Airtel Africa and Facebook launch Free Basic Services in 17 African countries
Free Basic Services will provide access to services like health, educations, jobs, communication and local content at no additional cost
NAIROBI, Kenya, November 17, 2015/ -- Free Basic Services will provide access to services like health, educations, jobs, communication and local content at no additional cost
The launch in all markets to be completed by March 2016
Bharti Airtel Africa (www.Airtel.com), a leading telecommunications service provider with operations in 17 countries across Africa, today announced its partnership with Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) (http://www.Facebook.com) which will see the launch of Free Basics in Africa.
A study conducted by UC Irvine Sociology professor Jen’nan Ghazal Read and Rice University Professor Michael O. Emerson, found that immigrants from Africa were generally far healthier than their peers immigrating from European countries. The study also suggests that the group tends to be healthier than African-Americans.
~ 8 Amazing Facts About African Immigrants Excelling In The U.S.
New Funds To Help Tackle Causes of Migration
LONDON, 12 November 2015 / PRN Africa / --
Prime Minister announces 200 million pounds to help tackle causes of migration, and 2 million pounds UK contribution to the EU's Africa Trust Fund.
The UK is providing a further 200 million pounds in bilateral aid to Africa to tackle the root causes of migration, the Prime Minister announced, as European and African leaders gathered in Malta to develop a coordinated approach to address the migrant and refugee crisis.
The UN estimates there are almost 15 million forcibly displaced people in Africa, including three million refugees. So far this year around 140,000 migrants have arrived in Italy by sea – the majority from African countries such as Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan.
The new funding, announced at the EU-Africa Valletta Summit, is part of the UK's comprehensive approach to address the migration crisis.
International Development Secretary Justine Greening, said:
"If we are to stop people risking their lives by making dangerous journeys to Europe, we need to tackle the root causes of problems such as instability and lack of opportunity that drive people to move in the first place.
"If people don't have access to basics like clean water and healthcare, education for their children and the dignity of a job to support themselves and their family, they will try to find a better situation somewhere else. So creating better lives and opportunities, helping the countries that people want to migrate from develop, is the only long term solution to help lessen the drivers of migration.
"On top of our existing work in Africa, our new support will create jobs in East Africa, give food and water to people in Sudan who have fled their homes, and provide education and training in Ethiopia. It stands alongside all our other work responding to the Syria crisis where our help on food, shelter, health, water and education is giving people a better option to stay in the region. We are also ensuring those who have already made the journey to Europe have basics such as shelter, food and water as winter approaches."
The 200 million pounds package is made up of:
- 15 million pounds to provide life-saving aid and humanitarian assistance for those forcibly displaced by recent crises in the Sahel and Sudan
- 125 million pounds to give refugees in Ethiopia displaced by protracted crises access to education, healthcare, water, shelter and training programmes so they can build a better life for themselves
- 27 million pounds to build resilience and mitigate the impact of environmental pressures such as El Niño in areas of Africa that are particularly vulnerable, including in Somalia, Kenya, Uganda and the Sahel
- 33 million pounds for economic development programmes in Somalia and East Africa which will boost private sector investment in agriculture and high value industries and create tens of thousands of new jobs.
The UK is also contributing around 2 million pounds to the EU's 1.3 billion pounds Africa Trust Fund which will focus on tackling the root causes of migration in the Sahel, North Africa and the Horn of Africa.
The funding will be used to tackle the lack of jobs, growth and opportunities for people in their home countries and in the region. The UK's contribution will be allocated to countries in the Horn of Africa – the largest source of migration into the UK from Africa.
The latest support builds on the UK's work in Africa to bring stability, jobs and livelihoods to irregular migrants' countries of origin, helping tackle the root causes of the pressures to migrate.
Our support is helping register refugees in Ethiopia and providing food vouchers for refugee camps in Sudan along the border with Eritrea. We are also investing in employment programmes for young people in Ethiopia, Uganda, Nigeria and Somalia which has created thousands of jobs.
SOURCE UK Department for International Development
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90% of Nollywood movies bomb, because both the executive producers
and producers either don't have a media plan or are clueless about a
media plan for promoting and marketing their movies. Making noise about a
movie does not mean you have a media plan. And I see more of
opportunism than pragmatism in Nollywood.
After two major films
financed by the NEXIM Bank and Bank of Industry bombed (flopped)
woefully and left the executive producers in debt, the banks have not
reviewed the reasons why their films failed and they preferred to live
in denial. All they know about is asking for collateral and it is
business as usual in Nollywood. Again, those they are engaging as film
distributors have also failed to perform.
Now, they give you a
loan to make a movie and then pass on the movie to the distributor and
exhibitor they also gave loans to set up distribution and exhibition
platforms and none of them has a Media Planning Director. Any film
without a media plan will fail whether in Hollywood, Bollywood or
Nollywood. And I have never seen any film production in Nollywood with a
media plan. Their best knowledge of a media plan is to print posters
and look for wherever to paste them on the street, publish some news on
the movies in some columns in newspapers, spam Facebook and other free
to use social network websites. End of story. And then sit back and
expect box office hits and smiling to the banks only for the pirates to
pounce on their movies and show them How To Market Movies 101.
Another
bank has come forward on film finance for Nollywood without any
media plan or even research on why previous movies financed with bank
loans failed and left the executive producers in debt.
They heard
that "30 Days in Atlanta" made more than US$500, 000 at the cinemas in
Nigeria and someone is actually bragging about that when the executive
producers are not celebrating.
Has anyone found out how much they spent
on making the movie?
Nollywood has not even thought of Film Merchandise that is a multi-billion dollar money spinner in the film industry.
Walt Disney's "Frozen" made with a budget of US$150 million made more than U$1.274 billion from the box office worldwide. But guess how much it made from film merchandise. "Frozen made a whopping US$5.3 billion from the sales of the toys, T-Shirts and other gift items.
Walt Disney's "Cars" that made only US$462 million from the box office went on to make US$10 billion from film merchandise and the biggest of them all, "Star Wars" franchise has made US$12 billion from film merchandise so far.
The multiple award winning best family movie in Nollywood Champions of Our Time would have made millions of naira from the film merchandise of the T-Shirts, Face-caps, mugs, etc.
When NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® says "See The Big Picture", it is not mere hype. It is the REAL DEAL! If you cannot see the big picture, then you will only end up with the miniature of the film industry. And planning is everything and everything is planning in advertising and marketing for movies.
The recently launched Afrinolly Marketplace can make the first US$1 billion for Nollywood before the first year anniversary. How?
Media planning will make all the difference.
Here are what a Media Planning Director can do for you. Responsibilities of the Media Planning Director:
The
overall objective of the role is to provide the fantastic film client
with a best-in-class media agency service - conceiving & creating
engaging, innovative strategy decks, & managing all areas of the
Comms planning process - pulling on consumer insight, category analysis,
research & reporting & managing the briefing process for both
internal teams & external media owners/ suppliers/ partner agencies
from inception through execution
*To understand how media strategy fits into overall marketing and advertising strategy
Dear President Buhari, the Missing Chibok School Girls Are Still Missing
Lest we forget that 219 of the 276 kidnapped Chibok school girls are
still missing and President Muhammadu Buhari seems to have ignored them. Many
other countries in the world, including China, Canada, UK, USA, Israel,
France and Iran are still concerned about these missing girls. But it
is business as usual in Nigeria. Life goes on. It is going to two
years since they were kidnapped midnight of 14–15 April 2014 by Boko
Haram terrorists from their dormitory at Government Secondary School in
Chibok, Borno State, after their principal, teachers and matrons
abandoned them and fled. And the Nigerian government since the immediate
past administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan to date is
becoming less concerned about them as the new ruling party, All
Progressives Congress (APC) and new opposition party, People's
Democratic Party (PDP) and others are busy contesting for bragging
rights over ministerial appointments of sharing the national cake,
taking and sharing selfies in social media of their red carpet events
from Lagos to Abuja to Adamawa. None of them has bothered to talk about
these precious missing daughters of fellow citizens of Nigeria, because
their own children are not among them. Dr. Oby Ezekwesili is
still leading the the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, but the first ladies
and their privileged daughters who should have joined the campaign are
busy competing for celebrity status on Instagram and Nairaland.
Have we lost our humanity in the insanity of the vanity of celebrity ego trips and greed for political power?
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Top 10 Nigerian Films Waiting To Be Made and the Recommended Directors
1. Arrow of God, the film adaptation of the classic novel by the great Nigerian novelist, Chinua Achebe of blessed memory. Arrow of God is the second most highly acclaimed novel of Achebe and in fact I rate it higher than his debut novel Things Fall Apart that made him famous. He said he could not choose between Arrow of God and Things Fall Apart, because both novels were too precious to him.
The
novel centers on Ezeulu, the chief priest of several Igbo villages in
Colonial Nigeria, who confronts colonial powers and Christian
missionaries in the 1920s.
The phrase "Arrow of God" is drawn from an
Igbo proverb in which a person, or sometimes an event, is said to
represent the will of God. Arrow of God won the first ever Jock
Campbell/New Statesman Prize for African writing Recommended Director: Newton Aduaka
2. Man of the People, the film adaptation of one of the first novels on modern politics in Nigeria by Chinua Achebe. Click here for more on the novel. Recommended Director: Zik Zulu Okafor
New Education Program Targets 2 Million Children in Nigeria
WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2015
/PRNewswire/ -- More than 2 million children in three critical Northern
Nigerian states will be the target of a new program to improve reading
skills and increase access to basic education, Creative Associates
International announced today. (www.CreativeAssociatesInternational.com)
Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the five-year program called the Northern Education Initiative Plus (NEI+) will improve states' ability to provide both greater access and higher quality basic education in formal and non-formal schools—especially for girls, out-of-school children and other marginalized groups.
Led by Creative Associates International, NEI+ will be implemented in the Northern states of Bauchi and Sokoto. A third state will be announced.
"By strengthening the educational system itself and working closely with
teachers, parents, communities and civic society organizations, NEI+
will ensure both short-term and long-term benefits to schools and the
students they serve," says Creative's Semere Solomon, who will direct the program.
Solomon notes that 30 percent of school-aged children in Northern Nigeria do not have access to basic education. This is attributed to a combination of cultural beliefs, lack of educational facilities and insecurity as a result of the insurgency.
Learning outcomes are also poor for a variety of reasons. For example, pre-service institutes in Nigeria do not have early grade reading instruction in their curriculum. Furthermore, existing educational materials—which are already in short supply—do not incorporate modern pedagogical approaches.
Federal, state and local education authorities have agreed to participate in the five-year NEI+ project. More than 30 Nigerian local nongovernmental organizations will be involved in the program.
Partnering with Creative are three U.S.-based international organizations—Education Development Center, Florida State University, Overseas Strategic Consulting—and four local organizations—Value Minds, Association for Education Development Options, Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All and the Federation of Muslim Women's Associations in Nigeria.
Creative's years of work in Nigeria
Creative has been working on a variety of specialized development projects in Nigeria for more than a decade.
"NEI+ builds on Creative's programmatic and operational strengths in
the region, including our extensive relationships with communities,
NGOs, traditional and religious leaders and government officials," says
Creative President Leland Kruvant. "We are honored that USAID selected Creative to carry out this important project in this vital region of Africa."
In addition to NEI+, Creative is also implementing a USAID-funded
initiative to support internally displaced students in three Nigerian
states. More than 2.2 million Nigerians have been displaced from their
places of origin, the largest concentration in Africa, as a result of the insurgency.
Launched in 2014, Education Crisis Response program
is expanding access to quality and protective non-formal education and
alternative education opportunities for out-of-school children ages 6 to
17 and reducing the burden on local schools already stretched thin by
limited resources.
It is implemented by Creative and the International Rescue Committee
(IRC), along with local nongovernmental organizations, such as Civil
Society Action Coalition on Education for All and the Federation of
Muslim Women's Associations in Nigeria.
About Creative
Creative Associates International works with underserved communities by sharing expertise and experience in education, economic growth, governance and transitions from conflict to peace.
Based in Washington, D.C., Creative has active projects in more than 15 countries. Since 1977, it has worked in nearly 90 countries and on almost every continent. Recognized for its ability to work rapidly, flexibly and effectively in conflict-affected environments, Creative is committed to generating long-term sustainable solutions to complex development problems.
Started by four enterprising women with diverse backgrounds, Creative has grown to become one of the leaders among the U.S. private sector implementers of global development projects. Creative is minority owned and operated.
SOURCE Creative Associates International CONTACT: Michael J. Zamba, Senior Director of Communications,
Creative Associates International,
www.CreativeAssociatesInternational.com, MichaelZ@CreativeDC.com RELATED LINKS http://www.CreativeAssociatesInternational.com
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The Time for the Establishment of Endowment Fund in All Nigerian Universities is Now
Times are changing fast in Nigeria and with the unpredictable future in our economy, the Federal and State governments are faced with competing priorities as it relate to share of funding and resources.
Nigerian higher institutions, the public universities in particular, for far too long the government remains the main source of university funding. Now that the nation is experiencing severe economic downturn, our universities must begin to look inward and outward for alternative sources of funding to meet the cost of running a quality university.
Basic Policy and Practice Tips for Ministers of the Buhari Administration
Just
as President Muhammadu Buhari looks to new partnership with the
Nigerian people our hope is that in your capacity as a CHANGE Minister
you will help to thoroughly bring reform and plant real democracy within
the society.
Travel & Tourism Generated More Than US$7.6 Trillion and Created 277 Million Jobs
WTTC Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2015
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is the global authority on the economic and social contribution of Travel & Tourism. WTTC promotes sustainable growth for the sector, working with governments and international institutions to create jobs, to drive exports and to generate prosperity.
Travel & Tourism’s impact on the economic and social development of a country can be enormous; opening it up for business, trade and capital investment, creating jobs and entrepreneurialism for the workforce and protecting heritage and cultural values. To fully understand its impact, however, governments, policy makers and businesses around the world require accurate and reliable data on the impact of the sector. Data is needed to help assess policies that govern future industry development and to provide knowledge to help guide successful and sustainable Travel & Tourism investment decisions.
For 25 years, WTTC has been quantifying the economic impact of Travel & Tourism. This year, the 2015 Annual Economic Reports cover 184 countries and 25 regions of the world, including, for the first time, the Pacific Alliance.
Travel & Tourism generated US$7.6 trillion (10% of global GDP) and 277 million jobs (1 in 11 jobs) for the global economy in 2014. Recent years have seen Travel & Tourism growing at a faster rate than both the wider economy and other significant sectors such as automotive, financial services and health care. Last year was no exception. International tourist arrivals also surged, reaching nearly 1.14billion and visitor spending more than matched that growth. Visitors from emerging economies now represent a 46% share of these international arrivals (up from 38% in 2000), proving the growth and increased opportunities for travel from those in these new markets.
The sector faces challenges every year and this year is likely to be no different. The weakness and potential volatility of many currencies against the US dollar and a deep recession in Russia, a key outbound market, will slow outbound spending in line with slower world trade overall in 2015. However, falling oil prices will
bring significant improvements for net oil importers in 2015, easing upward pressure on living costs, increasing disposable household incomes and domestic consumer spending, and lowering air fares. As a result, Travel & Tourism expansion is forecast to continue at a stronger rate than last year, with the total contribution to GDP expected to increase by 3.7%. New destinations and investment opportunities will also continue to emerge as tourism becomes increasingly affordable across the developing world. This growth will require countries to adopt a concerted and coordinated approach to talent planning and development between their industry, governments and educational institutions to ensure they fulfil their potential in the years ahead. WTTC is proud to continue to provide this clear and empirical data in order to help both public and private bodies make the right decisions for the future growth of a sustainable Travel & Tourism sector.
David Scowsill President & CEO WTTC
http://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic%20impact%20research/countries%202015/brazil2015.pdf
TOP NEWS OF THE DAY Afrinolly Launches Biggest GSM Market For Nollywood And African Entertainment
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