Facebook celebrated the achievements and products of its growing African developer and partner ecosystem at its annual F8 developer conference held in San Jose, California, on April 18 and 19, 2017. African developers shared the stage with Facebook and developers from around the world, showcasing innovative products and services they have created for their local communities and the global market.

F8 hosts more than 4000 people in person and hundreds of thousands of people watching via Facebook Live for two days of new products, tools, interactive demos and speakers to help developers build, grow and monetise their apps.

This year, Facebook brought F8 to developers around the world through F8 Meetups hosted with tech hubs around the world. In Africa, it hosted F8 Meetups in Nairobi, Lagos, and Cape Town, where participants watched live streams of the sessions in San Francisco.

“We’re partnering with many African developers to launch products that not only meet the needs of their local markets, but which are also ready for the world stage,” says Emeka Afigbo, Facebook’s Head of Platform Partnerships for the Middle East and Africa. “Events like F8 are a perfect opportunity for us to talk about how we will work with partners to do more with our platforms. As importantly, they are a forum for us to get feedback from our ecosystem and to showcase our partners’ work to the world.”

African developers who featured in F8 sessions include the following: Asoriba: A Ghanaian start-up that has built software that enables churches to better manage member engagement, donations, and attendance. The company was featured in the Keynote for its work using Facebook Analytics. Rancard , a mobile solutions company based in Ghana. Its Rendezvous, social recommendation system was featured in two sessions at F8. Pass.NG is an education start-up from Nigeria that helps students practice for their university entrance exams. Truppr is a social fitness start-up from Nigeria. Afrinolly is an app that allows users to catch up with Nollywood content on their mobile phones. It is one of the first Nigerian companies to build the Facebook Surround 360 camera. Quiz.ng, an online quiz platform based out of Nigeria Kudi.ai : Messenger Bot to send money for free to any bank, buy airtime and pay bills; first African bot to be featured on Messenger Blog https://messengerblog.com/bots/building-bots-for-messenger-tips-from-the-experts-kudi/ Kangpe: A health service from Nigeria that lets users ask real doctors their health questions Eneza Education: An educational app from Kenya Refunite: A service from Kenya that helps refugees to reunite with their families and loved ones.

In attendance were two representatives each from the winners of Internet.org’s Innovation Challenge in Africa awards. These awards from Facebook’s Internet.org recognised leading examples of ideas, apps, websites and/or online services that provide real value in the categories of education and economic empowerment.

-Economic Empowerment Innovation Challenge Award Winner: Ghana’s Esoko makes it easier for businesses, governments, NGOs and others to connect with farmers through its web and mobile apps. -Economic Empowerment Impact Award Winner: mPedigree Goldkeys from Ghana is an anti-counterfeiting, tracking and tracing solution that uses consumers’ mobile phones as a verification tool. -Economic Empowerment Impact Award Winner: Nigeria’s SaferMom provides pregnant and new mothers with simple tools to help make informed health decisions via sms, voice services and its mobile app. -Education Innovation Challenge Award Winner: Founded in South Africa, Hyperion Development is a social enterprise that has built the first online course platform for computer science education. -Education Impact Award Winner: Launched in Ghana, Mutti by mPharma is a drug affordability service that enables patients to access high quality medicine at lower prices with flexible payment terms through micro-payments. -Education Impact Award Winner: Nigeria’s Tuteria connects people seeking to learn with people around them who can teach.

Facebook also invited four graduate students from Carnegie Melon University Africa in Rwanda to attend after they won the CMU-Africa Messenger Bot Hackathon.

The university’s Aimable Rwema and Lenah Chacha developed BiasharaBot, which provides an innovative platform for merchants and buyers to connect. “The Hackathon showed me the importance of building a business or idea on a social media platform. Facebook is used by over a billion people worldwide, offering developers a huge market,” says Rwema.

Their fellow students, Joshua Ocero and Davy Uwizera created a farmbot that connects farmers (or cooperatives) with produce buyers. “Attending F8 is a great opportunity to mingle with Facebook developers from around the world. It is an opportunity to visit Silicon Valley, where people’s dreams become reality,” says Ocero.

At F8, Facebook also announced a new program for developers all over the world to connect, learn, and collaborate with other local developers. Developer Circles is a community-driven program that’s free to join and open to any developer. Each Developer Circle is led by members of the local community who act as leads for the circle, organising events offline and managing a local online Facebook community. Developer Circles are forums to share knowledge, collaborate, build new ideas and learn about the latest technologies from Facebook and other industry leaders. Lagos, Nigeria was the first place that Facebook piloted this global program and Innocent Amadi, one of the community leads for the Lagos Circle was featured at the Keynote. ]]>

People & Lifestyle

A Powerful and Emotional Experience – “In the Pants of a Woman” – By Beatrice Shine Ayroe

Published

16 mins ago

April 24, 2024

Ameyaw Debrah

On Sunday night, I had the privilege of attending the musical play “In the Pants of a Woman,” by Mr. Kobina Ansah. A thought-provoking and poignant performance that tackled the sensitive and critical issue of rape. The play was a masterful blend of music, storytelling, and advocacy, leaving me moved, inspired, and motivated to take action.

The talented performers, with their powerful vocals and captivating stage presence, brought the stories of survivors to life through song and spoken word.

The music was hauntingly beautiful and was all written by Kobina, with a range of genres and styles that perfectly complemented the emotional intensity of the lyrics.

What struck me most was the bravery and resilience of the survivors who shared their stories, their voices echoing through the National Theatre as they reclaimed their power and dignity.

The play was a testament to the strength and solidarity of those who have faced unimaginable trauma, and a reminder that we must continue to listen, support, and amplify their voices.

The play also highlighted the importance of consent, accountability, and community engagement in preventing sexual violence.

The call to action was clear: we must work together to create a society where everyone can live without fear of violence and oppression.

Overall, “In the Pants of a Woman” was a play that will stay with me for a long time, a powerful reminder of the impact of art and music in sparking conversations, challenging norms, and driving change. I applaud the writer, organizers, performers, and survivors who made this event possible, and I look forward to seeing the ripple effects of this important work.

People & Lifestyle

Short films and La Cinef Jury and selections of the 77th Festival de Cannes

Published

20 mins ago

April 24, 2024

Ameyaw Debrah

Flanked by Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar, Paolo Moretti, Claudine Nougaret and Vladimir Perišić, the Belgian actress Lubna Azabal will award the Short Film Palme d’or and the 3 La Cinef prizes, the Festival de Cannes’ selection dedicated to student films.

The Jury will discover the 11 films in the Short Film Competition and the 18 films in La Cinef selection unveiled today.

JURY MEMBERS OF THE SHORT FILM AND LA CINEF

LUBNA AZABAL – President

Actress

Belgium

mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.message builder.splio.pro%2Fimages%2Fsite internet%2FAzabal NL

After attending the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, Lubna Azabal began her acting career in theater. In 1997, she got her first role in front of the camera in Vincent Lannoo’s short film J’adore le cinéma (I Love the Movies). She went on to work with directors such as Michel Deville, Ridley Scott, André Téchiné, Nadir Moknèche and Denis Villeneuve. She was noticed for her performance in Tony Gatlif’s Exils, which won Best Director Award at the Festival de Cannes in 2004. In 2018, she returned to Cannes with director Meryem Benm’Barek’s Sofia, which won the Un Certain Regard Award for Best Screenplay. In 2019, she presented Adam by Maryam Touzani, with whom she was back in Cannes in 2022 for The Blue Caftan, which earned her a third Magritte Award for Best Actress in 2024.

MARIE-CASTILLE MENTION-SCHAAR

Director, screenwriter, producer

France

mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.message builder.splio.pro%2Fimages%2Fsite internet%2FMENTION SHAAR NL

Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar began her career in the U.S. as deputy international editor at The Hollywood Reporter, then moved to Columbia Pictures to manage remake projects. Returning to France in 1994, she produced some twenty films through her production companies Vendredi and Willow. After co-writing La Première Etoile, she wrote and directed her first film Ma première fois (2011), followed by Bowling (2012) and Once in a life time(2014). In 2015, Heaven Will Wait was selected at numerous festivals, and earned Noémie Merlant a nomination for the César for Best Emerging Actress. After All About Mothers (2017), her sixth film, A Good Man is part of the Official Selection 2020 of the Festival de Cannes. Her seventh film, Divertimento, was released in January 2023. She is the founder of the Cercle Féminin du Cinéma Français and Officier des Arts et des Lettres.

PAOLO MORETTI

Film programmer

Italy

mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.message builder.splio.pro%2Fimages%2Fsite internet%2FMORETTI NL

Currently director of the cinema department at the École cantonale d’art de Lausanne (ECAL), director of the Grütli Cinemas in Geneva and cinema curator at the Fondazione Prada in Milan, Paolo Moretti was general delegate of the Directors’ Fortnight, the parallel selection of the Festival de Cannes, from 2018 to 2022. He worked for numerous film festivals and institutions in Europe, including the Centre Pompidou and Cinéma du Réel in Paris, the Filmoteca Española in Madrid, the Leeds International Film Festival and the Portuguese Cinematheque in Lisbon. From 2008 to 2011 he was programming advisor and deputy director of the Venice Film Festival. Between 2014 and 2019 he directed the La Roche-sur-Yon International Film Festival and was a member of the selection committees of the FIDMarseille and Visions du Réel festivals.

CLAUDINE NOUGARET

Producer, director

France

mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.message builder.splio.pro%2Fimages%2Fsite internet%2FNOUGARET NL

Claudine Nougaret is a producer and director. She started out in the film industry as a sound engineer in 1984 on Éric Rohmer’s The Green Ray. In 1992, together with Raymond Depardon, she founded Palmeraie et Désert to produce quality documentary films including Urgences, Caught in the Acts, Africa: How Are You with Pain?, The 10th Judicial Court: Judicial Hearings, Modern Life, Journal de France, France, 12 Days (presented in 2017 at the Festival de Cannes in Official Selection – Out of Competition). In 2021, she created the CST Award for best young female film technician at the Festival de Cannes, and in 2022 produced the film Feminist Riposte by Marie Perennès and Simon Depardon, a documentary about feminist collectives across France (Festival de Cannes 2022, Official Selection).

VLADIMIR PERIŠIĆ

Director, screenwriter

Serbia

mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.message builder.splio.pro%2Fimages%2Fsite internet%2FPERISIC NL

Graduated from the Fémis film school, Vladimir Perišić presented his graduation film, the short Dremano oko, in the Cinéfondation selection at the Festival de Cannes 2003. In 2009, he directed his first feature film Ordinary People, an intense war film he co-wrote with Alice Winocour, in competition for the Caméra d’Or at the Festival de Cannes 2009. He returned in 2014 with Bridges of Sarajevo, screened in Special Screenings, a collective work by thirteen renowned European filmmakers on the history of the Bosnian capital, for which he directed Our Shadow Will. His latest film, Lost Country (2023), is a critically acclaimed intimate political chronicle. In parallel, he has been one of the programmers of the Belgrade Auteur Film Festival since 2011.

“Traveler, there is no path. The path is made by walking.” Antonio Machado. The Festival de Cannes is one of those paths we dream of crossing. The focus on young filmmakers presenting their short films, and the paths they have taken to get there, honor me. I can’t wait to discover the richness of it all. It’s a journey that I want to be demanding and kind, short after short, step after step. To be selected in this mythical place is a message of love, a worldwide recognition, and to preside over it is a source of pride.

LUBNA AZABAL

THE SHORT FILMS COMPETITION

Selected from 4 420 films, 11 shorts will be presented this year in Competition, coming from 10 countries : Azerbaijan, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, France, Kosovo, Lithuania, Portugal and the United States. The Short Film Palme d’or will be handed by the Jury chaired by Lubna Azabal, Saturday, May 25, during the closing ceremony of the 77th Festival de Cannes.

VOLCELEST
Éric Briche
France – 15′

OOTIDĖ
(Ootid)
Razumaitė Eglė
Lithuania – 9′

SANKI YOXSAN
Azer Guliev
Azerbaijan – 15′

LES BELLES CICATRICES
Raphaël Jouzeau
France – 15′

RRUGËS
(On The Way)
Samir Karahoda
Kosovo – 15′

ACROSS THE WATERS
Viv Li
China – 15′

PERFECTLY A STRANGENESS
Alison McAlpine
Canada – 15′

TEA
Blake Rice
United States – 12′

AMARELA
(Yellow)
André Hayato Saito
Brazil – 15′

THE MAN WHO COULD NOT REMAIN SILENT
Nebojša Slijepčević
Croatia – 13′

BAD FOR A MOMENT
(Mau Por Um Momento)
Daniel Soares
Portugal – 15′

LA CINEF SELECTION

For its 27th edition La Cinef has selected 18 shorts (14 live-action and 4 animated films) from among the 2,263 submitted by film schools all over the world. This year’s programme reflects the geographic mobility of film students, with a Singaporean director in Australia, an Indian and a Lithuanian in the UK, a Russian in the Czech Republic and three shorts made at American schools by Russian, Chinese and British filmmakers.

The Jury will hand over La Cinef prizes at a ceremony preceding the screening of the awarded films on Thursday 23 May in the Buñuel Theatre.

CROW MAN
Yohann Abdelnour
ALBA – Lebanon – 8′

BANISHED LOVE
Xiwen Cong
Beijing Film Academy – China – 40′

PRAEIS (IT’LL PASS)
Dovydas Drakšas
London Film School – United Kingdom – 27′

ECHOES
Robinson Drossos
ENSAD – France – 7′

MAUVAIS COTON (US AND THEM)
Nicolas Dumaret
La Fémis – France – 20′

TERMINAL
East Elliott
NYU – United States of America – 18′

ELEVACIÓN
Gabriel Esdras
Universidad de Guadalajara – Mexico – 28′

IN SPIRITO
Nicolò Folin
Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia – Italy – 14′

THE DEER’S TOOTH
Saif Hammash
Dar Al-Kalima University – Palestine – 16′

PLEVEL (WEEDS)
Pola Kazak
FAMO – Czech Republic – 14′

THE CHAOS SHE LEFT BEHIND
Nikos Kolioukos
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki – Greece – 33′

FOREST OF ECHOES
Yoori Lim
Korea National University of Arts – South Korea – 22′

BUNNYHOOD
Mansi Maheshwari
NFTS – United Kingdom – 9′

SUNFLOWERS WERE THE FIRST ONES TO KNOW…
Chidananda S Naik
FTII, Pune – India – 16′

WITHERED BLOSSOMS
Lionel Seah
AFTRS – Australia – 14′

OUT THE WINDOW THROUGH THE WALL
Asya Segalovich
Columbia University – United States of America – 22′

THREE
Amie Song
Columbia University – United States of America – 15′

IT’S NOT TIME FOR POP
Amit Vaknin
Tel Aviv University – Israel – 14′

People & Lifestyle

Atarah Praise: Prophet Joseph Atarah set to rock Adenta on May 19

Published

24 mins ago

April 24, 2024

Ameyaw Debrah

Ghana’s singing Prophet, Joseph Atarah is set to rock the people of Adenta on May 19 with Atarah Praise. (more…)

People & Lifestyle

Mysstel releases video for ‘Paradise’

Published

27 mins ago

April 24, 2024

Ameyaw Debrah

Budding Ghanaian musician Agyeiwaa Stella Ofosu, affectionately called Mysstel in the music circles, has released the much-awaited video for her song Paradise.

“Paradise” written and produced by multiple award-winning Ghanaian musician and producer Kuami Eugene of Rock Star Made It fame has enjoyed massive rotation and airplay since its release recently.

The video directed and shot by Cassidy is a reliving of the lyrics of the song which urges ladies to give their male partners the treatment of a lifetime.

“Paradise” released under Oracle Entertainment, is a tale of two lovers who are geared for the rollercoaster journey into the future regardless of the challenges.

According to Mysstell, love is not one-sided, and it is about time ladies make their male partners feel special, adding that “this means going all out for him like he will do for you regardless.”

“You need to let them know you love them, they deserve to be taken to special places, let them see the best part of you, take them to your paradise,” she said.

Mysstel is optimistic she has something unique which will help her break into the Ghana music industry and later take the world by storm.

Watch the video below

Mysstel – Paradise (Official Video) finally out

By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme

People & Lifestyle

GEXIM To Celebrate Ghanaian Workers With “Workers’ Mart Tuesday Market”

Published

39 mins ago

April 24, 2024

Ameyaw Debrah

May Day, which is also known as International Workers’ Day, is a public holiday celebrated on 1^st May every year. It is a holiday that is recognized in many countries around the world to celebrate the achievements and contributions of workers around the world.

As part of activities to mark this year’s edition of May Day, the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) will be hosting a special edition of its popular Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Fair, Tuesday Market, on Tuesday 30^th April 2024.

Dubbed as “Workers’ Mart”, the fair is scheduled to take place at the forecourt of the Africa Trade House (next to British Council in Accra) from 8AM to 8PM. It will be a platform to showcase a wide variety of top quality Made-In-Ghana products to be sold at unbeatable prices.

According to the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of GEXIM, responsible for Banking, Ms. Rosemary Beryl Archer, the Made-In-Ghana products to be displayed are very unique, and authentic, ranging from food and ingredients, beverages, skin and beauty care products, textiles, apparel, garments, leather footwear to slippers and many others.

She added that “we at GEXIM are happy to leverage the day to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our employees and Ghanaian employees in all industries. Also, it has become more imperative in recent times to recognize the importance of labour rights and fair working conditions. The significance of Workers Day goes beyond the commemoration of past struggles, it is an opportunity to reflect on the achievements of the labour movement and to look towards the future to ensure that workers’ rights are protected and that fair and just working conditions are upheld”.

Ms. Archer further stated that the Bank has over the years introduced initiatives to create a diverse and inclusive workplace to ensure that all workers are treated fairly and have access to equal opportunities.

She encouraged members of the general public to make it a point to join in the celebration by attending “Workers’ Mart on Tuesday 30^th April 2024 at the forecourt of the Africa Trade House (next to British Council in Accra) from 8AM to 8PM which will be climaxed with a “Worker’s Jam”.

People & Lifestyle

Sony to adapt Ghanaian author Yaa Gyasi’s novel ‘Transcendent Kingdom’ into film

Published

1 hour ago

April 24, 2024

VJ Scaro

Sony Pictures Television has announced plans to adapt Ghanaian author Yaa Gyasi’s novel “Transcendent Kingdom,” with development led by Yvonne Orji. (more…)