Thomson Reuters and Books for Africa mark milestone of 100 law libraries to Africa
Sharon Sayles Belton, Thomson Reuters VP for Government and Community Relations speaks during 100th law library to Africa milestone reception held at her company headquarters in Eagan, Minnesota on Tuesday,
Books for Africa, the largest shipper of donated school text books to Africa, and Thomson Reuters which donates law books through Books for Africa to African institutions achieved a milestone this week. The two delivered the 100th law library to the continent when the Supreme Court of Namibia received a law library from Thomson Reuters staff.
The Thomson Reuters and Books for Africa partnership was formalized in 2009 (which you can read about here).
Former Minneapolis mayor Sharon Sayles Belton and Thomson Reuters’ VP for government relations and strategic partnerships described the partnership as “unique and special” and “the most treasured” by her company, as it touches millions based on the impact the law books have had on the countries receiving them, a view shared by her counterpart John Elstad, the company’s head of legal editorial operations.
“Our goal in establishing this partnership were very simple but powerful,” Elstad told a gathering of supporters and dignitaries at Thomson Reuters headquarters assembled to mark the milestone. Among them were Justice Barry Anderson of the Minnesota Supreme Court and Judge Bridgid Dowdal of Minnesota’s Tenth Judicial District, as well as former Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie who now heads Global Minnesota.
Elstad said in partnering with Books for Africa, his company wanted to address the scarcity of law and human rights books in Africa, adding that “we wanted to do this so we can promote and support the establishment and preservation of the rule of law and independent judiciary in Africa.”
Congratulatory messages from former US vice president Walter Mondale and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison were read on their behalf by Elstad. Mondale is the co-chair of the Books for Africa Jack Mason Law and Democracy Initiative under which the law books by Thomson Reuters are donated. Mondale has co-chaired the initiative since its inception alongside former UN Secretary General, the late Kofi Annan until the latter’s passing in 2018.
Mondale in his message described the rule of law as being fundamental to the development of a healthy democracy and good governance and added that the provision of law books to the receiving institutions “has had a transformational impact well beyond the classroom or courtroom as it has helped improve the rule of law and transformed the lives of millions of people.”
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in his message to mark the milestone recalled how during his days as a congressman serving in the foreign affairs committee, he would carry as many books from Books for Africa “as they would allow me on the flight” during official congressional trips to Africa.
Outgoing Books for Africa board president Jote Taddese thanked Thomson Reuters and especially its 6,000 employees for their spirit of Ubuntu, saying “when you place a book in the hands of an African child, you are not changing the life of that just person but the lives of others that you have not even met.”
Read more here
Bill Gates recommends 5 favorite books for 2019
Bill Gates has released a list of his top five favorite books for 2019. The titles, which address everything from sleep to charter schools and American history, are fairly conventional, but he’s a billionaire so attention must be paid. The recommendations appeared today on his blog, Gates Notes.
- Gates says that “These Truths,” a one-volume history of the United States by New Yorker writer Jill Lepore, is “the most honest account of the American story I’ve ever read, and one of the most beautifully written.” He praises the book’s vast scope and Lepore’s attention to “all the ironies and contradictions in American history,” such as the fact that “America was founded on assertions of liberty and sovereignty while practicing African slavery and Native American conquest.” But he complains that the final section, about the 2008 financial crisis, “reads like the work of a critic who is caught up in the passions of the moment.” (Washington Post review.)
- “Growth,” by Czech Canadian scientist and professor Vaclav Smil, is not for everyone, Gates admits, but if you can stomach some heavy technical detail, you’ll learn a lot about how civilizations grow — and reach their limits. This 664-page tome, published by MIT Press, covers everything from agriculture to steel production to smartphone use, and Gates thinks it presents a crucial argument for the necessity of acting quickly to preserve Earth’s fragile biosphere. “Nobody sees the big picture with as wide an aperture as Vaclav Smil,” he writes. But he’s more optimistic about our future than the professor is. “In my view,” Gates says, “Smil underestimates our accelerating ability to model the physical world using digital technologies equipped with artificial intelligence.” Not too surprising from the co-founder of Microsoft.
- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has poured millions of dollars into Summit Public Schools, a charter management organization that operates 11 schools in California and Washington state. With this year’s book list, Gates ratchets up his enthusiasm for Summit co-founder and CEO Diane Tavenner. She’s published a book called “Prepared: What Kids Need for a Fulfilled Life,” and Gates says parents who read it “will wonder how their kids can have the same extraordinary learning experiences as Summit students.” Maybe. Gates’s giddiness about Summit’s “computer-enabled learning” elides some awkward questions, and his impression of typical public school teaching sounds as up-to-date as Windows 2.1.
- After so many books and countless articles, the hysteria over America’s sleep deprivation feels awfully tired. But Gates says he was roused to enlightenment by Matthew Walker, who is so impressed by having a PhD that he proclaims it right on the cover of “Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams.” The advice here is now well-known (e.g. turn down the thermostat, limit alcohol, avoid blue light), and Gates admits that it took him a while to finish. “I kept following Walker’s advice to put down the book I was reading a bit earlier than I was used to, so I could get a better night’s sleep,” which, if nothing, makes for a classic book blurb.
- “This year,” Gates says, “I picked up a bit more fiction than usual,” but only one novel makes his list — and it’s from 2018: “An American Marriage,” by Tayari Jones. (He’s just catching up with former president Barack Obama and Oprah, who both recommend “An American Marriage” last year. The Washington Post did, too.) The story is about a young married couple separated for years after the husband is falsely accused and convicted of sexual assault. Gates calls it “a deeply moving read” that reminds us “how draconian our criminal justice system can be — especially for black men.”
More surprising than anything on this list of five recommended titles is the revelation that Gates has developed a taste for postmodern fiction. “I’m currently trying to finish ‘Cloud Atlas,’ by David Mitchell,” he writes. “It’s amazingly clever but a bit hard to follow. . . . I even picked up a short story collection in David Foster Wallace’s ‘Brief Interviews With Hideous Men.’ Maybe next year’s end-of-year books post will finally include the Wallace novel I’ve been wanting to read for a while: ‘Infinite Jest.’ ”
Imagine what our computer systems might look like today if Gates had read that novel when it came out in 1996.
Priddy hands over thousands of books to SA reading initiatives
Roger Priddy shares one of his specially created hardcover books with the children at Biotemelo Educare in Dobsonville, Soweto.
Roger Priddy shares one of his specially created hardcover books with the children at Biotemelo Educare in Dobsonville, Soweto.
Image: Supplied
Growing up in a home without books, London-based Roger Priddy spent much of his childhood at his local library, paging through books and gazing at pictures. Today, the Priddy selection of hardcover picture books is a first choice for many parents around the world when introducing their baby or toddler to books.
On December 6, Priddy, with publisher Pan Macmillan South Africa, visited a Nal’ibali reading club in Soweto as part of a handover of thousands of Priddy books to various reading initiatives, to help ensure young recipients have the chance to grow up with books.
Nal’ibali caught up with Priddy at the handover. Here’s what he had to say about his special relationship with picture books:
How did your relationship with picture books start?
My family didn’t have any books when I was a child, so I used to spend ages in my local library, as I loved looking at the pictures. Then, when I was at art college, one of my lecturers was an illustrator called Margaret Chamberlain. She illustrated picture books and it was the first time I realised that I could make books too.
Why is it so important to read picture books to a toddler or a baby?
Books are a wonderful way of getting parents and their children to sit and spend time together; it helps to develop a child’s vocabulary and their understanding of the world around them.
Read more
https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/books/news/2019-12-11-priddy-hands-over-thousands-of-books-to-sa-reading-initiatives/
Source: timeslive.co.za
‘Living in Bondage,’ ‘Love is War,’ ‘4th Republic’ qualify Africa Magic Viewers Choice Award 2020.
Nigeria’s ‘Living in Bondage,’ ‘Love is War,’ and ‘4th Republic’ are some of the films that qualified for the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Award 2020.
‘Living in Bondage,’ ‘Love is War,’ ‘4th Republic’ are some of the films that made the submission window for the AMVCA 2020.
Top Nollywood films released between the period of April 1, 2018, to November 30, 2019, are eligible for consideration for nominations if they meet the criteria.
According to a statement from Multichoice Nigeria, films, made-for-television movies or television series previously entered or nominated for an award, or awarded a prize in another film and television competition are eligible to be entered for the AMVCAs.
Ramsey Nouah and Charles Okpaleke made magic by acquiring and filming one of the best sequel from a Nollywood original, Living in Bondage: Breaking Free. [Amebo book]
Ramsey Nouah and Charles Okpaleke made magic by acquiring and filming one of the best sequel from a Nollywood original, Living in Bondage: Breaking Free. [Amebo book]
The statement went further to note that all films, made-for-television movies or television series are eligible for entry to the AMVCA if they are broadcast or publicly screened or exhibited during the stipulated period.
Entries submissions for the AMVCA 202o opened on Wednesday, November 13 and will be closed on Friday, December 13, 2019.
Adesua Etomi won the award for the Best Actress at 2016 AMVCAs.
Adesua Etomi won the award for the Best Actress at 2016 AMVCAs.
The seventh edition of the African movie awards will also have popular TV series that include ‘Jenifa’s Diary,’ ‘My Siblings & I,’ ‘Hustle’, ‘Battleground,’ ‘Unbroken,’ and ‘Ajoche.’
Channel Director, Africa Magic, Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu said: “It’s been a long wait, but we are pleased to finally announce that the seventh edition of the AMVCAs is here and set to once again celebrate film and television talent across Africa. Every year the industry continues to grow in leaps and bounds and we are proud to be a part of its success story through the AMVCAs. The AMVCAs remain Africa’s most prestigious awards and most reputable celebration of talent in front and behind the camera”.
On November 13, organisers of the AMVCA called for entries ahead of the 2020 edition
Source: pulse.ng
Kpali the movie hits the Cinemas December 20, 2019
Amaka is young, single and stressed out.
A London based investment banker, she is living her best life and navigating the constant pressure from her parents about getting married when life happens.
Her company is downsizing and to keep her job and renew her work permit, Amaka must fly down to Nigeria and close a huge deal all within thirty days.
And so unfolds Kpali, the quirky, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy from the Emem Ema led Vzhun Films, a wave making Production Company.
Directed by Ladi Johnson and starring Nollywood heavyweights and playmakers like stunning and delectable Ini Dima-Okojie in the lead role as Amaka, Nkem “Osuofia” Owoh, Gloria Anozie- Young, Linda Ejiofo-Suleiman, Kunle Remi, as well as Uzor Arukwe, Abounce, Ik Osakioduwa, Ade Adefeko, corporate mandarin in a cameo role and comedian Seyi Law Kpali takes us from London to Lagos with large dollops of laughter.
Set to hit the Cinemas on December 20, 2019, Kpali is a movie that will resonate with young and highly mobile Nigerians who schooled abroad, work abroad or are home for Christmas and even regular millennials trying to fend off their parents’ constant harangue – my dear, when are you getting married?
Executive Producer, Abhulime Ehiagwina, who is making his Nollywood debut with Kpali is pleased with the outcome of the movie with a story which he believes will further enrich the conversation about Nigerian immigrants in search of greener pastures.
For Producer Emem Ema, whose foray into the entertainment circuit began as a member of girl, band, Kush, “it was really exciting to see first-hand the deep connection between the actors and their roles on this project. It was a pretty intense production and we can’t wait to bring this remarkable experience to movie fans across Nigeria this December.’
Kpali hits the cinemas on Friday
The Black Godfather Clarence avantr
‘The Irishman’ Was Watched by 26 Million Households in First Week, Netflix Says
Netflix has dribbled out some viewing data on Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman”: The epically long mobster film was watched by 26.4 million Netflix households worldwide in the first seven days — to at least 70% completion, according to content chief Ted Sarandos.
In the first 28 days, Netflix expects about 40 million account holders to have watched “The Irishman” at least 70% of the way through, according to Sarandos, speaking Tuesday at the UBS Global TMT Conference in New York. The film was released Nov. 27 on Netflix after a limited theatrical run.
Sarandos said the internal Netflix numbers — which can’t be corroborated by a third party — are all the more amazing considering “all the other things you could do on those screens now… And people still choose a relationship with a film… They sit down to watch a three-and-a-half-hour movie.”
Netflix has selectively doled out metrics, and Sarandos’ touting of “The Irishman” viewing comes after Nielsen last week released estimates for U.S. viewers of the movie, pegging 17.1 million unique viewers in the first five days and an average minute audience of 13.2 million viewers over that time frame. According to Nielsen, on the Nov. 27 premiere date, roughly 18% of the total viewers of “The Irishman” watched the movie in its entirety — which, according to the research firm, was on par with the premiere day of thriller “Bird Box” (18%) and greater than “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie” (11%).
Netflix plans to start regularly releasing viewing numbers publicly, but “we’re trying to make sure that we’re conditioning the market to what it means,” Sarandos said at the UBS conference. The company’s stats, he said, aren’t comparable to box-office figures or Nielsen ratings points.
Sarandos claimed Scorsese was happy with the viewing numbers for his sprawling mafia pic. According to Netflix, “The Irishman” is drawing smaller crowds than Sandra Bullock’s “Bird Box,” which the company claimed was watched by 45 million members worldwide in its first week and an estimated 80 million in the initial four weeks.
Sarandos also called out Netflix’s big Golden Globe Awards nominations haul this week with 34 nods across TV and film (17 in each category), including four best-movie nominees — and “The Irishman” getting five alone. Netflix picked up more nominations than any other entertainment company.
“It’s a good mark of quality — both for the industry and for consumers, meaning you want to be at that place where all the good stuff is happening,” Sarandos said. “Creators mostly want to be in the culture… and Netflix can do that like nobody else.”
Sarandos said he’s gotten kudos for greenlighting “The Irishman,” which had a reported budget of upwards of $175 million. But, he quipped, “Betting that Martin Scorsese is going to make a great mob movie with Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci and Al Pacino doesn’t seem like a long shot.”
If the only way Netflix could monetize the investment in a film like “The Irishman” was selling theater tickets, “it’s not a great payback,” Sarandos said. “But our monetization is different… [Netflix’s movies] don’t have to do a big, opening weekend to get the payback.”
Sarandos said Netflix remains committed to releasing films in theaters and on streaming day-and-date. He claimed about 80% of ticket buyers for Netflix movies at theaters are Netflix subscribers. Long theatrical windows are “anti-consumer,” Sarandos said. The company tried to negotiate a middle ground with theater chains for a cinema-only window of “The Irishman” but couldn’t come to terms, he added.
Netflix evaluates at how well content performs by its ability to drive new member signups and reduce churn. But Sarandos admitted that it’s very hard to determine with precision what the impact of an individual title is on subscriber metrics. “There’s no hold-back test where I could say, ‘Let’s not make “The Irishman” available in some part of the world to see how that works,’ we definitely don’t want to do that.”
More broadly, Netflix is facing major new competition, including from Disney Plus and WarnerMedia’s forthcoming HBO Max — and Wall Street is uncertain how the streaming wars will shake up its business.
Shares of Netflix fell 3.1% Tuesday after Needham & Co. analyst Laura Martin issued a downgrade note predicting that the streamer will lose 4 million U.S. subscribers in 2020. “We believe that Netflix’s premium price tier of $9-$16/month is unsustainable because its perceived price/value ratio will fall over time,” Martin wrote in her note, cutting her rating on Netflix stock from “hold” to “underperform.”
At the end of the third quarter of 2019, Netflix had 60.6 million U.S. streaming customers and a total of 158.3 million worldwide.
At the UBS conference, Sarandos, as he’s said many times before, explained that Netflix expected media companies to eventually launch their own streaming services and would “not want to sell us their programming,” which is why the company embarked on acquiring original content in 2011. “I think it’s exactly what we saw coming for a long time,” he said.
Netflix’s binge-dropping strategy for episodes has “had a profound impact” on the creative process for TV shows, according to Sarandos. He said “House of Cards” was the first TV show written to be consumed in a binge-watching context, and he noted that Netflix ordered two seasons (26 episodes total) out of the gate, which was unusual at the time.
Even with the rise of streaming rivals, in general, the cost of TV and film projects has been “quite stable,” Sarandos said. A few projects “get very heated,” he acknowledged, and what Netflix is in a position to do is decide, “If that project that is expensive and heated and competitive is going to have an enormous business impact, we should buy it.”
Source: variety.com
Cultural resurgence highlights Africa’s place in the new world
I recently wrote about how the global geopolitical environment has resulted in a second “scramble for Africa” through increased investment and strategic partnerships from countries as diverse as Russia, Brazil, China, the US and Japan (“Africans must direct the new scramble for their continent”, October 16).
Another important by-product of Africa’s economic and political ascendancy, which rarely gets commented on in the financial news, is Africa’s attendant cultural ascendancy.
This has been articulated through cultural diplomacy with exchange programmes and museum partnerships, but more importantly also as raw cultural power, which has seen Africans assert their intellectual and social achievements on the global stage. It has also translated into commercially lucrative sales of African arts and artefacts, and a reinvigoration of Africa’s cultural industries.
Economic growth on the continent has minted several new ultra-high net worth individuals and family offices with disposable income to signal their international cultural capital. But it is not only Africans who are buying and engaging with the themes of contemporary African art; the market is fast becoming one of the hottest on the art buying and investing scene.
Africa’s cultural resurgence has also expressed itself in the crucial global art fairs such as Frieze, Art Basel and the Venice Biennale, and in wholly Africa-focused art fairs such as Africa 1:54, founded seven years ago by Morrocan Touria El Glaoui.
The reconfiguration has seen Africans such as Senegal’s Felwine Sarr storm into Art Review’s influential 2019 Power 100 list for work interrogating postcolonialism. Sarr was personally commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron, alongside Bénédictine Savoy, to audit the museum collections France acquired during the colonial period.
Amid these developments in the past few weeks I have attended some astonishing art exhibitions and events, which made me think even more about Africa’s place in the world. Two of these stood out in the context of postcolonial cultural and economic production: the Royal African Society’s annual lecture, delivered by British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare last week at the prestigious V&A Museum, and SA artist Mary Sibande’s I Came Apart at the Seams, launched at Africa 1:54 and showing at Somerset House until January 5.
Shonibare’s thoughtful lecture explored contemporary repercussions of colonialism and unfettered capitalism, such as the refugee crisis and economic and environmental displacement. Sibande, in her first solo UK exhibition, also presents photographic and sculptural works that explore the power of the imagination and righteous anger in shaping postcolonial identity, and as is apparent, so do several African artists showcasing work internationally.
The prominence of postcolonial and neo-imperial themes and interrogation of the colonial project in cultural production signposts that the balance of power in economic and cultural partnerships between Africans and other countries will be carefully monitored for both micro and macro aggressions. This is especially poignant given that the UK’s post-Brexit trade and economic “Global Britain” strategy highlights Africa as a market through which to leverage the Commonwealth network.
At 54 countries, the Commonwealth bloc is ostensibly still vibrant and powerful, but if the cultural fallout from Africa’s meditations on the colonial relationship is anything to go by, readjustment of expectations for being first in line for deals and partnerships should be to avoid a rude awakening.
Similarly, for investors exploring the African opportunity for serious and respectful engagement with Africans as equals, and acknowledging the still-keenly felt effect of the colonial legacy, could result in better outcomes for all parties.
Such an approach is backed by empirical evidence in international business — when things go wrong with market entry or in the boardroom it is often the result of some cultural misunderstanding. Incorporating such insights into doing business in Africa is a perspective that demands nuance in investment analysis and theses. Ergo: a mindset that recognises African countries are not just “markets and economies” but also cultures and societies.
• Dr Masie is a London-based economist who advises organisations on the international investment environment. She is a fellow of the Wits School of Governance, a former senior editor of the Financial Mail and the former corporate relations manager of the Royal African Society.
Source: Businesslive.co.za
Cultural resurgence highlights Africa’s place in the new world
I recently wrote about how the global geopolitical environment has resulted in a second “scramble for Africa” through increased investment and strategic partnerships from countries as diverse as Russia, Brazil, China, the US and Japan (“Africans must direct the new scramble for their continent”, October 16).
Another important by-product of Africa’s economic and political ascendancy, which rarely gets commented on in the financial news, is Africa’s attendant cultural ascendancy.
This has been articulated through cultural diplomacy with exchange programmes and museum partnerships, but more importantly also as raw cultural power, which has seen Africans assert their intellectual and social achievements on the global stage. It has also translated into commercially lucrative sales of African arts and artefacts, and a reinvigoration of Africa’s cultural industries.
Economic growth on the continent has minted several new ultra-high net worth individuals and family offices with disposable income to signal their international cultural capital. But it is not only Africans who are buying and engaging with the themes of contemporary African art; the market is fast becoming one of the hottest on the art buying and investing scene.
Africa’s cultural resurgence has also expressed itself in the crucial global art fairs such as Frieze, Art Basel and the Venice Biennale, and in wholly Africa-focused art fairs such as Africa 1:54, founded seven years ago by Morrocan Touria El Glaoui.
The reconfiguration has seen Africans such as Senegal’s Felwine Sarr storm into Art Review’s influential 2019 Power 100 list for work interrogating postcolonialism. Sarr was personally commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron, alongside Bénédictine Savoy, to audit the museum collections France acquired during the colonial period.
Amid these developments in the past few weeks I have attended some astonishing art exhibitions and events, which made me think even more about Africa’s place in the world. Two of these stood out in the context of postcolonial cultural and economic production: the Royal African Society’s annual lecture, delivered by British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare last week at the prestigious V&A Museum, and SA artist Mary Sibande’s I Came Apart at the Seams, launched at Africa 1:54 and showing at Somerset House until January 5.
Shonibare’s thoughtful lecture explored contemporary repercussions of colonialism and unfettered capitalism, such as the refugee crisis and economic and environmental displacement. Sibande, in her first solo UK exhibition, also presents photographic and sculptural works that explore the power of the imagination and righteous anger in shaping postcolonial identity, and as is apparent, so do several African artists showcasing work internationally.
The prominence of postcolonial and neo-imperial themes and interrogation of the colonial project in cultural production signposts that the balance of power in economic and cultural partnerships between Africans and other countries will be carefully monitored for both micro and macro aggressions. This is especially poignant given that the UK’s post-Brexit trade and economic “Global Britain” strategy highlights Africa as a market through which to leverage the Commonwealth network.
At 54 countries, the Commonwealth bloc is ostensibly still vibrant and powerful, but if the cultural fallout from Africa’s meditations on the colonial relationship is anything to go by, readjustment of expectations for being first in line for deals and partnerships should be to avoid a rude awakening.
Similarly, for investors exploring the African opportunity for serious and respectful engagement with Africans as equals, and acknowledging the still-keenly felt effect of the colonial legacy, could result in better outcomes for all parties.
Such an approach is backed by empirical evidence in international business — when things go wrong with market entry or in the boardroom it is often the result of some cultural misunderstanding. Incorporating such insights into doing business in Africa is a perspective that demands nuance in investment analysis and theses. Ergo: a mindset that recognises African countries are not just “markets and economies” but also cultures and societies.
• Dr Masie is a London-based economist who advises organisations on the international investment environment. She is a fellow of the Wits School of Governance, a former senior editor of the Financial Mail and the former corporate relations manager of the Royal African Society.
Source: Businesslive.co.za
