Mobile reporting project kicks off in Tanzania
Voices of Africa Media Foundation, Haarlem, The Netherlands -
Abisae, Joseph and Glory are - as they call themselves - underprivileged youngsters from the Arusha area in Tanzania. Together with Eric from Dar es Salam they will participate for six month in an on the job training programme to become a mobile reporter . Read related press release

View the first reports from Arusha and Dar es Salaam

Mobile phone becomes mobile office
Abisae Maeda, Arusha, Tanzania -The northern Tanzania city of Arusha is part of the current mobile revolution, as most of people in there have turned mobile phones into mobile offices. The mobile phone is now common currency, but the 15-30 year-olds prefer the most advanced and thus the most expensive devices. This reports shows a local computer repairer whose phone has become a mobile office. View the video

VoicesofAfrica:Best videoblog

Olivier Nyirubugara -The efforts made by the VoicesofAfrica mobile reporting project since June last year have just received international recognition and honours: the project has just won the BOBs award 2008 for the best video blog. The BOBs is awarded by Deutsche Welle, after an international jury has rendered its verdict. Let me just quote a comment from the jury: ‘The site stretches the notion of a video blog and serves as a view into African events at the local level.’ This prize rewards not only the editorial and managerial efforts put in the project, but mostly the young talented African reporters who took part in the project in Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Mozambique, Cameroon, and Tanzania. Watch the editorial video

Read the press release on the BOBs award

Ghana politicians now campaign online
Ameyaw Debrah, Accra, Ghana - Many political analysts have attributed the success of Barrack Obama's campaign partly to the use of new media technologies. It appears that Obama's counterparts in Ghana aren't ready to let the magic pass them by. Although majority of the campaigns for the December elections are being done in traditional media, such as radio, television, newspapers, billboards and posters, there are also substantial amounts of campaigning using mobile phones and the internet.View the video

Olivier Nyirubugara
Project Coordinator

Kenya: Ugali no longer affordable for many
Neville Omondi, Nairobi, Kenya- Kenyans are worried as the prices of the Ugali, the maize-based staple food have doubled. A 2 kilo packet cost now 1.8 $ and is going beyond the reach of the population. Ugali is the most consumed food in kenya. It’s prepared by maize flour and it’s affordable to most of Kenyans including the poorest. That is not anymore, maize flour prices have sharply risen. View the video

Arusha: Poor planning hinders fire fighters
Abisae Maeda, Arusha, Tanzania - Arusha is a nice and attractive city but the recent and growing phenomenon of locals building up shacks here and there for their businesses in tarnishing the image of the city. The most recent demonstration was the failure of fire fighters to intervene against fire in the a popular neighbourhood, simply because the space that was supposed to be a street was occupied by houses. View the video

Ghana: Artisans seek foreign partners
Daniel Nana Aforo, Accra, Ghana - Two young talented artisans in their quest to expand their business are calling for international partnerships that are committed in the trade of indigenous Ghana and African products. According to them the demands of their products are mostly tourist therefore when those are expanded internationally it would boast the sales in the Western Market.View the video

Cameroon: Financial crisis hits timber sector
Dominique Bela, Douala, Cameroon- The lumbering sector in Cameroon has undergone the suppression of 10,000 jobs as a consequence of the ongoing financial crisis. The timber industry is the first affected by the international financial crisis that has so far caused casualties only in the West and Asia. View the video

Kenya: Coffee before it reaches our cups
Agnes Wambui, Nairobi, Kenya- Coffee planting is rarely practiced in Nairobi, it's mainly found in the central parts of Kenya, where there's a lot of water. But it's different in Mr. David's farm in Nairobi. There isn't enough water for growing in his 1 acre piece of land. But lucky enough his farm is fertile. He solves the water issue by pumping water from a nearby river. View the video