Friends---
Two days ago over 120 young people from over 24 African Countries arrived for the Africamp currently on going in Lukenya Getaway in Nairobi. The camp will be on until sunday this week.
It is encouraging to see a very high caliber of Participants who are involved in meaningful work in their communities coming together to form a strong community to promote open society ideals. First and second day of the Africamp have been very interactive, discussions on the African Youth Charter and the Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance were very well received. Most importanlty are the energies portrayed in the camp with the very enthusiatic youth promising to take on follow up activities to ensure rattiffication and implementation of the work by the African Union charters.
The sessions on New media, speed geeks, debates and open sessions have also been received very well. You can track the progress of the camp here where photos from the first sessions and the bush dinner have been uploded and tweeks from the participnts expressing their ideas very actively right here; http://www.idebate.org/africamp/
I am sure very interesting outcomes will be forthcoming and that some of the activities will be supported since the self drive of the participants is amazing. I will soon send you a snapshot of issues that will be standing out.
Emmanuel Dennis
Nairobi 16th March 5:16 PM
It is the second day of the AfriCamp and things keep getting better and better. After yesterday's entertaining Bush Dinner in which participants shade their activist seriousness and displayed their dancing, singing and rapping skills, the morning's air was rife with anticipation.
In the first session, experts from East and Southern Africa staged a model debate in British Parliamentary format. By the end of debate, the amount of energy in the room was so high that if someone had so much as lit a match, it would have caught fire!
The debate had been non-participatory and the participants were their chance to enter an argument or two. At the end , the panel of experts trained the participants in developing arguments, building them and how to present them.
Armed with newly found skills, the participants were now presented with a space to stretch their debating muscles in a public debate on the legalisation of abortion. They were split into two groups depending on which side they believed in and once split, each side had to argue the side they were against. It was intersting how quickly the debate evolved and how easilyu people's attitudes were changed when they had to think like their opponets.
Day two- all gears are in motion and we are now going into the Open Space session
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