Posts

Showing posts from August, 2011

MEDIA STRATEGY TRAINING

There is this famous story of how simple punctuation syntax can be the difference between life and death. It was in mediaeval England when a judge came up with the decision of acquitting the accused: “Kill him don’t, let him go”. So the court clerk who was recording the judge’s decision wrote thus: “Kill him, don’t let him go”, and thus the poor man was consumed by the gallows, instead of being left to wander in the streets of freedom, all because of the wrong placement of the comma. Likewise, it is quite important to package your message in the most proper manner; this was the message during the Media Strategy Training organized on the 15 th of August, 2011, at the KENFAP (Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers) offices. The trainer that day was Mr. Jonathan Ameka, a communications consultant based in Nairobi. The main focus of the training was on preparing a press release. This is basically a document which is sent to media outlets informing them of an upcoming event

International Student Conference on Climate Change, Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainable Livelihood: A South-South-North Dialogue

International Student Conference on Climate Change, Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainable Livelihood: A South-South-North Dialogue Aug 28 2011  -  Sep 1 2011 , Johannesburg, South Africa The world is currently facing a number of challenges including the adverse effects of climate change, expressed through global warming and changing rainfall patterns, drought, flood conditions, hurricanes, diseases, famine, and the depletion of bio-diversity. The adverse effects of climate change impact on communities regardless of race, gender, and social class across the globe. Besides aspects of food security and health being affected by climate change, human and social conflicts for resources, such as water and arable land, but also regional and continental migration are threats looming in the near future. It is on the basis of this increasing realization that as we realize that climate change is a global problem, it is also accepted that the search for sustainable solutions to mitigate against the

International Day of Youth

Image
Statement by Dr. Joan Clos, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Executive Director of UN-HABITAT on the occasion of International Youth Day 12 August 2011 We mark the annual International Youth Day at a time of sadness for the tragic murders of youth leaders in Norway, but with the hope that more young people around the world will carry the torch for freedom, democracy and good governance. Our young generations are the future, and we need all their vitality, creativity and optimism. In a world where more than half the population lives in towns cities, and where the majority are young people, we need to ensure safe, wealthy, sustainable and well-planned cities for all. And at a time of economic downturn we need to work harder than ever. The impact of the downturn is heavier still on the millions who languish in poverty in slums and inner city neighbourhoods around the world. This means that our cities must be places of opportunities for young people. In e

Faith, Fortitude & Fun: One Friday Morning...

Image
The youth from 9 countries along UN Avenue It is a cold Friday morning in Nairobi and over 300 youth are gathered along the United Nations Avenue for a procession and a dance for Climate Justice. The wind blows gently in the morning chilliness then stills at some point. Voices of participants can be heard in whispers then they rise, reaching a crescendo as the crowd of youth swells to capacity. They are from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Tanzania and Ethiopia. On their faces is written hope,faith and  an earnest desire to make a difference, this is it!The Occasion: The Launch of the ‘Have Faith-Act Now’ Campaign on August 12, the International Day of Youth. MP Mutava Musyimi with Winnie, Davida & Sylvia Clad in Tshirts written ‘We have Faith: Act Now for Climate Justice’ the procession sets off at about 10.30a.m snaking towards the UN Complex and US Embassy, bringing traffic to a standstill on the busy route. It’s history in the making. Peter Kenneth,

ALL FOR A WORTHY CAUSE: AYICC K Day of Excellence(6th Aug)

The maxims of knowledge is power and there is strength in numbers was brought alive last week Friday, 6 th August 2011 during the AYICC-K organized Day of Excellence; its theme couldn’t have been more appropriate than the one chosen “Passion with Action”. The man objective of the event was “Creating a Volunteer Revolution”, so as it would befit the aforementioned objective, the speakers for this event were young people who had a huge dent to the volunteer sphere through their volunteerism, as well as the audience in attendance. Important to note was that the person who conceived the event is an actual embodiment of the values enthused in the event: David Wainaina, a volunteer at AYICC-K and a catalyst and driving force in most, if not all, of AYICC-K’s activities. The first speaker on the podium was a young music artist straight, Simon Muoki, who talked about individual leadership and how to influence other young people to discover their potential and do things that would positively