Month: October 2009

Addiction Action Campaign – People Before Profit Protest March

Posted on By thomas

Warren Whitfield Addiction Action Campaign protest march Sandton SABMillerThis is may be the most important march we’ve had in South Africa since 1913 when Gandhi organized to protest the restrictions that had been imposed on the Indian population of South Africa — the first massive civil disobedience campaign.

I am bringing into the AAC aspects of online addiction that includes Internet pornography, online gambling, social networking aka Facebook, MXit, cellphone addictions and its results. After interviews with Dr Anwar Jeewa on Channel Islam and over 200 talks at schools across South Africa, I know its real. Dr Helgo Schomer @ UCT and Dr Andrew Thatcher @ WITS will be able to confirm this.

Anyway please see the press release for Friday’s protest action. I will be there, along with Warren Whitfield, the Chairman of the Addiction Action Campaign to answer any and all questions from the press with a live press conference immediately after the march and handover of the memorandums to SABMiller & their cadre 😉

Warm regards
Ramon
p.s. Ek kan onderhoude doen in Afrikaans, geen probleem!

On Friday 30 October 2009, the Addiction Action Campaign will be holding its first protest action in SANDTON.

“Is it right to profit from addiction?”

Continue reading “Addiction Action Campaign – People Before Profit Protest March” →

 

Social Media Success Stories Needed for next PE 27Dinner

Posted on By thomas

Apologies for the inconvenience with the 27Dinner being postponed from September to October. Everything has been confirmed and we’re going ahead full steam with regular 27Dinner events in Nelson Mandela Bay. We should do at least 4 during 2010, one every 3 months.

This month we’re hosting a very special 27Dinner event in Port Elizabeth. As usual it’ll take place at the Algoa Bay Yacht Club, thanks for Alan Stratton from MyPE. The focus this month is discovering social media success stories from Nelson Mandela Bay. So if you have a story to share, a victory to celebrate from the Web 2.0 revolution, join us. Yusuf Moses, my awesome PA, will handle the MC duties to allow me a 10 minute speaking slot, discussing the growth of the 27Dinner movement, and mutual-aid between African bloggers. For those reading this for the first time, the 27Dinner events take place all across South Africa in major cities like Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Port Elizabeth and soon Bloemfontein.

The purpose is to expose the masses to social media, introduce new concepts from Web 2.0 into the collective consciousness of Web users, Internet experts, graphic designers, PR executives, and all forms of decision makers from small to large enterprises. And we aim to distil the value of social media for everyone who’s serious about getting more from the online world. Past events in PE 27Dinners have covered topics as diverse as drug counselling using MXit, innovative social networking platforms like ZoopedUp and Blueworld, and other niche areas.

These events are FREE aka gratis, and you simply have to add you name on the 27Dinner website after completing a simply sign-up procedure. You can volunteer to sponsor these events with wine, desert, gadgets like cool new cellphones or gaming consoles – hint, hint I want a Nintendo WII or Microsoft Xbox, forget about Sony Playstations. Otherwise simply come along for good food and conversation.

We’re still looking for more speakers on the above mentioned topic. So if you know anyone who can elucidate our minds with a success story from the Port Elizabeth-East London-Uitenhage areas, feel free to email me their contact information and I’ll gladly make it happen.

 

Open Letter to Uitenhage High School

Posted on By thomas

Eugene Exford, Leigh Ann Goosen head prefects Uitenhage High School 1992I have been informed of a number of comments that has been made on a certain Facebook profile regarding a donation and trophy that I’ve made to Uitenhage High School, also referred to as Uitenhage Senior Secondary School in honour of my late friend and classmate Eugene Exford RIP 1999.

Him and his wife died 10 years ago in a tragic car accident near Colchester. His daughter and only child survived the accident. As an ex-headboy of the school and an exceptional leader amongst his peers, I thought it befitting that I should donate a trophy and prize money to a grade 12 learner for “exceptional leadership abilities”, in memory of my friend. I’ve presented this idea to the school and they’ve agreed to it, as well as a couple of other specific conditions that relate to the dispensation of the prize money. Part of these conditions were that the school must invite Eugene’s mom and daughter also to the event, in view of the initial presentation of the award.

Great was my surprise (and disappointment!) when at the time of the presentation of the award NO mention was made that the trophy was presented to the school “in memory of Eugene Exford RIP 1999” (as stipulated in the agreement I’ve made with them). I was sitting next to Eugene Exford’s mother AND his surviving daughter at the time. If I did not stand up and say something at this crucial junction, I would have failed in my duty to my friend, his family and one of the greatest leaders Uitenhage High has ever produced. I stood up to my feet and corrected Mr Ernie Heynes (the MC at the time). The other MC, Mr Joseph Paul Slingers, Jr was in the same class, 10D, with Eugene Exford and myself, and he also neglected to mention anything during the multiple opportunities he had as the co-MC for the evening.

Continue reading “Open Letter to Uitenhage High School” →