Week of 25th February: Films about Trinidad, Nigeria's Constitution, Jazz, Poetry, African Archaeology, Comedy and Ghanaian Food!!

Hello all

Welcome to the end of February, we have an assortment of events from poetry to Nigerian constitutional review, films about Trinidad, Tanzanian energy, jazz, comedy and Ghanaian cooking!

Enjoy and make sure you take advantage of the voucher code VAL10 before the end of the month!!!

Monday 25^th February

At 6.30pm Lets Talk will be screening Lets Watch: 3 short films about Trinidad and Tobago at Bar 19:20, 19-20 Great Sutton Street, Farringdon, EC1V 0DR. The films are Panumundo which looks at the history of the steelpan and its influences around the world. T&T50 in Fifteen a 15 minute documentary that looks at important events in Trinidad and Tobago’s history and The Other Side of Carnival a 45 minute documentary looking at the social and economic impact that the T&T carnival has on its society. There will be a discussion and Q&A with director Charyse Tia Harper afterwards, more details here. 

Tuesday 26^th February

At 1.00pm is Tanzania as an emerging energy producer at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, 10 St James Square, SW1Y 4LE with the Tanzanian Minister for Energy and Minerals Honourable Sospeter Muhongo who will discuss his plans for the development and management of Tanzania’s energy sector. This is a FREE invitation only event via Tighisti Amare.

From 6.30pm to 8.30pm Professor Kevin MacDonald will be holding an Inaugural Lecture on Re-Mapping West Africa’s Ancient Empires at the UCL Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre, Gower Street, WC1E 6BT. 2012 was the centenary of the publication of Maurice Delafosse’s comprehensive history Haut-Senegal-Niger on the Niger, Senegal and Volta River Basins from 1000AD onwards. In this lecture Professor MacDonald will unravel long held certainties about the location of capitals and heartlands of the two great empires of Ghana and Mali using archaeological data interwoven with oral tradition and text. Register for this extremely fascinating and FREE lecture here. 

At 6.30pm Five Talents presents An Evening with Lillian Mwikali at the Africa Centre, 38 King Street, Covent Garden, WC2E 8JT. Lillian Mkawali is Kenyan Deputy Director of Thika Community Development Trust with a wealth of experience in microfinance and will be discussing her work and the programme that now has 43 village savings group. Drinks and canapés will be served at this FREE event, RSVP here. 

Wednesday 27^th February

At 7.30pm we have Poetry Jam 4 at the Vibe Gallery, N001, The Biscuit Factory, 100 Clements Road, SE16 4DG. This night of spoken word will be hosted by Errol McGlashan and feature David Lee Morgan  Tenesia Teri-Ann, Rachael Grace Beck, Cerebral Hyper, Deanna Rodger, Matt Cummins, Paloma Heindorff, Pfe Freedom, Leah Bailey, Ant Smith, Consuelo Wodzicki-Malisz, Ebonee Onyx, Annalouise Oakland, Anthony Anaxagorou and James Massiah. Throw in Special surprise guests, surprise performances and open mics spots and you have an evening of groovy grooviness all for just £4.00!

From 9.00am to 1.00pm Chatham House hosts The Review of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution: Diaspora Consultation at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, 10 St James Square, SW1Y 4LE. With the Honourable Abike Dabiri-Erewa (Chairman Diaspora Committee, Nigerian House of Representatives), Honourable Emeka Ihedioha (Deputy Speaker Nigerian House of Representatives) and Clement Nwankwo (Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre), this is part of the hundreds of public consultations being undertaken to review of the 1999 Constitution. This is an invitation only event, for more details contact the Chatham House, Africa Programme.

Thursday 28^th February

At 6.00pm KCL ACS presents Culture Shock 2013-Vengeance at Greenwood Theatre, Guys Campus, 55 Weston Street, London Bridge, SE1 3RA. This story of love, betrayal  friendship and trust shall encompass fashion, dance, comedy and song from different parts of Africa nad the Caribbean, with special external acts; Suli Breaks and Travis Jay. Tickets are £10.00 for members (£12.00 for non members) from here.

At 8.00pm Supa Fine presents Femi Temowo and Situation at the Hideaway, 114 Junction Road, N19 5BL. Proud to be African Clothing favourite Femi Temowo will be playing material from his latest album, Orin Meta while Situation lead by drummer Femi Koleoso with Joe Armon-Jones on keyboard and Will Burcher on bass will be playing original material and covers ranging from Neo Soul, R’n’B, to jazz and hip hop. Supported by DJ Citizen K and DJ Speedy, food will be served from 6.00pm to 10.30pm. Admission is £5.00.

Saturday 2^nd March

From 2.00pm to 6.00pm Black History Walks and the National Association of Black Saturday Schools presents 1834 Slavery Compensation: Who got the money? at Room B35, Birbeck College, University of London, Torrington Square,  WC1E 7HX. This presentation discusses the £20m compensation paid to slave owners in 1834, a team of researchers from UCL (Professor Catherine Hall, Dr Nick Draper, Keith McClelland, Kate Donnington and Rachel Lang) have created a user friendly website which establishes; Which individuals received the money and how much, where they lived, what they did with the money and which cultural and educational institutions they established or supported with the money, which islands/ plantations were compensated, physical legacies and much more. Register for this FREE event here.

From 2.00pm to 4.30pm BTWSC will be holding NARM 2013: African Histories: Paul Stephenson and The Bristol Bus Boycott And John Archer and Black Politics at the Gayton Library, 5 St Johns Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 2EE. Kwaku’s presentation will be based on the book and DVD of the same name to focus on role models from the African British history. Register for this FREE event here.

At 6.00pm the Imperial College ACS hosts Afrogala 2013: The Journey at the Great Hall, Sherfield Building, Imperial College London, South Kensington, SW7 2AZ showcasing the evolution of African and Caribbean culture. With food and entertainment tickets are from £15.00 - £25.00 from here.

At 6.30pm Zoes Ghana Kitchen will be hosting Ghana Stand Up at Studio Gi, Enterprise House, 2 Tudor Grove, E9 7QL. In honour of Ghana’s 56^th Independence Day Celebration Zoes Ghana Kitchen will be presenting a 3 Course meal of Ghanaian delicacies. With vegetarian options and 2 sittings either at 6.30 or 8.30pm all for just £20.00 this is a delicious treat too good to miss! For menus and bookings check here. 

At 9.00pm Afro-Palace Live Sessions presents Konkoma UK Tour at the New Empowering Church, 1a Westgate Street, Dalston, E8 3RL.  Featuring Konkoma a playing their West African Afro sound based around guitarist Alfred Bannerman and organist Emmanuel Rentzos with Qrquestra Estelar a 30 piece Afro Latin big band complete with 15 piece horn section and Family Atlantica led by multi instrumentalist Jack Yglesias with Luzmira Zerpa playing an acoustic warm up set. Tickets are £10.00 in advance from here and £12.00 on the door. 

Sunday 3^rd March

From 3.00pm to 6.00pm Black History Walks presents the3rd series of the Queen Nzingha Lecture Series- Mary Seacole Fights Back in Room B36, Birbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, WC1E 7HX. The lecture will feature Professor Elizabeth Anionwu (recently retired head of the Mary Seacole Centre for Nursing Practice) speaking on the real history of Mary Seacole and Antoinette Kwegan (PhD student at Queen Marys University) who is researching the role of the third sector in raising educational achievement. This is a FREE event, register here 

At 7.00pm is Comedy Face/ Off at the Fairfield Halls, Park Lane, Croydon, CR9 1DG with Eddie Kadi representing West London in the Red Corner and Danny ’Slim’ Gray from south London in the Blue corner hosted by Kevin Jay as the ref! Supported by Kane Brown and A Dot the Comedian with a P.A. performance by Jedi. Tickets are £22.50 (£20.00 concs) call 07906737218 or Box Office 020 8688 9291.