Comments on: Bono versus Mwenda

By: TEDAfrica 2008 suspended, a temporary setback for South Africa | NETucation Online Blog

Fri, 16 May 2008 21:21:42 +0000

[...] come together in support of Africa. There was a real sense of urgency among the speakers as the the aid vs investment debated heated up over the four days in [...]

By: MikeG

MikeG — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 19:43:43 +0000

For those who turned hard against Bono, it’s worth reading Jeff Sachs’ book, The End of Poverty. He talks in detail about specific targets for aid (about $70 per person per year, about 0.6% of GNP for the top 25 economies in the world, distributed not just to Africans but also to Southern Asians and unique countries such as Bolivia), the effect of each input (in essence, bringing social institutions to the point where there are no people living below an income level of $2 a day, basically anyone in the “extreme poverty” category), the neccessary problems being combated (AIDS, historical and future ecological devastation, infrastructure, health, education, and inability to get basic industry such as agriculture to work)

By: Mwenda's Controversial Talk at TED Global | White African

Mwenda's Controversial Talk at TED Global | White African — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 15:07:00 +0000

[...] It would be safe to say that George Ayittey’s and Andrew Mwenda’s talks set a lot of the tone for the whole conference. More excellent coverage of this particular talk by Ethan Zuckerman. [...]

By: steven KIJOOMA

steven KIJOOMA — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 10:39:12 +0000

I’ve heard some “loud sounding nothings” from someone i think called bono or what_completly misleading the continent in the whole 21st century. What is aid Without institutions? Not enhancing corruptions, lavish lifestyles of dictators, dependency syndrome, indebtendness and a lot more of that. Perhaps a whole lot more organised theft come to my country Uganda. This should stop, period!

By: ICTlogy » OII SDP 2007 (XXII): Democracy, Reconciliation, and Technology

ICTlogy » OII SDP 2007 (XXII): Democracy, Reconciliation, and Technology — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 16:13:16 +0000

[...] lead by Bono (see Bono, I Presume?, Africans to Bono: ‘For God’s sake please stop!’ and Bono versus Mwenda (all via Ethan Zuckerman’s [...]

By: ICTlogy » OII SDP 2007 (XVI): Obama Girl Confronts the Future: New Media Literacies, Civic Engagement, and Participatory Culture

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 14:18:32 +0000

[...] See Bono, I Presume?, Africans to Bono: ‘For God’s sake please stop!’ and Bono versus Mwenda (all via Ethan Zuckerman’s blog). [...]

By: Zambian Head of State Joins Africa’s Trade -vs- Aid Debate « beninmwangi.com

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 23:21:47 +0000

[...] Jewels in the Jungle Contrasts the G8 Summit and TED Arusha Hash Drops Bombshell on African Aid Ethan Captures the Essence of the Debate in Mwenda vs Bono That’s What I’m Talking About Ponders Deep Questions on Aid in Africa Bono Answers Questions About Aid in Africa Aid and Trade Are Nice Topics but What About Africa Embracing Research [...]

By: …My heart’s in Accra » Judging a magazine by its cover

…My heart’s in Accra » Judging a magazine by its cover — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 22:09:43 +0000

[...] Bono had a bit of a rough ride at TED Global in Arusha. In the first session of the conference, he found himself heckling Ugandan author Andrew Mwenda. When he took the stage in the next session, to defend the idea that increased aid would benefit Africa, he talked about the benefits of development aid to post-war Germany, an analogy that has some major flaws, as Germany was one of the wealthiest and best educated nations in the world prior to WWII. Most commenters, myself included, saw many of the TED speakers consciously challenging Bono’s idea that increased attention to Africa could lead to increased aid from the G8, and from there to political change. (According to commentator Brendan O’Neill, Bono has now become The People’s Republic of Bono, the ninth member of the G8 – we’ll expect to see his direct aid contributions increasing in the near future. Tip of the hat to Sokari for the link, found in her excellent dissection of Bono’s Africa efforts.) [...]

By: Gillian

Gillian — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 21:13:57 +0000

Ethan,

It’s great to hear that Gemma was a welcome presence at the conference. Her project is probably one of the most successful in Africa. Who knows how big it will get? I think her larger vision is for a network of schools, educating bright children from the poorest families. The future leaders of Tanzania.

She was just recently awarded an Order of Australia — it all helps bring attention and resources to the School of St Jude.

Great blog Ethan! I’m so grateful for your detailed reporting that is available nowhere else.

By: Ethan

Ethan — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 14:14:32 +0000

Gillian, the woman from St. Jude School actually had quite a presence at TED as an attendee – no, she didn’t speak on stage, but she led a tour of the school and took a number of attendees on the school bus home from school so they could see where the schoolchildren lived. I think many of the attendees learned a great deal about her project.