Sniff sniff! I smell change in the air.

In 2010, probably one of the most significant events in all of Africa will be taking place in Accra, Ghana. An event exclusively designed for the young change makers in Africa. Young visionaries who have seen Africa beyond what it has been called for decades now. Minds that have grasped an Africa that is not one in darkness but one of light and one in light. An Africa that is not yet here but one that is in the process of becoming; and not only that, but one which they themselves have decided to make a reality.

TEDxYouthInspire is an event of a special kind. Not only is it about this new Africa, and not only is it about the change makers, but it’s about the young people doing it. And that’s amazing to me. It’s amazing that all or most of the big tech success stories (and even non-tech successes like Virgin Atlantic) we hail – Microsoft, Apple, Google, Yahoo… – were started by young people. In fact, on average, these were all people under 25 years of age! This is what prompted me to blog this when I was turning 22. So it’s amazing that here’s an event that is seeking this generation in Africa and telling them, hey you are meant to do this so go out there and do it, and inspiring them on!

Here’s the official press release:

Inaugural TEDxYouthInspire to be held in Accra, Ghana in April 2010

Accra, Ghana, December 1, 2009 – On Saturday, April 10, 2010, from 8:00AM – 6PM GMT, the inaugural TEDxYouthInspire conference will be held at the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT in Accra, Ghana. The one-day, free event will be the first TEDx event dedicated exclusively to young African visionaries ages 14-25.

Tasked with inspiring young people to make sustainable transformation, the conference will utilize the theme “A Good Head & A Good Heart”, from former South African President Nelson Mandela’s 1995 autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, to exhibit how radical thought and integrity of spirit combine to create unlimited possibilities for a brighter future.

“It is important that young people are aware of their power as local and global community leaders,” says Raquel Wilson, event curator, “TEDxYouthInspire will encourage participants to collaborate and embrace their shared passions for change.”

Space for TEDxYouthInspire is limited. Young people interested in attending should apply online at www.tedxyouthinspire.org/attend. Eligible applications must be received by Sunday, January 31, 2010 to be considered for admission.

Individual and corporate sponsorship packages are available. Additional information about TEDxYouthInspire can be found by visitingwww.tedxyouthinspire.org. You can also follow along on Twitter at www.twitter.com/tedxyouthinspir or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tedxyouthinspire.

(Cross posted from Will Mworia’s, AP Founder’s blog)

I have been offered the awesome privilege to be part of the Mobile Web East Africa event next year in February.

Now, this is HUGE!!! We’re talking galactic proportions huge here!

I’m honored to have been considered for this and I thank the good people planning it. I will either speak at the event, or be on a panel or both. The speakers at this event are simply amazing, it will be a great place to learn about mobile in Africa from different perspectives. From the official website:

Following the unrivalled success of Mobile Web Africa, which was a true ”sell-out” conference held in South Africa in October, Mobile Web East Africa is the next in a series of progressive and innovative events to focus on one of the most important technological advances of the 21st century.

Again utilising the exceptionally interactive roundtable format, Mobile Web East Africa promises to be one of the leading events of 2010 in Africa.  It is through these roundtable interactions, panel discussions and presentations that the future development of the mobile internet, mobile applications and mobile ecosystem in the region will be discussed and mapped.

The only down side of the roundtable format is that it limits the number of attendees that can come - for Mobile Web East Africa the room is limited to just 120 people so to guarantee your place please register early!

You may have heard about Mobile Web Africa which took place earlier this year in Johannesburg, South Africa. I did not get to attend that but heard first hand accounts from people I know who attended and it was an awesome event.

I’m really looking forward to this. Learn more about MwebEA at http://www.mobileeastafrica.com/

See you there!

Sir Tim Berners Lee, inventor of the WWW was in Kenya very recently and yesterday he was at Strathmore University where he talked a bit about the WWW, it’s origins and where it is going. I had the honor of presenting about African Pixel and Afrinnovator (http://www.afrinnovator.com/) at the same event, amongst other tech entrepreneurs and innovators in Kenya. The idea was to give Sir Tim the opportunity to see some of what is happening in Kenya in terms of innovation.

KenyanPoet has a more detailed post on the happenings of the day and photos.

Presenting about African Pixel and Afrinnovator at Strathmore in front of Sir Tim Berners Lee

Sir Tim Berners Lee talking about the www at Strathmore

I presented this yesterday at the graduation of JKUAT’ Endeavor Program MIT-AITIx. It was great to see the good stuff happening there with mobile tech training and innovation. I was thoroughly impressed by the student’s efforts.