As the world prepares to ce-lebrate Africa Day, an annual commemoration on May 25th of the 1962 founding of the Organisation of the African Unity (OAU), the Exodus team is delighted to bring you this May Issue.Indeed Africa day acknowle-dges the achievements that the continent and we, as Afri-cans, have made. Some of the exceptional people profiled in this issue are the living face of progress and success in and from Africa.For our gourmet readers, we have two chefs that have had their names embalmed amongst the best cooks in the world. Rougui Dia, head chef at the prestigious Petrossian restaurant in Paris and Mar-cus Samuelsson, born in Ethio-pia and raised in Sweden who against all odds has excelled in the area of cooking.In this issue, we will meet some extraordinary people of Africans origin such as Ka-nya King, CEO of the MOBO Awards. King has played an instrumental role in elevating black music and culture in the UK and John Dabiri, a Califor-nia-based Nigeria scientist. For our cultural mosaic, we travel to the Libyan Desert for the colourful annual Ghat Festival, a rendez-vous of Tuaregs from Algeria and Niger, famous for

its music, dancing and Tuareg Camel Races.The Ibrahim Leadership Fel-lowships programme tops our news section. The initiative will help prepare the next gene-ration of outstanding African leaders by providing them with unique mentoring opportuni-ties.A special commendation goes to the Africa Rice center for its leading role in the recently launched Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP) that aims to contribute significantly to lowering rice prices and redu-cing global poverty by more than 10 percent.Some of you may wonder why we have the Tout Puissant Mazembe in our Zoom Sec-tion. Well, I know that many out there are still proud of the performance of the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup runners-up from the Democratic Republic of Congo. So, there you go. It’s never too late to celebrate the excitement of a historic win.

Happy reading

EDITO

Nafi Ndiaye Diouf

EditorNafi Ndiaye Diouf

WritersPatricia YumbaAlexandre TitibaNafi DioufOluoch Ogallo

Creative DirectorPierre Sauvalle

AdvertisingPatricia YumbaKhoudia Diop

TranslationTranstrep Madior DialloMichael Delrieu

PhotosAfrica Rice AFP

Contacts Nafi.diouf@exodusmagazine.frPatricia.yumba@exodusmagazine.fr

CONTENTS

Okike is a Nigerian journal founded in 1971 that publishes the work of new and established writers. This

book is a compilation of short African stories published over ten years by diverse African authors such as Chinua Achebe, Ossie Onuo-

ra Enekwe, Nadine Gordimer, and Kole Omotoso. Each short story is an account of the rich historical and social events that have shaped our continent these past years. Also each region of Africa is represented through this selection.

This novel is often referred as an Afri-can classic and is always mentioned as one the greatest African book of the

past century. ‘A grain of wheat’ by Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong’o, is a fictional ac-count of the Kenya independence struggle,

“Uhuru”. The plot develops around different characters in a Kenyan village as they try to find who killed their messianic leader. The author mixes fictional and historical events throughout the lives of complex characters.

Brought to you by Patricia YUMBA

“African Creations”

A Decade of Okike Short Stories

“A Grain of Wheat” by Ngugi wa Thiong’o

5BOOK REVIEW 5

06 ZOOMTout Puissant Mazembe

08 NEWSIbrahim Leadership Fellowships to support

Africa’s next generation

Africa Rice Center takes the lead in global

research alliance to urgently address

Africa’s rice challenges

12 INTERVIEWRougui DIA, , Head Chef at Petrossian

14 FOCUSKanya King, CEO Mobo Awards

John Dabiri, California-based Nigerian scientist

Clara Lawson Ames, world class fashion designer

Marcus Samuelsson, internationally- renowned chef

from Ethiopia

20 THEY BELIEVE IN AFRICASir Richard Branson

22 CULTURAL MOSAICInternational Ghat Festival in the heart

of Libyan Desert

24 OUT OF AFRICA- Innovation out of Africa

- Did you know

- Proverbs

30 TRAVELMarrakech, the Pearl of the South

THEY CONqUERED THE WORLDBoris Kodjoe - Stella Mwangi

32 UNESCO HERITAgE SITEStone Town Zanzibar

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5BOOK REVIEW 5

ZOOM ZOOM 76 Tout Puissant Mazembe

Mo IbrahimLeadership Fellowships to support Africa’s nextgeneration

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Having identified a lack of opportuni-ties for aspiring leaders across Afri-ca to gain critical experience at the

highest levels of multilateral organisations, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation has worked with these partners to create the Fellowships. The AfDB, UNECA, and WTO will each host an Ibrahim Fellow in their executive offices. The expectation is that Ibrahim Fellows will go on to play a major role in the governance and development of the African continent.

In announcing the programme, Mo Ibrahim, Founder and Chair of the Foundation said, “Anyone travelling around Africa today will

be impressed by the rising generation of new talent across business and politics that is sha-ping the continent’s future. The Fellowships will give a select group the experience and training they need to play a leading role in furthering our continent.”

Ibrahim Fellows will be selected by the insti-tutions in conjunction with the Mo Ibrahim Foundation and will take part in a 12 month fellowship with one of the participating orga-nisations. They will be young professionals, mid-career and new executives under the age of forty, or forty-five for women with children. The Fellows will be nationals of an African

country with 7-10 years of relevant work ex-perience and a Master’s Degree.

They will support the work of the institution to further promote the economic develop-ment of the continent.

Speaking on behalf of the AfDB, President Donald Kaberuka said, “The Ibrahim Fel-lowships Programme will ensure there is a growing pipeline of future African leaders who have the experience and ability to build strong African economies. The African De-velopment Bank is delighted to host one of the first Ibrahim Fellows.” Expressing his support for the new programme, Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary of UNECA said,

“We are proud to be an inaugural partner of the new Ibrahim Fellowships Programme.

We share Mo Ibrahim’s determination to inspire outstanding leaders in Africa and ex-pose them to the challenges of African inte-gration. This programme is another step to-

wards a better future for our people.” About the Foundation Established in 2006, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation aims to support good governance and great leadership in Africa. The Foundation works to :•Stimulate debate on good governance ;

•Provide criteria by which citizens and go-vernments can measure progress ;

•Recognise achievement in African lea-dership and provide a practical way in which leaders can build positive legacies on the continent when they have left office ;

•Support aspiring leaders for the African continent.

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation, in partnership with three of the world’s most influential multilateral organi-sations, announces the launch of the Ibrahim Leadership Fellowships programme. Working with the African Development Bank (AfDB), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) the Fellowships Programme will help to prepare the next generation of outstanding African leaders by providing them with unique mentoring opportunities.

NEWS8

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AfricaRiceTakes the lead in global research alliance to urgently address Africa’s rice challenges

Concerned by the rising world food prices and their grave im-plications for Africa, the Board

of Trustees of the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) endorsed the Center’s lead role for the continent in the recently launched Global Rice Science Par-tnership (GRiSP) that aims to contri-bute significantly to lowering rice prices and reducing global poverty by more than 10 percent. GRiSP, which is the first new Consultative Group on Inter-national Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Research Program to be approved, will address the need to grow more rice in the coming years to feed the world’s

population with less land, less water, and less labor in more eco-efficient pro-duction systems that are more resilient to climate change.“As one of the main architects of GRiSP, AfricaRice is com-mitted to supporting its goal to develop Africa’s potential to grow more rice,” sta-ted the Board at its just-concluded mee-ting at the Center’s regional station in St. Louis, Senegal.

The challenge is huge in Africa, which depends heavily on rice imports and re-mains vulnerable to food crises. Since 2007, AfricaRice has been consistently advising its member States to adopt

key policy measures to support the rice sector. The implementation of these measures contributed to significant in-creases in domestic rice production in several African countries in 2008 and 2009. The Board commended the AfricaRice Director General Dr. Papa Abdoulaye Seck and the staff for achieving a tur-naround in the Center’s growth and for high levels of performance since 2007, including : •A redirection of the Center’s vision and strategy based on scientific excel-lence and greater ownership by its mem-ber countries ; •Tripling of the volume of rice R&D projects with national partners ;

•Increased adoption of AfricaRice tech-nologies (NERICA varieties growing in more than 700,000 ha across Africa and AfricaRice’s Sahel varieties sown in nearly 80% of the Senegal River Valley) ;

•Doubling of the Center’s budget and funding reserves ;

•Ten-fold increase in annual contribu-tion from member countries ;

•Reinvigorated research structure alig-ned with GRiSP themes ;

•Effective decentralization of research activities ;

•Important new partnership with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), advanced research institutes and regional econo-mic communities ;

•Increased international recognition, including two United Nations awards ;

•“Outstanding” rating in the 2010 World Bank Performance Measurement system ;

•Transformation from a regional to a pan-African organization with new member countries from Central, East and North Africa ;

“We are excited to see a healthy and scientifically-vibrant Center,” the Board Chair stated during his interaction with the staff and their research and develop-ment partners.

Before concluding the meeting, the Board approved the working budget for 2011 and took key decisions on Board membership. It was pleased to elect Dr. Peter Matlon as the new Board Chair and expressed its gratitude to the ou-tgoing Chair Mr. Getachew Engida for his valuable contributions to the Cen-ter. It bade a fond farewell to Dr. Kiyoaki Maruyama and thanked him for his dedicated service. Dr. Masa Iwanaga, a world renowned Japanese expert and former Director General of the Interna-tional Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), was selected as a new member.

AfricaRice is an intergovernmental re-search association of 24 African mem-ber countries. It is also a member of the Consortium of 15 international Cen-ters supported by CGIAR.

Director General Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck (first row, second from left) with members of the Board of Trustees and staff of AfricaRice.

NEWS10

She’s young, full of energy and has a promising future. Her name Rougui Dia, 29 year old French-born Senegalese Chef of the prestigious Parisian restaurant, Petrossian. Cooking, to her, is an opportunity to mix African, Russian and French culture.

INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH 12

ROUGUI DIA, HEAD CHEF PETROSSIAN

Why did you choose such a career? How did you get here?

I grew up in France, and we ate a lot of Afri-can dishes at home, so I didn’t like hanging out in the kitchen like the rest of my family. Later, I actually discovered that with cooking you can share a lot of things with all sorts of people.

Then it felt very satisfying and decided that I make into a job, a career. So I trained and got my Baccalauréat professionnel. I then got my first job, that job led to another, and now I’m a chef!

You’re the chef of a prestigious restaurant. How is this important to you?

It’s important because I need daily challenges to move forward, it motivates me. Then, being a chef adds more pressure to being a woman, and I see me, being black in this business, as sign that our efforts can pay off.

Of Senegalese origin, you are now chef in a French restaurant with a Russian tradition. Is this mixture also present in your dishes?

To hold it all together, I decided to focus on French Cuisine. I’m not going to start doing African dishes like yassa just because I’m black. I wanted to show that we can open up to French culture.

The way I cook is mostly French but we use

produce from all over the world. We give our-selves the chance to taste other dishes, other countries, other cultures. French cuisine is well known, it’s very good, but there is pro-duce from Africa, India and elsewhere that is just as good but not well known.

This said, we also have a Russian menu where we do a lot of little dishes. They showed me how they eat certain dishes, and we adapted them to the ingredients we had in the kit-chen. That’s the real mix between Russia, Africa and France.

What’s your typical workday like?

A chef wakes up early, and is in the kitchen by 9 in the morning. That’s when we set up, check all the deliveries, check everything, check up on the banquets and find out if there are menus waiting, and at the same time sample a bit of everything,

Then we serve lunch. Because I am also the chef pattisier, I’m there till 3. In the after-noon, there’s shopping to be done, I some-times do it myself, sometimes I ask someone else to do it.

Then it’s family time, or read a book, recharge the batteries. We come back in the evening to set up diner and then we close around 10, sometimes later with the pastry.

Which Senegalese dish to you prefer eating and which do you prepare best ?

I don’t have a special, favourite dish. If I go one year without eating a thiep, and I find some, I think ‘Wow’. Same for Kandja soup (gombo). I’ve been told off for cooking soopoo kandja or mafé (peanut) too much (smiles).Actually, in the team, I cook Senegalese fish rice at the end of the year to tell customers ‘this is also me, who I am, my culture. Come to us! Come to African cooking.

-What advice or tips would you give young people about working as a chef?

I would tell them exactly what I was told: Are you sure you want to cook? Then I would tell them, as I have told others, it’s going to be

tough, it will be very tough, but you’ve got to keep at it.

Everyday there’s something new to be lear-ned. It’s not because you’re a chef that you stop learning. You have to keep at it, again and again. The truth is success is for anyone to grab.

How do you see the future?

I hope to open something.

Interview by Alexandre TITIBA

Rougui DIA, head chef Petrossian Paris

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Kanya King CEO Mobo Awards

In the Beginning Raised in Kilburn, North West London by her Ghanaian father and Irish mother, Kanya is the youngest daugh-

ter of nine children and grew up listening to and being inspired by black music. Whilst stu-dying English Literature at Goldsmiths College in London, Kanya decided to organise her own live music events to highlight both the impor-tance of and public demand for music of black origin.Dedica-ted to following her passion, Kanya decided to take this one step further in 1996 whilst she was working as a TV researcher. Kanya came up with the idea of an awards ceremony with m a s s - m a r k e t appeal, which would celebrate black music and music in-fluenced & inspired by black music. Having formulated a proposal and business plan for the MOBO Awards, Kanya King embarked on a tireless campaign to attract sponsors and interest from TV networks. Kanya King MBE as Entrepe-neur Kanya’s overwhelming desire to succeed eventually led her to re-mortgage her house to raise the necessary finances to launch the first MOBO Awards. As well as funding the TV broadcast, Kanya organised the whole event in just 6 weeks. This involved assembling a pro-duction crew and securing sponsors, not to

mention a star-studded line up and an audience to watch it! The hard work paid off and the show was a spectacular success attended by the likes of Tony and Cherie Blair, Lionel Richie and Gabrielle. The MOBO Awards Show is firmly established as one of the most presti-gious events in the entertainment calendar and boasts a past guest list that includes an array of ‘A-list’ celebrities, legendary performers and

top executives.Kanya’s sheer passion and de-dication is clear for all to see. This was highlighted a few years ago when the Queen invited Kanya to stand alongside

JK Rowling and Cherie Blair at Buckingham Palace to celebrate exceptional achieve-ments by British wo-men. Additionally, she is a Patron of the Horniman Museum. In line with MOBO’s

aspirations of making positive differences and creating inspirational examples, Kanya accepted a role as one of the ‘Fortune 5’ in the ITV series, ‘Fortune - A Mil-lion Pounds Giveaway’.Kanya King is a prime example of an exceptional, strong, passionate and utterly determined British woman. She has always looked at the bigger picture and over the years MOBO has become ‘much more than music’.

As CEO and founder of MOBO Organisation, Kanya King is the dynamic force behind the MOBO Awards and has played an instrumental role in elevating black music and culture to mainstream popular status in the UK. .

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John Dabiri California-based Nigerian scientist

he came to Caltech as a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fel-low, Betty and Gordon Moore Fellow,

and Y.C. Fung Fellow in Bioengineering. Un-der the supervision of Professor Morteza Gha-rib, he earned an M.S. degree in Aeronautics in June 2003, followed by a Ph.D. in Bioenginee-ring with a minor in Aeronautics in April 2005. He joined the Caltech faculty in May 2005. In 2008, he was selected as an Office of Naval

Research Young Investigator for research in bio-inspired pro-pulsion, and Popular Science magazine named him one of its «Brilliant 10» scientists. He was selected for a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2009. In 2010, he was awarded a Ma-cArthur Fellowship. John Dabiri received a B.S.E. (2001) from Princeton Univer-sity and an M.S. (2003) and Ph.D. (2005) from the Cali-fornia Institute of Technology, where he is currently an asso-ciate professor of aeronautics and bioengineering. His scien-tific articles have appeared in such journals as Nature, the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, the Journal of Experimental Bio-logy, and PNAS. Winner, Ame-rican Physical Society Gallery of Fluid Motion (2004) Oral Presentation Award, Southern California Biomedical Enginee-ring Symposium (2002) Sigma Xi National Research Honor Society Book Award, Princeton

University (2001) John Marshall II Memorial Prize for Indepen-dent Research, Princeton University (2001) Morgan W. McKinzie Senior Thesis Prize Fi-nalist with Distinction, Princeton University (2001)

Grade of A with Distinction (A+), B.S.E. The-sis, Princeton University (2001)

John Dabiri is a Professor in the Graduate Aeronautical Laboratories and the Option of Bioengineering at Caltech. He graduated from Princeton University with a B.S.E. degree summa cum laude in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in June 2001.

FOCUS14

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The world’s best chefs are men…fact or fiction? You tell me.But one renowned African chef that has had his name embalmed amongst the best cooks in the world is living proof that the above statement might actually be true. Many say his cooking style is an international as his life story. Meet Marcus Samuelsson, who has against all odds excelled in the area of cooking. He was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1970, raised in Sweden and is now big shot chef in New York.

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Here is his story. In 1973, three-year-old Samuelsson was orphaned when his parents fell victim to a tuberculo-

sis epidemic that raged through his Ethiopian homeland.He was at the time known as Kas-

sahun Tsegie. He and his sister Fantaye found refuge at a Swedish field hospital in nearby Addis Ababa, where they were taken in by a nurse who arranged for their adoption by a young Swedish couple.

They were Ms Ann Marie and Mr Lennart Sa-muelsson, a homemaker and a geologist, who lived in Gothenburg, Sweden. The siblings’ names were changed to Marcus and Linda Samuelsson. At a young age in Sweden, he also discovered his passion for cooking be-cause of his maternal grandmother, who was herself a professional cook. And immediately, he knew that was his destiny.For Samuelsson, the choice to pursue cooking was an easy one to make.

His first summer job was at a local bakery, which was then followed by several cooking jaunts in small restaurants. Passionate about his studies at the Culinary Institute in Göte-borg, Samuelsson attended classes by day and cooked in local restaurants late each night, fulfilling his degree requirements in record time.Following graduation from the Institute, Samuelsson apprenticed first in Switzerland and later in Austria, where he learned how to craft fine pastry. In 1991, he returned to Switzerland for almost a year before fate in-tervened: Samuelsson had his breakthrough as chef for well-reputed New York restaurant Aquavit. Aquavit owner Håkan Swahn was hard at work in New York City establishing an iden-tity for Scandinavian cuisine in the U.S. and selected the young Swedish chef for an eight-month apprenticeship at his restaurant. This was a great honor for Samuelsson, consi-dering the restaurant’s international reputa-tion.

Today, he is involved in several restaurants, among them the Swedish Aquavit restaurant in Stockholm, is a guest professor at Umeå University School of Restaurant and Culinary Arts.

At 24, Marcus became executive chef of Aqua-vit, and soon after that became the youngest ever to receive a three-star restaurant review from The New York Times.

In 2003 he was named «Best Chef: New York City» by the James Beard Foundation. The same year he started a second New York res-taurant, Riingo, serving Japanese-influenced American food. In addition to his recognition as a world-class chef, Samuelsson is an award-winning cookbook author with titles in both English and Swedish. His 2006 African-inspired cookbook The Soul of a New Cuisine received the prize «Best International Cookbook» by the James Beard Foundation.

Other titles written by Samuelsson are Aqua-vit and the New Scandinavian Cuisine, En Smakresa («A Journey of Tastes»), and Street Food. He had a television show, Inner Chef, which aired in 2005 on Discovery Home Channel and yet another program in 2008, Urban Cui-sine on BET J/Centric.

His cooking combines international in-fluences with traditional cuisines from Swe-den to Japan and Africa. Samuelsson is mar-ried to the model Gate (Maya) Haile. On November 24, 2009, Samuelsson served as guest chef for the first state dinner of the Barack Obama presidency. The dinner, in ho-nor of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the country of India, was served on the South Lawn and largely vegetarian. Samuelsson reportedly sought to combine sustainable and regional foods, which reflect the best in American cuisine yet evoke the flavors of India. Harvesting fresh vegetables and herbs from the White House Garden, Samuelsson’s menu included red lentil soup, roasted potato dumplings, and green curry prawns. Samuelsson is an advisor to The Institute of Culinary Education in New York City.

MARCUS SAMUELSSON

FOCUS16

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Most recently, the Cambridge Execu-tive Professional Entrepreneurial “EPEs” Award was bestowed on

her. All her creations have showcased unpa-ralleled creativity, and each piece elaborately incorporates the use of luxurious Vlisco fa-bric. Her keen eye and fashion expertise have enabled her to enhance her brand among fashion connoisseurs worldwide. In 2009, she successfully launched her brand via «Siren of Sahel 1 & 2, Discover the New

Face of Africa» a two part fashion event premiering in Chicago and subsequently Washington DC. Always an advocate for cultural preservation, Ms. Lawson Ames is the president and founder of the non-profit ASSOCIATION DE SOUTIEN AU DE-VELOPPEMENT DE L’ART VESTIMEN-TAIRE ET DU TEXTILE AFRICAIN, AS-DAVTA (Association in Support of African Art Dressing and Textiles Development).

FOCUS18

CLARA LAWSON AMES

Hailing from Burkina Faso in Western Africa and trained in Europe, Clara Lawson Ames promises to bring unparallel creativity and talent to leaders within the fashion realm. Over the past 20 years, Ms. Ames’s designs have won numerous International accolades including the prestigious African Diamond Award, presented in Sun City, South Africa, as well as, a Biz Africa Award conferred by the World Confederation of Business in Dakar, Senegal.

Sir Richard Branson59-year old Sir Richard Branson, is best known for his Virgin Group. The British entrepreneur, who left school at 15 and then skipped university, now leads the destiny of 50,000 staff in 50 main businesses across transport, media, finance and more.

THEY BELIEVE IN AFRICA20 521

Richard Branson is the 212th richest person in the world according to Forbes’

2010 list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of approxima-tely £2.97 billion (US$4.0billion). «I believe that by encouraging entrepreneurship ... it will help increase growth and jobs,» Sir Ri-chard Branson once said. He has just set out to boost and ignite the spirit of African entrepreneurs through a number of initiatives including the Branson Center of Entrepreneurship and Entreprise Zimbabwe.The Branson Centre

of Entrepreneurship in Johannes-burg, South Africa was launched in 2006 by Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Unite, the non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group. At the Centre we provide a launch pad for bold and enterprising South Africans to create successful businesses. The center supports aspiring entrepreneurs by offering practical business skills and ac-cess to; coaches to offer guidance, mentors to share their experiences and financing opportunities to enable businesses to grow. The Branson Centre looks for the best

businesses, the best attitudes and the best potential. ‘Sometimes this isn’t on a CV, it is who you are’.The Branson Centre of Entrepre-neurship’s vision is to develop the most promising entrepreneurs to create jobs within financially disad-vantaged communities in South Africa. Our mission is to incubate emerging businesses by providing practical skill, critical resources, ac-cess to markets and capital. This in turn will help create employment in disadvantaged communities.The Branson Centre of Entrepre-neurship has seen an array of suc-

cessful businesses funded, thrive and grow. In just four years 4,000 people have attended sessions, nearly 100 businesses have been incubated and 15 businesses have received seed funding.These range from IT companies, to fashion designers, to a magazine publisher to a gaming bu-siness that equips young people with computer skills, as well as providing a safe environment for them to play the latest vi-deo games. These businesses have created jobs in their local communities and ins-pired a new generation of entrepreneurs. Following the success in Johannesburg, Virgin Unite is already considering new schools in Kenya, the US and the UK

International Ghat Festivalin the heart of the Libyan Desert

CULTURAL MOSAIC22 523

for Tourism & Traditional Handicrafts. To them, it presents the perfect opportunity for the Libyans to promote their rich and diverse heritage to the world.Every year, the Berbers and Tuaregs and all their other visitors get together in the ancient town of Ghat, considered the heart of the Libyan Sahara.The town was favored for its strategic position. During the ancient times, it was vibrant, flou-rishing on trade and blessed with a kind and clement nature, which with its ample lakes and savannah-like vegetation, was a haven for hunters

and farmers.Nature was just another strong asset for the success of the festival.The performances and the relics at the festival in-terplayed to the tune of the natural beauty in a harmonious union that firmly demonstrated hu-mans’ affiliation to earth.The festival is a busy and a delightful occasion for both the organisers and the participants. No sense of boredom or disinterest is given a chance. Every part of the festival is indeed a worthwhile cultural experience.Colour and joy were the key themes showcased through the performances of

One of Libya’s most impressive and interesting traditional events that celebrates the desert lifestyle, culture and history..

the folkloric bands that participated in the festi-val’s soirées.Bands from Mauritanian, Algerian and other African nations usually enrich the event with performances of indigenous African music and folklore. The participants appreciate this by ei-ther dancing or singing along to the musical per-formances.Another interesting aspect of the festival is the camel race. The traditional handicrafts on dis-play also tell a story of centuries-old civilisations that still keeps its rhythm nowadays.Every event

recounts a tale of a history, which continues to exist. It is said that the festival’s organisers have really mastered the art of conveying and celebra-ting the ancient, yet present, history of both Li-bya and Africa in general.It appears as if they are keen to leave a reviving le-gacy of the past for the generations to come.The performances and the artifacts on display firmly establish the idea that human history, with all of its details, is a universal heri-tage

Known as the Ghat festival, it is named after a desert city southwest of Libya.The event normally takes place from De-

cember 29 to 31.Even though the colourful and elaborate family fete only lasts for only three days, it attracts Ber-bers and mostly Tuaregs from all over Libya and from nearby Algeria and Niger. The internatio-nal festival also brings together a wide mix of other nationalities who despite their different backgrounds, are unified by a single language – art. This perhaps explains the popularity of the event organised by the Libyan Public Authority

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Innovation out of Africa

A self-taught man from Burkina Faso, Philippe Yoda decided to conduct research on plastic bag litter ma-

nagement. He is the founder of the Asso-ciation pour l’Innovation et la Recherche Technologique Appropriée en Environne-ment (AIRTAE) whose goal, among others, is to popularize the process he has desig-ned that gives a second life to plastic bags.

This process has been patented with OAPI (Organisation Africaine de la Propriété In-tellectuelle or African Intellectual Property Organization).

The process starts with the collection of plastic bags which are then sorted before they are washed. The second stage consists of grinding plastic bags that will then be gas-heated (melted). The melting is then poured into molds and transformed into various objects such as tables, benches, sto-ols, tiles (to replace iron or steel sheets), f loor tiles or cobblestones, road signs (for which the first 100 required about 1.2 tons of plastic bags), water meter boxes, etc.

The quantities of plastic waste processed by Philippe Yoda and his team are still mo-dest compared to the 40,000 tons of plas-tic waste produced annually in the capital Ouagadougou. In 2004, AIRTAE had pro-cessed 10 tons of plastic waste, 47 tons in

2005 and 99 tons in 2007. The activity is growing, therefore.

The Office National de l’Eau et de l’Assai-nissement (ONEA) or the National Bureau of Water and Sanitation has asked Philippe Yoda to manufacture plastic water meter boxes. He was also backed up financially by the Banque Régionale de Solidarité (BRS) which granted him a loan of about €45,800 (30 million CFA francs). The amount is modest, but this is a good start that allows the inventor and his association to live on their income.

Philippe Yoda was awarded the gold medal at the Salon International de l’Innovation, organized by the World Intellectual Pro-perty Organization (WIPO). In December 2008, at the 8 edition of the Forum de la Recherche Scientifique et de l’Innovation Technologique (FRSIT) Philippe Yoda won the “President du Faso” Prize worth €3,048 (2 million CFA francs) for his plastic recy-cling process. He also received a prize from the Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Industrielle (OAPI) that is worth €1,524 (1 million CFA francs).Source kumatoo.com

24 OUT OF AFRICA

Born to a German mother and a Gha-naian father, Boris ‘Frederic Cecil Tey-Natey Ofuatey’-Kodjoe spent most

of his childhood in Vienna. He excelled in sports, particularly tennis and he became one of the best young players in Austria. In 1994, he earned a Tennis scholarship from Virgi-nia Commonwealth University (Richmond, Virginia). He graduated in 2006 with a Ba-chelor degree in marketing.While studying in Richmond, he was approached by an agent of the Ford Modeling agency in New York. After completing his degree, he joined Ford in New York and his career skyrocketed immediately when he was booked for twelve campaigns

such as Ralph Lauren, Perry Ellis, Yves Saint Laurent, the GAP, within the first seven months. He worked with major publications, such as Vogue, GQ, and Esquire, making him one of the most recognizable faces amongst male Supermodels. Boris’ impressive track re-cord was awarded with a Supermodel Award at the Fall ‘98 fashion shows.Hollywood took notice and soon Boris was featured in the Spike Lee produced feature film «Love and Basketball.Boris then was cast in the hit TV series ‘Soul Food’, a show that introduced him to co-star and future wife, Nicole Ari Parker, and for which he won three NAACP Award nomina-tions. The series ran for 5 seasons and is to this day the most successful African-American TV drama in history, winning three consecu-tive NAACP awards.Soon, followed a starring role in ‘Brown Su-gar’ alongside Taye Diggs and Queen Latifah. He then produced and starred, alongside his wife Nicole, in the Paramount/UPN sit-com «Second Time Around». In 2001, Boris was named one of People Ma-gazine’s ’50 most beautiful people’.Boris continued to star in such films as ‘The Gospel’, Tyler Perry’s ‘Madea’s Family Reu-nion’, ‘All about Us’, and ‘Starship Troopers - Marauder’. In April 2008 he made his Broadway debut as ‘Brick’ in the Tennessee Williams Classic ‘Cat on a hot tin roof’. He starred alongside the legendary James Earl Jones and Phylicia Rashad (from the Bill Cosby show)In September 2009 Boris starred opposite Bruce Willis in the Disney blockbuster ‘Sur-rogates’.Boris and his beautiful wife Nicole have two children, Sophie (3) and Nicolas (18 months).

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The skin of the leopard is beautiful, but not his heart.(Luba Proverb)

A chattering bird builds no nest. (Cameroon)

No matter how fast moonlight runs, daylight catches up (Zanzibar)

A genius is he who is first to be right (Duala Proverb)

Do not sweep someone else’s home while yours is dirty (Masai proverb)

South Sudan is Africa’s newest country, officially born on July 9, 2011.

Egypt is the most popular tourist destination in Africa. In 2007, Egypt attracted around 10 mil-lion visitors. South Africa came a close second with 9 million visitors in 2007 (based on figures from UNWTO).

The original Star Wars movie sets in the deserts of Tunisia (a.k.a. planet Tatooine) are very well pre-served and you can even stay in Luke Skywalker’s home.

Sudan has more Pyramids than Egypt. But the 223 pyramids are smaller and steeper than their Egyptian counter parts.

OUT OF AFRICA26 527

African Proverbs

Did you know? They Conquered the World Boris Kodjoe Profession: Actor/modelDate & place of birth: 8th March 1973, Vienna (Austria)

And the sky appears to be the limit for the sensational 25-year-old Stella Mwangi, who is currently sending

shockwaves – musically – not only in Norway where she is based, but also other parts of the world. Popularly known as STL, the self confessed fan of cartoons like Johnny Bravo knew she would be a musician from the time she was little. She was born in 1986. “I knew the spotlight was my destiny from the time I was little. I was never shy and loved attention. I would confidently sing in front of family and friends,” she was quoted in a recent interview. STL, the third born in a family of four added; “When I was 11, I told my family I wanted to be a musician. At first they thought I was joking, but they later realised I was serious.” Interestingly, it is at this age when she wrote her first song, Black Power. Because of political reasons, she says, her fa-mily moved from Maragwa District to Norway where she honed her music skills. “I literally had no social life at the time. I would get home late, sleep for a few hours before waking up to more work. The money I saved came in handy, as it financed my first album,” she said. “After finishing Chef School, I worked hard to fund my music dreams. I would work day and night in hotels and other places because I knew I needed a lot of money to make a name and get a record label. Those were hard times for me.” Her first album, Living for the music, opened many doors for her, she says. Two songs from the album got played on ‘America Next Top Model’ and on ‘Melrose Place’. Her songs have also been used in films such as Ameri-

can Pie, and Save the Last Dance, and also in TV series such as CSI New York and Scrubs. “Most importantly, though, was the oppor-tunity it gave me to connect with my home-land. The fact that Kenyans appreciated my music was a great blessing. For the first time, I came back to Kenya alone in 2005 to sell my music,” she adds in the interview. She contents that the year 2011 will be STL’s year. She has already won the melodi grand prix to become Norway’s representative in the annual Eurovision song contest, emer-ging the most voted for artist among the four finalists gunning a total of 280,217 votes. The Eurovision song contest will be held in Düsseldorf, Germany with semi-finals taking place on May 10th and 12th this year, with the final planned for the evening of May 14. 43 countries have confirmed their participa-tion in this year’s contest. She has also won several other awards inclu-ding; the Kisima Awards, Clops Awards and Jeermaan Awards. Her advise to aspiring singers? The music in-dustry is hard work. Be prepared to work like a donkey. When you love something you must be ready to fight for it. What I love about my-self is that I can walk through dirt and come out clean, somehow. Future dreams? Apart from growing musical-ly, I hope to one day open a restaurant that deals with Kenyan food in Norway. She is married to Mr Mads Rieverfield.

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Stella Mwangi She is arguably one of Kenya’s top female rapper, singer and songwriter.

5531TRAVEL30

A strongly tourist based economyIts economy relies mainly on handicraft pro-duction and commerce but also on tourism, which brings in 2 million visitors every year. The Marrakech-Menara Airport is the second largest in Morocco today.Over the past few years, Marrakech has po-sitioned itself as one of the world’s ultimate gateways.There are several museums in the city, namely, the Marrakech Museum, the Islamic Art Mu-seum, Bert-Flint house, the Dar Si Said house, the Tiskiwin house, the Marrakech Photogra-phy Museum, the Art of Life Museum and the Dar Bellarj Foundation.Marrakech also has a vibrant cultural life. People come from all over the world to attend famous events such as Marrakech People’s Art Festival, the International Film Festival, the Awaln’art Street Arts Festival and the Samaa Sacred Music Festival in July. Marrakech, be-cause of its sights, its privileged location and peaceful life of its Palmeraie, is a truly impe-rial city.Must seeThe Souks (suuqs), or markets of Marrakech,

just adjacent to Place Djemaa El-Fna, are where you can buy almost anything. From spices to shoes, jellabas to kaftans, tea pots to tagines and much more.Djemaa El-Fna is the highlight of any Mar-rakech night. Musicians, dancers, and story tellers pack this square at the heart of the me-dina, filling it with a cacophony of drum beats and excited shoutsKoutoubia Mosque, right besides Djemaa El-Fna, is named after the booksellers market that used to be located here. The hall-type mosque has 17 aisles and 112 columns cove-ring a total floor area of 5400 sq.m (58,000 sq. ft) and is thus among the largest of its kindSaadian Tombs were not discovered until the beginning of the 20th century. They have been preserved just like they were during the glory days of the Saadian rulers.Majorelle Gardens park boasts a collection of plants from across the globe. This is a small garden which has palms, bamboos, cacti and multicolored pots in the area.

Marrakech, the pearl of Southern MoroccoA little over 1 million people to-

day live in an area that roughly covers 230 km². Marrakech, often referred to as the Pearl of the South, the Gateway to the south, the Red City, the Ochre-coloured City is the pride of Morocco. Founded in the mid 11th century by Yusuf ibn Tashfin, first of the Berber Almoravid kings, Marrakech is today the fourth largest city in the kingdom of Morocco, after Casa-blanca, Rabat & Fez. The town is divided into two parts: The medina or old town is a vibrant maze of small shops and craftsmen and has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1985 and the new town (Gueliz), a modern mix of shops, boutiques, cafés and restaurant.The medina is surrounded by 20 km of walls about 10 m high. Most of the points of inte-rests for tourists lie within these walls.

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