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