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University Of Manchester Student Is Britain’s Top Black Graduate

By goodblacknews on September 8, 2010
A University of Manchester PhD student and budding entrepreneur has today been named as the most outstanding black student in Britain.

Edwin Broni-Mensah

Edwin Broni-Mensah, a 25-year old who created his first computer game at the age of seven and now runs his own company, was selected from a shortlist of 200 people.  Edwin, studying for an Applied Maths PhD as well as running his innovative refillable water bottle company GiveMeTap, topped the list by Future Leaders magazine, sponsored by Barclays Capital, Deloitte and the University of Cambridge.
The shortlist features 100 graduates in total, all who have balanced good academic grades with impressive achievements outside of their studies.  Edwin is a shining example of this, having set up a company which encourages local businesses to offer free refills of water to anyone carrying a distinctive GiveMeTap bottle.  The firm then sends 70% of its profits to help support water projects in African regions where it’s needed most.
Currently, Give Me Tap is supporting the All4One Namibia Water Project to provide clean water to 1,200 people in that Kalahari area of the southern African country.  The aim is to reduce the number of plastic bottles in landfill sites. Edwin has already managed to build up a network of over 43 restaurants and eateries as outlets in Manchester and, recently, Salford as well.  Edwin now plans to recruit more outlets across Greater Manchester and the rest of the country, and is also hoping to offer GiveMeTap’s services at the 2012 Olympics.
Born in Edmonton, North London, Edwin hopes after completing his PhD to work full-time on GiveMeTap.  He said he was delighted to receive such impressive recognition for his achievements.  Edwin added: “I am extremely delighted and feel very honoured at being recognised as one of the Future Leaders. I was overjoyed at being named number one for on such a prestigious list; and my parents were excited too.”
“What gives me the most pleasure is being in a position where I can meet and inspire young people to pursue their dreams as literally anything is possible, and the people in Future Leaders list prove that.”  “Looking forward, I would love the opportunity to speak with leading eateries chains so that I can expand GiveMeTap into every city across the UK, in order to fund our chosen water projects in Africa.”
Edwin was selected by a panel of judges after a rigorous process that included contacting every university in the country and formal interviews with all those on the shortlist.  Edwin’s first-class degree in Mathematics and Computer Science, which led to him being awarded a straight scholarship to study his PhD, impressed judges immensely, as did the fact that he managed to achieve all this while running his own bourgeoning business.
Martin Henery, entrepreneurship lecturer at Manchester Business School, said: “Edwin’s entrepreneurial spark was clear from the outset – it’s rare to work with someone who combines the ability to make things happen with such original thinking.  “Give MeTap is one of those concepts that nearly everyone can see the value of straight away, but it’s really tough to make happen. It needs true vision and tenacity to stick with it and see it through to the end goal.”
The 100 students will all be honoured on September 6th, at a prestigious reception at the House of Lords hosted by Lord Victor Adebowale.

via manchester.ac.uk

The Fifth Annual African Movie Academy Awards Help Raise Global Awareness of African Movie Industry

By goodblacknews on May 1, 2010
Bayelsa, Nigeria (CNN) — The stars of African cinema graced the red carpet at the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), in Nigeria, showcasing the films that could make waves on the global festival circuit.
The African movie industry gathered in Yenagoa, in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, for the fifth annual “African Oscars.”  Set up in 2005 by former lawyer Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, the awards have helped raise the profile of African movies around the world.  “African film has a hard time in getting recognition in most film festivals [outside Africa],” Anyiam-Osigwe told CNN.  “I think one of the biggest achievements of the AMAA is that the main festivals now look upon us as a selection process, and will pick those particular films that we’ve looked at and carry them on to the different festival circuits.
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Gallery: African Movie Academy Awards

“The first Nollywood film that the British International Film Festival showed was ‘Irapada,’ by Kunle Afolayan, which won Best Indigenous Film at AMAA in 2007. ‘The Figurine’ premiered at Rotterdam this year and has gone on to other film festivals and ‘From a Whisper’ traveled the festival circuit based on its win at AMAA.”
“The Figurine,” a thriller about a sculpture with mystical powers, also by Nigerian director Kunle Afolayan, stole the show at this year’s ceremony, claiming five awards in total — including Best Picture.  Afolayan told CNN, “It feels great — like we’ve not worked in vain. It feels like we’ve opened up a new page in African cinema.
For me, a good story will cut across, not just appeal to Nigerians.
–Nigerian Director Kunle Afolayan
In its first years the AMAAs focused on Nigeria’s booming movie industry — known as “Nollywood.” But since then they have become more pan-African. The 24 awards at this year’s ceremony included nominations from across the continent.
Nonetheless, in terms of sheer output, Nigeria dominates African cinema. Nigeria is the world’s second-biggest producer of movies, behind only India. In 2006 it produced 872 movies, compared with 485 major feature films made in the U.S., according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics.  Nollywood movies are typically low-budget — often filmed, edited and released within a month. Most don’t end up on the big screen. Instead, they are distributed as VCDs costing about $1 to $2, meaning they are affordable for the mass African market.
But it is Nollywood’s pioneering use of relatively inexpensive digital cameras instead of costly 35mm film that Anyiam-Osigwe says has been its most important contribution to African cinema.  “There is a new wave of African cinema which is mostly the digital revolution, which has gone on from what Nollywood started in the early 90s,” she told CNN.
“Nigeria made people believe they could make films for less [by using digital cameras]. That has spread across the continent and I think that’s a good thing, otherwise Africa would not be able to have any kind of production, because it couldn’t afford it.
“You see a lot of the older generation of filmmakers from Africa who have made only one short film or one feature-length film in their lifetime, because they have not been able to make up the cost of making another film.”
Anyiam-Osigwe said that while some older filmmakers still believe movies should be shot only on 35mm film, directors from Malawi, Kenya, and Johannesburg’s “Joziewood” have now made the switch to digital.  She added that while every African country has its own movie-making style, the themes are often universal.  “Everyone tries to do a film that people in their own community will watch,” she said. “But I’ve found that all over the continent we have similar stories — it’s just how we tell them.”
story via CNN.com