How can we encourage young people to take education seriously when getting a job can sometimes come down to being called James rather than Jamal?

Have you heard of the term ‘Lookism’?.

If not, I must confess that it’s a new ‘-ism’ to me, too. It’s also been described as ‘the beauty penalty’ and refers to discrimination based on physical attraction.

Lately, I’ve been writing a lot about the importance of diversity in the publishing industry. It’s a subject that matters deeply to me because of my own journey from avid reader to aspiring writer to published author.

But it’s becoming ever clearer to me that being a ‘superwoman’ isn’t actually a badge of honour. Much as we – and women in particular fall prey to this – start to believe the myth that we can have and do it all at the same time, the badge should probably read something quite different. Because the reality is that too many of us are doing far too much, and it’s not healthy.

For the uninitiated, this was a day literally spent under my duvet i.e. doing nothing. (Well, I binge watched a series on Netflix I’ve been trying to finish for weeks so maybe it wasn’t entirely nothing.) The reason I share this is because instead of relishing my day off, I’ve spent today in an agony of guilt, beating myself up for what most people do on a regular basis.

March is the month for women. During this month, we celebrate International Women’s Day and – in the UK at least – Mother’s Day. Why we dedicate only one day to the overworked and underpaid half of the global population and offer a further measly day a year to recognise those who give birth to everyone on the planet are questions for another day.Today, I want to pay tribute to the power of ‘sistahood’ – the inspiring, uplifting, and invaluable love and support that women offer to each other.

I’m claiming editorial privilege to use this month’s column to pay tribute to my late father, HE Judge Thomas Aboagye Mensah, who was laid to rest earlier this year. I do this not only because he was my adored father, but because the rationale behind ReConnect Africa has always been to showcase and celebrate the best of Africa and Africans - and this illustrious son of Ghana was indeed one of her best.

When you look back at your career and life choices, have they led you to where you want to be today? If not, what are you doing to give yourself the chance to live your best life?

If you live in the UK or follow social media, it would have been hard to miss the reverberations following the recent tour of three Caribbean nations by representatives of the British Royal Family. The ensuing conversations about the legacy of slavery and colonialism have, among others, raised questions about the evolving relationships between Britain and the Commonwealth and how these subjects are taught and understood in British schools today.

The death of a good friend has had me pondering about the meaning of life and the arbitrariness with which it is given to us and taken away.

If someone can be here one minute, full of life, energy, wit, and anecdotes, as my friend was, and then gone the next – what’s the point of it all? What does it all mean and what does it all serve?

Happy New Year!

As you look back on those things you left undone in 2022, are you ready to write yet another list of New Year’s resolutions? Have you lined up all the goals and promises that you’re sure this time you will keep?

So, here we are. It’s January again.

Reality is rearing its ugly head after the endless weeks of festivities. But as you open your bleary eyes to 2018, instead of being allowed to wallow in your New year hangover, you are probably finding yourself bombarded by advice in countless articles on how to make this year (and you) the best ever! Swamping your inbox, these breathless blogs will demand that you think big, get fit, set ambitious goals and aim high, subtly inferring that you haven’t quite succeeded enough, that you haven’t quite built up your business well enough, that you’re not quite healthy enough and that you’re, well…not quite enough.

Due to the nature of my work, I spend a fair amount of time attending and speaking at conferences, summits and events related to Africa. As you can imagine, this means sitting through a lot of presentations – some better than others – packed with information, statistics and opinions; again, some better than others.

Due to the nature of my work, I spend a fair amount of time attending and speaking at conferences, summits and events related to Africa. As you can imagine, this means sitting through a lot of presentations – some better than others – packed with information, statistics and opinions; again, some better than others.

While I’m the first to admit that I’m more enamoured of words than numbers, it does strike me that many of the statistics about Africa rattled off with such confidence seem to differ, and sometimes widely, depending on the presenter and the particular study they choose to refer to. 

The lack of available, reliable and consistent data when it comes to the African continent is a major issue.  Not only does it hamper the ability of policy makers to understand the true nature of what is happening on the ground and thereby develop relevant and effective solutions to the continent’s challenges, it also makes it remarkably easy for people to make pronouncements about Africa.  Let’s face it, who’s going to challenge you and, if they do, on what grounds?

I had a stark illustration of this recently at an international gathering when a learned colleague, in the course of describing the impact of mobile telephony on Africa today, explained to another colleague that Africa has made huge advances in the telecoms sector because there are no fixed telephone lines to be found on the continent.  Now, to be fair to the learned colleague in question, he believed that he was simplifying the scenario in order to prove his greater point about how advanced Africa was when it came to mobile phone applications and usage.  The irony is, that his good intentions about promoting Africa’s modernity notwithstanding, I’m prepared to bet that the only lasting memory of that conversation on learned colleague number two is that fixed phone lines do not exist in Africa.

Why is it so easy to project such an outrageously untrue claim onto Africa?  Because, it seems to me, it’s still positioned as such a dark, primitive and unknown continent to the general masses that people can say pretty much what they like and get away with it.

I’m reminded of a friend who remarked that the only good thing that came out of the horrific terrorist attack on the shopping mall in Nairobi was that even the mainstream Western media couldn’t report on the story without being forced to admit that shopping malls actually exist in Africa. 

Despite the wealth of websites, blogs, videos and other online media, it’s baffling that in 2014 so many people have such a poor understanding of the size and diversity of the African continent. All the tools that exist today to shrink the world and expand our knowledge of each other seem rather to have narrowed our thinking and expanded our prejudices.

Sometimes, and even more worryingly, this tendency towards a monolithic view of Africa comes from our own.  As part of my research for my book ‘I Want to Work in… Africa: How to Move Your Career to the World’s Most Exciting Continent ’, I explored the motivation behind the increasing interest I come across from Africans in the diaspora seeking a career in Africa. Among the unsurprising reasons of wanting to reconnect with their culture, extended families and lifestyle, there was also a strong thread of making the move in order to ‘fix’ Africa and its people and to eradicate all the continent’s ills. Indeed, for some, working in Africa represents an opportunity to show Africans how to make a better job of being Africans (the implicit assumption being that this can be achieved by acting more like Europeans or Americans).

During a taxi ride across London a few weeks ago, my cabbie looked at me sympathetically in his rear view mirror when I mentioned that I was from Ghana.  Why?  His cousin who lives and works in Israel was banned by his company from visiting Ghana to explore business opportunities last year, he said, because the country is “very dangerous”. I could only hope that this wasn’t an opinion he shared on a regular basis with passengers rather more influential than me.

Because while it would be easy to shrug our shoulders and blame the media, or the aid industry, or the corrupt African politician that occasionally makes the headlines, or indeed simply put such attitudes down to ignorance and move on, it’s not a good idea to do so. 

If we don’t fill in the blanks about Africa with real information rather than easily disseminated myths and misconceptions, it has an impact not only on our own psyche, our collective continental self-esteem, our reputation and our brand positioning in the world, but also on those who want to deal with us or invest in us, and how they go about it.

We do need to respond to well-intentioned saviours telling us that there’s no snow in Africa or marvelling at how well we speak English. Sometimes changing perceptions and opening minds can be done through humour – brilliantly illustrated by the video about the spoof charity single by Africans to raise funds to buy radiators to help the people of Norway deal with the cold.

I am not advocating a position of ‘my Africa, right or wrong’ or defending the indefensible when the behaviour of some of our citizens falls into this category – and we certainly have our share of those. We all know that the continent has its problems and enormous challenges to solve.  But that doesn’t mean (at the risk of perpetuating the infantilised image often ascribed to the continent) that we allow Africa to be the kid being kicked around in the playground that no-one has the interest or the courage to defend.

We are all entitled to have our own opinions, but we are not entitled to create our own facts.  So while we continue to sit through the conferences and presentations, let’s be prepared to challenge the myths, misconceptions and the plain untruths when they arise.  We may not have all the data but we do have the truth of our own knowledge and experiences - and the right to say so.

Author of ‘ I Want to Work in… Afric...Most Exciting Continent ’ ( www.IWanttoWorkinAfrica.com ) and ‘ Everyday Heroes – Learni...ul Black Professionals’ ( www.everyday-heroes.co.uk )

What our readers said.....

Periodic. Punctual. Packed. Prolific. Punchy. Priceless.

Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie, Sierra Leone

As a regular reader of your monthly magazine, no other electronic magazine/publication gives me better insight into what is going on back in Africa and on events happening overseas aimed at adding value to the continent. Reconnect Africa has been and continues to be a valuable resource for me on how to better take advantage of the opportunities back in Africa through its useful case studies and articles.

Olugbenga Ogunbode, TIEC

ReConnect Africa is not only a great magazine and resource but a vital platform that has helped us to identify excellent staff for our Africa operations. Congratulations on maintaining such a high quality publication and website over the years.

Terhas Berhe, Brand Communications Ltd.

ReConnect Africa has been a great resource for us at AFFORD in various ways. We have been able to reach out to interested parties through ReConnect regarding our events and programmes and this has been done through interviews, articles and the events calendar. Also the site has helped us find partners and gain important information and insight from the stories and contributions made on the site. ReConnect is an important resource and an enjoyable medium for keeping abreast of what is going on in the Global African business world. So AFFORD would like to say thank you for your last five years and we look forward to working with you and being supported by you for many many more years to come! Happy Anniversary!

Elvina Quaison, African Foundation for Development (AFFORD)

I would like to congratulate you on the 5th anniversary of Reconnect Africa - a wonderful achievement. Just like fine wine, I believe that Reconnect Africa has matured tremendously and is now a superb niche player serving all those with a true desire to get involved with, understand and contribute to Africa's continued growth and development. I would summarise Reconnect Africa's offering as providing a view of the economic, developmental, social and lifestyle aspects pertaining to Africa through "African-tinted glasses", and that is what makes it unique. We see the REAL Africa through Reconnect Africa. I salute your efforts through these 5 years, as I know that it has been challenging at times, but rest assured that your baby (Reconnect Africa) has grown up to now have significant impact and influence in providing a true picture of Africa. Very well done - and.......................CONTINUE.

Kwesi Korsah, London

Over the years, ReConnect Africa, as the name suggests, has become an important tool for reconnecting professional Africans in the diaspora with businesses, especially in Africa, who are looking for an injection of new skills and is also an important resource for HR and Recruitment professionals in generayl. The response rate of vacancies which we have advertised on your site have always yielded a good response and your ‘Immigration’ section is extremely useful, especially for ‘returnees’ who have been out of their home countries for a long time, providing useful tips to help them understand the conundrum of living and working in Africa. My personal favourite section is the Editorial, which always provides me with plenty food for thought! As you celebrate this important milestone of your 5th anniversary, here’s wishing you more success in the years ahead and look forward to celebrating your 25th anniversary. Congratulations to the entire team at ReConnect Africa.

Audrey Mensah, Senior Executive Recruiter

It is the only newsletter that has regularly and consistently landed in my inbox month in month out. When I lived in Ghana, I felt better informed by RA than by any of the local media. Through the Business round up / News Round, It kept me up to date with what was happening in and around the Continent and I could work out how this would impact on Ghana. As a producer of a bimonthly missive myself at the time centred around bilateral business relations, it struck me how accessible the format was. I still enjoy the 5 minute interviews and career coaching segments. Moving back to the UK meant that I could look at RA from a different perspective and recommend it onwards to many others who also wanted to make the transition back to their homes – childhood or adopted. To sum up, RA has been cerebral, innovative and excellent, always. We look forward to another 5 years.

Aby Ampomah, London

Congratulations, ReConnect Africa, on the occasion of your 5th Anniversary! Each monthly issue of ReConnect Africa has shown progressive growth, in both content and format, of this increasingly popular online magazine whose fifth anniversary we celebrate this year. The graphics have added a great amount of reality to the brilliant articles they accompany and feature articles, like the Five-Minute Interview, have brought much encouragement to readers. ReConnect Africa has provided outstanding and useful information about human resource issues across board; the editorial column in each issue has continued to provide useful insights into current affairs relating to Africa; and the regularity with which the magazine has been published has been very impressive. ReConnect Africa has indeed lived up to its name and Africans in the Diaspora have truly been reconnected on a regular basis. Keep up the good work. Long live ReConnect Africa!

Ernestina Boadi, Botswana

A lot of the purported 'one stop shops' tend to be more distanced from the interested visitor than ReConnect Africa. This site provides an easily accessible, wide range of information and connections that are of immediate use to the site visitors. The site provides an important, professional reference point.

Kwamena Bentsi-Enchill, Qatar

It is in all due respect that we send our congratulations to RECONNECT AFRICA MAGAZINE on its 5th year of publication and we hope that you will have many more! This publication fills a worldwide void that is very much needed now and into the future, for the entire world and, more so, Afrikans in the Diaspora! In the United States it has been very helpful to most, including IPET IPET! We would like to thank the editor, Frances M. Williams and her able staff for the work that they are doing in the RECONNECT AFRICA MAGAZINE. Again CONGRATULATIONS ON THE 5TH YEAR OF PUBLICATION!

Asante Sana/ Hotep and to our Nsamanfo, IPET ISUT AFRIKAN INSTITUTE SOUTH, NORTH, WEST, INT’L, USA

Congratulations for completing five years of publication! What makes ReConnect Africa magazine so valuable today is that it provides linkages between multiple segments of Africa’s population who have access to the Internet. From the business-oriented to the social-motivated, there is something relevant to all of us who find comfort in knowing someone out there really cares about what is important to Africans. Throughout the Continent and the African Diaspora, this upbeat vehicle of expression attracts youthful ambition as well as tempered “vintaged” viewpoints from those who want Africa to move forward! It is my hope that ReConnect Africa continues its efforts to always combine fresh ideas with traditional values that unite Africans, globally. I especially admire the transparent editorials of Frances Williams. Her views are always tempered with an attempt to reconcile many groups that can provide opportunities throughout the Continent. “Kudos” to all who continue to make this electronic magazine available for all. May you continue for many years to come!!!

Sharon Minor King, Ph.D., USA

ReConnect Africa is not just an informative publication that puts you in touch with current world issues, it has a diverse and rich content that caters for all areas (and ages) of one's life. I find it truly inspirational on a career front, when it comes to events, networking and how to improve career and job prospects. It is very exciting to read about news around the world and the positives/ challenges facing Africa today.When it comes to having an update on all current affairs, entertainment, advice, interviews local and internationally this publication hits all the buttons, certainly a conversation starter! And a hub of knowledge and information that increases year on year. Congratulation on its 5th year, may it grow in strength and continue to be an ambassador for the people in the UK and worldwide!

Helen Tucker, UK

As ReConnect Africa magazine celebrates its 5th Year anniversary, I wish to thank the Editor and staff for their commitment to the good of Africa and Africans wherever they are. In these years, the magazine has played a very active role in promoting a positive image of Africa as a place where there are appetizing job opportunities for Africans in the Diaspora. By doing this, ReConnect Africa magazine has played a significant role in enabling Africans in the Diaspora to put their skills and talents at the service of Africa. Congratulations and special thanks for the good work.

Stephen Ogongo, Editor, Africa News, Italy

Interesting, informative, intelligent. That's what ReConnect Africa means to me. It is so easy to read and digest and identify with.

Simi Belo

"ReConnect Africa is upbeat, contemporary and an excellent platform for the dynamic what and the who that move and shake in Africa! It is a great global connector and a "must have" for all who want to have anything positive to do with a great, diverse continent and power house! Congratulations and Many Happy Returns!"

Dr June Bam-Hutchison, London

Hearty Congratulations to ReConnect and its indefatigable Editor Frances Williams on the fifth anniversary of this magnificent initiative whose remarkable characteristics include Originality, Finesse, Reliability, Dependability, and much else. One looks forward every single month to reading ReConnect and learning about the Continental Opportunities available to our hardworking people in the Diaspora. The rapid Success of ReConnect might suggest that it was the product of ‘Decades Of Endeavour’, rather than just 5 years. Any suggestions for future years? Yes, please include information about Diaspora Contributions to our Continental Welfare. To Frances, and your able Team: CONGRATULATIONS. We look forward to more and more scintillating Editorials.

Felix I D Konotey-Ahulu, Dr Kwegyir Aggrey Distinguished Professor of Human Genetics, University of Cape Coast, Ghana and Consultant Physician Genetic Counsellor in Sickle Cell and Other Haemoglobinopathies, London W1G 9PF

Thank you ReConnect Africa for your unrelenting efforts over the years. I've been an avid reader of the magazine since its inception. It has served as one of the key sources of information that help me keep my fingers on the pulse with developments on the continent. As a South African in the diaspora, I also find that ReConnect captures information that I would not have come across via other media outlets that I am connected to for current affairs. My personal favourite though is reading the 'Ask the Career Coach' section. At this point of my career development, it provides me with a lot of guidance from professionals and dispels any fairytale pictures as the advice offered is always reflective of what is happening in the 'real' world as opposed to providing paintbrush academic answers. It is also practical in that it provides answers to the bigger picture in terms of how the experience I gain here abroad can be applied to the context at home when I am ready to relocate. Once again thank you ReConnect and keep the issues coming in.

Rethabiseng, Scotland

"I found Peter Hain MP’s article on renewable energy and Africa’s well placed strategic advantageous position in exploiting future renewable electricity energy generation market very interesting. Such positive information on African is more than welcome as opposed to the usual depressing stories in the popular media about Africa which is characterised by war, diseases and famine. Well done to the Reconnect Editorial team for providing such an effective channel for sharing the information with the outside world".

Sunny Lambe, Executive Director, BBI Ltd., London

In May 2006 we launched the first issue of ReConnect Africa magazine, along with a website that we hoped would become the ‘go-to’ place for professionals of African origin overseas.

Why?

ReConnect Africa was a personal response to a number of issues that I, along with many other Africans living abroad, have had to contend with.

One such issue was the lack of balanced coverage of Africa and a tendency in the mainstream Western news media to portray a continent that looked nothing like the one I knew. It was a source of incredulity to me that after years of cheap travel, the widespread use of the internet - not to mention a multiplicity of news media - that the tired old image of Africa as a graft ridden, famine stricken and disease infected hell-hole was still doing the rounds.

Even leaving aside the cynical motives of those who sought to portray Africa in this way as a means of raising funds and sustaining an industry of aid and alms, too many people seemed to be programmed to see the African continent as offering absolutely no good news; no buildings made out of anything but mud, no schools that came with windows and doors and no food that wasn’t being airlifted out by the West to starving villagers.

With no evidence on Western televisions of African cities, industry and commerce, with no profiles in magazines of the achievements – or even existence - of middle-class Africans, and no sense of what normal, everyday life is like for millions of people across the continent, a successful African was fast becoming seen as a rare exception to the norm.

ReConnect Africa was a personal response to a number of issues that I, along with many other Africans living abroad, have had to contend with.

To borrow the signature phrase of the late African activist, Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem ‘don’t agonise, organise!’ the answer to this imbalance, it seemed to me, was that, rather than expecting others to change their tune, it was time for us to write a new song.

Another issue that came to the fore in putting together ReConnect Africa was the lack of mainstream visibility for professionals of African origin.

While the world could not ignore Kofi Annan and gave due deference to Madiba, it seemed that, apart from the high profile names in sports and entertainment, our brothers and sisters of African origin who were quietly excelling in their own worlds received little recognition.

Promoting role models for young people of African origin growing up outside Africa was a tough sell; an absurdity, given the multiplicity of talented professionals making an impact in business and across sectors including finance, ICT, oil and gas, medicine and education, to name a few.

As any lawyer will tell you, it’s a lot easier to prove a point when you have evidence. Showcasing the successful professionals from our community and sharing the stories of their challenges and triumphs became an essential part of our mission with ReConnect Africa. Five years on, and with almost sixty '5 Minute Interviews' on record, we have gone some way to achieving that.

Another imperative for us was the need to make the case for investing in Africa – not only to non-Africans but, most importantly, to Africans in the Diaspora subjected to the same negative stories about the lack of opportunity in their continent of origin.

For the past 60 months, our monthly News Round article has highlighted well over 2,000 snippets of business and investment news of relevance and interest to African professionals around the world. News about business growth and successes, mergers and other opportunities has given readers a flavour of the enormous possibilities Africa offers for those who take the time to look.

We have successfully created partnerships with other organisations on a similar mission. Our partnership with the International Marketing Council of South Africa, for example, has enabled us to highlight the many opportunities for investment and business in Africa’s biggest economy, while our partnership with Thomson Reuters has brought our readers 24-hour access to the latest business and investment news emanating from or affecting Africa.

Since our launch, through our monthly Events/Dates for your Diary listings, we have publicised almost 1500 different conferences, forums, networking and other events covering business, investment, the Diaspora, music and the arts.

But perhaps the biggest issue for me personally was the need to bring together opportunity and talent; the opportunities that abound within Africa and the wealth of talent that lives outside and within the continent.

The impact of Africa’s brain drain on the continent can never really be overstated and the opportunity to be part of a movement that is helping to reverse this situation has been deeply rewarding. Over the years we have provided a platform for companies and organisations in Africa to talk about what they do and the skills they need to keep on doing it. Through interviews, case studies and opinion pieces, we have shown the challenges inherent in returning home but also celebrated the benefits that these sought-after skills in the Diaspora can bring, both to the countries involved and to the individuals returning.

We have worked with numerous organisations from private, public and non-governmental sectors to identify and recruit African talent overseas and within the continent and advertised many hundreds of job vacancies.

The focus of ReConnect Africa has always been on Africans in the Diaspora and through the advice and tips provided by our expert career coaches, leadership and management gurus, we have brought invaluable information to those seeking to progress their careers in their countries of residence around the world. The ReConnect Africa Library of Articles continues to provide a free to access wealth of information that includes hundreds of articles and features.

It’s been a fascinating and, at times, exhausting journey but this labour of love has succeeded so far through the support of advertisers, recruiters, media partners and marketing partnerships. It has also kept going through the skills and tireless efforts of a superb web team and, most of all, a loyal and ever-growing readership.

So my sincere thanks to you all for continuing to click on, read and forward articles from ReConnect Africa. Thanks for your comments, your feedback, your compliments and your critiques; all this helps us to do a better job. I hope you will continue to see us through the next five years.

Because, although we’re proud of what we’ve achieved so far, the issues I’ve mentioned are far from resolved. We still have work to do.

In 2009, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the year beginning on 1 January 2011 as the International Year for People of African Descent.

According to the UN Resolution, this proclamation was made “with a view to strengthening national actions and regional and international cooperation for the benefit of people of African descent in relation to their full enjoyment of economic, cultural, social, civil and political rights, their participation and integration in all political, economic, social and cultural aspects of society, and the promotion of a greater knowledge of and respect for their diverse heritage and culture”.

The Resolution also encourages member states, UN agencies - within their respective mandates and existing resources - and civil society to make preparations for and identify possible initiatives that can contribute to the success of the Year.

So 2011 has been designated as our Year. What are we going to do with it?

Much has been written and debated about the African Diaspora, including who exactly forms this Diaspora; those with historical ties to the continent through slavery or migration or those African nationals who are currently living outside their continent of origin? The UN Resolution refers to people of ‘African descent’ and as that covers anyone who has a present day or historical connection to Africa, that should put an end to that particular argument.

But while the word has become useful a shorthand, we need to bear in mind that ‘Diaspora’ is better seen as a blanket term that covers a huge diversity of people and communities of African descent living and working outside the continent in a range of skilled and unskilled capacities. While some Diaspora came out of Africa centuries ago, others left only in recent years.

Instead of debates about who is what, the bigger worry should be that the migration of skills and expertise from the continent via the Diaspora is still hurting Africa. My hope is that if this ‘Year’ achieves nothing else, it serves as a reminder to those of us outside the continent that we have to find ways to make up for our absence.

Because there is no way to pretend that the migration of African scientists (an estimated 200,000 are working in the United States alone), doctors (of the 120 to 150 doctors that Ghana trains each year, for example, an equal number are lost to migration) and teachers isn’t affecting Africa’s chances of development. The number of Africans living outside the continent has doubled in a generation and the flood of technical and managerial talent continues to flow.

This frequently cited brain drain matters because despite the many areas for investment that the African continent offers, a key factor for every potential investor is how that investment will be managed, i.e. how skilled are those to whom they are entrusting their hard earned (or hard raised) finances?

The good news is that a number of economies across Africa are registering positive and sustained growth while investment into Africa – both foreign and domestic – is far less of a hard sell than it was a few years ago. Sectors such as banking and retail have expanded rapidly while technology has brought a boom in sectors such as telecommunications, creating supply chain and ancillary businesses and a raft of new entrepreneurs.

Over the next 20 years, Africa’s economy is predicted to grow at an average rate of over 7% and the rate of return on foreign investment into the continent is now greater than for any other developing region. Over the past 10 years, sub-Saharan Africa has produced six out of the ten most rapidly expanding economies, in countries such as Nigeria, Rwanda, Mozambique and Angola.

Foreign direct investment into sub-Saharan Africa grew by 17% last year and, with a market of one billion people, the potential buying power that Africa offers makes the continent a crucial and as yet untapped route for global growth.

What’s also reassuring is that a significant part of Africa’s economy and business landscape today has been directly impacted by the influence and participation of those in the Diaspora. Progressive multinationals often look overseas for experienced African talent to integrate into their leadership teams within the continent and professionals of African descent, once part of the Diaspora, have returned to Africa and made their mark with the establishment of new businesses that are creating much needed employment.

And if the number of African Diaspora networks, professional and hometown associations, alumni, diaspora conferences and volunteer initiatives taking place in Europe and the USA are anything to go by, many more Africans outside the continent are working hard to engage in the continent’s development and make their contribution felt.

When it comes to money, Africans in the Diaspora are no slouches. Through remittances sent by migrants to their home countries, people of African descent are sustaining families, businesses, education, construction and even national economies.

There is no accurate figure for the amount of money sent home each year and recent estimates of the total remittances by African migrants into the continent range wildly from US$10-40 billion. In 2007, the Bank of Ghana announced that Ghanaians living abroad contributed about US$2 billion to the economy through remittances.

One of the stated reasons for the UN’s decision for designating this Year is to invite countries to re-examine their engagement with their citizens of African descent. Africans abroad can suffer the effects of marginalisation, discrimination and even undue pressure to relinquish or dilute their cultural heritage – as if maintaining one’s language and celebrating one’s history is somehow incompatible with being a good citizen of one’s adopted land.

While we can’t minimise the impact of some of these attitudes, many Africans overseas manage to deal with these issues and to achieve a degree of success despite them. So, if I may borrow (and mangle) the words of John F. Kennedy, it strikes me that we should be asking not what our host countries can do for us but rather what we can do for our countries of origin.

As a globalised talent pool, people of African descent can and do make an enormous contribution to Africa’s development. But if, as Africans, we are to get away from the more general perception of always having things done for us rather than by us, perhaps this is the year to start making this clear. Africa has long been positioned as the continent that needs saving and the African brand has been associated with helplessness, corruption, poverty and inertia for decades. With the immense talents of Africans within and outside the continent, this is a position that should affront our sense of pride and dignity.

Africa will only ever be saved by Africans because we are the only ones who, when the chips are down, will ever really give a damn. Anyone watching the political posturing by developed countries in response to the liberation struggles taking place in North Africa will understand that these countries act according to their own best interests, despite what they may say. It’s time that Africans started to do the same and to focus on what’s best for their continent.

The importance of remittances and skills programmes to our countries of origin, beyond the financial support they offer, show something much more significant. They demonstrate that people of African descent continue to care about what happens to those within the continent.

If the International Year for People of African Descent is not going to be just an annualised version of National Best Friends Day or Volunteer Day or another of these ‘days’ that we are inundated with via email, we each need to take personal responsibility for making it count. Rather than looking to governments and aid agencies to arrange events and celebrations for us, we should take responsibility for leveraging this ‘Year’ into something significant and sustained.

Let’s all think about what we can do and how we can reach out, connect with and contribute to some of the fantastic initiatives out there. It’s time to reconsider our stance on investing in Africa and revisit opportunities to share our skills and our time. You can take an African out of Africa, but you can’t take away what makes them African. It’s our Year – let’s use it.

March 8th is International Women's Day and I am trying to stay upbeat about where we are, but having a hard time doing so.

International Women's Day is a global day of recognition and celebration of women and in many countries it is an official holiday. 2011 is the global centenary year, commemorating 100 years since International Women's Day was first marked.

Last year in my column ‘Our State of the (Women's) Nation Addres I pointed out that while in some areas women continue to make progress and to chart new gains and achievements, in many other areas the benefits that women can bring to business and to service is being undervalued and underutilised.

As another year passes, that statement still remains valid.

In a recent report, the United States Government Accountability Office found that, in all but three of the 13 industries covered by the report, women had a smaller share of management positions than they did of that industry's overall work force. The sectors where women were more heavily represented in management than outside of it were construction, public administration and transportation and utilities.

Across the industries, while the gender gap in managers' pay “narrowed slightly” over the past decade, even after adjusting for demographic differences, the reality is that female full-time managers earned 81 cents for every dollar earned by male full-time managers in 2007, compared with 79 cents in 2000. Slight indeed.

And when it comes to having children, the report showed that across the work force, the pay gap was also slightly wider for managers who had children. Managers who were mothers earned 79 cents of every dollar paid to managers who were fathers, after adjusting for things like age and education. This gap has stayed the same since at least 2000.

The report suggests that the greater toll that parenthood appears to take on women's salaries may help explain why, generally speaking, female managers are less likely to have children than their male counterparts. Female managers were also less likely to be married than male managers, at rates of 59 percent versus 74 percent, respectively.

A few months ago, a coalition of global investors, managing over US $73 billion in assets, called on companies across the world to increase representation of qualified women on boards of directors and in senior management. The call from Pax World, Calvert and Walden Asset Management, was in response to a survey of 4,200 global companies that found only 9.4% of directors on corporate boards were women.

These findings have led a number of mainstream investors to identify gender balance and diversity as a strategic issue in their investment activity. The investors in this new coalition have asked 54 selected companies from across the business spectrum for greater clarity about gender balance within their organizations.

"We view gender equality and women's empowerment as strategic business and investment issues," said Joe Keefe, the (male) President and CEO of Pax World. Mr Keefe adds that "When women are at the table, the discussion is richer, the decision-making process is better, management is more innovative and collaborative and the organization is stronger. Because companies that advance and empower women are, in our view, better long-term investments, we are encouraging companies in our portfolios to enhance their performance on gender issues."

Encouraging words indeed, but I have to confess to feeling rather dispirited that companies have to be offered a financial rationale for recognising the genuine talent that comes in the form of their female employees.

Now, calls like this for change are all very worthy and I'm sure well meant, but let me ask: am I the only one who is tired of having to justify why women matter? Women are not an ‘issue'; they are the majority of the earth's citizens, the means by which our population exists and, therefore, vital to the future of mankind. The value of a woman should be a no-brainer.

So why are people still forced to make a ‘business case' for employing women, having to find statistics and metrics to prove that women in senior positions make a difference to how successful a business can be?

Just as many Black people are fed up of having to prove that they are just as competent as the other ethnicities they work with, many women are getting weary of having to explain why they warrant being taken seriously.

Recently, I was amazed to read the comments made by some online commentators about a television newscaster who had taken a second maternity leave within 2 years of her first. Rants and abuse included comments such as being ‘a disgrace to women'; ‘a perfect example of why men don't want to hire women' and why ‘no small business will ever give a woman a job'. No-one seemed to suggest that there was anything wrong with her husband for fathering a second child two years after his first.

I would have been saddened but less shocked if these comments had come from some of those stubbornly Neanderthal-like men who, whether through fear or just pure ignorance, would happily keep women chained to the kitchen sink and tell them any opinions they would like them to have. But, sadly, many of these commentators were women, which really made me wonder.

What happened to the sisterhood and female solidarity? Have we been pushed so far onto the defensive that we have no option but to turn on each other instead? Are we so fearful of having our privileges and partial acceptance withdrawn that we attack those who choose to exercise their legal rights and options?

Women are not a special interest group or a minority and, as a global society, we should not go along with any views or policies that suggest this. It is not a question of pitting women against men but of including women alongside men. Divide and rule along gender lines leaves us all worse off.

I hope that this year's International Women's Day will spark a change in mindset for all of us; one that says that our mothers, sisters, daughters and wives are equally as valuable as our fathers, brothers, sons and husbands.

I hope that it will remind women that a divided house will not stand and that we need to respect each other and respect our individual choices with understanding and compassion. I also hope that it will remind men that, without women, they would simply not exist.

Some men, perhaps tongue-in-cheek, speak about their female partners as ‘my better half'. Isn't it time the world started to treat them as such?

The recent deaths of musicians whose names evoke powerful memories and the reported illness of the legend that is Aretha, has had me wondering about the power of music and its ability both to bring back old memories and to motivate new behaviour.

I've been accused of breaking into song (tuneless, but what can you do?) during a conversation each time a word or phrase brings a song to mind. A very annoying habit, says Daughter Number One, unwittingly giving me yet another good reason for continuing to do it. And after all, I reason, I didn't get to live thus far without having built up a huge repertoire of songs and their associated memories.

Songs and music take us back. Who can ever forget the first song they danced to on their wedding day? Or the hymn that had them sobbing by the graveside of a departed loved one?

Music – like scents – evokes the most powerful memories, dragging half-forgotten events and incidents out of the storeroom of our minds.

Nothing captures the essence of a time or the mood of an era better than music. I remember as a child being awestruck by the stridently confident lyrics of 'Young, Gifted and Black'. Instead of the lacklustre and patronising word 'coloured' that others used about us, we could, at last, say the word 'Black'; shout it out loud, claim the colour with pride and make it 'our thing'!

As a child growing up in independent Ghana, although far away from the struggles of apartheid South Africa, I still felt the pain of our oppressed black brothers and sisters when my father played Miriam Makeba's heartbreaking record 'Khawuleza'. I remember how the sadness and loss in her voice filled me with outrage at what was being perpetrated elsewhere in Africa against our own.

And as adolescents living in London, while we weren't physically part of the civil rights movement fighting for equality on the urban streets of the United States, we recognised the bewilderment and anger in the words of Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On?' and we responded in our hearts and on the dance floor when Teddy Pendergrass, along with Harold and the Bluenotes, urged us all to be part of a global change for the better in 'Wake Up Everybody'.

We mourned for lost leaders who died too soon when we listened to 'Abraham, Martin and John' and sighed for the kind of love Barry promised with 'My First, My Last, My Everything'. We got on the 'Midnight Train to Georgia' with Gladys and stayed up late to watch the first televised screening of Michael's iconic 'Thriller' video.

And who, in my generation, can forget the sense of power and optimism that we felt as we hit the dance floor to 'Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now'. We could do anything because we had the funk!

Fast forward to 2011. The beginning of a new year should be exhilarating but, for many of us, it can be depressing. Our shiny new resolutions crash by the wayside, our jobs look shaky as businesses struggle to survive, unpaid bills pile up and – at least, for those of us in the West – gloomy weather leaves us suffering from real and perceived doses of the seasonal affective disorder that is so accurately termed SAD.

But while it won’t pay the bills or guarantee your job security, music can put you in a different space and take you to a better place.

Music can help you remember a better time and recapture the mood. Remember when we picked ourselves up from a bad romance and soothed our battered spirits by singing along to Gloria Gaynor's 'I Will Survive?' And how we were soon back to strutting our re-energised selves along to Aretha, and demanding R-E-S-P-E-C-T'?

As Jean Cocteau wrote, "All good music resembles something. Good music stirs by its mysterious resemblance to the objects and feelings which motivated it."

Feeling blue? Let Bill Withers remind you that today too can be a 'Lovely Day'. Recapture the joy you felt when you first listened to Stevie Wonder blast out 'Sir Duke' and let the optimism you felt yesterday give you a new take on today.

Feeling discouraged? Let Labi Siffre's 'Something Inside So Strong' remind you what you're made of.

Not feeling the love as Valentine's Day rolls around? Listen to George Benson's 'The Greatest Love of All' and re-learn that valuable lesson about loving yourself.

Trust me - it works.

I'm quite happy with my height and, to my mind at least, I'm tall enough. It's only when I'm standing next to other people that it becomes apparent to me that, at 5' 3", most other people are taller than me.

But if there's not much I can do about my height at this point in my life, what about money? While I am under no illusion that my bank balance keeps Warren Buffet up at night worrying about the competition, I sometimes have to wonder if his bank balance is having a negative effect on my life.

While we all need heroes to look up to and role models to follow, is the urge to rank ourselves against others really a source of inspiration or does it rather end up leaving us endlessly trying to achieve some impossible goal?

"I think this is a profound problem, this aspect of humans," says Andrew Oswald, a professor of behavioural science at the Warwick Business School in England. "We're now extraordinarily rich by almost any standard of human history. But because we are creatures of comparison, it's harder to get happier and happier."

An article in the New York Times by Ron Lieber that highlighted the growing trend among some young Americans to track their personal finances and to rank themselves on specially created websites against other users recently caught my eye. Websites such as NetworthIQ allow people to record their net work and display their ups and downs for anyone to view, allowing them to constantly compare themselves with others.

Knowing your net worth is much more interesting, the thinking goes, when you have someone else with whom to compare it.

But just knowing that your net worth is greater or less than someone else's is still not likely to make you happier because net worth is not necessarily an indicator of financial security.

According to Spencer Sherman, author of "The Cure for Money Madness" and a founder and the chief executive of Abacus Wealth Partners, net worth is "an irrelevant number". After all, he says, "If people have a billion in net worth and are spending half a billion in a year, they're really poor." Based on their spending, he points out, they're on track to be broke in 24 months.

So what exactly are we measuring? When it comes down to it, it's usually about our self-worth rather than our personal wealth. In his article Lieber quotes Milo Benningfield, a financial planner who urges his clients to stop thinking about other people and think instead about what they want and need. "I tell them to think of this as a topography of the choices you're making about how you're spending your lives. The only question I have is whether these are the choices you want to be making as you move forward. I think that takes the pressure away from looking right and left to other people around you and focuses it on your own life goals and your own vision of success."

According to a study by Princeton University professors, Alan Krueger and Daniel Kahneman, while most people believe that having more income would make them happier, the researchers found that the link is greatly exaggerated and mostly an illusion. While income is usually assumed to be a good measure of well-being, according to the study, people with higher incomes do not necessarily spend more time in more enjoyable ways.

The study concluded that people with above-average incomes "are relatively satisfied with their lives but are barely happier than others in moment-to-moment experience, tend to be more tense, and do not spend more time in particularly enjoyable activities."

Data used by the researchers from a nationwide Bureau of Labor Statistics survey on how people with varying household income levels spend their time, showed that people with higher incomes devote relatively more of their time to work, shopping, childcare and other "obligatory" activities. Women surveyed by the researchers in Ohio associated those activities with "higher tension and stress." People with higher incomes spend less time on "passive leisure" activities such as socializing or watching television, which the respondents viewed as more enjoyable.

These findings seem to hold true not just at a personal level but also at national levels. Countries that rank highly in economic data are not necessarily those whose citizens are deemed the happiest.

A new collaborative paper by economist Richard Easterlin, a specialist in the field of happiness studies, showed that across a worldwide sample of 37 countries, rich and poor, ex-Communist and capitalist, over the long term, a sense of well-being within a country does not go up with income.

In contrast to shorter-term studies that have shown a correlation between income growth and happiness, this paper, published in December in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, examined the happiness and income relationship in each country for an average of 22 years and at least ten years.

"This article rebuts recent claims that there is a positive long-term relationship between happiness and income, when in fact, the relationship is nil," explained Easterlin, USC University Professor and professor of Economics at the USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences. "Simply stated, the happiness-income paradox is this: at a point in time both among and within countries, happiness and income are positively correlated. But, over time, happiness does not increase when a country's income increases."

So what does make us happy? No surprises, dear reader: it's what's right in front of us. The trouble is that when we are anxiously scanning what others alongside us are doing, it's easy to miss what's right in front.

"If economic growth is not the main route to greater happiness, what is?" Easterlin asks. "We may need to focus policy more directly on urgent personal concerns relating to things such as health and family life, rather than on the mere escalation of material goods."

In other words, focus on your network rather than your net worth and chances are that you will be a lot happier.

Our former priest used to urge the congregation not to be ‘buffet Christians'. He wasn't talking about Warren but about our tendencies to pick the good looking titbits we like about Christianity, while ignoring the edicts that are too hard to follow.

It's an analogy that works on other levels.

When you get pangs of envy looking at someone's life, a good trick I recommend is to ensure you envy everything about them. Not just the beautiful house but the hours of time they lost with their spouse or children to acquire it; not just the gleaming car but the loss of a loved one that may have funded it; not just the holiday home but the loneliness or isolation they may feel when staying in it. In this game, you can't cherry pick the bits you want from someone else's life; it's all or nothing.

And when in doubt, turn to a child. For the most part, they haven't yet learned to filter what they say and tend to give it to you right on the chin. So, I conclude with the words of my 10-year old daughter when I asked her about this topic. Pausing briefly from typing her thirtieth text of the day, she said firmly: ‘There's no point wanting what other people have, you'll just make yourself miserable. You should just be grateful for what you've got!'

Happy New Year!

The blogosphere can be horrible. Editing an online news magazine means that I do a lot of reading and, I have to say, there are many times when I am glad to be doing so from the relative safety of my office.

The virtual world seems to have been hijacked by people who hide behind nicknames and initials to unleash vitriol, hate and - what probably upsets me just as much - pretty awful spelling and grammar onto the world. People who are more than ready to tell you what they think and yet not so quick to confess who they are. Sometimes, the best thing about computers is the delete button.

When did it become impossible to argue a point or disagree with an opinion without being, well, disagreeable? When did it become okay to savage someone along with their opinion?

The explosion of reality television shows that invite us to witness public humiliation, heap abuse on those we despise (although, of course, we've never met them) and vote out those we deem not good enough, is uncomfortably close to the gladiator sports that once saw Christians thrown to the lions in front of bloodthirsty crowds.

Things are not much better when you look at what is happening in politics the world over. Simply having a different political opinion seems to be reason enough for some to demonise those on the other side of the political spectrum. Providing a country with wise and compassionate leadership seems to take a back seat to demonstrating how intellectually superior one party's position is vis a vis the others. Reports of stormed parliaments and brawling MPs scarcely seem to raise eyebrows in our morally anaesthetised times.

Now there is an argument that says that once you put something out into cyberspace, you'd better be ready for people to express their opinions about it and take it on the chin.

As a writer, I don't mind people disagreeing with my point of view and I'm all for debating positions. What can be (depending on my mood) amusing, pitiful or simply irritating is when people display downright bad manners. Disagree to your heart's content but please don't imagine that badly spelled and barely veiled abuse enhances your position in the slightest. Constructive comments offer more insight than cutting commentary and hiding behind anonymity, while it ensures that one is not accountable for their opinion, also makes the commentator irrelevant.

Leon Wieseltier, the literary editor of The New Republic, has been quoted as saying: "The Internet is like closing time at a blue-collar bar in Boston. Everyone's drunk and ugly and they're going to pass out in a few minutes."

This phenomenon of incivility is not confined, it appears, to any one country or culture. Anyone listening to the FM stations broadcasting across some African countries may wonder what on earth has happened to our traditional respect for our institutions and, yes, leaders.

While some of our leaders have probably earned at least a part of the opprobrium heaped upon them on the airwaves and over the internet, we would do well to remember that trashing an institution sets up a dangerous precedent; by the time 'our' man or woman is in charge, the basis upon which we would expect others to respect their position will have been eroded or irreparably damaged.

Recent surveys in the United States have provided evidence about the concern of Americans over the erosion of civility in modern life, whether in government, business, media or online. In an article by Sam Ali in the New York Times, 65% of Americans, according to a poll by Weber Shandwick, say that lack of civility is a major problem in the country and that the negative tone has worsened during the financial crisis and recession.

Nearly half those surveyed said they were tuning out from the most fundamental elements of democracy - government and politics - because of incivility and bullying behaviour.

Pier M. Forni, author of "The Civility Solution: What to Do When People are Rude" and director of The Civility Initiative at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, was quoted in the article as saying, "In today's America, incivility is on prominent display: in the schools, where bullying is pervasive; in the workplace, where an increasing number are more stressed out by co-workers than their jobs; on the roads, where road rage maims and kills; in politics, where strident intolerance takes the place of earnest dialogue; and on the web, where many check their inhibitions at the digital door."

Well, is it any wonder that incivility is becoming a global phenomenon? To achieve civility as an output, the input has to consist of balance, compromise and giving respect to the opinion of others. When certain sections of the media decide that only the sensational will gain the attention of a restless audience long enough for them to buy a paper or click onto a link, balance tends to get somewhat lost in the mix. The old adage 'Never let facts get in the way of a good story' seems to be the guiding principle of far too many publications.

Is it any wonder, therefore, when politicians insist on ideology over what is good for the people they are elected to serve, that compromise is positioned as a dirty word, the coward's way out and proof of a lack of principles?

And what in the world are we teaching our children? As experts in civility point out, it is difficult for society to expect or demand that teenagers and children stop bullying and tormenting one another, given the example they have of the behaviour of adults and political leaders.

According to Forni, the onslaught of rude, bullying and uncivil behaviour, which is made more intense by the constant presence of the Internet and social-networking sites such as Facebook, adds to the stress people feel and can lead to tragic consequences.

Students who are bullied, whether online or in person, says Forni, face an increased risk of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and even suicide. Left unchecked, incivility and bullying behaviour can also often be a precursor to physical violence. Such violence is not only seen on the streets but also at work where, according to the US Department of Labour, there are about 1.8 million acts of physical violence in the American workplace in any given year.

A string of suicides by teenagers at Rutgers University brought even more urgency to its launch in October of Project Civility, a two-year initiative to engage students in a series of activities and discussions aimed at cultivating an environment of courtesy and compassion. The project, coordinated by Kathleen Hull, director of the Byrne Family First-Year Seminars, and Senior Dean of Students Mark Schuster, hinges on personal responsibility.

"While individuals may not be able to change the world, they can make a difference in their small corner of it," says Hull. "We are living in a time of great uncertainty (but) all we can control is our own behaviour. We can't change the world and stop wars and make everything better, but we can control how we act and how we respond.'"

Let's put some balance back into our discourse, both online and offline. Any individual that speaks or writes is by necessity doing it from a limited perspective i.e. their own. It would be the height of arrogance or blindness to assume that everyone feels the same way and comments are invited so that others can share their views, from their equally limited perspectives. People are entitled to their opinions without being sneered at, insulted or derided.

Just because the technology exists to enable us to speak to thousands of people, it shouldn't require us to 'say' online that which we wouldn't say when facing someone. Hiding behind the keyboard doesn't advance our goals or our society. If the measure of our society is the measure of our civility, you have to wonder whether technology is really serving us well.

I have to wonder sometimes; were we always like this and lacked the microphone or have we been emboldened, like unchecked bullies, to say it like (how we think) it is? One rule of thumb might be that if you wouldn't say it in front of your mother, you shouldn't be saying it.

Being civil doesn't mean being a wimp or not standing up for what you believe in. It doesn't mean that one can't be assertive or have convictions.

"Civility is not a sign of weakness," as the late US President John F. Kennedy once said. Civility means treating others respectfully, no matter what we think of them or what we feel they deserve.

It's time to check ourselves and put our traditional values back into our discourse. Instead of shooting the messenger, shoot down the message. It is time for all of us to take personal responsibility for what we say and how we say it and return our societies to reason.

It is, after all, the season of goodwill to all men.

The official retirement of Archbishop Desmond Tutu reminds us of what leadership motivated by morality and justice can accomplish.

In an age when the word 'leader' is used to describe everyone from a middle manager to a trade union organiser, it's almost too easy to forget that there are still people whose leadership has been crucial to literally millions of lives.

While the story of South Africa's struggle from the shackles of apartheid includes stories, told and untold, of heroism, sacrifice and pain; only one person has earned the accolade of 'the conscience of South Africa'.

The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who announced his retirement from public life on his 79th birthday during October, is arguably one of the most important leaders in 20th century Africa.

From his days as a young clerk voicing his opposition to white minority rule to his chairmanship of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee and beyond, Archbishop Tutu has been central to the story of South Africa's political emancipation. Yet despite the enormous influence he has wielded, he appears to be a man whose feet remain in close touch with the ground.

In announcing his retirement, he is quoted by the South African Press Association as saying: "I have got a wife and family that help to keep my head the right size. Just when I am thinking that I am the cat's whiskers, they remind me that, 'you are just daddy for us and husband'."

I once had the privilege of listening to a sermon delivered by Archbishop Tutu and experienced at first hand his gift for taking his audience from tears to laughter and back again. His ability to deliver the most insightful observations, with his infectious chuckle removing any sting, left his audience feeling inspired to be and to do better.

Beyond the ability to inspire, any leader worth his or her salt needs courage in spades and this is a quality Desmond Tutu has shown throughout his life.

He came to international prominence after famously striding into a lynch mob about to take action against a suspected undercover policeman, calling for peace and calm. Although small in stature, he has never been anything but a giant in his willingness to confront injustice and to say what needs to be said to end conflict and to bring healing.

Whether during or post apartheid South Africa, Archbishop Tutu has continued to serve his ordained mission to fight for the poor, the weak and the vulnerable and to demand that political leaders act not in search of votes, but in a quest for justice.

When, in 1975, Desmond Tutu became the first black man to be appointed Dean of St Mary's Anglican Cathedral in Johannesburg, he used his pulpit and his travel privileges to condemn the atrocities taking place in South Africa and to encourage and promote sanctions against South Africa so that at least the suffering Black victims of apartheid would be suffering "with a purpose".

Despite sometimes violent attempts to silence him, Tutu's impact was such that disinvestment and sanctions did eventually come about. Two years after winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, so did his appointment as Archbishop of Cape Town.

Desmond Tutu's influence has been felt in conflict resolutions not just in his beloved South Africa and across the African continent, but in many other countries including Northern Ireland. In 2006 he visited the country for a series of TV programmes that brought victims and perpetrators of violence together, including loyalist mass killer Michael Stone.

Creating a more equitable society and ensuring a wider distribution of wealth, the Archbishop once said during an interview in London with Niall Fitzgerald, then Chairman of Reuters, is critical in order to dampen the 'powder keg of poverty'.

Creating a more equitable society and committing to the African concept of 'ubuntu' with its emphasis on tolerance, forgiveness and our interdependence as people, is necessary to secure everyone's future, he says.

"It is in the interests of those of us who are well-to-do to see to the interests of others. Otherwise, we may not have anything at all."

Every human being, the Archbishop reminded us, is a 'God-carrier' and fundamentally good. "There isn't anyone who is a lost cause really," he once said, "although sometimes you have to look hard!"

For the man who coined the phrase 'the rainbow nation', his unswerving faith in the essential goodness of mankind - despite our capacity for evil - was not diminished by the horrors of apartheid and his infectious optimism is an indispensable part of what has made him such a superb leader.

"We have this remarkable capacity for good – all of us! We are made for goodness and it is something that we need to hear," he once said.

The Archbishop is not one to hide his emotions. Indeed, who can forget the tears he shed during the harrowing testimony of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee which he chaired during the early 1990's? But, as a true leader, he also acknowledged when giving into his emotions was becoming a distraction, and he vowed to stop breaking down when his tears threatened to become more of a story than those being related in the witness box.

Humour, self-deprecation and faith are all hallmarks of Archbishop Tutu's style of leadership. But even his status and staunch faith do not hold him back from some acerbic observations about religion.

"We Christians need to get off our high horse and learn to be a bit more humble" he said during the Reuters interview in London, dismissing stereotypes about religion as the product of "lazy thinking" and pointing out that as "Christians were responsible for the holocaust and for apartheid – we have to tread softly!'

He is secure enough in his faith to jest about how that faith came about. He famously once said: "When the missionaries came, they had the Bible and we had the land. And they said: 'Close your eyes and let us pray'. And we dutifully did so, but when we said 'Amen' and opened them, we had the Bible and they had the land."

But, all told, he admits that 'it was not such a bad deal.'

Like Nelson Mandela, the Archbishop has no time for those who would idealise him, finding stereotypes such as 'hero' and 'saint' to be pretty unhelpful in understanding the true nature of prayer, struggle and transformation.

A laudable sentiment, but it is hard to think of many people who better deserve to be considered as an icon for all that is good in Africa.

Archbishop Tutu says that with his retirement, his intention is not only to watch sports, spend time with his beloved wife Leah and, in his own words to 'shut up'; but also to make room for a new generation of leaders.

Although small in size, he leaves behind footprints that are almost too impossibly huge to fill.

The Archbishop has been called highly political but deeply spiritual. And, by exiting from the public stage, Desmond Tutu offers a challenge and an opportunity for others to lead in his stead; a challenge that Africans can only hope will be taken up by those who recognise morality not as old-fashioned or negotiable, but as an indispensable guide to creating a fair and compassionate society.

Click here to read 'An Evening of Healing with Archbishop Tutu'

If you have a job, spare a thought for those who are still struggling to re-enter the job market.

A growing body of research suggests that layoffs can have profound health consequences. This can prove worse as you get older, as one 2006 study by a group of epidemiologists at Yale found. The study – 'The impact of late career job loss on myocardial infarction and stroke' concluded that layoffs more than doubled the risk of a heart attack or stroke among older workers.

The research set out to asses the 10 year risk of heart attacks and strokes associated with involuntary job loss among workers over 50 years of age, analysing data from the nationally representative US Health and Retirement Survey (HRS) of over 4,000 people.

Unsurprisingly, the findings showed that "involuntary job loss is a major life event associated with social, economic, behavioural, and health outcomes, for which older workers are at elevated risk." In fact, these displaced workers had a more than twofold increase in the risk of subsequent heart attacks and strokes relative to other working people.

Results, say the study authors, that suggest that the true costs of late career unemployment exceed financial loss, and include substantial health consequences. Doctors who treat individuals who lose jobs as they near retirement, they warn, should "consider the loss of employment a potential risk factor for adverse vascular health changes", while policy makers should also be aware of the risks of job loss, and design programmes to ease "the multiple burdens of joblessness."

Stress can come from any situation or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or anxious. What is stressful to one person is not necessarily stressful to another. Stress is a normal part of life and, in small quantities, can be good for us, motivating us to be more productive. Too much of it, however, is harmful and can lead to poor health as well as specific physical or psychological illnesses like infection, heart disease, or depression. Persistent stress is also a key driver for unhealthy behaviour such as overeating and drug and alcohol abuse.

'Job Loss and Health in the U.S. Labor Market', a paper, published in 2009 by Kate W. Strully, a sociology professor at the State University of New York at Albany, found that a person who lost a job had an 83% greater chance of developing a stress-related health problem, like diabetes, arthritis or psychiatric issues. Whether they were blue collar or white collar workers, Strully concluded that "respondents who lost jobs faced an increased risk of developing new health conditions."

Losing a job is also linked to not only increased depression and the development of heart disease, but also to an increase in smoking. A research study from Yale University 'The effect of involuntary job loss on smoking intensity and relapse' showed that older workers have over two times greater odds of relapse subsequent to involuntary job loss than those who did not.

The study also found that those who were smokers prior to losing their jobs and were not able to find new jobs, ended up, on average, smoking more cigarettes than ever before. The study's conclusions highlighted job loss as a major health risk factor for older smokers, pointing out that the stress of job loss, along with other significant changes associated with leaving one's job, which would tend to increase cigarette consumption, outweighed the financial hardship which would tend to reduce the level of smoking.

Chronic illness and threatened strokes isn't the whole story, unfortunately. In perhaps the most worrying finding, a study published last year concluded that involuntary unemployment can also affect life expectancy.

A study by Till von Wachter, a Columbia University economist, and Daniel G. Sullivan, the Director of Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, examined death records and earnings data in Pennsylvania during the recession of the early 1980s. They concluded that death rates among high-seniority male workers jumped by 50% to 100%, depending on a worker's age, in the year following a job loss. Even after 20 years, deaths were 10 to 15% higher than normal. That meant a worker who lost his job at age 40 had his life expectancy cut by a year to a year and half.

While scientists are still studying the connection between job loss and bad health, the focus of much of their research is on the direct and indirect effects of stress. Acute stress can create biochemical changes that can trigger events such as heart attacks. Job loss and chronic stress can also lead to changes in lifestyle that damage people's health – a finding which gives a whole new meaning to the term 'jobs for life'.

"A man is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks, he becomes," said Mahatma Gandhi, a view supported by a study in 2009 by Sarah A. Burgard, a Professor of Sociology and Epidemiology at the University of Michigan.

In her research, 'Perceived job insecurity and worker health in the United States' Burgard found that "persistent perceived job insecurity is a significant and substantively important predictor of poorer health" and might even be more damaging than actual job loss.

People who work with those who are unemployed and companies who plan job reduction exercises should bear in mind the impact that a job loss can have on people's health.

Perhaps the biggest difference that any of us can make to someone who has lost their job is to help them to see a positive outcome arising from a devastating process. To see a redundancy as a chance to take control of their choices and to identify a challenging and exciting next step in their careers and lives; in other words, to harness the power of positive thinking. You could be helping to save their life.

Losing a job is an opportune time to remember, as Winston Churchill once said, that "a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."

Say the word 'negotiation' and the images that pop up in our minds might be that of a beefy trade unionist, or a confident male executive, or even a slick car salesman.

What is less likely to come to mind, apparently, is the image of a confident woman twisting her adversaries into knots and emerging triumphant with a done deal. In her book on gender and negotiation, "Women Don't Ask", Linda Babcock, an Economics professor at the H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon, says that most women, on hearing the word 'negotiation', want to cringe.

In her research, Babcok noted that when men were asked to pick a metaphor to describe the negotiating process, they tended towards activities such as "winning a ballgame" or a "wrestling match". Women, on the other hand, tended to lump negotiating in the same category as, say, "going to the dentist."

Now, while most women negotiate successfully countless times every day (it's no easy matter persuading a teenager not to wear clothes that will shame you in public or returning an expensive outfit to a shop that has no desire to take it back!) there is something about the idea of negotiating in our working environment that seems to have many women looking longingly for the exit.

The evidence of this gender divide, says Babcock, starts early, citing her time as director of the Ph.D. program at Carnegie Mellon when she noticed women students were less inclined to ask for things.

"Male graduate students asked for all sorts of things — travel money to go to conferences, exemptions from course requirements, opportunities to teach courses of their own — that the female students rarely asked for," Babcock says. "Looking at the repercussions down the road, it became clear that, as a result, the female students were missing out on a lot of resources and opportunities from which the men were benefiting."

It might spur us on to become better at this if we really appreciated how much it costs us as women to be poor negotiators in the workplace.

According to a Harvard study, "When Does Gender Matter in Negotiation?" by professors Hannah Riley and Kathleen L. McGinn, their research showed that "women tend to enter salary negotiations with lower pay expectations, which are then ultimately fulfilled." In their field study of MBA salary negotiations, they found that "males negotiated significantly higher increases on initial salary offers than did female peers."

In fact, according to Babcock, "Women are more pessimistic about how much is available when they do negotiate and so they typically ask for and get less when they do negotiate—on average, 30% less than men."

It is crucial that women negotiate from the very start of their careers, she says. "We calculated that just by not negotiating her first job offer — simply accepting what she's offered rather than negotiating for more — a woman sacrifices more half a million dollars over the course of her career. This is a massive loss for a one-time negotiation; for avoiding what is usually no more than five minutes of discomfort."

So, if by avoiding or dreading negotiating – in surveys, 2.5 times more women than men say they feel "a great deal of apprehension" about negotiating and women will pay as much as $1,353 to avoid negotiating the price of a car – women are selling themselves short, what’s the solution?

Traits such as empathy and caring are usually more closely associated with women than men and some studies suggest that women, having built relationships with colleagues, often regard their fellow employees as family and take their personal needs into account. This can sometimes lead to situations where women can find themselves being taken advantage of or taken for granted.

But, while satisfying, blaming Mother Nature for our predisposition to caring rather than competing, still doesn't solve the problem.

The answer may lie in women learning to adapt their mindsets and by expecting more, empathizing less and taking a more assertive view of their self-worth. Because, according to Babcock's study, women are more pessimistic about how much is available when they do negotiate and so they typically ask for and get less when they do negotiate — on average, 30% less than men.

Through training, mentoring and modeling successful negotiators, women can successfully learn techniques and adopt strategies that will break them out of their caring comfort zone and enable them to recognize and demand what they are due.

Whether it's to get a discount on a car or a seat on the Board, negotiation is the name of the game. Failing to do so, as these studies show, can prove to be extremely costly.

Calling Time on 'African Time'

'Africa Time', 'Black Man's Time', 'GMT=Ghana Maybe Time', etc. etc. The concept of punctuality and timekeeping is so poorly regarded in much of Africa that we have all manner of names for it across the continent.

We've also managed to export our attitudes to timekeeping so successfully that whether we are in London, New York or Toronto, we KNOW that our people are never going to be on time.

Well, it's time to call time on this appalling practice and to start treating each other with the respect that we would want for ourselves.

'Time is Money ....'

Many businessmen and sadly, potential investors, can attest to sitting for hours outside the offices of an African official or Minister, waiting for them to appear for a meeting that had been scheduled weeks ahead. The matter is usually not helped by the attitude of lackadaisical support staff who not only have no clue about where their boss is, but clearly care even less. What does this say about us and our seriousness about seeking investment from people who understand the adage that 'time is money'?

Well, if time is money, no wonder we’re poor. When an African president (no names mentioned) can keep an entire press corps waiting for hours to open an investment conference overseas, what does it say to foreigners about the nature of doing business with that country? With the best will in the world, how can the international media be expected to produce good news stories about that country and its prospects?

Planning for Lateness

The underlying message when you keep someone waiting is that their time is not as important as yours. Yes, emergencies arise and people are sometimes late through no fault of their own. But what we are seeing in our communities is a systematic and practically institutionalized approach to timekeeping that does not serve us well.

And the attitude is contagious. A friend who normally makes every effort to be on time for appointments with Europeans shrugs off the idea of turning up on time to an African function.

"What's the point," she reasons. "I'll just be sitting there for hours before anyone shows up."

Thus, planning ahead to be late becomes the absurd reality we are increasingly faced with. Another friend takes a book along with her when she has a function to attend because she would rather spend the time sitting in her car reading than sitting in a half-empty hall waiting. An approach which brings to mind the observation by author Franklin Jones that "the trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it."

Talking about timekeeping, been to any African conferences lately? If I had one pound for every 'important' speaker who, over the years, has failed to show up or arrived late, throwing the programme into chaos, I would feature in the Fortune 100 wealth list today. And, if that's not enough, when they do finally arrive, they take twice as long as scheduled to deliver a speech that they clearly have not seen before. I still have painful memories of a keynote speaker at a conference who calmly announced that as she had not prepared a presentation for the topic given to her, she proposed to deliver one that she had given several months earlier on a different subject. I left.

Beware the Invitation

Invitations in our communities now need to come with a health warning, because our people are building in 'African time' when planning events. I recall years ago being advised to print an earlier time on my wedding invitation cards as people would be bound to be late. I didn’t follow the advice. I walked down the aisle in a half-empty chapel and, at the end of the service, turned to face a packed congregation.

"If you're there before it's over, you're on time", said James J. Walker – a view which seems to capture the attitude of many of us towards punctuality.

But, if people don't bother to turn up on time, what does it say about the importance we attach to invitations and the privilege of witnessing someone's celebration of a key milestone? I was the punctual bride, but what does it say when a bride keeps her guests waiting for 2 hours or a host arrives at his own party 3 hours late in order to 'make an entrance'? What does it say when punctuality, as someone once said, becomes 'the art of guessing how late the other fellow is going to be'?

We need to stop this. We cannot ask to be taken seriously if we lack the basic courtesy to value other people's time as much as we value our own. We cannot ask to be given a place at the international business table if we fail to observe the basic courtesies of the other diners. "Punctuality is the politeness of kings" as Louis XVIII is renowned to have said. We cannot avoid exasperation, irritation and condemnation if we don't learn now to say no to 'Ghana Man's Time' and say yes to 'Get Manners Time'!

So let's call time on this practice by not tolerating it any further. Being late isn’t cute; it isn't courteous and it isn't acceptable. We need to protest this attitude and take action now, before we pass this legacy on to coming generations. Next time you are kept waiting, leave the venue, walk out of the function, and protest by taking your time back into your own hands. Because, as George Bernard Shaw once said, "Better never than late."

In This Issue

In Stating the Case for Investing in Nigeria , we report on a recent conference in London that highlighted the case for investing in this national market of 150 million people with access to a regional market of 300 million people.

Aureos Capital has launched a new private equity fund in Africa to support small and medium enterprises and growth across the continent and, in Capitalising on Africa's Development we report on how the Aureos Africa Fund will help to build pan-African businesses.

In this month's Careers section, Lin Sagovsky returns with more tongue-in-cheek advice on meetings in 10 Great Ways to Turn Running a Meeting into Ruining a Meeting , while our Career Coach answers the question of How do I Stay Relevant during my Maternity Leave?

Businesses owned by Black, Latina and Asian American women are growing at a faster rate than all U.S. firms, and we look at a recent report on America's Black Women Entrepreneurs .

Our favourite hairdresser and trichologist, Noon Etienne, is back and this month she tackles the subject of the myths surrounding keeping your hair natural in Busting the Black Hair Myths- 5 Myths about Natural Afro Hair .

My good friend and currently Project Manager of the aptly-named SCORE4Africa initiative, Onyekachi Wambu , is our guest interviewee in this month's ' 5 Minute Interview ' and shares some of the life lessons he has learned along the way.

We go back into the ReConnect Africa Archives and give you another chance to read our interview with Zoe Huskisson, 'the ultimate personal shopper' in Woman of Style . Zoe talks about the challenges and joys of life as a professional stylist.

In the lead-up to Christmas, December sees an exciting line up of events in the UK and overseas and our Events listing gives you details of what's on this month .

As ever, we report on news from the UK and around the world and bring you an overview of news from across the African continent .

Share your comments about our articles or write into our Letters page and let us know what you think about ReConnect Africa.

ReConnect Africa Members' Forum

What’s making you angry/thoughtful/happy? What would you like to share with other readers of ReConnect Africa? Post your comments or give some advice to other members on our free ReConnect Africa Forum.

Thank you to those of you who have registered onto the Forum and posted your comments; if you haven’t yet joined, why don’t you do so today?

Seasons Greetings

Finally, let me take this opportunity to wish all our readers, visitors and subscribers our warmest greetings for the festive Season and I hope you all enjoy a happy and restful break. Thank you all for your e-mails, comments, contributions and for spreading the word about ReConnect Africa to your friends, colleagues and contacts. A big thank you also to our clients and partners for working with us and we hope that you will all continue to support us in 2010!

January will bring a new look ReConnect Africa website – let us know what you think.

In the meantime, enjoy this issue - and write in and share your comments!

When is free speech not quite so free? Ask Heather Armstrong who lost her job after posting information about her former employer on her blog. Her advice to others using social networking to talk about their company? Don't be stupid – or expect consequences if you anger your employer with the contents of your blog.

But where should the line be drawn between sharing what's on your mind with your online pals on Twitter and feeling the wrath of your bosses if they don't like what you are saying?

According to the third annual Deloitte LLP Ethics & Workplace survey, 60% of business executives believe they have a right to know how employees portray themselves and their organisations on online social networks. Unsurprisingly, employees disagree, with more than half (53%) saying that their social networking pages are none of their employer’s concern. Again, no surprises that this finding is especially true among younger workers, with 63% of 18-34 year old respondents stating that employers have no business monitoring their online activity.

Risky Business

But the fact is employers have every business wanting to safeguard the reputation of their companies. One could argue that killing the golden goose that provides the pay cheques isn't a particularly smart move on the part of an employee either.

But is this behaviour willful or just thoughtless? On one hand, says the survey, one-third of employees surveyed never consider what their boss or customers might think before posting material online. Yet most of those who responded were pretty clear about the risks involved in using online social networks, as 74% of respondents believe they make it easier to damage a company's reputation – a fact not lost on Sharon Allen, Chairman of the Board of Deloitte.

"With the explosive growth of online social networks such as Facebook and Twitter rapidly blurring the lines between professional and private lives," she says, "these virtual communities have increased the potential of reputational risk for many organisations and their brands."

The explosion in social networking and the speed with which information is shared and transmitted globally leaves brands vulnerable. While posting videos or observations on a social networking site is a personal decision, it can create far reaching and damning consequences for both individuals and their employers.

Let's take blogging. Once a blog (or online journal for the un-initiated) has been posted, friends and strangers alike can read it, comment on it and send on the link to others. What might have been an impulsive angry comment or a disgruntled rant about an irritating manager is now circulated globally and accessible forever. Information that could be negative about a particular company policy or even an individual is now out there and shaping the opinion of potential recruits about the company or the target of the blogger's wrath.

Back to the Future

Online postings can come back to haunt you – as a number of politicians have discovered to their cost. Pictures taken after a few pints during your student days suddenly look a lot less funny splashed across national newspapers when you are trying to be taken seriously. Those out job hunting or pushing for a promotion should also take note that it is getting quite common for supervisors and employers to use search engines to look up existing and prospective employees.

If employers are – rightly – worried about the negative impact of denigrating tweets and scornful blogs on carefully crafted corporate images and multi-million dollar branding and advertising campaigns, what can or should they be doing about it?

Many firms are still struggling with the problem of how to wrest staff away from their Facebook, My Space or LinkedIn accounts while on company time without having to block access to half the internet. When trying to curb the need for your employees to send and follow multiple tweets during the day is already a problem, what price actually monitoring what the people are saying to the hundreds and thousands of individuals they are connected to?

Astonishingly, the survey reports that only a mere 17% of the executives surveyed said they have programmes in place to monitor and mitigate the possible reputational risks related to the use of social networks. In the absence of high profile cases like Heather Armstrong, the effectiveness of the policies that do exist is questionable - nearly half (49%) of employees indicate that defined guidelines will not change their online behaviour.

Policies and Policing

But doing nothing is not an option if employers want to avoid litigation resulting from comments posted online by their employees. Rather than having to write the rules after the deed has been done, employers need to be clear with their staff about what is and is not acceptable - whether or not it is done in office time.

Companies should have policies in place that fit their needs. These should include how to regulate what an employee writes about your company on their social networking profile page or blog. A clear policy on internet use that addresses all media, whether social networking sites, e-mail or SMS and whether staff members are on or off-duty, will make the company’s position clear and help protect it from liability for employees' postings.

While some companies have policies that require employees to identify themselves when discussing the company in any public forum (including online forums) and to notify readers that they are speaking in an individual capacity, not as a company representative, others come down heavily on employees who post anything about their company or colleagues.

Virtually Friends

So bloggers, beware. Anything your employer deems to be slanderous, confidential, a trade secret or intellectual property will likely land you in hot water. Blogs or tweets that can be seen as disparaging or harassing managers or colleagues could also rebound fast on the author.

And what about your friends? While being known for the company you keep matters less in your private life, your choice of virtual friends can be your career undoing, as some have found to their cost.

Pity poor Nathan Singh, a UK prison warden who was sacked after he was suspected of supplying inmates with mobile phones and other banned items. While the disciplinary hearing heard there was no evidence of Singh smuggling anything into the prison, he was found to be friends with 13 criminals through Facebook. After being dismissed for gross misconduct, Singh said he knew the criminals from school or playing football.

"Sometimes when I logged on to my Facebook site there would be 20-odd friend requests and I just accepted them," he said. "Sometimes I didn't even check them. I realise now it might have been naïve."

In This Issue

What exactly is going on in Burundi? As the country emerges from over a decade of conflict, Rachel Keeler investigates in Burundi: The Fifth East African Looking for Investors what interests investors in this East African Community's fifth member.

In Taking the Lead on Africa, we find out more about the exciting and innovative British Council Strategic Leaders Programme now open to applications and which offers a unique opportunity to join African and British leaders in addressing Africa's pressing challenges.

When it comes to business qualifications that offer both quality and an affordable price, ABE is hard to beat. In In the Business of Quality we speak to Christine Gill of ABE about the company's latest developments.

In this month's Careers section, Nigerian networking guru, Kamil Olufowobi, shares strategies and tactics to network your way to finding a job in ' Networking for a Job?', while our Career Coach answers the question of ' Why do I Need a Mentor?'.

ReConnect Africa's former Career Coach, Helen Tucker (ex Dupigny), recently re-launched her book 'Vicissitude' and career development programme. In ' Vicissitude', we talk to Helen about her personal journey and overcoming vicissitudes.

The Sierra Leonean writer and broadcaster Ade Daramy is our guest interviewee in this month's ' 5 Minute Interview' and Ade shares some of the wisdom he has picked up along the way.

We go back into the ReConnect Africa Archives and give you another chance to read Vincent Owen's tips on interviewing job candidates. If you are new to interviewing or just want to check you are doing the right thing, read Managing the Interview.

November sees an exciting line up of events in the UK and overseas and   our Events listing gives you details of what's on this month.

As ever, we report on news from the UK and around the world and bring you an overview of news from across the African continent.

Share your comments about our articles or write into our Letters page and let us know what you think about ReConnect Africa.

ReConnect Africa Members' Forum

What's making you angry/thoughtful/happy? What would you like to share with other readers of ReConnect Africa? Post your comments or give some advice to other members on our free ReConnect Africa Forum.

Thank you to those of you who have registered onto the Forum and posted your comments; if you haven't yet joined, why don't you do so today?

Enjoy this issue - and write in and share your comments!

When Susie Orbach wrote her pioneering book 'Fat is a Feminist Issue' in 1978, she successfully highlighted the links between sexual politics and female dieting.

Recent research from Michigan State University, however, is the first to focus on the link between weight and career advancement at the highest levels of management. But fat still remains a feminist issue, says the study, because the research found that while being fat is no barrier for men, it can harm a woman's career prospects.

Fat Chance of Succeeding

Women who are overweight have much less chance of being promoted at work than plump male colleagues, was one of the findings of the study. The study also showed that while a high proportion of men in top jobs were fat, overweight or obese women were significantly under-represented among their bosses.

These findings add weight (no pun intended) to accusations of sexism in the workplace and stoke many women's suspicions that female employees are judged on appearance and not solely on their ability to do the job. The study, which was published in the British journal Equal Opportunities International, reviewed 29 previous research papers on hiring, firing and promotion practices. It found 61% of top male bosses were overweight compared with only 22% of female executives.

According to Mark Roehling, who led the study, the findings indicate that society has a "greater tolerance and possibly even a preference for a larger size among men but a small size among women."

This alarming conclusion would suggest, says Roehling, that "the glass ceiling effect on women's advancement may reflect not only negative stereotypes about the competencies of women, but also weight bias that results in stricter appearance standards for them."

What Price Culture?

But what do these findings suggest for your career if you happen to come from a culture that not only accepts but positively welcomes the larger framed woman? Precious Ramotswe, the African protagonist in Alexander McCall Smith's No 1 Ladies Detective Agency novels, proudly declares herself to be "traditionally built". From the sounds of these reports, this may go down well in Botswana, but perhaps less so in Birmingham.

But, talking of culture, the clash between size and cultures can happen even within Europe. Journalist John Lichfield, citing a French survey that has charted wide discrepancies in the average weight of men and women in different European countries, states that: "The typical French woman is slim and thinks that she is fat. The typical British woman is plump but is convinced that she is thin."

The author of the study in question, Thibaut de Saint Pol, says that his research suggests that average national weight is strongly influenced by cultural differences and national attitudes to what is seen as attractive. For example, he says, in some countries, such as Greece, male fatness is still regarded as a symbol of power or strength.

For many traditional Africans, a larger size denotes an abundance of food and, therefore, prosperity. Commenting on such an African's girth is, therefore, less likely to result in embarrassment than a proud rub of the stomach accompanied by the explanation, 'good living!'

The Cost of Fat

But, if size discrimination in the Western workplace isn't enough to drive one to the gym, a recent announcement by Ryanair that it was considering a 'fat tax' might just do it.

The low-cost airline – in a bid to attract more attention and custom – announced that it may impose a "fat tax" after more than 30,000 passengers voted to levy charges on overweight passengers. The airline made its controversial comments after a third of passengers on the Irish airline's website voted in favour of charging fees for obese passengers.

Recent research by First Choice, using a nationwide sizing survey, found that between 1951 and 2002, the average female in the UK has put on 1.5 inches around the hips. According to the holiday tour operator, British holidaymakers are becoming too fat to fit into conventional airline seats, with two-thirds of men now too broad-shouldered for their neighbours' comfort in 16-inch aircraft seats, the standard size in economy on many aircraft, while one woman in seven was too broad for a seat.

Jumping on the bandwagon, another airline, United Airlines, has admitted that it will start charging overweight passengers more, if they cannot fit into conventional economy seats. They insist that passengers must be able to put their arm rests down and fasten their seat belts or they will be asked to pay for an extra seat or be moved on to a later flight. The airline did not comment on whether it would reduce ticket costs for underweight passengers.

For larger women already struggling with a reduced pay packet compared to male colleagues and now restricted career opportunities, this latest news may come as one slight too many (again, no pun intended).

However, ladies, all may not be lost. 25% of those polled by Ryanair also recommended a charge of €1 for toilet paper – with Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary's face on it.

In This Issue

In this issue, Rachel Keeler reports on how Kenyan banks in Tanzania are finding a challenging business environment but with potential in very specific niches in 'Is Tanzania's Banking Sector Ready for a Nudge from Kenya?'

In 'Facing Up to Redundancy', leading coach Richard Yates offers advice on how adopting the right attitude can help you deal with this challenge, while our Career Coach provides advice on 'Getting a Great Guy to do a Great Job'.

In 'My Journey as a Writer', we speak to talented Ugandan author Goretti Kyomuhendo on the inspiration behind her writing and why Chinua Achebe was so influential in her decision to write.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation has launched a coffee-table book detailing the events that occurred at the first Promise of Leadership Dialogue, held in March this year. This inspiring book is now available and offers fascinating insights into leadership issues.

We report on a new US survey, The Business of Society, which shows that MBA students want changes in their curriculum to address the social impact of business.

This month's '5 Minute Interview' features Mavis Amankwah, Managing Director of Rich Visions who shares some of the life lessons she has learned along the way.

We go back into the ReConnect Africa Archives and highlight Africa Investment Horizons, a film by award winning producer Carol Pineau, which shows the enormous investment opportunities in Africa.

October offers a wide range of exciting events in the UK and overseas and our Events listing gives you details of what's on this month.

As ever, we report on news from the UK and around the world and bring you an overview of news from across the African continent.

Share your comments about our articles or write into our Letters page and let us know what you think about ReConnect Africa.

ReConnect Africa Members' Forum

What's making you angry/thoughtful/happy? What would you like to share with other readers of ReConnect Africa? Post your comments or give some advice to other members on our free ReConnect Africa Forum.

Thank you to those of you who have registered onto the Forum and posted your comments; if you haven't yet joined, why don't you do so today?

Enjoy this issue - and write in and share your comments!

Generation Y and Cool Careers

When a friend of mine recently vented her fury and disappointment at the fact that her privately educated son had announced his plans to train as a plumber's apprentice, I listened sympathetically, silently praying that this wouldn't be my fate a few years hence.

Why, she railed, had she bothered to sacrifice for so many years to give him a good education if he was going to choose something he could have done after leaving school, and not the top university she had slaved to get him into.

"He's not interested in a professional career, because it's 'boring'," she snorted. "He says he wants something more hands-on" – a wish she was probably tempted to fulfil in quite another way.

Coincidentally, we recently came across a report of a study which polled school-going students across Australia, seeking to gauge their perceptions of different industry sectors and how they were going to decide on their eventual careers.

The results don't make happy reading for people like my friend. This comprehensive study of 16 to 18 year olds – or Generation Y in demographic speak (those born roughly between 1980 and 2003 and now aged 6 to 28) – showed that careers such as Medicine, Law and the Arts are now seen as decidedly 'uncool'.

The study showed that this generation has an affinity for both practical education and to pursue cool, 'sexy' careers, mostly within the creative industry. Of the students polled, careers in television (25%), the music industry (24%), film (23%) and digital media (22%) featured most frequently, while over 65% of respondents rating 'acting' as a job which 'attracts the sexiest people'. The survey also showed a marked shift towards practical education, with an astonishing 83% of those considering future education specifying that they would rather pursue studies that gave them practical skills which are 'useful in the real world'.

"We weren't actually surprised at the results," said Marco Bettelli, Managing Director of the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions for SAE Institute, the global college which commissioned the study, and which offers both short courses and full-time courses in Film, Audio, Animation and Interactive Media Design.

"We've seen a considerable increase in interest from students wishing to pursue non-traditional areas of study, as students choose to take advantage of the opportunities available in the new creative industries."

Industries about which, many parents, who are still struggling to come to grips with the concept of new media, have only the haziest notions.

So when did being a lawyer, a doctor or a teacher come to be seen as 'uncool'? And does this mean that the hopes of many parents to be able to talk about 'my son, the doctor' or 'my daughter, the lawyer' are doomed to remain just that?

Interestingly, this generation appears to have embraced what many older people struggle with – the idea of finding a job that takes into account your skills and interests, rather than doing the job expected of you and looking for another outlet for your talents and interests.

The respondents to the survey felt no inclination to follow traditional career paths but did feel strongly about aligning their personal proficiencies with their chosen career path, with 67% actively searching for careers that 'fit their interests and talents', allowing them creativity and the opportunity to be innovative in the workplace.

Are these young people wrong to want to spend the bulk of their week doing a job that makes use of their interests and talents? Indeed, is it their responsibility to fulfil their parents' ambitions, irrespective of their own?

As I consider the significant number of frustrated clients I have coached, many of whom have followed what our parents considered careers of choice, it's hard to disagree with the logic of Generation Y.

Think for a moment of the legions of people – you might even be one of them - who dread the thought of Monday mornings. Consider also the increasing number of mid-career professionals now seeking a career change and the chance to do something they consider more meaningful with their lives.

Maybe it's time for us to learn from Generation Y and to start realizing that it's never too late to become cool.

As more African professionals head home, in the article 'Managing Africa with AMSCO', we talk to AMSCO about how their organisation is providing experienced African professionals with career opportunities in Africa.

For those contemplating a gap year in the face of a tight job market, we share how one gap year student’s stay in Ghana helped to spread the message of health and safety and changed her life in 'A Gap Year with a Difference'

Also in this month's Careers section, our Careers Coach offers some advice for a reader facing a choice of voluntary redundancy.

Leading trichologist Noon Etienne busts some further Black Hair Myths and, in '5 Myths about Colouring Afro Hair', Noon offers advice for those wanting a change in hair colour.

We preview the upcoming 2nd Annual Ghana Business and Investment Exhibition 2009and look at how the Ghana Black Stars Network is preparing for this event.

In 'Designing Cultures', we speak to Hazel and Kweku Aggrey-Orleans about the role their African heritage has played in the unique range of scarves created by their design company, Orleans Designs.

Award winning Editor, Anver Versi, is our guest interviewee in this month's '5 Minute Interview' and shares some of the sources of his inspiration and success.

We go back into the ReConnect Africa Archives and bring you another chance to read the interview with Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth inWomen, Leadership and a Changing Africa.

September brings a wide range of exciting events to the UK and overseas and  our Events listing gives you details of what's on this month.

As ever, we report on news from the UK and around the world and bring you an overview of news from across the African continent.

Share your comments about our articles or write into our Letters page and let us know what you think about ReConnect Africa.

What's making you angry/thoughtful/happy? What would you like to share with other readers of ReConnect Africa? Post your comments or give some advice to other members on our free ReConnect Africa Forum.

Thank you to those of you who have registered onto the Forum and posted your comments; if you haven't yet joined, why don't you do so today?

Enjoy this issue - and write in and share your comments!

That's What Friends are For

Before you delete yet another e-mail reminding you of National Friendship Week (which, judging from my inbox, must take place at least twice a month), bear in mind that your friends may hold the key to how long you live.

A recent study found that many people overlook a powerful weapon in the quest for better health: their friends. A 10-year Australian study has shown that friends can help us fight depression, speed up our recovery times from illness, slow down our aging and prolong our life.

Already starting to think differently about those e-mails?

The study, conducted by Flinders University, set out to examine if social networks with children, relatives, friends and confidants predict survival in older Australians, taking account of a range of demographic, health, and lifestyle variables.

While most people appreciate their circle of friends, the importance of these relationships takes on a whole new meaning as a result of this study. Some of the key findings from the research showed that older people with a large circle of friends were 22% less likely to die during the study period than those with fewer friends.

Adding more e-mail addresses to your contacts list yet?

Well, before you do, consider your body size and that of your friends. Another study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, examined the factors that cause a spread in obesity and concluded that a person's chances of becoming obese increased by 57% if he or she had a friend who became obese in a given interval.

Our friends sustain us, inspire us, encourage us and, yes, send us e-mails that we can often do without. But, they also help us heal.

While you pause to consider your options of either a longer life or obesity, you may be swayed by a third study by Harvard researchers that found evidence that social integration (read friendship) delays memory loss among elderly Americans and promotes brain health.

We can, and do, take our friends for granted as we get caught up with heavy workloads and hectic lives, and the lesson from some of these remarkable studies is that our friends are a resource we should nurture and hold onto, no matter what.

According to Rebecca Adams, a professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina, friendship has a bigger impact on our psychological well-being than family relationships. In some cases, really good friends become our family, even though no blood ties may exist.

Our friends sustain us, inspire us, encourage us and, yes, send us e-mails that we can often do without. But, they also help us heal. A 2006 study of around 3,000 nurses with breast cancer found that women without close friends were four times as likely to die from the disease as women with 10 or more friends. Remarkably, it didn't appear to matter how much contact a nurse had with her friends – just the fact of having those friends was protective.

Friendship works for men too, as a study of 736 middle-aged Swedish men revealed. The findings from this research showed that, rather than their relationship status, it was their friendships that affected their risk of heart attack and fatal coronary heart disease. Only smoking was shown to be as significant a risk factor as a lack of social support.

Despite all the evidence, it still isn't entirely clear why friendship has such a big effect on our lives and well-being. But the facts certainly show that friendship has a deep and powerful psychological effect on our health and our confidence, reduces our stress, and offers us people that we can turn to for both practical help and emotional support.

In 2008, researchers studied 34 students at the University of Virginia, taking them to the base of a steep hill and fitting them with a weighted backpack. The students were asked to estimate the steepness of the hill. During the exercise, some of the participants stood next to friends, while others stood alone.

The students who stood with friends gave lower estimates of the steepness of the hill. And the longer the friends had known each other, the less steep the hill appeared.

"Friendship is an undervalued resource," says Karen A. Roberto, Director of the Center for Gerontology at Virginia Tech., "and the consistent message of these studies is that friends make your life better."

One of my favourite quotes is "best friends are the siblings God forgot to give us". So make every week National Friendship Week, and keep circulating those e-mails – it's for your own good!

As the world continues to struggle with the economic downturn, we publish the comments made by South African ANC Treasurer-General Mathews Phosa on Africa's economic prospects. In An African Response to the Global Economic Crisis Dr. Phosa explains why he thinks this is a period that can fundamentally redefine Africa's position in the global economy.

They may have to implement redundancies, but Human Resources personnel are not exempt from the economic downturn and, arguably, the toughest job market for two decades. In How to Find a Job in a Downturn Owen Morgan offers advice for HR professionals searching for their next job.

Also in this month's Careers section, our Careers Coach offers some tips on working in consultancy.

We speak to Susan Adwoa Mensah in The Art of Justice about how she is using her remarkable artistic talent and forthcoming exhibition to shine a spotlight on the plight of women and children caught up in war and violence.

The National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) is building a new online social action community to generate ideas, suggestions and data that will be used to inform development for the poorest populations in Africa – and they need the help of the African Diaspora. Go to Africa Rural Connect to learn more about a new project that aims to support connections among Africa's Diaspora to improve agriculture in Africa.

Employment Lawyer, Landé Belo is our guest interviewee in this month's '5 Minute Interview' and shares some of the sources of her inspiration and success.

On 18 July, the legend that is Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela celebrates his 91st birthday. To celebrate the life of this inspirational leader, we go back into the ReConnect Africa Archives and bring you another chance to read the remarkable interview by John Battersby in Mandela.

July sees a wide range of exciting events taking place in the UK and overseas and our Events listing gives you details of what's on this month.

As ever, we report on news from the UK and around the world and bring you an overview of news from across the African continent.

Share your comments about our articles or write into our Letters page – where you can read the thought-provoking response by Dr. Sharon Minor to my previous Editorial – and let us know what you think about ReConnect Africa.

ReConnect Africa Members' Forum

What's making you angry/thoughtful/happy? What would you like to share with other readers of ReConnect Africa? Post your comments or give some advice to other members on our free ReConnect Africa Forum.

Thank you to those of you who have registered onto the Forum and posted your comments; if you haven't yet joined, why don't you do so today?

Enjoy this issue - and write in and share your comments!

Where Have All the Role Models Gone?
If we were to take an informal poll of the responses to our monthly '5 Minute Interview' feature, my bet is that the vast majority of people, in reply to the question 'My greatest influence has been....', have cited their mother or father.

Whether it's public figures or sporting heroes, academicians or business leaders, mums and dads loom large as the first and most lasting influences on most of our lives and the ones who set down the values by which we live.

So I was surprised when I read the results of a recent poll taken of teenagers in the USA by Deloitte*. The poll covered a national sample of 750 teens aged from 12 to 17 years and, according to the findings, only about half cite their parents as role models.

So, if today's generation of adults consider their own parents as their primary role models, what's gone wrong with the next generation? If parents can't be trusted as a symbol of what can be achieved, who is guiding the aspirations of our children?

Among the key findings of the survey was the fact that more than one in four teens thinks that behaving violently is sometimes, often or always acceptable, while 20% of the respondents said they had personally behaved violently toward another person in the past year, and 41% reported a friend had done so.

Not only attitudes to violence come into question, but the perception of what makes for ethical behaviour. 49% - nearly half - of those who said they are ethically prepared, believe that lying to parents and guardians is acceptable, and 61% admit to having done so in the past year.

While there is nothing new about the creative genius of a young mind when faced with a barrage of questions from an angry parent and a looming punishment, there was at least an underlying acceptance in the minds of most of today's adults that lying as a child – while maybe necessary at the time – was not a good thing to do. And as adults, we have seen high profile examples of people facing retribution, less for what they’ve done, than for lying about it afterwards.

The good news is that slightly more than half of the teens interviewed (54%) did consider their parents as role models. But before we all quickly reassure ourselves that we are part of that 54%, it wouldn’t hurt to evaluate how well we are really doing in living the ethics we so readily preach to our offspring.

Most of those who don't cite their parents as role models are turning to their friends or said they didn't have a role model. Which begs the question: What could we be doing to inspire our younger generations rather then having them reach for the nearest set of headphones or log onto their online chat rooms when they see us coming?

The survey found that teenagers feel more accountable to themselves (86%) than they do to their parents or guardians (52%), their friends (41 %) or society (33 %).

As parents, guardians and mentors, how are we contributing to the raising of a 'me-centred' and 'me-first' generation? What examples are we offering of service, support and accountability to our wider community? An absence of adult role models can leave a vacuum of ethical guidance as young people enter adulthood. If adults are not viewed as role models, others will be filling the gap.

Today's teens are tomorrow's leaders - so what do these findings mean for employers?

Teens' feelings about accountability, coupled with self-reported unethical behavior, raise a potential concern among employers, say the pollsters, because ties within a community, school, work environment or social network often guide behavior. If teens lack accountability to others, the data suggests that their choices may be driven purely by self-interest and not by interest in the greater good. As we struggle to emerge from a global economic crisis generated by a lack of ethics and accountability, what does this tell us about the chances for the next generation?

In a few years these young individuals will be managing businesses, investing money and teaching children and the survey results raise concerns for employers about how ethically prepared their future workforce will be.

The solutions to these challenges, say the pollsters, lie in tools to help teens become better ethically prepared. Ainar D. Aijala, global consulting leader, Deloitte, and Chairman of JA Worldwide, an organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy, aptly sums up the challenge. "Teens need training in ethical decision making, practical tools and role models that help them understand not only how to make the right choices, but how those choices will impact their personal success and the success of the organizations they join."

In this piece, I've posed more questions than answers because it is not a simple issue. Whether by choice, necessity or history, many of us live outside our countries of origin. While some traditions may be forgotten or overlaid by host country cultures, retaining the old values of responsibility, sharing and truth may be the best way we have to help our children navigate the new world.

In African culture, it is commonly said that it takes a village to raise a child. But when we are no longer living in our villages, how do we ensure that our children feel part of a community, understand its shared values and goals and – yes- its rules?

Because whatever it is that our parents did to become our role models has to be a guide to us in what we do for the younger generations. For, as Jomo Kenyatta put it, "our children may learn about the heroes of the past. Our task is to make ourselves the architects of the future."

In this issue, we bring you a report from Andrea Bohnstedt, publisher of Ratio Magazine, on the exciting new business developments in the fiercely competitive Kenyan telecoms sector.

We also look ahead to this month's 'must attend' event in London for South Africans looking for an opportunity to set up a new venture. Entrepreneurship – The Way Forward in South Africa is a one day seminar that will give South Africans with international experience practical advice on returning home to set up a business.

April 15th was voting day for South Africans living abroad and, to the delight and gratitude of the South African government, over 16,000 worldwide cast their vote.

In this month's Careers section, Richard Cook points out some of the pitfalls when negotiating with someone from another culture in "Negotiating Across Cultures".

Also in Careers, staying with the theme of entrepreneurship, our careers coach offers some advice on how to make the first move into self-employment.

First appearances can make all the difference and your image and personal brand can be enhanced or destroyed by a bad hair day. Leading trichologist Noon Etienne points out some of the biggest myths about black hair care, starting with the truth about relaxing hair.

Television presenter, Rhoda Wilson, is our guest interviewee in this month's '5 Minute Interview' and shares some of the sources of his inspiration and success.

We go back into the ReConnect Africa Archives and bring you another chance to read the article 'Rebranding Sierra Leone'. As the country struggles to rebuild its image and institutions, Georgina Awoonor-Gordon explains how the Sierra Leone Diaspora Network is promoting investment for the country’s development.

May sees a wide range of exciting events taking place in the UK and overseas and our Events listing give you details of what's on this month.

As ever, we report on news from the UK and around the world and bring you an overview of news from across the African continent.

Share your comments about our articles or write into our Letters page to let us know what you think about ReConnect Africa.

What's making you angry/thoughtful/happy? What would you like to share with other readers of ReConnect Africa? Post your comments or give some advice to other members on our free ReConnect Africa Forum.

Thank you to those of you who have registered onto the Forum and posted your comments; if you haven't yet joined, why don't you do so today?

Enjoy this issue - and write in and share your comments!

* National poll from Junior Achievement and Deloitte. The findings of a telephone survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation.

Survivor’s Guilt

Alexia, one of my coaching clients, was recently promoted to manage her sales unit. Good news, you might think, until she realized that she was now expected to take on responsibility for not only her unit but also that of another manager who had been summarily fired to cut costs.

"Not only am I now expected to do two people's jobs," she says in despair, "I'm getting paid less than my ex-boss, the other unit isn't happy about how their manager was let go and I'm supposed to be grateful that I've still got a job!"

Despite the blessing of avoiding the unemployment queues, not being laid off does not automatically create joy in the hearts of those surviving the massive job cuts taking place in some organizations. Nor is it, according to a recent survey in the USA, going to result in an increase in productivity.

The findings of the new study* showed that 74% of employees who kept their job amidst a corporate layoff say their own productivity has declined since the layoff. And 69% say the quality of their company's product or service has declined since the layoffs.

Despite the blessing of avoiding the unemployment queues, not being laid off does not automatically create joy in the hearts of those surviving the massive job cuts.

The survey covered 4,172 workers who remain employed following a corporate layoff. Drawn from 318 companies that have undertaken layoffs in the past 6 months, these employees were asked questions about productivity, product quality, workforce issues and management effectiveness. Some of the key findings included the fact that 87% of surviving workers say they are less likely to recommend their organization as a good place to work, while 64% of the surviving workers felt the productivity of their colleagues had also declined. The overwhelming majority felt that the service that customers receive had declined, with 61% of those questioned saying they believe their company's future prospects are worse.

When asked how they felt personally about the layoffs, the three most common words used by the survivors were 'guilt', 'anxiety' and 'anger'. Mark Murphy, Chairman of Leadership IQ, who conducted the study, named this phenomenon "Survivor Stress".

So, why is there so much stress involved in surviving a job cull?

In Alexia's case, although she understands the need for the business to review its cost base, the pleasure she would normally have gained from her promotion has been swamped by her frustration at being seen by the company as 'the cheaper option' (her words).

So, while on the one hand, she is thankful that she still has a job and glad that she was promoted; on the other hand, she feels guilty about how her extended job role was achieved, angry about having to take on more work for less money than her predecessors earned, anxious about looking incompetent if she asks for support, and guilty about complaining about her situation when she, at least, has a job.

In my experience of managing corporate restructuring projects and resultant job losses, the issue of survivor's guilt is a very real one. The way in which redundancies are carried out will have a huge impact on those who remain. When employees are fired without notice or any attempts to redeploy their skills, those left behind frequently feel vulnerable and anxious - as well as stressed by the sudden increases in workload.

When asked how they felt personally about the layoffs, the three most common words used by the survivors were 'guilt', 'anxiety' and 'anger'.

On the other hand, organisations that are open in their communications, that make their redundancy selections fairly and transparently and that assist outgoing staff with financial or career support packages are much more likely to keep their remaining staff engaged and hopeful about their future.

It is not enough for companies to assume that all will be well for those who remain employed. The survey suggests that companies that provide training for their managers in how to manage the redundancy process and to deal with what can be a traumatic aftermath are less likely to see a breakdown in service quality, productivity and morale.

But, whatever the response of their company, how can an individual manage their sense of guilt, frustration and anxiety?

The study organisers recommend that survivors should focus only on what they can personally control. By engaging colleagues in conversations about positive strategies for their current situation, people can talk themselves ‘up’ rather than ‘down’. They also recommend keeping the focus on the activities that add real value to customers and the organization and differentiating between 'important and unimportant activities'.

Taking one day at a time is not only a helpful approach for recovering alcoholics, but for everyone going through periods of stress and trauma. Identifying at the start of each day what needs to be accomplished for that day to be successful will help one stay focused on the present and on achieving a continuous sense of positive outcomes.

Taking one day at a time is not only a helpful approach for recovering alcoholics, but for everyone going through periods of stress and trauma.

Alexia's company may think it has found a more cost-effective solution by promoting Alexia and doubling her workload. But their approach, to my mind, is one that will cost them dearly in the long-term. Because my bet is that as soon as the economy picks up, my client will be off to find another employer who values her and lets her feel good about herself.

In this issue we publish Selorm Adadevoh's analysis of Kenya and Africa's dream of becoming the outsourcing destination of choice. Selorm assesses whether African countries should follow India’s model or create a new position in the global outsourcing space.

A host of changes in UK Immigration law over the last two years has placed greater emphasis on UK employers' responsibilities if they need to recruit overseas talent. We look at some of the implications of what has been described as the biggest shake-up of the UK immigration system for 45 years.

Are you a budding entrepreneur? In our Careers section, business coach Steve poses some 'sneaky questions' and offers some tips to help you talk about your business without losing clients.

With redundancies taking place around us, our Careers Coach offers some advice on how to reduce your chances of being tapped on the shoulder for that dreaded meeting with HR and your boss.

It's not all doom and gloom, however, as Reggie Tagoe reports, and in the article 'Walking with Success', Reggie reports on how a Ghanaian Association in Italy has been transformed into a successful business entity.

In our '5 Minute Interview' this month, we hear from Mame Gyang, Special Projects Manager at Enfield Council, who shares the advice that has helped her progress through her professional career.

Nigerian-born Simi Belo is the subject of our look back into the ReConnect Africa Archives. Proving that America can be the land of opportunity, not just for the Obamas but also for other Africans, Simi talks about her decision to expand her business and relocate to the United States.

February sees a number of events taking place in the UK and overseas and our Events listing give you details of what's on this month.

As ever, we report on news from the UK and around the world and bring you an overview of news from across the African continent.

ReConnect Africa Members’ Forum

What’s making you angry/thoughtful/happy? What would you like to share with other readers of ReConnect Africa? Post your comments or give some advice to other members on our free ReConnect Africa Forum.

Thank you to those of you who have registered onto the Forum and posted your comments; if you haven’t yet joined, why don’t you do so today?

Enjoy this issue - and write in and share your comments!

* Conducted by Leadership IQ, a US research and training company

What I'll be Teaching my Kids about Barack Obama

All the talk in the world about financial crises will not take away from the main event of January 2009 – the inauguration as President of the United States of a man born to an African father. Yet, for me, the key issue is what lessons this historic achievement offers us as Africans living as minorities within our host countries around the world.

My younger daughter (after trying in vain to switch the channel to one of her TV programmes while we watched an Obama special) asked me impatiently, 'Why is everybody talking about Obama?'

I wondered how to reply. Should I simply say ‘he is the first Black man to be elected President in America?' – an easy enough reply, but not one that I think will teach her anything. Now I’ve given it more thought, what I really need my daughter to understand is that his achievement is about more than his colour. So here’s what I'll be teaching her:

Call it a catchy slogan or call it smart, 'Hope We can Believe In' came to epitomise the direction of Obama’s presidential campaign. People can be frightened into behaving in a particular way, but how much more inspirational can a leader be than to appeal to the possibility of a better time and a better way?

Having the audacity to aim high brings a visibility that tempts some to aim low. By daring to challenge an established order, Obama had to reckon with the kind of flack that few of us would relish. By refusing to succumb to the 'angry black man' stereotype, he demonstrated how maturity and grace can withstand the most testing of times.

Perhaps inspired by his own diverse heritage, Obama has shown the importance of inclusion as a leadership trait. While staying true to the race with which he identifies himself, he has worked closely with people from different backgrounds, gender and ethnicities and it is this diverse support that helped propel him towards achieving his goal.

During his early years as a campaign organiser, Obama’s work with grass roots organisations meant that he got to know people, to understand the issues they struggle with and what matters to them. He also understood the importance of working with those with power and influence and assiduously built networks among those he had met through his privileged education and thereafter. Obama’s alliances offered him a means to get the chance to be part of the decision making process and to shape policies for those whose problems he now understood better.

By remaining true to his vision of who he is and not appearing unduly worried or affected by the need of others to pigeonhole or define him, Obama defied expectations, ignored predictions and, in the process, created a unique style of political leadership.

When you make a mistake, the best thing is to own up and say sorry. An off-hand and careless remark about Nancy Reagan led Obama to pick up the phone and apologise personally to the former First Lady. The word 'sorry' has a remarkable ability to heal – a lesson that many in public life have sadly failed to learn.

Who told you it couldn't be done? Tell them right back, "Yes, it can!" My kids are fortunate enough to have a father who has always told them there's nothing you can't do.' For children from minority communities who aren't lucky enough to have this positive affirmation in-house – well, luckily, now they can just look over at the White House.

Although, at 8 years old, she may not understand all of this yet, I want my daughter to learn that, amazing though it is to see a Black man in charge of the White House, these are the real lessons about leadership.

A Happy New Year to all our readers and subscribers. Thank you for continuing to support ReConnect Africa and please share your newsletters with friends and colleagues!

In this issue we direct our focus onto South Africa and look at how a global network of South Africans and 'friends of South Africa' have come together to promote the country. We bring you a report on the work of the NICRO Trust in the UK to support the extraordinary programmes that are steering young South Africans away from a life of crime. In the business section, you can find our report on the recent briefing by Lesetja Kganyago, the Director-General of the South African Treasury on the country's plans to weather the global economic crisis.

If you need some inspiration, you can do no better than to turn to the Careers section for our interview with the beautiful and talented Julia Doe. Julia shares her story about how she is making the transition to a career in music.

Also in this section, we bring you the first of a number of reports on the inaugural Future Talent Summit that brought together senior industry leaders to discuss the talent crisis facing the oil, gas and power sectors.

Life now begins at 50 and if you need some advice on how to take the next stage of your career forward, our Career Coach offers some useful advice.

This month our '5 Minute Interview' is with Abu Bundu-Kamara who works tirelessly to promote diversity- in all its forms - within the publishing sector.

In 'Leading the Continent', we return to South Africa and look back at our interview with Ghanaian Fred Swaniker and his African Leadership Academy, the first secondary school focused on developing and supporting the next generation of African leaders.

The New Year is bringing its share of events and our Events listing give you details of what's on this month in the UK and overseas.

As ever, we report on news from the UK and around the world and bring you an overview of news from across the African continent.

What’s making you angry/thoughtful/happy? What would you like to share with other readers of ReConnect Africa? Post your comments or give some advice to other members on our free ReConnect Africa Forum.

Thank you to those of you who have registered onto the Forum and posted your comments; if you haven’t yet joined, why don’t you do so today?

Enjoy this issue - and write in and share your comments!

The recent elections in Liberia established Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as Africa’s first female head of state of modern times.  This historic event, following on from the appointment of women as Deputy Prime Minister of South Africa and Minister of Finance for Nigeria as well as the choice of Professor Wangari Maathai for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, highlights the enormous potential of women in contributing to Africa’s political and economic development.

While the term ‘gender’ still triggers negativity in some quarters, it is important that women in Africa remember what Archbishop Desmond Tutu once quoted his father as saying; ‘Don’t raise your voice; improve your argument.” 

The argument is clear.  African employers that tolerate gender bias also restrict opportunities to bring the talent and experience of a significant proportion of their workforce to bear on their business and to create a positive reputation as a fair employer.  Investing in gender equity and gender balance will create organisations with a diverse workforce which are better positioned to hire the best talent, understand and reflect the diversity of their customer base, improve staff morale and bring new ideas and innovation to maintain their competitive edge.

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When Alexander the Great visited Diogenes and asked whether he could do anything for the famed teacher, Diogenes replied: 'Only stand out of my light.'

Without doubt, Africa’s most important and sustainable competitive advantage is its people.  Enterprising, resourceful and resilient in the face of natural and man-made disasters, the potential of Africa’s human resources is boundless.

Developing the potential and the capacity of our human capital is the most important priority to creating sustainable long-term growth within Africa.  By harnessing the energy and commitment of our African youth– both within and outside the continent – all the sectors involved in rebuilding Africa can benefit from the wealth of talent on offer. 

To grow our future talent requires challenging and well rewarded job and entrepreneurial opportunities.  To create the leaders that Africa needs to face the challenges of the coming decades, we must support the development of our young people and stand out of their light. 

“This year is of great significance for Africa.” So starts the 453-page report of the Commission for Africa entitled ‘Our Common Interest’.  Reactions to the report since its launch in London have been divided, with numerous debates taking place to assess its findings (see p. 7).

The 17 Commissioners set themselves the task of defining Africa’s challenges and providing recommendations on how to support the changes necessary to reduce poverty on the continent.  The report’s title unequivocally links a secure and prosperous Africa to the best interests of the global community while the report’s recommendations number over a hundred.  The Commission, established by UK Premier Tony Blair, was set up to report in 2005 - a year in which progress made towards the UN Millennium Development Goals is under scrutiny and in which the UK heads both the G8 and, in the second half of the year, the European Union.

The success of the Commission will be rated by its ability to deliver impetus to action rather than words.  Nevertheless, while the emphasis on 2005 does place Africa prominently on the world’s agenda this year, it is the actions taken in 2005, 2006, and 2007 and beyond by Africans inside and outside Africa that will really determine how quickly the fortunes of Africa can be transformed.  Achieving positive and sustained change in Africa requires a focus on governance and capacity, on ‘doing the right thing and doing the thing right’.

‘The business of business is business’, said Milton Friedman, who advocated the notion that the role of corporations is solely for the purpose of creating wealth and maximising shareholder profit.  Recent corporate scandals, however, have led to an increase in shareholder pressure, deeper scrutiny of corporate governance and ethics as well as a wider recognition of the impact businesses have on a community.  All of which has increasingly focused attention on the practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

For Africa’s developing economies, irresponsible business practices and policies can have devastating social and environmental effects.  Many corporations operating in Africa now take proactive steps to mitigate the potential risks posed by their products. The development of CSR benchmarks and socially responsible investment indices demonstrate how the issue of responsibility has now become a critical factor in investment decisions.

Realising that CSR makes for good business relations and, therefore, makes business sense, many multinationals in Africa recognise that the pursuit of profit alone is not enough and have moved well beyond the sphere of business to tackle a number of social challenges including health, education and the environment.  As Africans rebuild their economies and institutions, the active participation of local and international business – whether for genuine reasons of partnership, enlightened self-interest, or both – is vital in providing opportunities and resources. 

‘..Dark Continent, failed states, corrupt, famine-ridden, war-torn, politically unstable, high investment risk, scar on the conscience of the world…’ the litany of negative labels ascribed to Africa seems never-ending.  As a brand, Africa’s position in the global market could hardly be poorer.  The continent receives only 1% of the world’s foreign direct investment and has the unenviable ranking as the only continent whose citizens have grown poorer over the last generation. 

Africa’s branding in the global market place causes many of its own citizens to consider it a poor risk, evidenced by capital flight from Africa estimated at over US$148 billion since the end of colonisation.  The large number of Africans in the Diaspora is testimony that, for many, Brand Africa today does not encourage the investment of their businesses, their funds, their children or their futures.

Re-branding Africa is a challenge that must be met if the continent is to attract the level of investment it needs to repair its damaged economies and reduce poverty among its people.  Despite abundant natural resources that should offer Africa a natural competitive advantage, poor governance, disease and intellectual and capital flight have all raised the bar.  Transforming Brand Africa demands the efforts of all its citizens – both within and outside the continent – to provide structures, opportunities and safeguards to investment, to aid the process of good governance and the rule of law, to foster a change in attitude towards corruption so as to build on Africa’s enormous potential to position itself as a destination of choice for investment and business – both African and international. 

For many African countries it has been several decades since the attainment of what Jean-Jacques Dessalines termed, on declaring independence in Haiti in 1804, ‘the first of all blessings’.  However, since achieving its political freedom, the debate rages on about who is responsible for Africa’s unique position as the only continent to have grown poorer in the last two decades. 

Irrespective of who is to blame and who should therefore now sort things out, one thing remains clear.  Africa is everybody’s business.  Those in the West who may want to leave Africa alone are witnessing the continued and steady migration of that continent’s citizens into their own towns and cities.  What happens in Africa will continue to have a visible and direct impact on the rest of the world and, therefore, Africa matters.

To reverse the current flow of professional skills and expertise out of the continent, our mission is to work with those who understand that Africa matters and who stand ready to share their skills, experience and energy to make Africa a place that attracts business and generates a return on investment. Our focus is on skills development, capacity building and best practice in management because we recognise that Africa will only truly be everyone’s business when it is seen as the place to do business. 

At the heart of every business are its people.  In this issue we investigate recent activities in training and development on the continent and highlight some of the work Interims for Development is doing to build the skills and capacity of Africa’s professional base.  Putting people first is critical, for where people lead, business follows.

Since the launch of ReConnect Africa in May 2006, we have been touched and gratified by the many messages of support and congratulations, both from individual readers as well as from representatives of private and public sector organisations.

Through ReConnect Africa we will continue to bring you positive news of developments in Africa and in the Diaspora; to share the successes of Africans and to highlight the advances and growing opportunities that Africa offers for both careers and enterprise.  Look out for new features to the site in the coming months, offering major benefits to recruiters and job seekers.

It’s award season again and time to recognise those whose achievements should serve as an example and inspiration.  Ghana’s recent football success has boosted the country’s recognition factor in the West and gained her some new fans around Africa.  Ghana continued to celebrate after the match and we report on the Ghana Professional Awards in London that brought together many of Ghana’s sons and daughters living in the Diaspora.

Re-branding Africa is a challenge that we have embraced with ReConnect Africa.  If we don’t take the initiative to speak about Africa, we leave it to others to speak for us.  Recognising those who present a balanced picture of Africa is important and the third Diageo Africa Business Reporting Awards offered such an opportunity (see “Change the perception of Africa for Business”).  The role the media plays in Africa is crucial and never more so than when elections take place.  Avoiding the pitfalls of biased and inaccurate reporting is key to strengthening our continent’s democracies and assuring continued investment.  In this issue, we report on the recent training programme held in Uganda to strengthen media reporting skills during elections in Africa (“Honing the Skills of Africa’s 4th Estate”).

ReConnect Africa continues to attract media attention and recent articles about us have appeared in News Africa, a widely circulated European publication for the Diaspora, The Zimbabwean and The Trumpet, Britain’s largest distributed Black publication.

Keep your comments coming and thank you to all our readers and contributors.  Support us by e-mailing a link to ReConnect Africa to your friends and contacts.

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The New York Times recently quoted Joe Gregory, the president of Lehman Brothers, who once said that 'you can't build a great company without great people - and great people are not just white, straight men aged 25 to 40'.

Diversity has become the watchword of companies claiming the desire to see the full spectrum of their customer base reflected in their employees.  But how much of this goes beyond lip service and, in terms of gender and cultural diversity, how much opportunity is really being made available to women and those of African and other minority ethnicities in the West?  Are companies really prepared to change their outlook and culture and offer an inclusive workplace for all their staff?

According to a study by Columbia University’s Center for Work-Life Balance, white males represent just 17% of the global talent pool of individuals with graduate education.  Yet, it is interesting to note that a study sponsored by investment banks Goldman Sachs and Lehman in the USA in 2004, revealed that of 2,443 'highly qualified' women questioned, only 5% of the 2,271 who wanted to return to work, were looking to return to the places they had left.

To brand themselves effectively to candidates today, companies need to bear in mind that today’s new talent, Generation Y, also dubbed the “Millennials,” say they value balance more than financial security.  When employers are prepared to put both the will and a budget to addressing issues of work/life balance, inclusion and diversity, in all its senses, the use of the ‘D’ word might finally appear to have some substance.

In this issue we look at a recent report by the UK Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development on Diversity and ask Fitzroy Andrew, a leading expert on the subject of diversity, for his assessment of what the findings mean for UK plc.

ReConnect Africa is all about people and management and we speak to Lyndon Jones of Association of Business Executives  about their work in developing management talent in Africa.  As continuing news of conflict, terror and crisis hits our TV screens, it is an opportune time to address how companies are preparing their staff for working in conflict zones and, in this issue, we ask Jeff Toms of Farnham Castle  about their new programme to help employers keep their staff safe.

Ghana continues to make the news (in a good way!) and we highlight the recent visit to London by President Kufuor and his briefing to African media on the newly signed Millennium Challenge Account.
Please keep your comments coming and thank you to all our readers and contributors. 

Support us by e-mailing a link to ReConnect Africa to your friends and contacts.

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A recent survey by Reed Consulting revealed that 30% of recent job candidates have changed brands as a result of a bad recruitment experience, with nearly 60% of those questioned saying that their experience of a firm had affected their perception of its brand.

Employers who forget that potential employees are also customers stand to lose more than the opportunity to hire good talent.  As the saying goes, ‘it takes a lifetime to build a reputation, and a single moment to lose it.’  Of those respondents who boycotted the brands, 66% did so because they never received a response to their application.  A simple response would have shown them the courtesy of recognising the enormous effort many candidates put into applying for a job.

I have been, in turn, overwhelmed by the hospitality and respect given by some organisations and shockingly disappointed by discourtesy from organisations with brands from which one would have expected better – and switched brands as a result!  Those who talk about people being their most important asset should remember that the place to prove this is in the office and not in the corporate brochure.  A chain is only as strong as its weakest link and it takes every member of a company to sustain a brand.  Because, ultimately, no matter what the hype, any brand is only as strong as an individual’s most recent experience of it.

In this month’s issue of ReConnect Africa, we look at the impact of flowers on Kenya’s economy and hear about an innovative approach to team building in the Kenyan Rift Valley.  A new study that sets out to track the successful experiences of Black women in the European corporate workplace offers food for thought about how success can be shared and used to inspire others.  Africans in the Diaspora are always looking homeward and we hear from Sylvia Arthur about her experiences in Ghana and how London Business School’s students learned from their visits to Nigeria and Ghana.  Finally, we turn for some inspiration to Everest Ekong, publisher of the award-winning publication, Business in Africa.

Send us your comments and support ReConnect Africa by forwarding the website link to your friends and contacts!

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A land of contrasts, a place of opportunity, a country with a unique story to tell.  12 years on from its transition to democracy, South Africa today is a beacon of enterprise, a hub of energy and a power house of influence across the African continent.

While there is no doubting South Africa’s considerable challenges - from tackling its skills crisis, its crime figures and the scourge of HIV/AIDS - the talent, drive and leadership that it offers to Africa should not be underestimated.  During my recent return to the country what struck me, above everything, is the boundless potential South Africa offers. Archbishop Tutu’s rainbow nation is indeed alive with possibility.

In this special issue of ReConnect Africa, we turn the spotlight onto South Africa and the opportunities it offers for Africa’s business and professional community.  We report on the recent 50th Anniversary Convention of the South Africa Institute of People Management and, in this and future issues, we will be bringing you a flavour of some of the inspirational and thought-provoking presentations made during the event.  Our own presentation on the issue of retaining professional talent in Africa raised some pertinent questions on how companies in Africa can stem the exodus of skilled staff and attract African talent from around the globe

The role of entrepreneurs in building the new South Africa was nowhere more evident to me than in my meeting with Stephen Larkin of Acqumine, whose incredible energy and intellect is an inspiration to anyone who believes in making things happen.  We also bring you contributions from two eminent South Africans, the IMC’s John Battersbyand Human Resources expert Elijah Litheko of the IPM.

As the country gears itself up to make (yet) more history by hosting the Fifa World Cup in 2010, we share the speech given by President Thabo Mbeki and his call to South Africans everywhere for support. Finally we report on the Homecoming Revolution’s Woza Ekhaya! careers event in London, which we were proud to participate in, and which showcased the rich South African talent in the UK.

The final word goes to Ms. Patti Boulaye, the charismatic and tireless entertainer and artist, who shares the life lessons she has learned along the way.

Send us your comments and support ReConnect Africa by forwarding the website link to your friends and contacts!

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Arecent survey* of more than 2,000 MBA students suggests that the overwhelming majority of today's MBA students believe that businesses should work toward the betterment of society, that managers should take into account social and environmental impacts when making business decisions, and that corporate social responsibility should be integrated into core curricula in MBA programs.

Proving that business school graduates are not simply focused on finding highly paid jobs to repay hefty student loans and to accumulate personal fortunes, a startling 81% of those polled agreed with a statement that businesses should work toward the betterment of society, although only 18% believed most corporations are currently working toward that goal.

Most importantly, for companies seeking to recruit from this new generation of top talent, 79% indicated they would seek employment that is socially responsible in the course of their careers, and 59% said they would do so immediately following business school.

Thinking – and acting! – as a socially responsible business must be seen as a critical component of any company’s employer brand.  Those who don’t heed the demands for corporate social leadership and accountability by today’s burgeoning leaders may be missing out on the chance to attract and to retain the best in class. 

Leadership is a key theme in this, our last issue of 2006.  In his final address to the United Nations, one of Africa’s most high-profile leaders of the last decade, Kofi Annan, speaks of the challenges he has faced during his tenure as Secretary-General.  Brand Pretorius, a giant of corporate leadership in Africa, sets out his views on the criteria and responsibilities of effective leaders.  Proving that women can lead with the best of them, we bring you an exclusive interview with Mrs. Florence Mugasha, Deputy-Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Creating wealth is what companies seek to do but not too many can claim to be creating millionaires in Africa!  We speak to the Premier Group who sees their goal as empowering and generating wealth for their people.  Our own Vince Owen shares some pointers on reducing risks when recruiting and, for those in the Diaspora going home to Africa for Christmas, Effie Cooke’s story of her return to Ghana should inspire you to look for opportunities of your own.

Finish off the year with a look at why sharks will keep you fresh and the last word goes to Nigerian inventor and entrepreneur, Simi Belo, who shares her philosophy of why there is no such thing as failure.

Our warmest thanks go to all our contributors for their support and to all of you for taking the time to read ReConnect Africa - and to forward it to your friends.

With our best wishes to you all for a blessed and peaceful festive season and a happy and prosperous New Year!

Thanks!

* Net Impact Survey conducted online from September 25 to October 15, 2006 at 110 MBA programs in the US and Canada.

January is the month where we traditionally make – and break – New Year’s resolutions. But when it comes to deciding how we want to spend 40 plus hours a week, can we really afford another broken promise?

A recent survey by Kingston Business School and Ipsos MORI of employee attitudes and levels of engagement of 2,000 employees in Great Britain, revealed that almost half of all those questioned are either looking for another job or in the process of leaving.*

Only 3 in 10 Employees are Engaged with their Work

The survey, which was commissioned by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), measured how much ‘passion’ employees feel about their work and their performance. Only 3 in 10 employees are engaged with their work, with a significantly higher percentage of disengagement among the under 35’s, and more than a quarter of employees saying that they rarely or never look forward to coming to work.

People need to feel that their work matters in order to stay with an organisation and while not everyone is fortunate enough to get paid for doing what they love, employers can improve employee engagement though better internal communications, implementing fair and equitable practices and offering employees a better work/life balance. Without this, too many employers may find that the one New Year resolution their employees keep this year is to find a new job.

New Look ReConnect Africa

Welcome to our new look ReConnect Africa. In this issue, we report on the business process outsourcing and offshoring sector and how South Africa is leveraging the advantages of its infrastructure and growing economy to attract significant investment in this sector.

While Ghana will shortly celebrate the 50th anniversary of its independence, some of its institutions are in desperate need of a facelift. We speak to an alumnus of Achimota School about a new campaign that aims to restore the school to its previous glory. ReConnect Africa’s resident career coach, Helen Dupigny, recently celebrated 10 years of business success and we report on the Awards Tribute evening held to recognize those who are striving towards their career goals.

Echoing the theme of employee engagement, leadership expert Paul Bridle reflects on how companies need to adapt to the changes that technology is bringing to the workplace. If you are a recruiter, Vince Owen’s tips on reducing the risks in hiring should offer some useful advice, while Margaret White shares some insights on how graphology can assist the recruitment process.

My interview with the delightful Patti Boulaye is proof that some successful Africans choose not to forget their roots and also equate their success with a responsibility to give something back. We hope our readers will lend their support to Patti’s Support for Africa programme.

Finally, we speak to another inspiring celebrity, Tessa Sanderson, about the influences and motivation that led her to win an Olympic Gold Medal.

I hope you enjoy the new look ReConnect Africa – write back and let us know what you think!.

* ‘How Engaged are British Employees?’ Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (www.cipd.co.uk)

The furore over recent weeks about the building of a $40 million leadership academy in South Africa for disadvantaged girls by US talk show host and philanthropist, Oprah Winfrey, has been an interesting lesson in the ‘what I would do with $40 million dollars’ exercise.

Oprah has been castigated by some for creating an elitist institution where girls will enjoy the privileges of a 2-bedroom suite and bed sheets of the finest cotton.  Others argue that the money would have been better spent in educating many more girls in surroundings of a lesser standard.  While it begs the question of why those who were not involved in the rigours of producing a demanding daily television talk show, managing a globally circulated magazine and developing national literacy and charitable programmes, feel entitled to determine the distribution of Oprah’s profits; the bigger issue seems to have been overlooked by the proponents of the ‘less is more’ school of thought.

Oprah has not set out to take over the obligations of a national government to provide affordable and accessible education to its citizens.  She has made a gesture – if $40 million can be rightly described as a gesture – of recognition that absorbing the best quality of education within the best surroundings will produce a cadre of highly educated, self-confident young women who can rightfully aspire to leadership in whichever field of endeavour they choose.

Inspired by a great leader – Nelson Mandela – Oprah’s gift of a world-class training institution will give its pupils the confidence to envision and achieve a world-class future for themselves and, thus, be in a position to give back to their people, their country and their continent. 

In this Issue

In this month’s ReConnect Africa, we talk to Diageo Africa’s John Patterson about the remarkable transition of its management team from one dominated by Western expatriates to a truly multinational African team.  We highlight the success of Forever Living Products in creating opportunities for wealth in Africa.  Journalism is a career that many aspire to and former BBC journalist Tim Fenton shares some tips on getting into the sector while magazine editor Sherry Dixon gives an insight into what she has learned in her media career.

As Ghana prepares for its 50th anniversary celebrations in March, we profile the upcoming Career Destinations job fair taking place this month in Accra.  The war for talent has seen the UK Government adopt a new approach to its immigration policies in a bid to attract highly-skilled migrants, while the efforts of Africans living in the UK and Europe to support development in Africa are showcased in the valuable work being undertaken by Africa Foundation Stone in Cameroon.

Enjoy this issue of ReConnect Africa - and don’t forget to write in and share your comments on these stories.

On March 6th 2007, the first sub-Saharan African country to gain its independence from colonial rule celebrates a momentous milestone.

Ghana’s story over the last half century has been one of both despair and tremendous hope. From its earliest days of independence, through the charismatic leadership of Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah, the country led the struggle for a unified Africa and for the economic independence that would make a reality of Africa’s political independence. Over the last 50 years, Ghana has faced her own problems; successive military coups, leaders of questionable integrity, economic catastrophes and civilian unrest. Yet, the country has weathered these obstacles and is taking positive strides forward.

Today Ghana’s economic policies have seen a reduction of over 40% in its debt stock; Ghana’s economy continues to experience macro economic stability with rising GDP growth, diminishing inflationary expectations and a stable currency. The 25 African states that have signed up to the Africa Peer Review Mechanism have commended Ghana’s efforts as one that reflects a success story from Africa. In the World Bank Study, Doing Business in 2006, Ghana was the 9th easiest place to do business in Africa and in West Africa, Ghana ranks number 1 as the easiest place to do business. In its 50th year of nationhood, as the new Chair of the Africa Union, Ghana is once again taking the lead to forge a united Africa. May she continue to prosper.

In this issue of ReConnect Africa, we focus on Ghana and highlight the achievements of Ghanaians at home and around the world. My father, personal mentor and lifelong inspiration, H.E. Judge Thomas Mensah, Ghana’s foremost maritime and environmental law expert, shares his life lessons in the ‘5 Minute Interview’. Tina Boadi highlights the events taking place to celebrate Ghana’s 50th independence anniversary and we speak to Ghanaian Fred Swaniker about his mission to develop Africa’s future leaders. The Ghanaian Diaspora is a powerful economic force for Ghana’s development and we look at a new website launched to assist the inflow of remittances into Ghana. The social contribution made by Ghanaians outside the country is highlighted by the work of the Star 100 network group and the Centre for Community Development Initiatives, while playwright and essayist Paul Boakye shares his memories of his return trip to Ghana. Helen Dupigny offers some advice on careers in Senegal and for those of you considering a career change, Beth Harvey has some useful tips. March is a busy month and our ‘Dates for your Diary’ will give you information about some of the events taking place.

Enjoy this issue of ReConnect Africa - and don’t forget to write in and share your comments on these articles.

A recent study* has highlighted the link between an employee’s trust in their employer and their loyalty to their organisation. The results of this study suggest that approximately 32% of a worker’s desire to stay or go is the result of feeling or not feeling trust towards their boss and showed that the more an employee trusts his or her direct boss, the more likely he or she will remain in an organisation.

The report, based on a survey of 7,209 executives, managers and employees, suggested that five particular dimensions of trust or creating trust were the best at predicting that a worker would remain. Having a boss who listens constructively to a worker’s on-the-job problems was found to be the strongest predictor of loyalty to an organisation, accounting for fully 26% of their wanting to stay or go. Additionally, perceiving that their boss makes good decisions and is honest with them, contribute incrementally an additional 3% and 2%. Perceiving that their boss is helping with professional growth added 1% to their decision.

The message to organisations seeking to improve the retention of their talent is clear from the key findings from this study.  Trust drives results; the issue of trust is much more than a nice buzzword but actually significantly predicts employee loyalty.  Equally clear from the study is that there is not enough trust in today’s organisations; only 20% of the people surveyed strongly trust the top management of their organisation, while 44% ranged from not trusting to strongly distrusting their top management.  Employers who want to build a trusting workplace should assess how they rate against the factors that build trust; constructive responses from managers, managers who make smart decisions, honest and truthful bosses, bosses who help employees grow and develop professionally and bosses who provide consistent direction, and take active steps to create a positive change.

In this month’s ReConnect Africa, we speak to Adelaide Matlejoane and Kevin D’Allende of Matlejoane Staffing Services, a successful Black Empowered recruitment agency at the forefront of recruiting South African talent back into the country.  With the launch of the African Finance Corporation, we share journalist Carol Pineau’s observations on Africa’s little-publicised but thriving private sector.  The Africa Club at the London Business School sets the scene for lively debate and action during its forthcoming Africa Day and we bring you some insights on team leadership from actor, playwright and business coach, Lin Sagovsky.  Following advice from our careers coach, the final word comes from former Commonwealth Secretary General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, who shares his views in this month’s ‘5 Minute Interview’

Enjoy this issue of ReConnect Africa - and don’t forget to write in and share your comments on these articles.

* Leadership IQ, ‘Building Trust in the Workplace’ www.leadershipiq.com

Why ReConnect Africa? From our work with companies and individuals, it was increasingly clear that there were few platforms that enabled progressive organisations to engage with African talent within Africa and around the world. When we asked the question ‘Instead of navigating numerous websites, is there one place African professionals can go when they are looking for information about employment, enterprise and business opportunities?’ we found no answer. When we researched how businesses operating in Africa aim to attract skilled professionals from the African Diaspora, we recognised that distance and diversity has created a disconnect between African communities, both within national borders and between continents, making the need for a common and accessible platform of communication critical.

What was also clear to us was that marketing opportunities in Africa meant re-branding perceptions; taking the focus from the negative media and demeaning labels often ascribed to Africans and presenting the other face of Africa; a continent that has produced an enormous pool of talented, successful and inspiring leaders and role models, wherever they may live.

One year after the launch of ReConnect Africa, we are proud to say that we have started to make a difference in our mission to bring together opportunity and talent.

Bringing together Opportunity and Talent

Over the past year

Thank you to all our clients, contributors, subscribers and friends. Please continue to support us by forwarding ReConnect Africa to your friends and contacts and spreading the word!

In this Issue

For this month’s anniversary issue, we asked some of our clients and subscribers for their feedback on ReConnect Africa and we publish their replies in ‘Letters to the Editor’. We speak to Professor Franklyn Manu of the African Association of Business Schools about his organisation’s mission to raise the standards of the continent’s business schools. A new documentary, ‘A Homecoming for Jobs in Africa’, offers a powerful testimony of how Africans in the Diaspora are working in partnership with entrepreneurs in Africa to tackle poverty and to create jobs in Sierra Leone. Job fairs are becoming an increasingly popular way to connect people to potential employers and leading coach Peter Cobbe shares some helpful tips on making the most of them.

Catherine Carthy explores the concept of emotional intelligence and the critical part it plays in effective leadership while Vince Owen reflects on the transition of the Human Resources function in organisations. If you have difficulty negotiating a pay rise, Helen Dupigny has some words of advice on how to approach this thorny subject. The inspirational Ola Fagbohun shares her lessons learned in this month’s ‘5 Minute Interview’ and look out for the many events and activities taking place in May

Enjoy this anniversary issue of ReConnect Africa - and don’t forget to write in and share your comments on these articles.

A recent survey in the UK has highlighted epidemic levels of stress in the country. 50% of the respondents said they are more stressed than five years ago, with one in five saying they are under strain every day.

Another recent study* commissioned by the UK Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) and the Health and Safety Executive revealed that Human Resources and line managers can reduce stress at work by taking simple steps to improve management practice. The study identified 19 competencies that emerged from nearly 400 interviews with employees and their managers. According to the staff who responded, the most important actions that their managers could take to reduce stress were monitoring and managing workloads (77%), listening to and consulting their team (68%), keeping staff informed about what was happening (63%) and showing consideration for individuals and their personal lives (61%).

The effects of stress has been estimated to cost the UK economy £10 billion a year, a cost few businesses can afford. To prevent stress from killing your business, the report recommends extra training for managers in the areas outlined above. Other key behaviours for managers identified by the report include being accessible, giving feedback, managing conflict and keeping emotions in check.

Line managers with the people management skills outlined above are more likely to lead teams that perform well and that operate under less stress. Healthy employees are far more prone to be happy employees and, as a result, productive employees.

In this Issue

In this issue of ReConnect Africa, Health Psychologist Dr. Rosemary Anderson explores the subject of stress and examines how negative stress can affect business performance. We speak exclusively to Kekeli Gadzekpo, Executive Vice-Chairman of Databank Group, about the phenomenal success of Databank and opportunities in Ghana. Wendy Luhabe states the case for propaganda in portraying Africa and Charles Nqakula outlines the steps the South African Government is taking to secure investment and reduce crime in the country. The changing role of Human Resources management is the subject of a forthcoming conference and Janine Nieuwoudt looks ahead to the issues facing the HR function as it moves towards a strategic role within business. Preparations are underway for the fourth Lake of Stars Festival and we bring details of a trip of a lifetime. The last word goes to the indefatigable Bola Olabisi, founder of the Global Women Inventors and Innovators Awards and champion of enterprising women everywhere.

We hope you enjoy this issue of ReConnect Africa - and don’t forget to write in and share your comments on these articles.

* Management Competencies for Preventing and Reducing Stress at Work

A recent report by consultancy firm Deloitte provides guidance to organizations on how they can significantly improve bottom-line results by fostering and promoting connections in the workplace. According to the report, "Connecting People to What Matters," creating effective workforce connections to people, purpose, and resources may increase competitive advantage by helping to improve an organization’s productivity, innovation, and growth.

When it comes to retaining your talent, how people connect, and the quality of those connections, can mean the difference between a loyal and engaged workforce and a costly outflow of human resources.  The Deloitte Research/Deloitte Consulting report notes that people's jobs and technology have become more complex, while workforces are increasingly more diverse in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and generational differences. It is these changes, says the report, which make it very difficult for today's workforce to make quality, value-driven connections. Disconnected employers fail to understand what their employees need and want to perform effectively and to stay engaged. Employers need to become connected to their employees to deliver on what they need and want in the workplace; interesting work, career development, and flexibility in exchange for their highly sought after capabilities.

Connections for Retention

The report urges Employees and employers to foster three primary types of connections: connecting people to people to help promote personal and professional growth, connecting people to a sense of purpose to help build and sustain a sense of organizational and individual mission, and connecting people to the resources they need to work effectively, such as managing knowledge, technology, tools, capital, time and physical space.  Employers who cannot connect with their talent will sadly discover that clever recruitment tactics and rich pay packages will not, in the long term, retain their talent.

In this Issue

In this issue, we turn the spotlight onto Zambia and report on the recent Forum held in London to highlight investment opportunities in Zambia. The role of art in the healing of a nation is showcased in our report on the UK launch of the Ifa Lethu Foundation of South Africa. Cultural management expert Richard Cook explores the role of culture and competence in management success and Vincent Owen offers some tips on how to make PowerPoint an effective tool in delivering presentations. ReConnect Africa is all about the positive things that Africa and its Diaspora offers and we catch up with Greg Obong-Oshotse, the Editor of the new publication ‘Positive People’ to find out more about his magazine. Our resident Career Coach, Helen Dupigny, offers some useful advice for job hunters and we bring you the best of this month’s events in Dates for your Diary.

As ever, we bring you the latest round-up of business developments around the continent and other news from Africa and the rest of the world. The last word goes to our 5 Minute Interviewee, Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie, Executive Director and co-founder of AFFORD and a leader and champion of Africans in the Diaspora working to benefit Africa.

This issue of ReConnect Africa is dedicated to my brother, the late Thomas Mensah Jr., a source of inspiration, learning and wisdom for many people around the world.

We hope you enjoy this issue of ReConnect Africa - and don’t forget to write in and share your comments on these articles.

* Management Competencies for Preventing and Reducing Stress at Work

Is this your Best Life?

When you look back at your career choices, have they led you to where you want to be today? If not, what are you doing to ensure that you get a chance to live your best life?

Sometimes it takes a traumatic event to force you to reconsider where you are. Sometimes it just takes a few wrong words from your manager or spotting the perfect job advert to make you realise that you are in the wrong place and pursuing the wrong dreams.

As we go through life, our priorities and values continuously undergo a shift and when these become unaligned to what we are doing, we feel bored, unstimulated and without direction. That is when it is time to focus anew on identifying your changed priorities and developing new goals. The starting point to finding your way to your best life is to take stock of where you are, what you have achieved, what matters to you and, perhaps most crucially, what is no longer important to you. Being able to ask – and answer – these tough questions will help you sift out what matters and to make a plan that works for you. There is no guarantee that you’ll get it right first time and you may have to keep researching and re-writing your life plan until it feels right to you.

The only certainty is that if you are not living the life you want and you choose not to act, you will simply continue to dream about what your best life could have been while it passes you by. To paraphrase the late John Lennon, ‘life is what happens while you are busy making no plans.’

In this Issue – Editor’s Pick

In this issue, I have selected some of my favourite articles from previous issues of ReConnect Africa. I hope our newer readers enjoy them and that our long-time readers will have fun reading them again!

First, however, we bring you the latest round-up of business developments around the continent and other news from Africa and the rest of the world. We also look ahead to the forthcoming Africa Business Leaders Forum taking place in Ghana in October and share David Christianson’s report from the 2006 Leadership for Growth conference.

Leading the Editor’s Pick is Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s take on leadership in Africa today and what the continent needs from its leaders in order to flourish. The role of the media in safeguarding Africa’s democracy is critical and we review the training workshop held in Kampala to strengthen ethical reporting during elections. One of the most inspiring entrepreneurs I have ever encountered is South African Stephen Larkin and in this interview, he shares his vision for leveraging South Africa’s potential. For entrepreneurs living in the West who want to do business in Africa, a change of mindset is crucial. We report on the advice given by some of Africa’s leading business people at the London Business School Africa Day.

The role of Human Resources professionals in Africa is key to the success of any business and we report on the training by Interims for Development in Nigeria to assist the transition of the HR function to that of a strategic business partner. HR practitioners need to look to future trends when planning for future business success and we revisit Paul Bridle’s look at the Employee in the New World.

The critical role played by Africa’s Diaspora is highlighted in the article on the African Foundation Stone in Cameroon and in the sterling efforts of the alumni of Ghana’s Achimota School and their Capital Campaign to restore their alma mater to her former glory. My personal role model, Dr. Thomas Mensah, shares his life lessons in the ‘5 Minute Interview’ and, finally, we bring you the best of this month’s events in Dates for your Diary.

We hope you enjoy this issue of ReConnect Africa - and don’t forget to write in and share your comments on these articles.

A recent survey by Here is the City, a website for London’s finance sector, showed that despite the big bonuses earned by many workers in London’s lucrative banking and financial services market, most people still felt that they are not paid enough.

The company’s survey, which covered responses from employees at 70 different firms which operate in the financial markets, was analysed across a number of key areas: strategy, leadership, management, teamwork, development, pay and diversity.

The highest scores from the respondents were for teamwork, with people rating working in teams higher than the leadership or strategy of their organisations. Diversity was also rated highly, perhaps reflecting the efforts of companies in the Square Mile to combat negative press and high profile litigation relating to discrimination. Surprisingly though, for a sector renowned for its astronomic levels of pay, and despite the record levels of bonuses paid out to City workers in recent years, the lowest scores from the survey were for pay.

So when is pay ever enough? Once a person’s salary has reached beyond the point needed for their survival, two questions are often key to whether they are satisfied; ‘Am I paid as much as the next person doing the same job?’ and ‘Does my pay show that I am valued by this company?’ A recent career coaching client of mine was offered a job role that would put her in line for the career progression she has worked very hard for. But, when she was told that because of the need to relocate for the new job, her take-home salary would be effectively less than she was currently earning, she turned down the offer. While she could see how the job might potentially benefit her career, the level of salary on offer was a clear indication to her that the company did not value her sufficiently. As a result, she also lost faith that her sought after career progression would ever actually materialize with this company, a realization soon reinforced by learning that a male colleague in a similar role earned far more than the salary offered to her.

When it is equitable, transparent and pitched to motivate, one’s salary can be enough. Perhaps, then, the question that progressive companies should be asking is not so much ‘when is enough ever enough?’ but ‘what message are we sending with the salaries that we pay?’

In this Issue

In this issue, we speak to Marek Effendowicz of the International Organization of Migration about their voluntary assistance scheme for returnees to Africa from the UK and highlight some of the training being undertaken by Interims for Development in Africa to support returnees with small business planning and management. As they launch a new range of courses, we look at the work of the Association of Business Executives (ABE) in Africa and bring you some case studies from some of their African graduates. Leading career coach, Robin Alcock, shares some strategies on how to be more effective in what we do by learning to be our own career coaches, while our resident Coach, Helen Dupigny, tackles the subject of contributing more effectively in meetings. Following the recent launch of her debut novel, ‘Growing Yams in London’, we speak to Sophia Acheampong about her Ghanaian ancestry and the conflict of cultures for young Africans growing up in the West.

Africa Business News brings you a summary of recent business news from the continent and we share some of the Other News from around the world that has caught our eye. Investment banker, Tutu Agyare, shares his thoughts in the ‘5 Minute Interview’ and we bring you a round-up of the many events taking place in September.

Research by Mercer has revealed that half of organizations around the world are transforming their Human Resources functions with a big change in their priorities. The Mercer Human Resource Consulting 2006 HR Transformation Study* found that 12% of the 1400 organisations surveyed had completed a transformation of HR in the past year. 40% of the organisations, from across Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, New Zealand and North America, listed human capital strategy as a principal function of HR today, while 64% expected it to become a key function within 2 to 3 years.

A key finding of the survey, however, was that line managers’ abilities are proving the biggest barrier to HR professionals being strategic, with 54% of respondents saying that line managers held back the development of HR.

Administrative vs. Strategic?

So while the debate about how the HR function should be more strategic rages on, there is clearly something missing in selling this message effectively to line managers. As any salesman will point out, getting people to do something means showing them what’s in it for them. This begs the question of how the HR function is selling the value it offers as a strategic partner to the business – a role it can only aspire to take on if line managers shirk the responsibility of managing their staff.

In a world where human capital is becoming the only competitive advantage a company can offer, those charged with the task of attracting, developing and retaining crucial skills and talent need the time and the resources to get the job done. Using their time to address employee issues best handled by line managers does not benefit anyone and offers little real value to the organization. If HR is to transform itself from an administrative function with a transactional focus into a strategic business management function, it needs to get line managers out of its way. To be truly strategic, the HR function has a responsibility to develop the skills and confidence of its managers to do just that.

In this Issue

In this issue of ReConnect Africa, we take an in-depth look at the Open University in Africa and speak to Daniel Nti about how this British university is making a difference in Africa’s further education sector.  GOAL, the international humanitarian organization is launching a recruitment drive for skilled professionals and we bring you some of the stories from professionals they have deployed in the field.  If you are struggling to introduce coaching into your organization, leading Coach-mentor Tony Philip provides some guidance on how to make a business case for coach-mentoring.  Award-winning journalist, Caroline Lambert, shares her views on reporting on Africa while Selorm Adadevoh reports on the business trip to Africa taken by students from Wharton Business School.  Feeling stuck?  Our resident career coach, Helen Dupigny, tackles the question of moving out of the development career rut.  Our ‘5 Minute Interview’ this month is with the energetic and inspirational Gladys Famoriyo, a successful speaker, coach and author. 

As ever, we bring you a round up of business around the continent and news stories from Africa and around the world.  October is packed with events and we have highlighted a number of these dates for your diary.

Making the transition to a management role is second only to divorce when it comes to traumatic life events.  This was a key finding from research conducted by the UK Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development of 600 managers. Almost two-thirds (59%) of the 600 managers surveyed for CIPD Research Insight, Investigating Leadership Transitions, rated a career transition as “extremely” or “very” challenging. A sudden rise in responsibility at work therefore came ahead of bereavement (55%), becoming a parent (53%) and moving house (34%), with divorce or separation topping the poll at 71%.

So what can companies do to ensure that their employees are embracing the prospect of promotion into leadership rather than dreading it?  As with any new skill, the art of managing people calls for some guidance and training.  Placing people in a leadership role without the necessary tools and support is like asking someone to take over the controls of an aeroplane simply be cause they have been sitting beside the pilot for a few hours.

Supporting Leadership Transition

Being a leader calls for a different way of thinking and is made doubly difficult if the employee feels isolated or is afraid to ask for help in case it is perceived as weakness. For, as the research also showed, nearly half (45%) of managers would rather go outside the company for help, and seek out an external coach or mentor if they needed support. Less than a third would be inclined to go to their boss for support and, rather worryingly for that function, only 2% would seek out Human Resources.

If companies want to drive performance, they must look critically at the support systems in place for new managers and leaders. These could include external training as well as coaching and internal mentoring schemes that encourage a culture where people feel able to share their concerns and difficulties as they transition into management. Persuading your employees to strive for leadership will only work if those that make it are set up to succeed rather than to fail.

In this Issue

In this month’s issue of ReConnect Africa we turn out attention to sport or, more specifically, the World Cup to be held in South Africa in 2010. As South Africa battles both the demands of staging such a huge sporting event and negative perceptions, we report on how Dr. Danny Jordaan and his 2012 Committee are working to ensure the best World Cup ever. As Wharton Business School prepares to hold its 15th Africa Business Forum, we speak to its Chairman on how this event will promote a better understanding of investment and trade opportunities within Africa. Staying with the Diaspora, we report on the recent conference held in London aimed at channeling the support of Ghanaians overseas into Ghana’s development. Vincent Owen offers some advice for managers tasked with interviewing job candidates and our resident career coach, Helen Dupigny, tackles the question of careers in Human Resources Management. This month’s ‘5 Minute Interview’ guest is the man once described in the Financial Times as a ‘leading revolutionary’. Business transformation guru, Professor Eddie Obeng, shares his thoughts and lessons on life and business.

As ever, we bring you a round up of business around the continent and news stories from Africa and around the world. November is packed with events and we have highlighted a number of these dates for your diary.