The music will – of course – be mainly afrobeat, but will also include music influenced by Fela and people who have sampled his work like Missy Elliot, Timbaland, Mos Def and many more.

Felabration! takes place this Thursday night at REPUBLIC (see the flyer for details: it’s behind Frankies/Dealer in osu). If you haven’t already been, Republic Bar & Grill is the only bar in Accra right now that chooses ambience over pretentiousness, and manages to be cool without trying too hard. Food and drinks taste great and are cheap too. Come and check it out.

Entry is free and we plan on playing until the wee hours of the morning so come on down.

Take a look at the job descriptions below and if you feel this is something you can do, send a resume and cover letter to crystal@dustaccra.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

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Position: General Manager

DUST is looking for someone to provide project management across Dust Magazine’s various departments: a fun, creative and fulfilling job for anyone looking to be a part of a creative, socially conscious and innovative team of discerning Ghanaians.

Key Areas of Responsibility

• Developing and maintaining client relationships and bringing in revenue to the magazine (through sale of advertising space each quarter)
• Finalizing and overseeing schedules for editorial and design departments (ensuring that each issue goes to press on time)
• Ensuring quality control for printed edition and taking final product to press
• Overseeing nationwide distribution of the magazine
• Developing and managing budgets (including planning ahead)
• Identifying, developing and directing implementation of business strategies
• Identifying and acting on relevant opportunities for the magazine
• Communicating executive decisions to all team members
• Recruiting, orienting, and assigning team members’
• Weekly meetings with the Editor

Terms of Employment

• Answerable to the company’s directors
• Must submit monthly reports to the directors
• Must maintain close relationships with the head of each division

Basic Qualifications

• A Masters degree in a relevant field or have +5 years of work experience in senior management
• Ability to effectively project manage a team of 5-7 to achieve set deliverables
• High computer literacy and the ability to work and have meetings online
• Experience in sales and marketing (and debt collection)
• Ability to write interesting and thought provoking articles.

After all, when people in other parts of the world are tuned into morning radio shows filled with tantalizing celebrity gossip or embarrassing prank calls, in Ghana we are attentively listening to newspaper reviews and political panel discussions. In fact, heated political debates can take place anywhere; in trotros, bank queues, hair salons or public toilets…or even about public toilets!

On December 7^th 2012, Ghanaians will go to the polls for the 6^th time since what is known in our history as “the return to democratic rule” in 1992. Election years in Ghana set politics into fever pitch mode. Common election year features include mammoth-sized political rallies, creative TV ads, catchy songs by well-paid musicians, powerful slogans and of course fiery political rhetoric

As an ardent follower of Ghanaian politics and having observed three past election years, I’ve come to realise that there are key essential items that the aspiring politician needs while out on the campaign trail.

For this scenario let us say the aspiring politician is running for seat in the esteemed Ghanaian House of parliament. I present a few of the essential items:

• The book “2012 Edition of Maps of Road Networks of the Republic of Ghana complete with road commissioning dates” One can be forgiven to think that maps are essential for the aspiring politician to be able to navigate through the twists and turns of their constituency but alas this is not the case. Firstly, in Ghana we never use maps to get directions to any place. Secondly, In our part of the world a road is not just an open way for vehicles, persons and animals but are the pathways on which our nation’s future are built. When in government, it is always essential to highlight and herald all the roads that you are constructing and ensure that road construction projects open with much-publicized sod-cutting ceremonies. When in opposition, it is key to emphasize that roads cannot be eaten. However, it is also equally important to still take credit for roads that your government may have started when in power. A book of road networks will help the aspiring politician point out which roads were built under the auspices of their party.

• The textbook “Contemporary History of Ghana 1945 – present”. One fact one should know about Ghanaian politics is that it revolves around political antecedents and traditions that date back to pre-independence times. This makes it almost impossible for a new political philosophy to emerge onto the Ghanaian political terrain but makes it completely possible for a politician to accuse their opponent of throwing bombs in the 1960s years before they were born. It also makes it plausible for the aspiring politicians to be accused of supporting a coup d’état when they were 3 years old.

• Holy Books: In Ghana, the appearance of piety always resonates with the electorate.  Being perceived as “God-fearing” is sometimes even more important than actually being morally-upright. An ability to quote from The Bible is always a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

• Macho-men: Before images of the 70s/80s band The Village People come to mind, to be clear, macho-men in Ghana are the steroid-fuelled well-muscled enforcers whose services are in high demand particularly during election times. These services range from private security to just plain good ‘ol trouble-making. On the campaign trail macho-men in sunglasses are a key accessory for the aspiring politician. In addition, it is always wise to keep a stock of akpeteshie (local gin) at hand since macho-men are known to have a particular penchant for this beverage.

• Entourage: The campaign trail is not unlike a musician’s tour. Therefore, the aspiring politician needs a large entourage of praise-singers and hanger-ons. The politician however must ensure they have enough funds to cover T & T or run the risk of their posse immediately thinning out.

• An Opening act: A vital member of any politician’s entourage is an opening act who is also a crowd warmer. This has to be some one gifted in the type of political rhetoric that gets crowds excited and worked up. So even if the aspiring candidate is as exciting as a lump of charcoal, if the opening act is powerful, the crowd would not be able to see the difference

• Four-wheel Drive Vehicle: A powerful vehicle is essential for not only being able to navigate through the rough roads of any constituency but also to load up with an entourage, macho-men and other hanger-ons all of whom will literally be hanging onto the vehicle.

• T-shirts: Lets face it, everyone likes a new fresh superior cotton t-shirt. For the aspiring politician, it is essential that you get t-shirts with your face and party colours. However, it is important to note that the number of your t-shirts you see being worn does NOT translate into votes because after all, everyone likes a new fresh superior cotton t-shirt regardless of what it says on the front or back.

• Andrews Liver salts: After mounting the campaign platform, it is important to move from house to house to meet ‘the people on the ground’. While on a house to house tour, the aspiring politician may be offered all sorts of lovely delicacies to feast on and it is important to indulge in these dishes to demonstrate that you are down to earth and very much akin to this ‘ordinary Ghanaian’ you hear so much about. However, be sure to have some powerful medication at hand in case the dishes have some unexpected consequences later.

• High quality toilet paper: One of the unexpected consequences of consuming lovely delicacies is the infamous on the road diarrhoeal attack. Anyone who has been on the road in Ghana knows that there is an acute lack of toilets and even if you do happen to find a toilet, there is nothing worse than a diarrhoeal attack without toilet paper.

• A radio: While on the road it is essential to have access to a radio to tune into the plethora of morning political discussion shows being carried by major radio stations and their affiliates across the country. It is also essential because as a politician, it is likely someone may be tarnishing your name in your absence. The good politician will call into a show for a swift and immediate rebuttal.

• Photographer: It is essential for the aspiring politician to have a photographer on hand to capture the large crowds attending one’s rally to document for a newspaper or perhaps a brochure. Please note that the key phrase is “large crowds”. If no one shows up and the rally is a complete flop, the photographer can be dispatched to the nearest drinking spot.

• Mobile Phone: The aspiring politician should be sure to hand out a mobile number to potential voters with assurances that they can be reached at all times of the day. However, at the end of the election and you have won power, this number should be treated like burner phone from the movies and disposed immediately.

These are just a few of the items required for the campaign trail. Please note that

1. a concrete plan for office or

2. a point by point vision for the future

are listed under the section on “Non-essential items for the campaign trail”

Hopefully Election 2012 will be peaceful and Ghana will continue to be a true Beacon of African Democracy.

Take a moment to think about each time a television broadcast has been interrupted for a commercial. It might have felt like a disturbance, but whichever way you look at it, it still captured your attention; at least for a minute or two. And more often than not, it creates a lasting impression. There are some ads we just can’t forget, and some others that just aren’t worth remembering. But there’s something both kinds have in common; the airtime, that minute or two in the spotlight. Back when television and radio broadcast were considered mainstream media, this spotlight was a rarity; airtime wasn’t [and still isn’t] cheap. But now, with Facebook, Twitter and the many other social media networks available, the whole system has been rewired. It’s like a deliberate attempt to get us to put our voices out there. It’s free, and practically everyone’s on- the audience is set. Yet we’d rather use it to tell the world what our last meal was, or to show off what we look like in our newest outfit.

There’s this wave of youthful activism moving across the globe and it has all been centred on social media. Several countries are undergoing significant revamps; economic, political, or social and as one generation fades out for the next to take charge, its every citizen’s social obligation to get involved; especially with politics. Politics has got to do with things that affect us as citizens; traffic jams, power cuts, armed robberies, etc. It’s not a contest to show who can play the blame game best. On the African continent, politics has for so long been depicted as the forbidden [dirty] game meant for only fully grown adults, [men to be specific], who have been in the system for decades. These “players” go on to decide what goes on in our lives, whilst the rest of us, either can’t be bothered, or just complain to no effect in our small circles. We don’t realise that our opinions count. As clichéd as it may sound, there’s strength in numbers, and it’s this strength that swept across with the Arab Spring from Tunisia, through Egypt to Libya, and beyond. It is said that the pen is mightier than the sword, but we forget that it is this very same pen which has evolved into the keyboard. We forget, or are simply unaware of what we can, and should be doing with the social media resources accessible on the internet.

Facebook and Twitter have already successfully toppled longstanding heads of states in the past year and if appropriate use is continued as an input for ensuring good governance, this could be a positive turnaround for these states. Like the television commercials, not all Facebook status updates, or tweets make any impact at all. A well thought out advertising plan, would remain familiar to people across different generations whereas, a poorly organised one would be forgotten in no time. Should we thoughtfully and constructively use social media sites, with the intention to move our governments in the right direction, there’s no doubt that we’ll succeed. We should “never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has” (Margaret Mead). With this in mind, we’ll not be swayed by sharp-tongued, deceptive, sly, sometimes thoughtless politicians, seeking re-elections, with no definite plans for development. When we all get involved, there’ll be pressure on them, and they’ll have to either comply or step out. There’s a Nigerian proverb that says that “until the lions have their own storytellers, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter. As it stands, we are the lions, but when we refuse to speak up. As such we only end up being reduced from being the “king of the jungle” to being “the hunter’s catch”.

Aside the popular social networks, there are a myriad of other ways we could use social media to cause social change. In Kenya for example, there’s Ushahidi; a website which was developed to gather information from the general public to monitor violence during the 2007/2008 Kenyan crisis. It’s based on the concept of using crowdsourcing for social activism and public accountability; a very useful tool for combatting corruption by anonymously reporting malpractices and inefficiencies in public institutions. Since 2008, its use has spread to countries like South Africa, Haiti and Chile to allow crowds to give their input for solving problems that affect the same individuals within the crowds.

In Ghana, there’s Ghana Decides, a similar tool established to monitor the 2012 elections, right from the registration stages up until the final vote is cast. How else would problems get fixed if they don’t get reported? I’ve heard more than enough stories of how during the registration process, queues were stagnant, and some others found ways to skip the queue. Normally, we’ll just sit and watch, or complain there and then. But utilising social media would attach some importance to the complaints raised. We can’t continue depending solely on radio and television networks to air our thoughts. Nowadays, they’re hardly ever non-partisan and are often biased towards one party. It’s up to us [the masses] to equip ourselves with these seemingly ordinary tools to push for change. There’s also Kabissa, a website devoted to making Information and Communication Technology benefit African communities by featuring and publicising shared stories from across the continent.

The several blogging services online, are equally potent means of getting our voices out there. The internet is a powerful tool, and it would be sad if we don’t take advantage of it. We should keep in mind that the pen is mightier than the sword, and so is the keyboard, but more importantly, we should ensure that whatever opinion we share is thoughtful and constructive. That’s ultimate. Oh, one more thing, I had plantain for lunch today.

Some set their ideas aside. Even worse, many more do not bother trying to make them into reality for fear of incurring society’s wrath. The progressive minority cowers before the might of the conservative majority.

At DUST, we suspect that Ghanaians are more progressive than we give ourselves credit for. We just lack the confidence to say so. When our most regular contributor, Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, started her blog, ‘Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women’, she believed that it would not be long before “the people” came after her. Nevertheless, she stuck by her belief that women needed a space within which they could speak more freely about sex and sexuality than society seemed to permit. In the end, the pitchforks never came. In fact, adventuresfrom.com is now one of Ghana’s most popular blogs.

Recently, one man took up a microphone and said some controversial things about modern Ghana. His opponents criticized his apparent tribalism. His supporters said that he was simply airing what was really on the mind of “the people”. No?

No.

Across the country and across ethnic and political divisions, people called in to radio stations, wrote letters, and lit up the internet with messages seemingly unified in their condemnation of this one man’s words. Those words – they claimed – did not represent the popular mindset. For once, a majority of Ghanaians – all too often silent – spoke up on both sides of the political divide to slam down those who all too often peddle old, non-progressive ideas.

It is important that we keep doing this.

The more you speak out, the more you will find people of like-mind, whatever your political leanings. It is not a crime for people to hold different beliefs, but while we may disagree on how to move forward, we all want to move forward.

Real progressives know that there are more things that bring us together than there are things that divide us. The more we are brave enough to speak out and say what is really on our minds, the less of an opportunity we give to those who incorrectly claim (whether well intentioned or not) to speak on our collective behalves.

‘Ghana Decides’ is a non-partisan project being run by a team of young Ghanaians united in putting Ghana first, whatever their political leanings. It is a lesson in political maturity that many supposedly more adult Ghanaians could stand to learn from.

Started by BloggingGhana (www.ghanablogging.com) – the country’s largest collective of bloggers and social media activists – with funding from STAR Ghana, the project aims to help create a better informed electorate as a means of contributing to free, fair and safe elections later this year. To do this, Ghana Decides uses social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and more to educate youth, civil society organizations and institutions on the effective use of social media. Its website is a great one-stop shop for unbiased news and links on political goings on in Ghana.

During the recent Biometric Voters Registration Exercise, the group launched ‘iregistered’: a campaign to encourage eligible Ghanaians to share their experiences of registering, using the hashtag ‘#iregistered’. People including celebrities like Kwaw Kese and m.anifest uploaded over 400 images, with the campaign gained ample press coverage both locally and internationally.

Extending its message offline, the group has held social media workshops across the country for youth groups, civil society, the disabled and other marginalised groups. These include a Social Media Working Group for Civil Society Organisations in the Brong Ahfo region; BarCamp Sunyani; social media training workshops both in Ho and in Accra, where they also took part in Ghana’s first ever ‘Blog Camp’.

To find out more or to keep up-to-date in the run-up to the elections, simply visit www.ghanadecides.com

The festival basically shuts down an entire road in one of Accra’s oldest and most historic area and provides both festival goers and Jamestown residents an opportunity to engage with the Arts in new and innovative ways. Performance artists, musicians, graffiti artists and painters from all over the world interact with the public to create transient and lasting art in the area.

Here are some of our favourite images from the Festival. If you want information on how to get involved or to make a donation, contact Mantse or Sionne from Accra[dot]Alt on +233-244-897-948 for more information.