SADA' Development Agenda for Northern Ghana - What are the options?

Ok... during my visit to the Tamale , i was looking at ways that we could use technology and leadership to develop the North and one note from my mentor Dr. Mohammed-Sani Abdulai , just popped up into my head.With his permission , i am sharing so please take your time to read and lets start a discussion. Here goes .....


Good to hear that the SADA bill has been passed by parliament and awaiting the Presidential assent. To jump start discussions on NG's development agenda I have been working on certain hypotheses using the P.E.S.T framework in my analysis of the developmental challenges facing the North and the actions that we need to take:

P ---> Political: here gaps in leadershiop and entrepreneurship have to be bridged, as the lack of these partly explains why the north lags behind the south.

E ---> Economical: The gap in the economic development of the north is the major cause of unemployment amongst the youth and hence the root of all the conflicts up country.

S----> Social: The social fabric of the north needs overhauling as it has been weakened over the years due to the influence of western media,a breakdown in the hierarchical traditional systems and abandoning of our culture and value system.

T----> Technological: The role of Technology, particularly Information and Communication Technology (ICT) manifests in every aspect of our lives today, hence the digital divide between the north, the rest of country and the world at large needs to be addressed

Some of the questions that we also need to seek answers to are :

1. What should constitute the tenets of Northern Ghana's Development? 

2. What should be the contribution of the indigenous people of Northern Ghana - ordinary citizens, as well as traditional rulers? 

3. Can we achieve our development objectives in the midst of conflicts? 

4. Is it really true that idle minds are fertile grounds for evil thoughts? And that it is the unemployment - and for that matter the economic status of the north - that creates an environment conducive for conflicts? 

5. Is the problem of the north a "chicken and egg" problem? Which one should we tackle first - Peaceful Coexistence or Economic Development? 

6. Should the economy of the north be diversified or should it remain predominantly agriculture? 
If it should be diversified what are the options? 
- Commerce? 
- Industry? 
- Services? 
** Tourism? 
** - ICT Enabled Services - such as: --- Digital Content Creation - Museums, Documenting our 
History, particularly those orally narrated, restoration of historical sites and electronically 
archiving the contents and placing them in the museums, Ubiquitous Tourism, E-Agriculture, 
TradeNets - so that the tomatoes produced in the north could be sold directly to customers 
like hotels

7. What do you think should be the role of Education, Training and Development? 
What kind of training do we envisage? -- Do we need an Institute of Technology to build a critical 
mass of the manpower required for this age of technology? --- How about Leadership and 
Entrepreneurship Development? Don't we need a Leadership Development Institute to train our 
future leaders - political leaders as well as entrepreneurs. Any special programme for our girls and 
women? 

8. Do we need a non-partisan Development Think-Tank to periodically review our development 
roadmap? 

10. What kind of professionals should comprise the membership of this think- tank?

On question number 5 I think we can draw lots of lessons from the speech President Obama delivered in Cairo, Egypt. This is a link to the full text of President Obamah's Speech in Cairo, Egypt. I think the contents on the need for peace to prevail on this earth are equally applicable to the warring factions in Dagbon and Bawku, and other parts of Northern Ghana:


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/04/obama-egypt-speech-video_n_211216.html

a. " Too many tears have flowed. Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed (peace be upon them) joined in prayer."

Paraphrased: Too many tears have flowed because of the Northern Conflicts, and too much blood has been shed. As natives of the three northern regions, all of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Mamprusis and Kusasis and the mothers of the Abudus and the Andanis can see their offsprings grow up together in peace, without fear;

b. "It will be hard to overcome decades of mistrust, but we will proceed with courage, rectitude and resolve. There will be many issues to discuss between our two countries, and we are willing to move forward without preconditions on the basis of mutual respect. But it is clear to all concerned that when it comes to nuclear weapons, we have reached a decisive point. This is not simply about America's interests. It is about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path."

Paraphrased: Undoubtedly, it will be hard to overcome decades of mistrust, but in order to attain the peace we so much desire for the north to develop, we need to proceed with courage, rectitude and resolve. Certainly,there will be many issues to discuss between the warring factions of the northern conflicts, but they should be willing to proceed in dialogue without any preconditions.

c. "For every son and daughter of the north, it should be made clear that: "It is easier to start wars than to end them. It is easier to blame others than to look inward; to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning", keeping in mind what binds us together ("Ntafuo", "Pepeni"), and what our common enemies are: High Illiteracy Rate, Development Gap, Poverty, Unemployment.

Lets direct our energies and limited resources towards overcoming these challenges, instead of fighting amongst ourselves.

d. I gather under the auspices of Chief Dakpema's visionary programmes and initiative there is a sudden injection of youth dynamism in Tamale where monthly traditional dance competition is organised in the forecourt of his palace. Initiatives such as that of the Dakpema need to be encouraged and commended and other traditional rulers in Northern Ghana should bury their differences in the name of peace and development.We need to keep on talking at round-table discussions to solicit diverse views in order to come up with optimal solutions, for the benefit of ALL.


by Dr. Mohammed-Sani Abdulai 

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Barcamp Tamale 2012 seeks to accelerate development with key stakeholders on July 14

BarCamp Tamale 2012 is a free networking event bringing people together for a day of discussion, demonstrations and dialogue about Tamale, Northern Ghana and beyond. This follows last year's November 26 event at the Tamale Polytechnic in Tamale, Ghana. This year's edition will be held on July 14 at the Tamale Poytechnic. The theme is “Accelerating Development: Key Stakeholders & Priorities for Sustainable Change”. It will build upon local knowledge, expertise and resources in a supportive community for entrepreneurs, change makers, innovators and other leaders in Tamale and the Northern Region.

The GhanaThink Foundation has successfully organized 14 BarCamps in Ghana, resulting in a network of Ghanaian doers, entrepreneurs and change makers. Barcamp Tamale 2012 will be organized in conjunction with AfriLead International. This Barcamp will focus on creating more awareness about the uses of technology; build knowledge on how to foster innovation in and around Tamale; and increase visibility through tourism, (re)branding and online content creation.

BarCamp Tamale 2012 will feature multiple sessions on Northern Ghana’s development agenda and the recently launched Savannah Accelerated Development Authority, businesses, social entrepreneurship, technology tools and products, as well as breakout sessions on topics relevant to the Northern region and beyond. Like all Barcamps, there will be user-generated sessions and discussions where attendees get to set the agenda and topics for the day.

Local experts will share knowledge on different technologies, and successful entrepreneurs and innovators will share their stories to serve as role models for participants. This year’s speakers include Dr. Mohammed-Sani Abdulai - Director of Research, Innovation and Development at the Kofi Annan Center for ICT; Mr. Saaka Abdulai - an educationist and rural entrepreneur based in Tamale; and Abdul-Nasser Alidu - Head of Product Innovation, Tigo.

Register/RSVP today at the BarCamp Tamale eventbrite website. You can also register by sending "Barcamp Tamale, Your Name, Your Email address" to 1945 on all networks.

BarCamp Tamale 2012 is sponsored by the GhanaThink Foundation, Ghana Decides, Google Ghana, Blogging Ghana, Tamale Polytechnic, AfriLead International, Fienipa Group, Nandimobile, Fly540Africa, among others. Media partners are Radio Justice, Bishara Radio and SpyGhana.

Register at http://barcamptamale12.eventbrite.com/. See you there!

http://barcampghana.org/contact or barcamp at ghanathink.org

-- 
“You live like this, sheltered, in a delicate world, and you believe you are living. Then you read a book… or you take a trip… and you discover that you are not living, that you are hibernating. The symptoms of hibernating are easily detectable: first, restlessness. The second symptom (when hibernating becomes dangerous and might degenerate into death): absence of pleasure. That is all. It appears like an innocuous illness. Monotony, boredom, death. Millions live like this (or die like this) without knowing it. They work in offices. They drive a car. They picnic with their families. They raise children. And then some shock treatment takes place, a person, a book, a song, and it awakens them and saves them from death. Some never awaken.” - Anais Nin

Call for Entries – UN World Summit Youth Awards

The UN World Summit awards is a great opportunity for local entrepreneurs in technology and I would appreciate it if you could spread the word to companies or people in your network or let me know who you think I should also contact. There are only 10 days left before the competition closes.
The Youth Summit Awards are about recognizing young people using technology to do great things.
This year’s Winners’ Event will be held in Montreal, Canada, hosted by the 18th World Congress on Information Technology on 23nd October 2012. Winners will be flown in at no cost and get the chance to connect with the leaders of the IT industry and key experts in the field of ICT for development, and ofcourse benefit from the brand value of being United Nations award recipients.
Special highlight this year: Legendary Larry King will host a panel with high level industry players and the World Summit Youth Award winners!
Projects can be submitted in one of six categories, each focusing on putting millennium development goals into action and addressing socio-economic problems:
- Fight Poverty, Hunger and Disease!
- Education for All!
- Power 2 Women!
- Create your Culture!
- Go Green!
- Pursue Truth!
Read more about the event and the panel in the attached press release.
Registration for the contest is still open for 10 more days
Here is a nice interactive presentation on how to apply:
http://prezi.com/jrzfbyrul9kt/prezi-call-wsya/
Spread the news: Please also share this news with your media contacts.
Tweet about the WSYA with #youthaward !
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/youthaward
Register your project: http://register.icnmdb.at/Youthaward/2012
Website: http://www.youthaward.org
There is another award programme for those with great mobile applications (www.wsa-mobile.org) in the categories:
•    m-Business & Commerce
•    m-Government & Participation
•    m-Learning & Education
•    m-Entertainment & Lifestyle
•    m-Tourism & Culture
•    m-Media & News
•    m-Environment & Health
•    m-Inclusion & Empowerment
Contact: Rapelang Rabana
Ambassador of UN World Summit Awards
Mobile: +2782 940 4890

http://feintandmargin.com/call-for-entries-un-world-summit-youth-awards/--