Happy New Month brilliant ones! This is the month we have all been waiting for! The month where the United States of America chooses its next President. A leader we hope will help restore confidence in the US and world economy.
For Ladybrille fashion heads, the current state of the US economy has affected us in so many ways. For example, there have been sweeping job losses and budget cuts across our fashion landscapes. Many fashion magazines are scambling to stay alive as yet another advertiser pulls out, further depleting advertising revenues. Small and big fashion retailers are saying "Auf Wiedersehen" for good in large numbers and consumers are shutting their pocket books as the economic crisis hits home hard. I believe, however, that there is HOPE. Hope, to me, however means we must necessarily take some steps back and engage in the critical analytical thinking as we identify ways we might have contributed to the problems and take on both the political, legal and social implications of our current economic state.
It is in this spirit that we dedicate our November Blogazine issue to a month talk on fashion politics/political shenanigans that affect our industries. We kick things off with Derrick Ashong, a Ghanian/Afropolitan whose very eloquent articulation on why he supported Barack Obama, in the campaign to be nominated as the Democratic Presidential candidate, made him popular! The You Tube video with Ashong's views has generated over a million hits! We caught up with Ashong in Los Angeles just before his trip to Berlin, Germany to talk about his band Soulfege and of course the current state of US politics--McCain, Barack Obama and what it means for us all, especially Africa.
We can't talk politics without also acknowleding the complexities and very often human tragedy that comes with it. Indeed that is what happened in Kenya in the begining of 2008 when there was a fall out in its post-election results. The world watched as violence erupted and people took to the streets to protest. For Kenyans in the diaspora with family and friends in Kenya, they needed to know and monitor the current state of affairs and well being of their loved ones. That's where Ushahidi came in. Ushahidi was a blog in response to the need for crowdsourced crisis information that could be delivered via mobile in a timely fashion which monitored the progress and current situation on the ground in Kenya at the time. Ushahidi met that challenge and it is today a company growing strong and expanding to other areas of Africa. We can't wait for you to meet Erik Hersman, the Director of Operations at Ushahidi, an entrepreneur extraordinaire and owner of the White African blog !
We are super delighted about our Ladybrille Woman of the Month! She is fun, genuine, cool and the owner of what is a MUST read daily fix for us, "Cos We are African" blog. Her name is Yaye Marie Ba! Yaye's blog is full of well researched goodies for Africans/non-Africans that showcases the diversity in fashion and lifestyle that Africa, especially French/Francophone Africa, has to offer. We also cannot wait for you to meet her!
Finally, while we do the fashion politicking, there must be some food to eat. In fact, I recall growing up that the best talks on politics were always at the dinner table, whether at my home, that of friends and relatives. We call in OY Dore of Nylah's Catering Services to feed our monstrous appetite, after all the healthy debates we anticipate this month. OY's interest is not limited to catering. She also gives back to her community with the non-profit Link A Child which urges us to feed the children. You will enjoy meeting her!
Have a positive week ahead and enjoy the video below that the wonderful Alex Umole, a legal colleague and motivational speaker shared on facebook, "The Psychology of Success." I hope it inspires you to ACT!
Remain Blessed,
Uduak
"The Psychology of Success"
For Ladybrille fashion heads, the current state of the US economy has affected us in so many ways. For example, there have been sweeping job losses and budget cuts across our fashion landscapes. Many fashion magazines are scambling to stay alive as yet another advertiser pulls out, further depleting advertising revenues. Small and big fashion retailers are saying "Auf Wiedersehen" for good in large numbers and consumers are shutting their pocket books as the economic crisis hits home hard. I believe, however, that there is HOPE. Hope, to me, however means we must necessarily take some steps back and engage in the critical analytical thinking as we identify ways we might have contributed to the problems and take on both the political, legal and social implications of our current economic state.
It is in this spirit that we dedicate our November Blogazine issue to a month talk on fashion politics/political shenanigans that affect our industries. We kick things off with Derrick Ashong, a Ghanian/Afropolitan whose very eloquent articulation on why he supported Barack Obama, in the campaign to be nominated as the Democratic Presidential candidate, made him popular! The You Tube video with Ashong's views has generated over a million hits! We caught up with Ashong in Los Angeles just before his trip to Berlin, Germany to talk about his band Soulfege and of course the current state of US politics--McCain, Barack Obama and what it means for us all, especially Africa.
We can't talk politics without also acknowleding the complexities and very often human tragedy that comes with it. Indeed that is what happened in Kenya in the begining of 2008 when there was a fall out in its post-election results. The world watched as violence erupted and people took to the streets to protest. For Kenyans in the diaspora with family and friends in Kenya, they needed to know and monitor the current state of affairs and well being of their loved ones. That's where Ushahidi came in. Ushahidi was a blog in response to the need for crowdsourced crisis information that could be delivered via mobile in a timely fashion which monitored the progress and current situation on the ground in Kenya at the time. Ushahidi met that challenge and it is today a company growing strong and expanding to other areas of Africa. We can't wait for you to meet Erik Hersman, the Director of Operations at Ushahidi, an entrepreneur extraordinaire and owner of the White African blog !
We are super delighted about our Ladybrille Woman of the Month! She is fun, genuine, cool and the owner of what is a MUST read daily fix for us, "Cos We are African" blog. Her name is Yaye Marie Ba! Yaye's blog is full of well researched goodies for Africans/non-Africans that showcases the diversity in fashion and lifestyle that Africa, especially French/Francophone Africa, has to offer. We also cannot wait for you to meet her!
Finally, while we do the fashion politicking, there must be some food to eat. In fact, I recall growing up that the best talks on politics were always at the dinner table, whether at my home, that of friends and relatives. We call in OY Dore of Nylah's Catering Services to feed our monstrous appetite, after all the healthy debates we anticipate this month. OY's interest is not limited to catering. She also gives back to her community with the non-profit Link A Child which urges us to feed the children. You will enjoy meeting her!
Have a positive week ahead and enjoy the video below that the wonderful Alex Umole, a legal colleague and motivational speaker shared on facebook, "The Psychology of Success." I hope it inspires you to ACT!
Remain Blessed,
Uduak
"The Psychology of Success"
0 comments:
Post a Comment