Limbikani Makani was chosen to attend the 2012 Young African Leaders Innovation Summit in the US and now he mentors young Zimbabwean technocrats. I attended a Food for Thought Session at the US Embassy Public Affairs section yesterday where Limbikani was speaking. I was blown away by his motivational presentation titled, ‘Quit complaining, Take responsibility’.

Limbikani who is the founder of TechZim, a technology news website in Zimbabwe shared his experiences from the Innovation Summit, the experiences of starting up a website and of being a student at a local college in Zimbabwe. He left a lot of the audience believing that anything is possible. He also shared the stories of winners of the 2012 ZOL Jumpstart Challenge, which he co-founded. These stories show how Zimbabweans have seen where gaps exist and filled them with technology based tools and applications. Limbikani challenged Zimbabweans who seem to be born complaining, believe that everything around them is wrong and that someone has failed them. He put it to Zimbabweans to take responsibility and solve the problems they encounter.

More deception.

Twitter users are increasingly buying followers in a bid to boost their online reputations. A number of firms are now catering to the demand for phantom followers, offering thousands of fake profiles for just a few pounds. They say their clients include bloggers, entrepreneurs and aspiring performers. – The Sunday Times

Rufaro draws in the sand after school. The children find creative ways to entertain themselves despite the fact that they don’t have any toys.

Check out more photographs of Musha Wevana Children’s Home here

Photo credit: Kubatana.net/Leigh Worsley-Worswick

Many households in Zimbabwe have made an outcry over never being counted during the 2012 census. From an SMS survey conducted by Kubatana on the 2012 census people did mention they were not counted during this exercise. According to a report on New Zimbabwe this has led to Zimstat calling for a ‘mop-up count’ for all those who were left out.  Zimstat’s population census director, Washington Mapeta is quoted as saying, “We are checking all those reports and for the purposes of making the whole process credible, enumerators will visit areas where people are said to have been left out.” This is in the face of remarks made by the Finance Minister Tendai Biti who declared that the 2012 census was a success. It is important to point out also that the armed forces hijacked the census programme demanding to be included as enumerators.

Take Over The Town!
8 countries – concerts – comedy night – DJ parties – poetry slam – workshops  – debates –live graffiti – social media – conference – exhibition

The Take Over!
The Shoko Festival is back and taking over the town! Running from the 18th to the 23rd of September Shoko will feature artists from the USA, UK, Germany, Botswana, Kenya, South Africa and Malawi. Shoko is embracing even more art forms this year as it becomes a celebration of urban culture. The festival will feature live music, comedy, hip hop, neo-soul, dance music, house, spoken word, dub-step, reggae and much more.

Venues
King Pinn Main Stage, Chingono Stage & The Hub  – Alliance Francaise, 328 Herbert Chitepo
Vera Amphitheatre – Gallery Delta, 110 Livingstone Ave
Book Café 139 S. Machel Avenue
Glen Norah B Shop and Bus Terminus