Journalists from all over the world can now apply online for the second class of the International Academy of Journalism (Intajour) founded by Bertelsmann. Successful applicants for the “Journalism in the Digital World” fellowship program will begin their ten-month training course this September.
“After the great experience with our first batch of Fellows, we are looking forward to interesting applications from around the world once again. Our work to date shows that with Intajour, we’ve created an innovative tool for systematically coaching journalists in the digital media world, one that targets the individual needs of each participant,” says Intajour director Werner Eggert. “We continue to pursue the goal of introducing journalists from countries where press freedom is not as much a given as here in Germany, to the opportunities of digitization.”
The “Journalism in the Digital World” training program is aimed at journalists from countries where press freedom is restricted or threatened. The Fellows of the first year, which is still ongoing until June, come from Armenia, China, Egypt, Ghana, Liberia, Moldova, Nepal, Nicaragua, Syria, Thailand, Ukraine and Zimbabwe.
The 12 Fellows are coached in the areas of “investigative research”, “journalistic representation on the Internet,” “shooting and editing web videos,” “technical production of web content” and “media ethics”.
The new course starts on September 2, 2012 and once again consists of attendance phases in Hamburg, Cologne and Berlin as well as two intensive e-learning phases. The deadline for applications is May 7, 2012 and they can only be made online via the website www.intajour.com
Source.www.opportunityforyouths.blogspot.com
Thursday, March 22, 2012
BLOGGING TO HELP WRITERS SUCCEED: US Consulate to feature young writers
BLOGGING TO HELP WRITERS SUCCEED: US Consulate to feature young writers: The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Consulate General, Lagos in partnership with the U.S.-Africa Literary Foundation last ...
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US Consulate to feature young writers
| The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Consulate General, Lagos in partnership with the U.S.-Africa Literary Foundation last week launched a reading initiative tagged “READ IT LOUD.” The new platform was designed to discover and encourage youth and other interested members of the public in the art of writing and reading. In a welcome remark at the opening of the first session, Public Affairs Officer Tina Onufer said “reading loud or recitation of poetry helps in the development of reading and learning outside of the classroom.” She added that “it also helps develop confidence in the speaker out of his comfort zone.” She encouraged participants to take advantage of the opportunity presented by the forum to develop themselves. The first edition with the theme “Celebrating Black American and African Writers,” gave opportunities to both professionals and budding writers to read out loud their works and works of others followed by lively discussions after each reading. Those who read excerpts of their works included Ms. Umari Ayim who read from her “Twilight at Terracotta Indigo.” The audience also had the opportunity of watching legends like Maya Angelou, Wole Soyinka, Thabo Mbeki and Mutabaruka read their works on video. READ IT LOUD will come up every first Thursday of the month. Interested members of the public should write to wyllagos@state.gov for participation.Source :IRC newsletter |
Saturday, March 17, 2012
New iPad goes on sale Mar. 16
March 16 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. started selling its new iPad today, betting on a sharper screen and faster chip to extend its lead over Google Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. in the growing market for tablet computers.
At Apple’s glass-walled store in Sydney’s George Street, employees in blue T-shirts cheered and counted down the seconds until doors opened at 8 a.m., as a line of at least 200 people snaked around the city block. Two hours later, the iPad went on sale at Softbank Corp.’s Ginza store in Tokyo.
Now that the new iPad is here, it’s much easier to compare its specifications against a host of competitors
Here are some of the top consumer gadgets that have been creating a lot of buzz.
“There seems to be a lot of improvement in the new iPad,” said Takaya Ito, 37, an associate professor at Tokyo’s Aoyama Gakuin University who was upgrading from his iPad 2. “I read a lot of theses on the iPad, but since the display isn’t so good in the iPad 2, my eyes get tired. I’m hoping the new model will solve that.”
The 9.7-inch device, unveiled by Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook on March 7, is the biggest upgrade yet to Apple’s tablet before Microsoft Corp. introduces new software for competing devices. Generating demand with the model is important for Apple to fend off competition from devices using Google’s Android operating system and the $199 Kindle Fire from Amazon that’s popular among cost-conscious buyers.
“It leaves everyone else behind again,” said Jean-Louis Lafayeedney, an analyst at JI Asia in Hong Kong.
‘Beautifully Integrated’
The new iPad, with a price tag of $499 to $829 in the U.S., includes a chip that enables better graphics, Apple said. It also boasts a screen with more pixels than traditional high- definition TVs and runs on long-term evolution, or LTE, wireless networks that deliver data faster.
Apple will sell a $499 base model that has 16 gigabytes of memory and works only on Wi-Fi networks. An $829 model has 64 gigabytes of memory and works on both Wi-Fi and LTE networks.
After debuting today in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, the device is scheduled to go on sale in France, Germany, the U.K., Canada and the U.S.
“I’ve got all their stuff,” said Jonathan Hakim, 22, a doctoral student and wedding photographer in Sydney who started lining up for the iPad yesterday afternoon. “Everything works together. It’s so beautifully integrated, it’s so streamlined.”
Early Opening
Kento Inoue, a 20-year-old university student who was first in line outside the Apple Store in Tokyo, said he showed up at 7 p.m. on March 14.
“I wanted to be the first person in Japan to get the new iPad,” said Inoue, who already owns the previous two models. “I’m proud of it.”
About 70 people lined up at Softbank’s store, compared with about 250 who waited for the iPad 2 last year, said Arata Kurihara, a spokesman for Japan’s third-largest mobile-phone carrier. The decrease is probably because customers have realized they can reserve the model without waiting in line, he said. Some versions of the new iPad were almost out of stock, Kurihara said.
In Hong Kong, buyers had to register online yesterday to be able to get a new iPad today. The city’s sole Apple Store opened an hour earlier at 8 a.m. to allow those who’d registered to collect their tablets.
By Shunichi Ozasa, David Fickling and Edmond Lococo,(WASHINGTON POST)
At Apple’s glass-walled store in Sydney’s George Street, employees in blue T-shirts cheered and counted down the seconds until doors opened at 8 a.m., as a line of at least 200 people snaked around the city block. Two hours later, the iPad went on sale at Softbank Corp.’s Ginza store in Tokyo.
Now that the new iPad is here, it’s much easier to compare its specifications against a host of competitors
Here are some of the top consumer gadgets that have been creating a lot of buzz.
“There seems to be a lot of improvement in the new iPad,” said Takaya Ito, 37, an associate professor at Tokyo’s Aoyama Gakuin University who was upgrading from his iPad 2. “I read a lot of theses on the iPad, but since the display isn’t so good in the iPad 2, my eyes get tired. I’m hoping the new model will solve that.”
The 9.7-inch device, unveiled by Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook on March 7, is the biggest upgrade yet to Apple’s tablet before Microsoft Corp. introduces new software for competing devices. Generating demand with the model is important for Apple to fend off competition from devices using Google’s Android operating system and the $199 Kindle Fire from Amazon that’s popular among cost-conscious buyers.
“It leaves everyone else behind again,” said Jean-Louis Lafayeedney, an analyst at JI Asia in Hong Kong.
‘Beautifully Integrated’
The new iPad, with a price tag of $499 to $829 in the U.S., includes a chip that enables better graphics, Apple said. It also boasts a screen with more pixels than traditional high- definition TVs and runs on long-term evolution, or LTE, wireless networks that deliver data faster.
Apple will sell a $499 base model that has 16 gigabytes of memory and works only on Wi-Fi networks. An $829 model has 64 gigabytes of memory and works on both Wi-Fi and LTE networks.
After debuting today in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, the device is scheduled to go on sale in France, Germany, the U.K., Canada and the U.S.
“I’ve got all their stuff,” said Jonathan Hakim, 22, a doctoral student and wedding photographer in Sydney who started lining up for the iPad yesterday afternoon. “Everything works together. It’s so beautifully integrated, it’s so streamlined.”
Early Opening
Kento Inoue, a 20-year-old university student who was first in line outside the Apple Store in Tokyo, said he showed up at 7 p.m. on March 14.
“I wanted to be the first person in Japan to get the new iPad,” said Inoue, who already owns the previous two models. “I’m proud of it.”
About 70 people lined up at Softbank’s store, compared with about 250 who waited for the iPad 2 last year, said Arata Kurihara, a spokesman for Japan’s third-largest mobile-phone carrier. The decrease is probably because customers have realized they can reserve the model without waiting in line, he said. Some versions of the new iPad were almost out of stock, Kurihara said.
In Hong Kong, buyers had to register online yesterday to be able to get a new iPad today. The city’s sole Apple Store opened an hour earlier at 8 a.m. to allow those who’d registered to collect their tablets.
By Shunichi Ozasa, David Fickling and Edmond Lococo,(WASHINGTON POST)
Sunday, June 5, 2011
LIFE AT OKUN-ISE FISHING VILLAGE
 |
| OKUN ISE...a Lagos fishing village.This is lagos |
LIFE AT OKUN-ISE FISHING VILLAGE
BY TOLUWANI ENIOLA
Unlike his peers in other parts of Lagos with big dreams, the ambition of Bello Qudus, 17, is to become a fisherman.
Like other teenagers in Okun-Ise, a rustic fishing village in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State, Qudus, a pupil of Okun-Ise High School, does not wish to further his education. He hopes to make a fortune from fishing.
This is the dream of every youth in Okun-Ise, who joins the fishing business at 12.
Despite the modernisation of Lagos, life in Okun-Ise is still pre-historic, far from the megacity mantra of city dwellers.
Residents of Okun-Ise, a predominantly muslim community, are basically fishermen and they speak the Ijebu dialect. According to history, they migrated from Ijebu land moving from Epe, Ise, Imeru, Imusa, before finally settling in Okun-Ise.
The sight of half-dressed children in front of thatched roofs and bamboo huts surrounded by a cluster of palm trees bowing to the gust of wind greets a first timer to the village. The bustling lagoon, popularly called Okun, from where the community derives its name makes the village not only interesting, but a tourist attraction.
Varieties of fish, such as lobster, croaker, shinning nose, red snapper, soul fish and shrimps, are sold almost at give-away prices, because of lack of storage facilities.
With over 500 inhabitants, its residents survive on fishing. The women mainly engage in fishing activities such as picking periwinkles, fish mongering and crayfish business. Majority of the women also engage mainly in fish smoking.
The snag, however, is the rigour of hunting for the fish as the men embark on fishing expedition to the sea in the night, an indication that they need more empowerment.
When CityBeats visited, the village located about 50kilometres m from Ajah, still retains its serenity. Surrounded by other riverine villages such as Imusa, Imeru, Folu, it attracts traders, from the island and mainland who look beyond its rustic façade to add value to their bottom line through bulk purchase.
Youths in their hundreds thronged the sea shore to await the arrival of Waliu Hassan, who had left for the sea in the night. On sighting his canoe, they rushed to the sea to pull the canoe to shore and unload the fish.
Hassan, 35, who spoke to CityBeats, said he had a good catch, but needed to sell them immediately so that the fish don’t get rotten. As the youths were unloading the fish, Hassan who gave the catch estimate as N60,000 added that lack of preservatives make them to sell the fish instantly so as not to lose their money.
Findings revealed that the fishermen have been experiencing losses because they do not have the means to preserve their fish.
According to Hassan,to prevent the fish from getting spoilt, the fishermen dispose of their catch to middlemen at cheap price.
The middlemen rake in thousands more than the fishermen who toil in the night. The middlemen can preserve the fish when they get to their base in Lagos and sell at good price.
Mrs Folake Yinusa, 44, regularly visits the village to buy fish in large quantities to sell at Epe. She said he had built a house from the business apart from financing her children’s education.
“Apart from building a house from this business, I have children at the Lagos State University (LASU), whose fees are being paid from the proceeds of the business.”
According to her, a kilogramme of fish in the village goes for N400. She can get this sold for N3,000 at the market.
Another buyer, Sadiat, mother of three, from Badagry, said the fish business is very lucrative in Lagos. She said she comes to the village because she buys the fish at extremely low prices.
Rabiu Bello, 68, a third generation fisherman, who has been fishing for 50 years, told CityBeats that fishing has fetched him a lot of money. He said a trip can fetch as much as N100,000.
He said fishing is done in the night when the fish normally come out, each making peculiar noise that enables the fishermen to trap them.
“I have been on the waters since I was 10. Then, we used to have a big catch, more than what we have now. We normally leave the village for the sea around 12 am and we work on the sea till dawn. We normally use the torchlight to guide us. You can make as much as N100, 000 depending on the catch you make. There are also some times that you would not get a good catch.
“One of the problems we have is that fishing equipments are too expensive to acquire for peasant farmers. In this village, only 10 people were able to acquire outboard engines, despite the number of fishermen that we have. This is because an outboard engine costs about N350,000.”
Among other challenges, according to Hassan Kareem, who has been fishing for 40, years is owning a canoe as it costs about of N80, 000. “Those that have canoes also assist those who don’t have and the proceeds from the joint catch will be equally shared.
“Another problem is the constant break down of the outboard engine that propels the canoes. It is stressful to repair the engines and involves a lot of money.”
But in all of this, the business is very lucrative and with a much lesser risk attached, a fact he said has made the business very attractive. “Sometimes I make as much as N100,000 from a trip, at times I make more. And it is also possible not to make any catch at all from a trip,” he said.
He said some of the fishermen have been able to access soft loans from the government, adding that the government through the FADAMA helped them with two thirds of the total costs.
Despite the risks involved, he said there has never been any case of casuality because the fishermen go fishing in groups. According to him, Olokun, the river goddess is appeased yearly, making the fishermen achieve success.
The Baale of Okun-Ise,Chief Rauf Bello, spoke in glowing terms on how visitors admire the aquatic splendour of the village when they visit. Recounting his most memorable day on the sea, he said: “I remember a time when I got missing on the sea. A mighty tornado swept my canoe. For five days I was marooned on the sea and later found myself in Rivers State. I later came back to Lagos.
Bello listed many challenges facing the community such as lack of a standard primary school and health centre.
He said:”There is no primary school here. The nearest one is in Akodo village. That is where every child attends school. There is also no standard health centre here although the government normally sends doctors regularly to assist us.
“The Lagos State Government has been meeting our needs one after the other. The chairman of Ibeju-Lekki council has also been supportive. The government bought a 500KVA transformer for this village. It was installed about four years ago. When the transformer had a problem,it was replaced. This year the government donated a dashboard engine.
“Another problem is the issue of refrigerator. When the fishermen take longer than expected on the sea, some of the fish get rotten. Lack of adequate storage facilities is a major challenge. We have been asking the local government to help us with freezers. We are also rich in coconuts and palm kernel. We are also asking the government to help us with an engine to thresh the palm kernel.
“This is why I am appealing to Governor Babatunde Fashola to assist us with more refrigerators to preserve the fish. We also need more outboard engines. It is too expensive to afford one.
Monday, May 23, 2011
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