Finale: Farafine Trust Creative Writing Workshop

The Farafina Trust Creative Writing Workshop ends with a literary evening on May 29th at the Civic Centre, Ozumba Mbadiwe, Victoria Island, Lagos. Time is 3pm.

The event will be featuring readings by Chika Unigwe, author of The Phoenix; South African writer Niq Mhlongo, author of Dog Eat Dog; Ghanian author and playwright, Ama Ata Aidoo; Caine Prize winner, Bard Fellow and director of the Chinua Achebe Centre for African Writers and Artists, Binyavanga Wainaina and a host of others.

Admission to the event is free.

Ben Enwonwu Foundation: Young Artist of the Year

The Ben Enwonwu Foundation (BEF) cordially invites you to an art competition for children, the Ben Enwonwu Foundation Young Artist of the Year (BEFYART) 2010.

The competition is scheduled as follows:

Date: June 10, 2010

Venue: National Museum, Onikan, Lagos

Time: 11:00am

There will be side attractions including music, cultural performances and comedy.

For more information, visit the BEF website target="_blank", www.benenwonwufoundation.org, or call +234(1)7379753 - 5 or +234-8033129276.

Funding Resource for NGOs from Women Thrive Worldwide

A wonderful new funding resource for women-centered groups and organisations:

Women Thrive Worldwide is proud to announce the release of its Fundraising Guide for Women’s Community-Based Organizations. 

We frequently notice that local organizations have difficulty navigating the often complex world of international assistance and fundraising. This guide was written to help bridge that gap.

Outlining the basic concepts of professional fundraising, the guide seeks to assist our community partners through a collaborative process to increase access to effective resources. From practical advice based on years of experience in professional fundraising in the United States to detailed instructions on how to write grant proposals, budgets and reports, the principles and methods we introduce are applicable globally and can be tailored to local environments.

To download the free guide see http://bit.ly/bHSAxG.

Launch of the Young Feminist Wire / AWID YFA

AWID's Young Feminist Activism program has launched the Young Feminist Wire, an online platform for young women working on gender equality everywhere around the world.

The Wire is a hub of information by, about, and for young feminists: tools and resources, opportunities and calls for participation, news and updates, in addition to collaborative activities. It also features blog posts, interviews, directories, and a registration form that allows you to plug in to a network of young activists and older allies.

Book Event: The BookJam @ Silverbird

The BookJam @ Silverbird is a monthly event that consists of book readings, discussions, musical performances, poetry recitals, book signings and a raffle draw. At each edition of the BookJam you have the chance to meet and discuss with some of our finest writers—and you might win a prize too, if you buy their books.

The BookJam is hosted by A. Igoni Barrett and the Silverbird Lifestyle store.

The 4th edition of the BookJam will hold between 3 to 5 pm on Saturday 22 May 2010 at the Silverbird Lifestyle store, Silverbird Galleria, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The guest writers are:

SADE ADENIRAN is a graduate of the University of Plymouth and also spent time as an exchange student at the University of Massachusetts. She has written various pieces for theatre and her work has been performed at the Lyric, the Bush and the Riverside Studios. She won the “Best First Book Prize” (Africa Region) in the 2008 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for her debut novel Imagine This. She lives and works in London, and is working on her second novel.

CHUMA NWOKOLO is a lawyer and writer. He was writer-in-residence of the Ashmolean Museum and chair of Leys Newspapers, Oxford. He is the publisher of African Writing magazine. He has written short stories, novels and poetry. His story, Diary of a Dead African, was chosen by La Internazionale as one of the 3 best stories worldwide in 2003. He lives in the UK.

CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE is the author of Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun, and The Thing Around Your Neck. Purple Hibiscus won the 2005 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Overall Winner, Best Book) and Half of a Yellow Sun won the 2007 Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction. Her latest book, The Thing Around Your Neck, was shortlisted for the 2009 John Llewellyn-Rhys Memorial Prize. She lives between Nigeria and the US.

BINYAVANGA WAINAINA is the founding editor of the literary magazine Kwani?. He won the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2002 for his story Discovering Home. He is currently a Director at The Chinua Achebe Center for African Writers and Artists, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, Granta and National Geographic.

Raffle prize sponsor: DAVID WEJ (DW) CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES

Refreshment provided by: COKE

Admission to the BookJam is free. Members of the audience who purchase books during the event stand a chance to win a special prize in the BookJam raffle draw. Any questions about the BookJam should be emailed to auggustmedia@gmail.com

Program for Technology-Enabled Business Women

A new six-month programme, FEMTECH, is being launched to provide business support services to women who wish to establish and grow their own technology-enabled businesses. The programme is being funded by the Embassy of Finland, South Africa and is being executed in collaboration with the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

This programme is aimed at those who are:
- Existing woman business owners with demonstrated entrepreneurial skills and who are preferably running technology-enabled businesses and wish to grow the business substantially, or who
- Want to introduce an innovative product or service (at least at the concept stage) into an existing business, or who
- Plan to spin out a business from a corporate environment.

Training will take place between July and October and will consist of group-centered learning as well as individual mentoring and coaching.

Twenty applicants will be chosen for the programme. Shortlisted applicants should expect to be interviewed and will be required to present their concepts at the end of June 2010. The Selection Panel’s decision is final and no further communication or correspondence will be entered into.

Deadline for submission: 31 May 2010

Contact Jill Sawers on jlsawers@gmail.com
or +27 082 214-5915 or Tina James on +27 82 460-7915 for more information.

Book Reading: Sade Adeniran

Following a very successful book reading on Saturday for author Adaobi Nwaubani, publishing house Cassava Republic is organising another one with details below:

Sade Adeniran will be reading at the House of Makeda on Sunday, May 23 at 4:00pm.

When: Sunday, May 23, 2010
Time: 4:00pm - 6:00pm
Where: House of Makeda, 7 Manuwa St, off Keffi St, off Awolowo Road, SW Ikoyi

Natural Hair Resources

Here are a few natural hair links:

The Kinky Apothecary is a new website that promotes healthy care for natural hair. Kinky Apothecary also sells products suited for natural hair (no mineral oil and silicone). There's a Facebook page. KO also organises occasional natural hair workshops called Champagne, Cupcakes & Curltalk.

The founder of the Kinky Apothecary, Nibi was recently featured on Black Girl with Long Hair. She talks about her experiences wearing her natural hair in Nigeria. Fellow naturals and regular readers of this blog will already know all about THAT.....

A couple of months ago, Elan conducted a mini Q&A with 3 nappy headed ladies. They talk hair regime and products.

Book Reading: Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani

Writer Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani will be reading from her novel I Do Not Come to You By Chance this weekend at Quintessence.

Details below:
When: Saturday, May 15, 2010
Where: Quintessence, Falomo Shopping Centre, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos
Time: 4PM

Child Marriage: Exploiting the Vulnerable

Senator Yerima is a total disgrace! The marriage of this 50 year old former governor of Zamfara state to a 13 year old Egyptian GIRL is pure pedophilia cloaked in religion. And it illustrates how girls and women from poor backgrounds will always be vulnerable to exploitation from those with money. According to this NEXT article, his latest wife is the daughter of his driver!!

Farafina’s Book Club Program

If you love to read and talk about the books you've read, then perhaps a book club is for you. Find out more about Farafina’s Book Club Program.

Info is also on the Bella Naija website.

Nominate: Anita Borg Change Agent

I was honoured to be nominated for and awarded the Anita Borg Change Agent award last year. Aside from being a huge recognition, it afforded me the opportunity to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing last October in Tucson, Arizona. I highly encourage you all to nominate women who fit the specs (see below).

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The Anita Borg Institute is writing women into technical history. Thousands of women throughout the world are leading technology innovation. They often go unnoticed and unrewarded. ABI has created a set of awards to honor these distinguished technical women. I am writing to see whether you might want to nominate someone that you know through your work, or perhaps apply for the award yourself.

The Anita Borg Change Agent Awards honor technical women that live and work outside the United States. They are change agents in their communities – working to attract and support women in technology in their regions in developing countries. Recipients are recognized for their technical leadership and advocacy work.

- The application deadline has been EXTENDED to Friday, May 14, 2010 at 11:59pm EST – Eastern Standard Time.

- For more information see anitaborg.org/initiatives/awards/change-agent-awards/

- To submit a nomination go to ssl.linklings.net/organizations/abi

For information on other Anita Borg awards go to anitaborg.org/initiatives/awards. The awards celebration will be held September 30, 2010 at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference in Atlanta, GA. The award includes free conference registration and travel expenses.