MIT IDEAS Global Challenge, Afrobotics and Make Magazine
will host MakerFaire Africa
(MFA), a celebration of African ingenuity, innovation andinvention on August 14-16 at the Ghana-India Kofi
Annan Centre of Excellencein ICT
in Accra.
Maker Faire seeks to create a space on the continent where
African
initiatives, innovations and inventions may be identified
and supported.
Maker Faire Africa will engage on-the-ground breakthrough
organizations likeAshesi
University and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and
Technology tosharpen focus on
locally-generated prototypes of technologies that solveimmediate challenges to development. Maker Faire
Africa will take anapproach that
will achieve these principal aims:
Provide mechanisms to incubate and commercialize new
innovations.
Connect refined plans to disseminate innovations with
venture finance.
Provide a mechanism to get sustainable innovations to the
BOP market.
The long-term interest is to cultivate an endogenous
manufacturing base thatsupplies
innovative products in response to market needs.
PROGRAM
Friday, August 14, 2009
9:00-10:00 Registration
10:00-10:30 Welcome and Opening Remarks
10:30-10:50 Morning Keynote
11:00-12:10 Panel: Technology Transfer Partnerships
12:15-1:35 Keynote Lunch
2:00-3:15 Panel: African Innovation & Ingenuity 3:30-5:00
Panel: Funding &
Getting Product to Market 5:15-6:00 African Music &
Performance
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
Solar: Using the sun to power everyday devices Pedal Power:
Ingenioussolutions using bike
parts International Development Design Summit: Newinventions from the 3rd Annual IDDS at KNUST.
ROBOTICS (@ the Robolab)
Gadgets: New Innovations.
Robotics Workshop: Build a robot with Legos.
Panel Discussion: Robotics in Africa.
AGRICULTURE & ENVIRONMENT
Biofuel Future: From plant to power
Hacking Life: New tools to improve productivity ..and more,
including
architecture and housing.
ORGANIZING TEAM
Henry Barnor, Founder, GhanaThink
Emer Beamer, Co-founder, Butterflyworks
Mark Grimes, Co-founder, Better World Media Network Erik
Hersman, FounderAfrigadget Emeka
Okafor, Principal, Makeda Fund Nii Simmonds, Founder,Afrobotics Lars Hasselblad Torres, MIT IDEAS Global
Challenge
Accra, July 14, Ghanadot - The Attorney-General
and Minister for Justice, Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu,
yesterday told the Ghanaian media that the government
may be required to pay over $1 billion in judgement
debts to Ghanaians who have won cases against the state.
More
Accra, July 14, Ghanadot - The President, Prof John
Evans Attah Mills has nominated 32 persons for appointment
as ambassadors, deputy ambassadors, high commissioners and
deputy high commissioners designate.....More
Commentary, July 14, Ghanadot - My fellow African
leaders are not happy – in fact, we are irate – at what
President Obama said in Accra on July 11, 2009. So I
have been deputized by the Coconut Union to speak on
their behalf.
More
Accra, July 14, Ghanadot - On Wednesday May 9, 2001,
a game of football tragically turned into human tragedy as
127 fans were crushed to death during a titanic premiership ...More
