The Vim Views & Versions - Blogs of a MIghTy African

The first time I was in London was in 2003. Aside it being a long time, I was quite young. I hadn't started partying more seriously. I am beginning to not party more seriously though, the clubbing thing is a phase that is passing. But on February 22nd, I was excited to be in Jand! Long don! Babylon system! Home of serious African partying!  Hello #London ! Here for tonight. What's happening here? Rocking a @GhanaThink lacoste. Holla if you see me lol. Cc @GhLondoners — Ato Ulzen-Appiah (@Abocco) February 22, 2014 I picked what to wear very carefully. I was keen to meet as many people I knew or didn't know in the few hours I'd be in London. Enjoying free wi-fi at #London Heathrow. This is awesome. Folks have to give wi-vi everywhere and monetize it more easily. — Ato Ulzen-Appiah (@Abocco) February 22, 2014 Given that I wasn't roaming on any telecommunication network - would you try it if you used Airtel - wi-fi was my way to get the internet and communic...

Everything in #Belfast is like 10 minutes away. From hotel to work to food to club to etc. Except the airport lol. — Ato Ulzen-Appiah (@Abocco) February 21, 2014 I woke up on February 22nd , in Belfast , ready to prepare for my flight to London to spend a day en route to Accra. (I thought) the flight was at 1:20. It was at 12 rather. But I realised this at 11:01.am. Crap! 1 hour to the flight? Checkin counter closing 30 minutes prior to the flight. Aish! I had my +Airbnb  host call me a taxi. I briefly met Miro and another guest of Mary's. I needed to make the flight. I tried to check in online with British Airways but it wasn't working. Does checkin close 30 or 60 minutes to departure? The +British Airways  website seemed to say 50 or 20. I funally headed to airport around 11:20 hoping to get there in 10 minutes after Mary gave me a glass of orange juice. I picked the 20 minutes option and told taxi driver I had to get there by 11:40. While in the car, I real...

If someone asked me the top 5 European countries to visit, I would not have added Northern Ireland. Oh, but wait, Northern Ireland is not really a country, it is part of the UK. But it's still not England. And from being there earlier this year, it doesn't have many black people walking around. Except in the clubs :-) Aww, yeah. Well, mostly. I have hardly seen young people in  #Belfast . Noticed this earlier. And oh yeah, ain't seen no black people yet hehe. — Ato Ulzen-Appiah (@Abocco)  February 19, 2014 Why shouldn't I say so? I am a young person.  I shouldn't say so ? I'm a black person. I live in Ghana. 2:33pm in  #Belfast , Northern Ireland. Thinking of  #Ghanaian  music & hearing it everywhere. Check  #Music4Tourism   #GMWFestival .  #233moments — Ato Ulzen-Appiah (@Abocco)  February 20, 2014 Ghanaian music should have really traveled. We've not done a great job with this. Music for tourism is fine, music for export ...

I've been an avid Google+ user for a long time now. Oh, that's an understatement. Or actually an overstatement based on you who ask. Either way, one great feature I love about Google+ is Google Hangouts . You can have a video conference for up to 10 people. You can broadcast that video conference on YouTube at the same time. Google Hangouts on Air everybody. This weekend, the  +Diaspora Camp  had one for its #AfricaDayAgric chat and it went extremely well. Its success is due to proper preparation and knowledge of the product. First, we had to create the  +Diaspora Camp  Google+ page and then link it to YouTube.  +Ali Bukari Maiga  has become a Google guru and effortlessly set this YouTube channel up. He's done so for countless  +GhanaThink Foundation  Google+ accounts now. He's also live streamed many events now - from  +Barcamp Tema  to  +Springboard Road Show Foundation  to  +Global Shapers Accra 's Accra Discourse. ...

The  +GhanaThink Foundation  was born through the activity of Ghanaians in the Diaspora. Since the  +Barcamp Ghana  movement took off in earnest in Ghana, most of GhanaThink's engagement has been in Ghana. The very second Barcamp done by our group was Barcamp Diaspora in DC in July 2009.  +Diaspora Camp  DC followed in July 2010 and that has been the last one. We're seeking to reignite Diaspora based activity. Yesterday's  +Diaspora Camp  Africa Day Google Hangout about Agriculture and Youth is a step. It proved to be quite successful too. The #AfricaDayAgric chat was organized to celebrate Africa Day which falls on May 25, the day the African Union (formerly the Organization of African Unity) was born in 1963. The theme for this AU celebration is around Agriculture as 2014 has been declared the Year of Agriculture and Food Security in Africa. This Google Hangout on Air ( broadcast on Youtube ) was the first of the new online engagement seri...