Week of 13th May: The Shepherds Chameleon, Prof Chinua Achebe Send Off, Africa Debates, Saluting the Black President, Jamaican history, Women4Africa and Ballet Black

Hello,

This week Proud to be African Clothing bring you the a wide variety of event including multiple Africa Capoeira: Fly Away Beetle and From Namibia with Love. Saluting the Black President a tribute to Fela Kuti, Ballet Black and a Celebration and Night Vigil for the legendary Nigerian author Professor Chinua Achebe.

debates and discussions in Parliament and SOAS. Film screenings including

Enjoy the week.

Monday 13^th May

At 2.30pm is the first Caribbean TV series on UK TV for many years Keeping Up with the Joneses will be broadcasting on Sky 209 and Virgin 828 with a new episode each weekday (2.30pm and 11.00pm) until 31^st May. This sitcom follows the Joneses a family who reluctantly become the subject of a reality TV show, with a TV crew filming their every move with hilarious and embarrassing consequences. More details here.

At 6.00pm the Africa All Party Parliamentary Group and Royal Africa Society host Securing Domestic and Foreign Tax in Africa: What role for the G8 in Committee Room 11, Houses of Parliament, SW1A 0AA. Chaired by Hugh Bayley MP with speakers John Christensen (Tax Justice Network), Alex Cobham (Centre for Global Development) and others this expert panel will discuss how the global tax system can be effectively structured to the benefit of low income countries in Africa and what influence the UK hosted G8 summit has to bring about these changes. RSVP for this FREE event here.

At 6.30pm is a film screening of Capoeira: Fly Away Beetle at PCS Headquarters, 160 Falcon Road, Clapham Junction, SW11 2LN in which 3 old masters tell the story of the Capoeira and how the conditions of slavery shaped this unique martial art. Followed by a live demonstration of capoeira and a discussion, admission is £5.00 (children under 16 FREE). More details here.

The African High Commissioners/ Ambassadors Group in London presents The Africa Jubilee Business Forum at Lancaster House,  Stable Yard, St James, SW1A 1BB. Themed African- British Business Partnership at 50 and Beyond, it will be opened by the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg MP and Dr Tedros Adhanom (Foreign Minister of Ethiopia). There will be a panel discussion of senior African and British business leaders to discuss the following topics; Capitalising on the African opportunity, What makes a project bankable, Utilising natural resources for economic development and Enabling economic growth through infrastructure development. The event will conclude with a reception hosted by the Minister for Africa at the FCO Mark Simmonds MP. For further details email Agnes Gitau 

Tuesday 14^th May

From 4.30pm to 6.00pm AFFORD presents Labours Post 2015 Vision: Tackling inequality and promoting sustainable development in the Attlee Suite, Portcullis House, Westminster, SW1 0AA with Ivan Lewis MP (Shadow Secretrary of State for International Development). Mary Creagh MP (Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Caroline Flint MP (Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change). The Shadow DFID, DEFRA and DEC teams will discuss Labours post 2015 vision for international development with an interactive Q&A to follow. RSVP to Tara Acomb by email.

At 6.00pm the Royal Africa Society presents Warp Speed: Technology and Change in Future Africa in the Khalili Lecture Theatre, School of African and Oriental Studies, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, WC1H 0XG, chaired by Fatimah Kelleher (Social development Consultant) with speaker Jonathan Ledgard (Afrotech Lab, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne) this discussion will consider Africa’s security, environmental and humanitarian challenges as well as its economic potential. RSVP for this FREE event here.

Proud to be South African

At 6.30pm is a performance of Mies Julie at The Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, Hammersmith, W6 9RL. This special performance includes pre show drinks and canapés, a talk by the CEO and Director of Baxter Theatre as well as the award winning play about the ruinous night of passion between a fiery Afrikaner farmer’s daughter and a Xhosa servant on a dry remote Karoo farmstead. Tickets are £35.00 , RSVP by email.

At 7.30pm Utopia Theatre presents The Shepherds Chameleon at the CLF Art Cafe, The Bussey Building, 133 Rye Lane, Peckham, SE15 4ST. Written by Eugene Ionesco and directed by Moji Kareem, in this comedy the playwright is the shepherd and the theatrical world the Chameleon engaged in a ridiculous battle of wits. Running till 25^th May, tickets are £5.00 on Mondays, £10.00 for previews and £12.00 standard from here on the box office on 0207 732 5275 

Wednesday 15^th May

At 10.00am the Overseas Development Institute presents Africa Risen in Committee Room 14, Houses of Commons, Palace of Westminster, SW1 0AA, in conjunction with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development this panel discussion will discuss the ‘Africa Rising’ narrative and African economic progress. Chaired by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead, speakers include Oliver August (The Economist), Ricardo Fuentes-Nieva (Oxfam), Thandika Mkandawire (London School of Economics) and Martine Guerguil (IMF). RSVP here for this FREE event.

At 1.15pm Juwon Ogungbe will be singing at the St Sepulchre Church, Holborn Viaduct, EC1A 2DQ. Accompanied by Asako Ogawa on piano he will be singing a programme of art and folk songs from Spain, Argentina, France and the USA.

Thursday 16^th May

Born in the UK Made in Nigeria

From 12.00 to 2.00pm the Business Council for Africa hosts Meet the New British High Commissioner to Nigeria at Simmons and Simmons, City Point, One Ropemaker Street, EC2Y 9SS. Dr Andrew Pocock will reflect on the importance attached to UK/ Nigeria relations, including doubling bilateral trade by 2014, working together on security issues and helping Nigeria achieve MDGs. Admission is £95.40 from here.

At 5.30pm UCL Institute of the Americas presents MG Smith and the Ras Tafari Movement in Kingston, Jamaica in Seminar Room 103 , University College London, 51 Gordon Square, WC1H 0PN. The distinguished Caribbean scholar Professor Robert Hall (UCLA) will deliver a paper on M.G. Smith’s seminal 1296 Report on the Ras Tafari Movement in Kingston Jamaica. RSVP for this FREE event here. 

At 7.00pm is a screening of From Namibia with Love at Harecourt United Reformed Church, 120 St Pauls Road, Highbury, N1 2LR, this documentary charts the life of a Namibian- Finnish couple alongside their struggles with and against SWAPO during the fight for Namibian freedom and independence. Followed by a discussion with the documentaries director. This is a FREE event, more details here.

Friday 17^th May

Born in the UK Made in Jamaica

From 11.00am to 6.00pm the Institute for Commonwealth Studies hosts Heritage, diversity and the legacies of Empire in Room 349, Senate House, Malet Street, Russell Square, WC1E 7HU.This symposium will investigate the ways that legacies of empire inform approaches to heritage and diversity in Europe. With a wide range of speakers from across British, European and Commonwealth academia the symposium will conclude with a guided tour of the Africa collections in the British Museum on the morning of Saturday 18 May. Attendance fee (including lunch and refreshments) is £15.00 (£10.00 concs) to register, contact astrid. swenson@brunel.ac.uk.

From 12.15 to 3.00pm Business Council Africa hosts the British

Proud to be Zimbabwean

Heads of Mission in Southern Africa at Slaughter and May, 1 Bunhill Row, EC1Y 8YY In which British Heads of Mission from Southern Africa discuss business prospects across the SADC region, speakers include Timothy Smart (Ambassador to Madagascar), Nick Leake (Ambassador to Mauritius), Shaun Cleary (High Commissioner to Mozambique), Andy Henderson (Trade commissioner UKTI South Africa) and James Thornton (High Commissioner to Zambia). Tickets start from £32.00 (for members £95.40 for non members) from here. 

Proud to be African

At 7.00pm we have Saluting the Black President Fela Kuti at 229 The Venue, 229 Great Portland Street, W1W 5PN, featuring a super awesome line up of Ginger Baker, Tony Allen, Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra, Shingai Shoniwa, (of the Noisettes) Keziah Jones, Terri Walker, Ty, Blak Twang, Afrikan Boy and BREIS. After party with DJ Koichi Sakai, DJ Rita Ray and Max Reinhardt, tickets from £22.00 from here.

At 7.00pm Quincy’s Comedy Lounge will be at Fairfield Halls, Park Lane, Croydon, CR9 1DG, with a diverse line up including Curtis Walker, Kevin Orkian and QCL Comic Idol runner up Rory Vassell. He will also be presenting a cheque to the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT) with the money he raised from a previous charity boxing match. Tickets are £15.00 from here.

At 7.30pm is Ballet Black at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Town Hall Approach Road, Tottenham, N15 4RX. Casso Pancho’s Black Ballet celebrates the talent of Black and Asian dancers from around the world. Christopher Marney creates this latest outing with an episodic journey through relationships built during WW2. Tickets are £15.00 (£12.00 concs) from here.

At 8.00pm  Wormfood will be launching their new album at Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, Shoreditch, E1 6LA, supported by gnawa master Nuru Kane, 10 piece Afrobeat orchestra Bronzehead and afro/ indie fusion Boy Mandeville. Tickets are £8.00 from here. 

Saturday 18^th May

From 4.00pm to 6.30pm is Careeershift UK 2.0 with Jimi Tewe at The Agora, Harris Academy, Falconwood, DA16 2PE for people considering a return to Africa for employment but unsure about an effective way to make the transition. Speakers include Jimi Tewe (Inspiro Consulting, Nigeria), Damilola Oluwatoyinbo (blogger) and Ibiyemi Solanke (Corporate Lawyer). RSVP for this FREE event here.

At 6.00pm we have the Women4Africa 2^nd Annual Awards Ceremony at Kensington Great Hall, Hornton Street, Kensington, W8 7NX. With speeches by Sir Paul Judge, Eric Chinje and Dr Joe Odumakin and awards for outstanding women from Africa. there will be a fashion show by Issosey children, Afrobeat by Dele Sosimi (busy this week!) and comedy by Funmbi. Tickets from £35.00 from here. 

Proud to be Nigerian

At 7.00pm is the Night Vigil and Service of Songs in Celebration of the Life and Times of Emeritus Professor Chinua Achebe   at All Saints Cathedral, 105 New Cross Road, SE14 5DJ. Following the church service there will be a night of celebrations at Millwall FC Sports Hall, Zampa Road, SE16 3LN with cultural troupes from all over Nigeria as well as Ghana, the Caribbean and Congo and a re-enactment of Things Fall Apart. Expected guests include former Commonwealth Secretary General Emeka Anayaoku, Nigeria High Commissioner Dr Dalhatu Tafida, Rt Hon. Chi Onwuarah MP and Mayor of Enfield Kate Anolue, representative of various embassies, with refreshments provided by Anambra Women’s Group. To join in sending off and celebrating this great son of Africa RSVP Chief Ubaka Alex Achebe on 07949 006 880.

Sunday 19^th May

At 4.00pm Waltham Forest Libraries presents Stories of Migration at Leyton Library, High Road Leyton, E10 5QH. This family event relives the experiences of Caribbean people following their migration from the West Indies to Britain in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. RSVP for this FREE event here.