cities. I’m currently working on a machine learning and AI model that can help reduce post-harvest losses and ensure the work our farmers do translate into food security for our communities.”

Connectivity challenges remain innovation

One of Haqq’s biggest challenges when learning to code was accessing the internet. “We don’t have a good internet connection where we live, so I had to walk kilometers to an internet café where I could access free online coding courses. Internet access is expensive but, thanks to the generous support of my parents, who made some sacrifices to give me a chance to complete a few online courses, I built sufficient coding skills to start developing solutions to some of the problems affecting our community.”

Ghana suffers from poor internet penetration, with only 14% of the population having access to the internet. Despite this, the Ghanaian government has set out an ambitious plan to position the country as a leader in ICT innovation in the sub-Saharan Africa region by 2023. Young innovators such as Haqq will undoubtedly play a crucial role in achieving the government’s ambitions and inspiring more youth to pursue careers in tech.

Haqq says internet access is also the single biggest obstacle to greater adoption of coding among African youth. “Our continent does not enjoy the fixed-line infrastructure of our more developed peers, and mobile internet can be expensive. For me to afford the internet cafes where I learned to code, my parents had to make sacrifices. Global companies can play an invaluable support role by investing in providing internet access to our communities to support us as we get ready for a digital future.”

Lighting a coding fire among Africa’s youth as Youth Ambassador for Africa Code Week

One of the initiatives working to address digital literacy in Ghana is SAP’s Africa Code Week, an annual, continent-wide digital literacy programme that has engaged over 4.1 million youth in 37 African countries since 2015. “I participated in Africa Code Week as an opportunity to share my knowledge with young people in my community and inspire more youngsters to learn one of the most important languages of our time: coding,” says Haqq.

“I am also a volunteer and instructor for Ghana Code Club, and with the help of some friends, we have established coding clubs in several communities, where we spend our free time and weekends teaching both kids and adults to code. Being appointed Youth Ambassador for ACW 2019 is a dream come true, and a unique opportunity to inspire change on a global platform, encouraging young talents across the continent to learn digital skills and code the change they want to see in their community.”

SAP, UNESCO, and over 130 partners from the public, private and non-profit sectors are currently gearing up to introduce coding skills to 1.5 million youth across 37 countries in October 2019. According to Claire Gillissen-Duval, Director of EMEA Corporate Social Responsibility and Africa Code Week Global Lead at SAP, this 2019 edition will feature a strong focus on empowering girls and building teaching capacity at the community level, hence the importance of role models like Mustapha.

“We are extremely proud and honoured to welcome Mustapha as our Youth Ambassador for ACW 2019. He overcame major challenges and his amazing journey has the power to inspire many. As a young innovator and change-maker, his mentorship and guidance will be crucial as we strive to empower an entire generation and strengthen teaching capacity in ICT education among African communities.”

Stay tuned for #ACW2019 taking place in October across 37 countries.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.