Friday, June 6, 2014

Call for Book Chapter Contribution on Nollywood

Photo Credit: BBC, Is Nollywood destroying Africa's film industry?.  


CALL FOR BOOK CHAPTER CONTRIBUTION

We are proposing a new textbook titled FILM DISCOURSE: ISSUES, TECHNIQUES AND CONTEXTS. Film in Nigeria, just like popular music, theatre and literature, has reflected and affected past and present social realities. Nollywood filmmakers have developed effective and powerful film stories infused with socio-cultural and socio-political ideologies and values. Global, national, regional and personal cultural themes are evident in some of the most popular Nollywood films. Some of these films become popular because audiences easily recognize the portrayals and subtle themes reflected on the screens and can identify with them.

However, the Nollywood film industry is ridden with tension. Funding, training opportunities, language use, story structures and roles in films are often distributed according to the priorities and opportunities offered by individual filmmakers. Conditions and the environment of filmmaking in Nigeria have therefore been faced with technical and financial challenges; challenges in production, distribution, exhibition and consumption.

With the emergence of the Nigerian Film Industry Nollywood in 1992, audiences for film within the African continent and in Diaspora have grown in size. Such expansion has implications for film content, form, production strategies, distribution mechanisms and policy frameworks. Nigerian filmmakers are faced with the difficult task of delicately negotiating the widening markets, for instance, whilst focusing attention on the political economy of film consumption in the rapidly changing local and global contexts, they are also compelled to give some consideration to the quality of films produced.

In view of the understanding of the significant role film has played and continues to play in the transformation of the society, it becomes very necessary to write a textbook that will address not only the history of film development in Nigeria but also focus on the challenges confronting Filmmakers as well as the prospects of filmmaking in Nigeria. The dearth of books on the techniques of Film Pre-Production, Production and Post Production, and Film theories and Criticism, written from the Nigerian perspective will make this book a very interesting and valuable piece of instructional material for students and educators in Universities, Polytechnics and Monotechnics in Nigeria and beyond. It will also inform professionals in relevant fields of endeavor as well as serve as a guide and reference piece for government agencies in Nigeria.

NOTE: Your chapter should take one of three approaches:
1.      Discuss the techniques of film pre-production, production or post production.

2.      Conduct a thorough data driven research on one of the issues that are germane to filmmaking, distribution and consumption in the Nigerian Film Industry. These issues include, but are not limited to Piracy, Distribution, Subtitling, Titling, Acting, Casting, Screenplay, Financing, Editing, Technology, Directing, Themes, Costumes, Music, Sound, Lighting, Content, Audience, Language, Censorship and the legal environment of film in Nigeria,  among others.

3.      Discuss film theories and their relevance and applications to Nollywood films, taking into consideration the Nigerian socio-cultural contexts.

Submission Instructions & Guidelines:
1.         Submit a full written chapter of not more than 25 pages including the reference pages. A completed chapter is due by June 31, 2014.
2.         If your paper is accepted, you will be required to submit a brief profile (bio) of the author
4.         All written work should be on Times New Roman (12).
4.         Final chapter submission must be written following APA style and the author(s)’ name, title and institution or agency affiliation should be properly identified after the title of the chapter.
5.         All graphs, charts, and tables must follow APA standard and will not be in colors.

Full chapter submission should be sent to:

1.      Dr. Ifeoma Theresa Amobi,
            Department of Mass Communication
University of Lagos, Akoka
Lagos, Nigeria
Tel: +2348033205565+2348033205565
Email: teribabe57@yahoo.com
Skype: theresa.amobi
Twitter: @amobifeoma
Tumblr: http://profteri.tumblr.com
Blog: www.profteri.wordpress.com

2.      Mr. Shaibu Husseini,
      Department of Mass Communication
University of Lagos, Akoka
Lagos, Nigeria
Tel: +2348033085993+2348033085993
Email: igalaman@yahoo.com
Twitter: @igalaman

 
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Thursday, June 5, 2014

Africa's Pharmaceutical Industry is the Fastest Growing in the World


Photo Credit: African Pharmaceutical Industry.

Revitalizing Africa's pharmaceutical industry

TUNIS-BELVEDERE, Tunisia, 4 June 2014 / PRNewswire Africa / - Africa's pharmaceutical industry has great potential for boosting economic growth and creating jobs. Given current sustained and rapid economic growth, the African pharmaceutical industry, like that of other emerging markets, is expected to grow tremendously in the coming years. “Pharmerging markets” across the world show the potential for rapid growth in the industry. In the past five years China's pharmaceutical industry grew 20%, Russia's 14%, India's 11% and Brazil's 7%.
 

During the past decade the African continent has been home to some of the fastest-growing economies in the world, creating a large window of opportunity for the development of the pharmaceutical sector. The growing numbers of Africans with significant disposable income and spending power, the strong demographic dynamics, including fast urbanization, steady economic growth in most parts of the continent, and improved infrastructure in both rural and urban areas are all potential drivers of Africa's pharmaceutical boom. Investments in the pharmaceutical sector are investments in the health sector with the greatest potential both in terms of financial viability and individual deal size. Job creation prospects are also immense all along the pharmaceutical value chain.

Although it is relatively small in global terms (worth US $23.1 billion in 2011, or less than 2% of the global market), Africa's pharmaceutical industry is the fastest growing in the world and is driven by a small number of countries: South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, some Eastern African countries and North Africa. Local production remains weak and limited: local manufacturers produce 25 to 30% of pharmaceuticals and less than 10% of medical supplies that are on the African market. The pharmaceutical industry is mostly composed of small, privately owned companies that serve their national markets, and there are few large manufacturers (Aspen in South Africa is in the top 10 largest generic manufacturers in the world) as well as public sector manufacturers.

Africa bears the greatest burden of disease in the world, but in most cases depends on externally developed and procured drugs, vaccines, medical devices and diagnostics to support the health of its people, which significantly affects health expenditures and household incomes. The need for drugs is tremendous: 75% of the world's HIV/AIDS cases, 90% of the deaths from malaria and the majority of tuberculosis cases are all in Africa. In addition, the rise of non-communicable diseases, coupled with the burden of communicable ones and emergent infections, require new medical services and new treatments.

There is clear momentum in Africa for developing the pharmaceutical industry. African Heads of State stressed the potential for local production and technology transfer in the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa. Developing the pharmaceutical industry on the continent would contribute to removing financial barriers to medicines and improving access to essential medicines. Still, the conditions for the private sector to bloom have not been met.

The African Development Bank recognizes that now is a critical time for African countries to develop their pharmaceutical sectors. The Bank is thus developing a comprehensive plan to support its regional member countries through a range of activities, including:

A regional operation to vitalize Africa's pharmaceutical sector to support sustained access to affordable and quality medicines, job creation and economic development in Sub-Saharan countries;
Setting up a dialogue platform between public and private sectors to discuss the sector's opportunities and challenges. The Africa Pharmaceutical Summit organized in Tunisia in September 2013 was the first attempt on the continent to bring together public sector and industry leaders, attracting high-level policy-makers including Ministers of Finance, Health, Industry and Trade to discuss Africa's pharmaceutical sector potential as a growth pole.

Learning events such as a visit to India for African policy-makers and industrialists to discuss India's progress in pharmaceutical policy, research, production and quality control;
South-South collaboration and capacity building programs, such as programs between the Republic of Korea and Africa on innovation and technology or learning exchange programs between Africa and Brazil;
Develop knowledge products on the pharmaceutical sector on the continent.

SOURCE African Development Bank (AfDB)

Jun 05, 2014


 
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GeoPoll Unveils First Ever Overnight TV Ratings In African Markets


 GeoPoll Unveils First Ever Overnight TV Ratings In African Markets


New Audience Measurement Service Launches with Unprecedented Data on the Viewing Habits of More Than 300 Million People

NAIROBI, Kenya, June 5, 2014/ -- GeoPoll (http://research.geopoll.com), the world’s largest real-time mobile survey platform, today launched its Audience Measurement Service, which offers the first ever daily TV ratings in several African markets. The launch of this service comes just in time for the FIFA World Cup, when GeoPoll will publish game viewership data from African nations as locals cheer on their teams, and global brands spend considerably on advertising.


Photo 1: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1150 (James Eberhard GeoPoll Founder)

Photo 2: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/photos/1406051.jpg (Sample Survey on Television)

 James Eberhard GeoPoll Founder.

GeoPoll’s new service fills a crucial gap in market research in Africa, delivering next-day TV audience data starting in 5 countries, including Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria. Until now, advertisers, brands and broadcasters looking to understand audiences in these growing markets have had to rely on months-old data, with little insight into the demographics and psychographics that determine ad campaigns or programming. GeoPoll’s metrics provide unprecedented access to this type of viewership data, and represent ratings from more than 300 million Africans. With this launch, GeoPoll becomes the largest TV audience measurement company in Africa.

“At GeoPoll, we’ve established a standard for delivering data insights in emerging economies, and with our new Audience Measurement Service, we’re offering a category first: overnight TV ratings from almost a third of the African population,” said James Eberhard, founder of GeoPoll and parent company Mobile Accord. “Advertisers, brands and broadcasters have been relying upon limited data, which can’t keep up with shifting target audiences and programming. Our overnight insights will give these groups a more accurate picture of consumer behaviors and preferences as they spend hundreds of millions of dollars to engage rapidly growing audiences.”

GeoPoll’s Audience Measurement Service gives advertisers and broadcasters a real-time, granular look at viewing habits through individual action. Leapfrogging more traditional ratings methodologies, which can be slow, limited and costly, GeoPoll taps its extensive mobile user network to deliver mobile surveys that measure television viewership in half-hour time blocks, uncovering unprecedented data that can inform better advertising and programming decisions.

All data is accessed through an easy-to-use interface which updates data overnight, 365 days a year, giving brands, advertisers and broadcasters the ability to easily understand and better serve their audiences. Features include:

•          TV and Radio Audience Measurement (TAM and RAM) in half-hour time blocks and two hour time blocks respectively.
•          Easily viewable statistics on ratings by channel, including ranking and timeline comparisons
•          Ability to measure audience by location, demographics, and psychographics

Audience Measurement is the latest service from GeoPoll Knowledge, GeoPoll’s new subscription data program that supports a number of strategic sectors, including Finance, Food & Agriculture, and Telecommunications. All data is gathered from GeoPoll’s robust survey platform, which has the ability to directly access over 150 million mobile users in more than 20 countries and utilizes SMS, voice and web-based communications to reach respondents even in areas without internet connection.

GeoPoll’s Audience Measurement Service is currently up and running in 5 countries: Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda, and will continue to expand across Africa in the coming months. To learn more about GeoPoll Knowledge’s subscription services, including Media Measurement, visithttp://research.geopoll.com.

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of GeoPoll.

Contact information:
Dan O’Mahony or Iz Conroy
(+1) 415-625-8555

About GeoPoll
GeoPoll (http://research.geopoll.com)  is the world's largest real-time mobile survey platform, reaching a growing network of more than 150 million users in 20 countries worldwide on a deeply granular level and at unprecedented scale. Through partnerships with telecom providers and a multimodal platform powered by text, voice and web-based communications, GeoPoll enables companies and organizations to gather quick, accurate and in-depth insights on anything from preferences on consumer goods to election transparency and access to basic government services. GeoPoll is powered by Mobile Accord, the creators of the mGive mobile donation platform and experts in powering mobile insights across the globe.

SOURCE 
GeoPoll


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Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Nigerian Newspaper Editor and Mexican Freelance Journalist Win Premier International Journalism Award

 Miss Oluwatoyosi Ogunseye.

NEW YORK, June 2, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A Nigerian editor and a Mexican freelance journalist whose investigative reports exposed companies that seriously endangered public health have won the 2014 Knight International Journalism Award, the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) announced. The award recognizes outstanding news coverage that makes a difference in the lives of people around the world.

Miss Oluwatoyosi Ogunseye, the editor of Nigeria's Sunday Punch newspaper, revealed that a manufacturing plant's fumes were making its neighbors seriously ill. Alejandra Xanic von Bertrab, a freelance reporter in Mexico, showed how companies flagrantly violated the law, in some cases causing massive deaths and injuries.

"These journalists went the extra mile to expose health dangers," said ICFJ President Joyce Barnathan. "Their coverage forced governments to take strong action to protect the public well-being."
The award is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which funds ICFJ's Knight International Journalism Fellowships program. The fellows seed new ideas and services that deepen coverage, expand news delivery and engage citizens in the editorial process.

"The winners exemplify the intent of the award, which recognizes innovative journalists who are focused on informing people and uncovering the truth as a way to build stronger communities," said Michael Maness, Knight Foundation, vice president of journalism and media innovation.

Ogunseye is the youngest and first female editor in the 40-year history of Sunday Punch, a widely read Lagos newspaper. In a three-part series, she proved that residents in a well-to-do community in Lagos had high levels of toxins in their blood caused by pollutants from a nearby steel plant. The coverage prompted the government to shut down the plant, and to allow it to reopen only under strict new regulations.

In another report, she disclosed that a nuclear power plant was about to be built in a poor neighborhood. After her piece ran, citizens mobilized, sued the government and stopped construction.

Her investigation into the death of a student who fell into a pit latrine resulted in a government initiative to replace the dangerous facilities. And her coverage of newborn babies dying at a top hospital in Lagos forced the hospital to buy more incubators for high-risk infants.

In Mexico, von Bertrab is known for hard-hitting reports. One investigation revealed that fumes from gas leaking into Guadalajara sewers posed an imminent danger. Shortly after her story ran, the gases exploded, killing at least 200 people, destroying 26 city blocks, and leaving as many 20,000 homeless.

Last year, von Bertrab became the first Mexican reporter to win the Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism. She and a New York Times reporter revealed that Wal-Mart of Mexico was paying bribes to expand its dominance in the country. The story prompted the company to commit to anti-corruption measures in other developing nations.

A prestigious panel of judges selected the winners. Ogunseye and von Bertrab will be honored at ICFJ's 30th Anniversary Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 10.

The International Center for Journalists advances quality journalism worldwide. Our hands-on programs combine the best professional practices with new technologies. We believe that responsible journalism empowers citizens and holds governments accountable. For more, visit www.icfj.org.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org
 
SOURCE International Center for Journalists
CONTACT: Maite Fernandez, Managing Editor, 202-349-7636, mfernandez@icfj.org


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Global Leaders Press for Recommitment to Girls' Education in Light of Nigeria Abductions


Global Leaders Press for Recommitment to Girls' Education in Light of Nigeria Abductions

In Open Letter, Prime Ministers, President of European Commission and EU Development Commissioner call on world leaders to reverse education funding decline   

"If we do not accelerate support for girls, at current rates of change it will be more than 70 years before the very poorest girls get access to a quality, basic education." Prime Minister of Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Prime Minister ...

WASHINGTON, June 4, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Prime Minister of Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt,Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg, President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso and the European Union Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs joined Julia Gillard, Chair of the Global Partnership for Education and former Prime Minister of Australia, in calling for a greater commitment to global financing for education, particularly for girls.

In an Open Letter, the leaders write: "It is not acceptable that global aid for education is falling when the benefits are indisputable and the needs are so clear. Simply filling the growing gap is not enough; we need to ensure that funds continue to flow to improve access and quality education for all."

More than half of the 57 million children worldwide who are not in school are girls. A further 250 million children drop out of school or are unable to perform basic literacy and numeracy tasks by the time they reach grade four. Girls are more likely than boys to drop out, and girls from poor families in rural areas are least likely to have access to education. Some face overt discrimination and even violence, as the recent kidnappings in Nigeria and the attacks on Pakistani Malala Yousafzai so clearly show.

The benefits of education to health, economic development and stability are clear, yet aid funding for education has fallen by an average of five percent each year since 2010.

On June 26, 2014, some 500 global education leaders, education ministers, experts and representatives of donor, NGO, multilateral organizations and the private sector will have an opportunity to address the dip in global education financing when they meet in Brussels at the Global Partnership for Education' Second Replenishment Conference.

The funding target for the four-year period 2015 to 2018 is US $3.5 billion, which will ensure that the annual school costs of 29 million children in 66 low-income countries worldwide can be met.

The Global Partnership for Education is made up of nearly 60 developing country governments, as well as donor governments, civil society/non-governmental organizations, teacher organizations, international organizations, and the private sector and foundations, whose joint mission it is to galvanize and coordinate a global effort to provide a good quality education to children, prioritizing the poorest and most vulnerable. The Global Partnership for Education has allocated US$3.7 billion over the past decade to support education reforms in developing countries.

For more information please go to www.globalpartnership.org
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140603/93983
SOURCE Global Partnership for Education
CONTACT: Alexandra Humme at ahumme@globalpartnership.org, 202-458-5511

Jun 03, 2014

Jun 02, 2014

May 31, 2014

May 30, 2014



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Tuesday, June 3, 2014

ClickitTicket Publishes In-Depth Report on Drug-Related Deaths at Concerts


 ClickitTicket Publishes In-Depth Report on Drug-Related Deaths at Concerts

ClickitTicket published a report called "Dying at a Concert is Easier Than You Think - a Report on Drug-Related Deaths at Concerts" and there are some eye-popping facts in it that are fascinating.

Boston, MA (PRWEB) May 30, 2014
 More than two hundred people have died at concerts since 1969 and 36 of them were drug-related.
"Dying at a Concert is Easier Than You Think! - a Report on Drug-Related Deaths at Concerts" was published today by online ticket site ClickitTicket to help educate their concert ticket customers (seehttp://www.clickitticket.com/drug-deaths-at-concerts). More than two hundred people have died at concerts since 1969, 36 of them were drug-related, and it's getting worse.
The report explores the types of live music events that typically have high rates of drug use, abuse and overdoses like Electronic Dance Music (or EDM) concerts, summer festivals and Phish shows and explains the culture of each. The report also analyzes the most popular types of drugs concert-goers like to use such as MDMA (also called ecstasy and Molly, among others), synthetic marijuana, bath salts and others.
Graphs include average prices of street drugs, average price of concert tickets and age of fatalities at EDM shows. The report concludes with solutions that vary from testing concert-goers’ drug supply to adding drug-safety messages on “jumbotrons.”
About ClickitTicket.com (http://www.clickitticket.com)
ClickitTicket.com is an online ticket website that sells tickets on the secondary ticket market to live events across North America. ClickitTicket.com specializes in offering hard-to-find premium and sold out tickets to all major sporting events, Broadway and off-Broadway theater productions and a huge choice of concert tour tickets. ClickitTicket.com also boasts an excellent collection of original sports and entertainment articles, a vibrant blog and graphics and reports about live events.

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Sunday, June 1, 2014

Senator David Mark Has Done More For His People Than Other Senators In Nigeria


 I have never communicated with or met Senator David Mark, President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. But I have been most impressed by his addiction to the education of his people.

The Senate President has continued to emphasize that education is the best instrument of liberation of the poor masses and the best strategy to fight and eliminate societal ills like terrorism and insurgency. And he is right. Majority of the ignorant recruits of the Boko Haram and other terrorists from the Lake Chad to the Niger Delta are victims of lack of education. Misinformed and misled by their bosses who exploit the ignorance of these poor people. How many children of the rich who are in modern schools do you see among the foot soldiers and errand boys of the Boko Haram and Niger Delta terrorists?

Senator David Mark has given more scholarships to students than any other senator in the history of Nigerian democracy.
The David Mark Scholarship Foundation has offered scholarship to 12,685 students so far in the tertiary category since he launched it in 2005.

 Senate President and the Okpokpowulu of Idomaland, David Mark exchanging greetings with former Miss Idoma, Ehi Ejeh, a student at the Law department of the Benue State University.

And recently in his Otukpo country home, Senator Mark distributed N100m scholareship grants to 1,719 Benue State indigenes in the various higher institutions in Nigeria. And 1,000 of these students are enjoying full scholarship from primary school to University level.
N900m has been spent on the scholarship scheme so far.


“with good and quality education , most of the societal ills plaguing our nation including armed robbery, kidnapping , terrorism and insurgency would be eliminated, ” said Senator Mark.

This should be an open challenge to every politician in Nigeria to use their positions to do their best for their people and stop wasting millions of dollars on sponsoring terrorists to destabilize the progress and unity of Nigeria and others who are living in bondage as evil cultists, kidnappers and ritual murderers engaging in the diabolical acts of human sacrifice in the south west, south-south and south east of Nigeria.


 ~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, prize winning Nigerian writer and author of Senator David Mark and the Future of Nigeria.

 
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