AfricaVox

Editor's update

By Sameer Padania

A bleary-eyed morning for everyone after yesterday's scuttling around, softened by a traditional Scottish breakfast. The first time many (any?) of the journalists - many of whom have faced pretty hairy situations in the name of journalism - have had to contend with a haggis. A change for the better for Fackson Banda, at least, who, faced with a Cafe Rouge salad on Friday, complained that he is not a giraffe, and does not eat "leaves".

On the AfricaVox site today, Machrine and Ndesanjo bring us views collected on the streets of Kampala and Moshi, and Maura and Ndesanjo hear from both European and African demonstrators in Edinburgh on the Summit and the march.

Here on the blog, Machrine's post about her day shadowing Newsnight's Paul Mason is nearly ready, and a bit later Ndesanjo's going to at creativity among the banners and placards at yesterday's march.

Hilary Mbobe, winner in the Radio category at this year's CNN African Journalist of the Year Awards, arrived safe from Blantyre earlier this morning, but without his bags, which the airline have helpfully left in London.


Fackson has kindly lent him one of his more sober shirts, but only after he had soundly thrashed ex-Panos Director James Deane at table football.

And Solana Larsen of openDemocracy in New York has spread the word Stateside... so welcome to those joining us from North America...

AfricaVox Reports

By Sameer Padania

Today, with the Human White Band March in Edinburgh, and the ten Live8 concerts around the world, our journalists are out and about - meeting Baaba Maal, talking to White Band Marchers, interviewing Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor and African protesters...

On the AfricaVox main site, Machrine Birungi and Dr Fackson Banda take sides in a debate about the positive and negative role NGOs play in Africa, and John Kamau talks about Make Poverty History with a Kenyan market-seller.  And more to come in as the journalists fight their way through the late afternoon melee...

I Blog, therefore I am in the UK

By Ndesanjo Macha

It has been incredibly hectic here in the UK since I got in on Monday. Today's been basically the first moment of calm, after getting to Edinburgh. Yesterday, back in London, we met with two of the UK media's bloggers - Paul Mason, Business Correspondent and G8 Blogger with BBC's Newsnight, and Rafael Behr of the Observer Blog - my first time meeting any UK bloggers, actually. 

Bloggers from different countries have very different views on and styles of blogging.  Kenyan bloggers, for example, talk about public issues, but they also talk about private things. A Tanzanian blogger would never talk about private issues - their newest pair of shoes, their favourite breakfast cereal, what bus they took to work, etc... 

How can we explain the differences?

Tony's unhappy with the G8

By Salamatu Turay

I met Tony Blair about an hour ago and he told me he's definitely not happy about the G8 summit being held in Edinburgh, Scotland. He seems to be worried about getting a drink in town tomorrow.

Oh, not that Tony Blair... this Tony Blair is a 35 year-old teacher from Switzerland. I know the real Mr Blair is also interested in education, but Tony the Teacher is just here on holiday, and I met him at Scotland's National Gallery. I didn't believe him at first, but then he showed me his credit card, and there it was: Mr A Blair...

African leaders: talk to your people

By Maura Quatorze

Coming to London as a Mozambican journalist made me realise how much African countries still have to grow in order to achieve something that approaches a democratic model!  Don’t get me wrong: Mozambique has achieved a lot more than most countries on the continent have - almost 15 years of peace, multiparty democracy, free elections, and so on.

But, well, I’ve been here for four days, and I’ve already had a chance to speak to two MPs (Clare Short and Hugh Bayley) and to ask them direct questions about sensitive issues like aid and the motivations behind it.  And on Wednesday evening I watched a TV programme in which London's mayor Ken Livingstone submitted himself to questioning from his citizens – some of them were furious about issues like the crime rate and put him in a rather unpleasant situation but he did his part very bravely, leaving no question unanswered.

This openness from politicians and their awareness that they actually have to be accountable for what they do is something that African leaders still have to learn: we’re the ones voting for you and getting you seated on that comfortable chair and driving that expensive car so please stop using the power we give you to say “I’m big and important and do not have to explain anything to you, even if I mess up your life with my lousy politics!”

"What is this G8?"

By John Kamau

It is one of those rare years in a journalist’s career when the world looks like it really might change. But amidst all this excitement why do people – apart from Tony Blair and co - feel a sense of deja vu?  How I wish that this blog could be read right back in my home Kenyan village which is peppered with tea and coffee plots. But I know it won't be, because electricity finally arrived only last year, and computers may still be mistaken for television sets – so you can forget the internet.

Telling people in my village I was coming to Europe to cover G8 meant nothing in particular to them, and they did not seem to be interested in its outcome at all. "What is this G8?" one old man asked me in a local pub - but not because he really wanted to know about the world's eight biggest economies, but just so the next round of beers was on me. 

Welcome to the AfricaVox blog

Panos London is bringing a group of African journalists to the G8 Summit. They will offer a unique perspective on the proceedings both through this blog, and in a series of reports available on the Panos London website.