Saturday 8 December 2007

Carnival reminder

Hello to all those reading the carnival blog!

We are getting ready to publish the last edition of the carnival for the year - please post your entries - we still have spaces left for the 7th edition - on 17 December.

Ishtar is still in Niger - check her blog for the latest - here is one of the photos she sent recently :

Outside the sultan's palace, Zinder 2007

Thursday 15 November 2007

Beautiful Africa - 6th edition!

Welcome to the November edition of the Beautiful Africa blog carnival!

This month's edition introduces you to some great posts on Niger, Nigeria, South Africa & Namibia. Thanks for all those that submitted posts - looking forward to reading your future submissions in the coming months.

Personal Experiences

We start with a pick from Ishtar's blog called The Baobab forest posted at IshtarNews. Ishtar's intro goes ... " Mirriah is not only known for its market place however; in fact, it is even more known for its huge Baobab forest. These trees were sowed a very long time ago and are of great value to the families that owns them. During the rainy season, they produce the much desired Baobab leaves (that are sold at every market) and during the dry season, they produce the very nutritious and very tasty Baobab fruits."


Tim Abbott presents Namibeb Gure-aogu: The Environmental Shepherds of ≠Khoadi ||Hôas Conservancy posted at Walking the Berkshires, in it read about a "Community Based Natural Reseource Management: empowering those who live on the land to care for the resources on which they and wildlife depend in Namibia"


Sights of Africa

Tauratinzwe presents Observations of Africa: Africa Gallery posted at Observations of Africa. "Stroll through the Africa Gallery and enjoy photos from Eastern and Southern Africa."


Sounds of Africa

Loomnie submitted Asa’s Fire on the Mountain, Jailer and Other Songs posted at Loomnie.com. "Asa (pronounced asha) is a Nigerian lady who was born in Paris but grew up in Lagos. She later returned to Paris, where, according to her bio, she played with Les Nubians, Manu Dibango, Doctor L, and Tony Allen. Her first album was released on 16 October 2007. Sometimes, her lyrics are unpretentiously didactic, like in Fire on the Mountain and Jailer, but then, even those who don’t like ‘preachy’ songs will find her melody enchanting."

Szavanna presents It has to do with sounds. Natural sounds from far up north. - The music of Moses Molelekwa posted at Szavanna_blog. "Moses is an unbelievably gifted jazz artist from South Africa - he tragically passed away a few years ago. The post goes ... "When I heard Moses’s music for the first time - I thought - wow - and that is all I could think of - when it comes to words - and I was just sitting there listening. The richness and shades of his sounds is amazing and comes so naturally one note after the other."

Arts and Creative Writing

Nasra sent us ~My African Lady~ posted at A window Within Myself. Nasra is a poetess living in Oman - be sure to check her poetry and all the projects she is involved in.


Another Szavanna_blog pick is Meeting the Prince. "The story of how I got to meet and work with this exceptional and talented artist from Nigeria."



Other


A pick from Sarocks.co.za - a post entitled Bryan Habana is Rugby’s player of the year. "Since I am blogging from South Africa - the boks winning the worldcup will remain an unforgettable experience no matter if one is a sports fan or not. I was glued to the TV screen during the final just like most people here - seeing the Springboks hold the cup was a special moment."

The post on Bryan Habana concludes this edition. Remember to submit your blog article to the next edition of beautiful africa using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page

Help us make this a great resource - please contact us if you come across great posts and bloggers that could be possible contributors to this carnival in the future.

Warm greetings and happy blogging,

Szavanna & BA Team

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Saturday 3 November 2007

Carnival reminder

Hi there everyone - hope you are well!

A quick note to remind you to submit your stories, poems and other writings - please do so - we still have spaces left for the 6th edition coming up very soon - on 18 Novemeber.

Ishtar is still very busy in Niger - she sent us some great photos - here is one :

Man and son selling dates at the Zinder market

Greetings to All from South Africa!

Anna & BA Team



Sunday 14 October 2007

Beautiful Africa - 5th Edition!

Welcome to the 5th edition of the carnival!!

We start by thanking everybody who submitted a post for this edition, and also those who agreed with the BA team to have a post from their blog featured in the edition. Those submissions that are not featured now will definitely have a place in the next edition. This edition includes posts from South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Nigeria and Mali.

Personal Experience
We open this edition of the carnival with Szavana's submission on her experience at the Medumo Jazz Fountain, posted at Szavanna_blog. She calls it "A great afternoon and evening spent at a local jazz event." Artistes who played at the event include Vivid Africa, Sipho Hotstix Mabuse, and Freshlyground. She concludes the post by writing, "After the last song the audience was completely energised and you could see the positive energy in the crowd...."

Our second post in the Personal Experience category is from Travel Betty. The post is titled Terror Somewhere High Up Over Namibia, posted at TravelBetty. And the post is literally about terror high up over Namibia - in a hot air ballon. In a raw and gritty way, she takes the reader through the thoughts that went through her mind just as she was about to get in the hot air ballon, and - even more gritty - her experiences riding the hot air ballon over Namib-Naukluft Park near Sossusvlei in Namibia. Brace yourself for a terrifawing (neologism from Travel Betty) experience.

We conclude this category with a post from Angola. Posted at Unstrung , Lara Pawson writes a beautiful post titled Breathing Life into Adam. The post is about her experience in a traffic jam. A particularly impressively crafted description is of "Adam", a person she describes as "something out of a painting".


Sounds of Africa

I doubt that the blind couple of Mali need any introduction. Loomnie presents a short post titled Amadou et Miriam Bagayoko on them, with a link to a Youtube video. I love their music, and I am sure you too will!


Sights of Africa
Jaja presents Sunset and September, posted at And as I was saying.... Although there is no simple way to describe this post, one could say it is a mixture of picture and poetry; the deep feelings it evokes is what happens when you bring out beauty from a place like the Niger-Delta area of Nigeria, an area that is more popular for violence than beauty. The beauty is so haunting that it has generated not less than 60 comments.

Tim of Walking the Berkshires presents Adaptation, a post of a picture of a coppiced mopane tree that mirrors a "braided track with its reflecting pools of water". It is more than just a picture; it leads to a personal reflection. He says, in the closing paragraph, "...sometimes you have to stay on the path and apply steady pressure rather than striking out on your own".

Our third entry in this category is Etosha National Park, Namibia: Safari on the Salt Pana posted at Far Explore. The pictures are from a place decribed in the post as "one of the world’s great national parks".



Culture & Tradition
Tauratinzwe presents Parable of the Loerie posted at Observations of Africa, saying, "A little story set in Southern Africa with a message for the wise." It is a story I am sure you will all enjoy.


Creative Writing

Atutupoyoyo presents On……the brief meeting between Sherlock Holmes and King Jaja of Opobo, posted at On..................Everything. It is just what it says it is: a meeting between Sherlock Holmes and King Jaja of Opobo, of couse, with Watson in attendance. King Jaja was a merchant who founded the Opobo city-state in present day Nigeria. He was born in 1821 in Amaigbo, was sold into slavery at about age twelve, but later became a successful merchant whose city-state came to dominate the palm-oil trade in the the region. For more on him click here. I don't think I have to add that Atutu's post is a fiction.

Others
To close this edition of the carnival, we are featuring Continentism: Let’s stop talking about “AFRICA”, a post from Ariah Fine, posted at Trying to Follow. The post stems from a frustration at the way Africa is described in the global media. I think anybody who has been to any African country, and who sees the representation of Africa, especially in campaigns for charity, would understand his reaction.

I hope you enjoy this edition of the carnival, and that you are inspired to contribute to future editions of the carnival.

For submissions to the next edition please user our submission form. The November edition is reviewed by Szavanna. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Warm greetings,
Loomnie & the BA Team.

Thursday 4 October 2007

Carnival Reminder

Hello Friends of the Beautiful Africa Blog Carnival!! This is to remind you that we are currently recieving submissions for the October edition. The edition will be available on October 16, and we will recieve submissions till October 15. To submit an entry, please click here.

Waiting to hear from you all!

Loomnie and the BA team.


The above picture is from Jaja. Jaja blogs from Nigeria. Visit his blog for more from him

Saturday 15 September 2007

Beautiful Africa - 4th edition!

Welcome to the 4th edition of the carnival!

As always, this month's selection includes great submissions as well as some posts chosen by the BA team. This month's edition includes posts about Tanzania, Namibia, Niger, South Africa, Mali, Nigeria - sit back and enjoy!

Personal experiences

As a perfect start to this month's stories Tauratinzwe presents Karibu kwa Afrika at Observations of Africa. "Back in time to 1970 when, fresh out of university, I first arrived in Africa. It seems like yesterday" . He tells us about the day he arrived in Arusha, Tanzania for the very first time.

Ishtar's Time for tea at IshtarNews is a shorter piece that explains why tea drinking is such an important tradition in many parts of Africa - read the post to get the feel for all the ingredients of a "tea drinking event" in Niger.

Keith presents They have so little, but posted at Under the Acacias. His experiences with the communities of Burkina Faso made him reexamine many of today's destructive habits in the Western world - read his thoughts on this topic.

Sounds of Africa

I believe that the stories told by songs and instruments can be a powerful way of conveying a message or introducing a country and its people. In this section I am introducing you to two musicians - one from Mali the other from South Africa both playing the blues in their own unique way.


Rouvanne presents Unique slide-guitar with a spoon - Hannes Coetzee to the USA at Peak People : an inside look. "Hannes Coetzee, an old spoon-sliding guitarist who burst onto the music scene in 2003 as part of the Karoo Kitaar Blues project with South Africa’s David Kramer, comes from the small Karoo town of Herberstdale." His unique quitar style has since become world famous - to see what I mean - visit Rouvanne's post and check the video with Hannes' performace.

Kikuyumoja presents Je chanterai pour toi at Kikuyumoja's realm . His post introduces you to Boubacar Traore, or Kar Kar as he is known - one of the great masters of the Malian blues. "KarKar uses those old melodies that are believed to be our national heritage. He has given them a new meaning" - says the post which has a lot more info about the man and the documentary created about his life.

Sights of Africa

Vaibhav presents Never seen anything like this in my life at Habitually good. The post is about the video called "The Battle of Kruger" - "Lions playing tug-o-war with a crocodile over a buffalo calf they just caught. And this is not even half the drama that unfolds in this 8 minute video." I have been to the Kruger National Park many times - and every day I spent there was full of experiences I will never forget. Watch the video to get the idea.

Culture & Traditions

Ishtar presents National Day celebrations continues at the race track at IshtarNews. This is Ishtar's second post on the national day celebrations in Zinder (Niger) - "I have yet to see my first camel race in Zinder! Somehow I always tend to miss it; but on the other hand, this particular afternoon was filled with so much program that by the end of the day you just could not desire more..." - to get the full story, best is to read the two posts together - perfect selection of photos that talk for themselves.

Tim Abbott presents The Name of the Rain is It Will Come at Walking the Berkshires. "Waiting is not always enough. Sometimes it takes the best that you have to bring the rain." - Tim tells about the people of Owamboland in Namibia and the traditions they practise to help bring the long awaited rain.

Creative Writing

RefinedOne ends this edition of the carnival with Eko ile! ….you just got to luv her at the RefinedOne blog. A beautiful poem about Lagos - as she explains : "to help you get a feel of Lagos… try putting NewYork city, Florida, Hollywood LA, and not forget the flavours of Islands, and maybe you’ll get the feel of this little/big city".

I hope you enjoyed this month's selection and that the posts above inspired you to write posts that can become part of future editions of this carnival.

If you have a new post to submit for the October edition please use our carnival submission form, the October posts will be reviewed by Loomnie. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Greetings to All,
Szavanna and the BA Team

Monday 10 September 2007

4th edition coming up soon

Just a short post to let you know that the September edition will be available on Saturday, the 15h with great posts as always this time reviewed by Szavanna.

Though we have a lot of great submissions already you are welcome to submit new entries - if you don't see your post in this edition, it will definitely be published in the next one.

This photo is taken by Ishtar somewhere on the border between Nigeria and Niger.
Visit IshtarNews to read the latest from Ishtar.

Thursday 16 August 2007

Beautiful Africa - 3rd edition!

Proud to present the 3rd edition of the one and only Beautiful Africa Blog Carnival - filled with a number of genuine quality posts that each in their own way have captured African highlights - as varied as they can be! We are glad to welcome onboard new contributers from Burkina Faso, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Mocambique, adding to our list of participating countries!

Personal experience

Szavanna is first up today, presenting A country for Xmas posted at Szavanna_blog, which describes her first encounter with South Africa coming straight from Hungary. An interesting read on multi-cultural experiences on a generously personal note. "I must say that though my second home can be an unbelievably hectic place to live in," Szavanna writes, "it is also a treasure chest of amazing traditions, beautiful landscapes & great music - all of which I could never have experienced, seen or heard - have I decided not to get on that plane to Joburg."

Tim Abbott presents I Bury the Dead And Start a Friendship posted at Walking the Berkshires, explaining in his own words: "Another life lesson from my years in Namibia." This post is a global highlight, showing how people from different citizenship, colour and religion come together in times of difficulties and make ever lasting friends.

Loomnie writes about life observation on a bus deck, in his post Respect posted at loomnie. Very interesting food for thought, well worthy of your time! "Whatever you think," Loomnie concludes, "each time you disembark from the bus you leave with a renewed feeling of respect for the stories their faces tell, for their resilience, for taking charge, and for constituting a very important part of the economic life of Nigeria."

Sights of Africa

This section specially introduced for this edition, provides us with a visual Smörgåsbord of African impressions!

First out in this category is Tauratinzwe who presents some beautiful pictures from Zimbabwe, in the post Mosi-oa-tunya posted at the site Observations of Africa. "The beauty of Victoria Falls, Mosi-oa-tunya, is overwhelming," the author writes. "The rainbows are stupendous and, on special full moon lit nights, moonbows accent the view..." If one did not already now that Victoria Falls were breathtakingly beautiful, one will know now!

Sahelsteve represents one of the editor's pick this edition, with this amazing picture of Fulani commuting posted at Voice in the Desert. Coming from a similar sandy landscape, my delight and fascination should come as no surprise. Now I'm only eager to hear your own thoughts on the matter, so click away, have a closer look and then come back to post your impressions! I wonder if this isn't the sort of picture that will inspire Izz to write a book!

Omyword wraps up this category with some true African beauty caught by the professionals in her post Sunset in Beira Moçambique posted at Triomf Movie.

Culture & Traditions

Keith (another editor's pick) presents Happy Birthday Burkina Faso! posted at Under the Acacias where he tells the story behind Burkina Faso's Indepence Day and the pride that the citizens share.

Other

howidiedtoday presents a good read in her post Recommending West With The Night As A Good Summer Read posted at Travel Betty, adding: "Hi Ishtar [and everybody else!], I just finished this book and have been recommending it to everyone. The writing is superb and the portrayal of Kenya is certainly refreshing. I think you'd love it!

Thanks,
Travel Betty"
Thanks for the tip, Betty!

Ishtar presents Niger in the news posted at Ishtar News. This post compares firsthand experience with the vastly different picture presented in the news. This article actually highlights the main reasons why the Beautiful Africa Blog Carnival was founded in the first place, because as we know (but so rarely see!) there is more to Africa than what hits the news. "Despite being the least developed country in the world, Niger has a wonderful and rich culture; a beautiful horizontal landscape with an amazing variety of colors (red dirt and white sand mixed under a deep blue sky, dotted with green acacia trees), unique values and its own "slow-slow" pace. Stress is not heard of in Niger. People generally take life as it is and do not care for our Western ambitions."

Keith gets to end this edition with a wonderful post entitled I love Africa posted at Under the Acacias. This post too was an editor's choice... Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Warm greetings and big applauses for all the contributions! You certainly contributed to a rich edition!

... Now on to the comments! [This is where you come in...]

Will leave you with the standard carnival ending:
Thank you for your contributions. That concludes this edition.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of beautiful africa using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Warm greetings,
Ishtar & the BA Team

Wednesday 15 August 2007

Nomad gathering - photo from Ishtar News

The 3rd edition is coming up soon. Only one day left!

Just wanted to let you all know that any post that has qualified but does not make it to this carnival edition due to lack of space, will be reported to the next edition. In other words, you will not have to resubmit. At present, the Beautiful Africa carnival is running once a month, but as interest increases, we plan to run the carnival more often.

Nomad gathering - photo from Ishtar News

Since opening this Beautiful Africa site, we've had visitors from 58 cities. Our top visitors seen by the amount of time spent on the site (reading through the material and checking on the links!) are as following:

1. Stuttgart
2. Pleasanton

3. Danderyd

4. Falkenberg

5. Paris

6. Ashburn

7. Tampa

8. Hot Springs Village

9. Gothenburg/Göteborg

10. Johannesburg

11. Bologna

12. Cardiff

13. Herndon

14. Mulhouse

15. Berkeley


Hope you find your town of residence on the list! If not, you might want to think about visiting more often...

See you all tomorrow!
The BA team

Wednesday 8 August 2007

Third edition approaches!

Just wanted to let you know that the next edition of Beautiful Africa is due in a week. Time to read through your blog again and look at the posts you've written (in order to see if there is anything amidst all the lines that you've already written that has captured a Beautiful African issue in a positive or constructive way); or, to sit down and write something according to your heart's desire. Will not post site promotions (hotels & rentals), off-topic issues or negative rants however, so if you want to portray a problem, you need to offer some sort of a solution as well... Constructiveness is the key!

You can submit your contribution to the upcoming carnival edition by clicking here.

Greetings from the BA team

Wednesday 1 August 2007

Global visitors

Well, since this site opened a few days ago, we have had visitors from Falkenberg, Halle, Kuala Lumpur, Cape Town and Mumbai!

Will be fun in a month's time to check out the keywords that brings people over... :-) They're hilarious over at Ishtar News. In fact, that reminds me that I have to write another post about it soon!

Now by the way, the next edition of Beautiful Africa is due on August 16th. Time to start looking over your blogs!

Warm greetings from a chilly Sweden,
Ishtar

Friday 20 July 2007

Beautiful Africa - 2nd edition!

Welcome to the second edition of the Beautiful Africa blog carnival! There is a wider spectrum of countries being represented this time, which gladdens me!


We start off with Nigeria, where Ugo Daniels presents Iwa Ji Ofu (New Yam Festival) in Igboland! posted at AfricanLoft. "The Iwa Ji Afo is one of the biggest festivals celebrated by the Igbos," Ugo writes. "This day symbolizes the conclusion of a work cycle and the beginning of another." Just like another AfricanLoft reader commented, this post awakens my memories of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. I wish I had had this post at hand when I tried to explain the importance of yam to fellow students. Thanks for reminding us, Ugo!

Next up is Omodudu who presents A Night In Cocody posted at Omodudu, saying, "Just reminscing about Cote D'Ivoire!" An interesting read about how something you don't understand and in many ways don't appreciate, still manages to win your heart.

Szavanna presents Ramatlabama girl posted at Szavanna_blog
where she shares her encounters with an easy-going young girl called Phindi who in 2002 was into Footy (a south african sport, in case you were wondering...) and was interested in learning computer skills. This post is about following your heart and achieving things that other people may very well deem impossible for you. A valuable read!

Neil Ransom presents Country Count 139 and Falling posted at Kate and Neil's Official Website. He grew up in Nairobi, Kenya, leaving when he was 18. "Now, 8 years later, most of what I experience of Africa is the language Americans use to describe it.
The African continent has 54 sovereign nations, colors ranging from dark black to bright white, hundreds of unique cultures, and thousands of languages and dialects. Grouping these 54 countries into one is akin to grouping North and South America, Europe, and the Middle East. It would be like me saying, “oh, I just got back from Norsamereuromiddast…" I really enjoyed this post.

Back to Nigeria, Loomnie inofficially presents On Friendship posted at Loomnie. He asked me to look through his site, and I picked out this post because of its genuineness.

In the previous Beautiful Africa Carnival, Tim Abbott presented 1/3 of the Water Planet. This time he presents The Waters Prevailed Exceedingly Upon the Earth posted at Walking the Berkshire. Go and have a look!

Bringing full focus to Niger, Ishtar (that would be me, yes) presents Niger's national parade posted at Ishtar News, which shows the great variety of cultural richness and heritage that resides within the same country border. Niger is not alone in being shared by a number of different people, all with their own language and cultural heritage. 2006 saw Niger's national day being celebrated in Zinder and the 1½ hour long parade that passed on our street really impressed me, because it brought together people from all corners of the country, each proudly displaying their own heritage, and yet unified under the same flag.

Now, last but not least, Izz wraps us this edition with his contribution I am what I am posted at Izzonline poetry, saying, "This is a poem that celebrates my life as an African." A wonderful and touching read which concludes: "I am what I am, because my Africa is beautiful." A great ending the Beautiful Africa Carnival Edition!

That concludes this edition. Thank you for your contributions! The next carnival is scheduled on the 18th of August. All in all, thirteen contributions were submitted, of which eight were accepted.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of beautiful africa using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Ishtar

Sunday 15 July 2007

Deadline due in three days

Just wanted to remind you all that the deadline for the Beautiful Africa is in three days. Time flies!

Ishtar

Friday 6 July 2007

Next edition of Beautiful Africa coming up soon!

I'm pleased to inform you - especially those of you who felt that you missed out on the last carnival - that the next edition of Beautiful Africa is due in less than two weeks. So now would be a great time to sift through your blog and look at the posts you've written, and see if there is anything amidst all the lines that you've already written, which is probably a bit buried by now, that has captured a Beautiful African issue in a positive or constructive way. As stated on the Blog Carnival Homepage:

I will post just about anything about Africa, as long as the tone is positive and constructive. Personal touches are of extra value. I will not however post site promotions or negative rants. If you want to portray a problem, show or present the solution as well!
If the answer is yes; you should immediately submit it to our upcoming carnival edition, and the easiest way to do that is of course to simply click here. If the answer is no, now is the time to take the issue seriously and sit down and write. Forgotten the guidelines? Here's a reminder from what has been previously published:

The blog world is full of interesting carnivals, but I as couldn't find a relevant carnival about Africa, I decided it was time to create one. With so much negative information about Africa being portrayed all the time, I thought it would be nice if we could assemble some of those positive stories; stories that highlight Africa's beauty, dignity, variety and culture.
This is a carnival for all of those who have experienced Africa and have been touched or inspired by this so called "dark continent" in any way. You may or may not have been there yourself, it can be about someone else, a story that inspired you etc. The aim of this carnival is to bring forth all the dignity, beauty, variety and human warmth of this huge continent, which is so often neglected in international media today.It's a very open carnival actually - you don't even need to have been in Africa to submit a contribution. All you need is to be positive about it! This first edition will kick off in a few days, starting with "a personal experience of Africa". Anything you have to tell; sharing the magic of this vast continent.
There! See, I knew you would get inspired!
Forgot where to submit your post? Click here!
Submission deadline is July 18th 2007.

Ishtar

Saturday 16 June 2007

Beautiful Africa - 1st edition!

Proudly presenting Beautiful Africa's kickoff! This first edition has kicked off with a strong focus on the Middle East.

First of all (and first to contribute to the carnival!), Howidiedtoday presents Siwa, Egypt: An Isolated And Flourishing Oasis Populated By A Community Of Gracious Berbers, a dream holiday in a mysteriously beautiful oasis where people go out of their way to welcome visitors to their town.

"I know that most people think of Egypt as being Middle East," she says, "which is why I thought it would be even more unique for this article to be featured. "

Zenofeller
presents Xenophillia, where he talks about Egyptian perfume! Ha, I have been to Egypt just once in my life, and that was 21 years ago. I remember our excursion to the pyramids, the mini Pepsi cola bottles and the tiny boutiques, filled with just that: perfume!

In Naseer and the Lute, Szavanna presents a story about Tunisian music lessons and tells what it was like to fulfill a dream and learn how to play the Arabian lute - "a beautiful string instrument" that similarly to the violin is "fretless".
Read and enjoy!

In 1/3 of the Water Planet, Tim Abbott presents his reflections on deserts and his firsthand experience with Namibia.
"Deserts are alive," he writes, "and have supported life of remarkable variety and resilience. "This is a very interesting post about one of the most fascinating landscapes on earth. Go and have a look!


In Best Dressed Nigerians Hated by South Africans, Izz talks about his encounter with African inter-racism in South Africa when looking for a decent barber.

"My point," he writes, "we can learn a lot from places that are melting pots of nations and kaleidoscope of cultures such as Sunnyside."

Beaman presents some good humour in Constance: Noodle and Laxatives in Berlin; a short truestory about a girl from Cameroon in Berlin.

Finally, there is a post at the former Ishtar News site entitled First day for the 19th time. I have been going back and forth between Africa and Europe for as long as I can remember, and yet, the cultural differences never cease to amaze me. For the Twentieth 'First day experience', have a look at Back in Niger hosted on this site.

That concludes this edition. Thank you for your contributions! The next carnival is scheduled in mid July.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of beautiful africa using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

Ishtar

Friday 15 June 2007

Beautiful Africa - a blog carnival

The blog world is full of interesting carnivals, but I as couldn't find a relevant carnival about Africa, I decided it was time to create one. With so much negative information about Africa being portrayed all the time, I thought it would be nice if we could assemble some of those positive stories; stories that highlight Africa's beauty, dignity, variety and culture.


This is a carnival for all of those who have experienced Africa and have been touched or inspired by this so called "dark continent" in any way. You may or may not have been there yourself, it can be about someone else, a story that inspired you etc. The aim of this carnival is to bring forth all the dignity, beauty, variety and human warmth of this huge continent, which is so often neglected in international media today.It's a very open carnival actually - you don't even need to have been in Africa to submit a contribution. All you need is to be positive about it! This first edition will kick off in a few days, starting with "a personal experience of Africa". Anything you have to tell; sharing the magic of this vast continent.

Submit your post/article here! The carnival has three posts so far, two from Egypt and one from Black Africa.

Ishtar