Elisabeth Naucle’r Receives Presidential Medal

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has Honored Elisabeth Naucle’r, Ålands Parliament leader with a presidential Medal for her ealier work and service in France.

The ceremony was presided by the French Ambassador to Finland Francoise Bourolleau.

The ceremony took place in Helsinki and was attended by the representatives from Finnish Parliament and Elisabeth Naucle’rs family.

Onyango Okeyo

Swedish Integration Minister Visits Åland

Nyamko Sabuni, the Swedish minister for Integration visit to Åland on the 15^th April 2009 was more than projected by the local media which only stressed and portrayed that the minister was only in town for a meeting with (Lantrådet) Viveka Eriksson and ( Landskapets chef för jäställdhetsfrågor) Vivan Nikula.

Nyamko Sabuni arrived as per scheduled and was met and given a hearty welcome by her host before being invited to visit two schools in the Island and meet the students.

After the meetings the minister was invited to a luncheon which was hosted in her honor at the prestigious Nautical Hotel. Thereafter, there was a brief press conference and interaction with the journalists.

Noticeable on the program host agenda, was the opportunity to discuss relevant issues concerning Integration , its wider complications in a society like Åland and whether there is a legislation in the Island which enhance smooth integration.

ATM Notice

Attention:

It has come to our notice at Habari1 blog and at Habari Newsletter desk that on sunday the 19^th April 2009 between 3.00am to 6.00am in the morning, all the banking automatic machines will be shut down to enable the updating of the data system.

The announcement was made by Bank Automatic oy technical branch of Finland.

kenyan Writer Shailja Patel To Perform In Uppsala

Kenyan Writer Shailja Patel To Perform In Uppsala

Shailja Patel, Nordic Africa Institute Guest Writer 2009, will appear in the series Writers’ Africa at an event in the Institute library, Kungsgatan 38, Uppsala, on Thursday 23 April from 6.00 to 8.00 p.m.

SHAILJA PATEL

Shailja Patel will discuss Poetry, Performance and Resistance in a Kenyan and African context with Mai Palmberg, co-ordinator of the Cultural Images in and of Africa research project at NAI.

Shailja Patel is a Kenyan poet, playwright, spoken word artist and political activist. Shailja Patel is also the founder of a Direct Action Training Program in Kenya to empower grassroots activists with skills for political engagement.

Her central work, performed as a one-woman show, is known as Migritude. The name, which she has composed as a play on the words ‘negritude’ and ‘migrant attitude’, “asserts the dignity of the outsider status, and captures the unique political and cultural space occupied by migrants who refuse to choose between identities of origin and identities of assimilation, which channel difference as a source of power rather than conceal or erase it”.

‘Migritude’ has already found its way into the discourse on Africa and the world. The first part of Migritude was premiered in 2006 in the San Fransisco Bay Area. It is conceived as a cycle in four parts, and draws on the artist’s spiritual and cultural heritage as a third-generation East African of Indian Gujarati descent.

Read more about Shailja Patel on the NAI web site

Swahili Book Launch At ABF

“Swahili is a World language” spoken by more than 100 million people.

A meeting will take place at The book Swahili for Swedes The book “Swahili for Swedes” ABF-huset in Stockholm on Tuesday April 28 where the book “Swahili for Swedes” will be presented.

The event begins at 18.00 and the address is Sveavägen 41 (Tube Rådmansgatan).

Program:

* Swahili’s position in East Africa: Representatives from the Kenyan and Tanzanian embassies

* Swahili – about the language and its usage: The authors give examples from the book

* Travel Agents and friendship association’s involved with information Organizers: ABF Stockholm Hjalmarson & Högberg Bokförlag Watatu

More information about the book and the authors can be found here: www.watatu.se/swahili

The book will be available for sale during the meeting. For larger quantities, please contact the publisher for price information, tel 08-22 67 20, info@hohforlag.se.

Karibuni!

Blame Game:Who is Responsible for Economical Downturn

With high recession worldwide,there has been an attitude change towards addressing the problems resulting in a blame game as a comment from Lula da Silva below.

“This is a crisis that was caused by white people with blue eyes. And before the crisis,they looked as if they knew everything about economics”

Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva starting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at a press conference at which Lula also claimed not to know any black banker.

Onyango  Okeyo

Weather Focus

Åland Island became the first area(province) in Finland to report a double digit plus in temperature reading yesterday. The reported readings was +10 degrees centigrades according to the Finnish Metrological Institute.

This is a sign of  a heat wave coming in the summer, just as the inhabitants enjoy the spring break.

Onyango Okeyo