Day: February 4, 2010

That was the crux of one of the break out sessions at the ongoing conference about innovation, technology and prosperity in Africa.

From a lecture in public relations to another in social anthropology/social history to something incomprehensible from a lead economist from WB, it would be hard to tell if any of them answered even the most bare of questions: who has negatively branded Africa? What should the rebranding look like? And, for who is it supposed to benefit?

Does Africa need rebranding? Over to you, reader.

Oh, I had forgoten to include this blurb that explains what the session was supposed to be formally about:

“Africa’s ‘brand’ is created by the selective representation of the continent, often as a source of crises and as a destination for foreign aid. These perceptions of Africa matter. They shape our public discourse and influence important decisions in business and politics. With so many positive stories to tell about Africa, why do the negative ones dominate? How can Africa be ‘rebranded’? What about Africa should be highlighted in a rebranding strategy?”

This blog should have come before anything else. Anyhow, what’s this whole Africa’s New Frontier: Innovation, Technology and Prosperity conference about? The press release claims it will,

enrich our conversation about Africa, highlighting good news stories from Africa, and drawing on lessons learned, projecting trends, and focusing on the many ways in which Canada–Africa relations support innovation on the continent.

Some of the main sessions of the conference will be streamed live. So there’s an opportunity to be the judge. You can catch the streams here anytime you can. Other than that, return for my two cents worth of the whole conference.

For today and tomorrow, my blog will be featuring guest blogger Gaaki Kigambo who is attending a technology conference focusing on Africa currently going on in Ottawa, Canada. enjoy the tech news from Africa!