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Inspiration for the colour card was found in the Vlisco product labels which are put on the fabric, just before they leave the factory. Next to the ochre and intense red colors of the traditional Igbo designs, colors such as dark green, white and taupe were added to the collection. So the students have expanded their vision, which was strongly influenced by the inspiration they found in the Vlisco brand in all her facets.

Vlisco is also involved in other educational programs. For about a year now, Vlisco has organized courses which are called ‘Tailor Academies’. These courses are given by Vlisco to African tailors and stylists. They learn about all the different aspects of the Vlisco fabrics, how to create internationally oriented outfits that are in line with the Vlisco brand and also numerous sewing techniques are explained and demonstrated. By doing this, Vlisco shows her involvement in education and creates a bond with those who are working with Vlisco fabrics to achieve the best results for their clients.

 Vlisco BV is part of Gamma Holding, a listed company in the Netherlands.  Vlisco has been designing & producing exclusive fabrics and fashion in Helmond, the Netherlands, since 1846. www.vlisco.com

Photo credit: Peter Stigter

Models with diverse ethnic origins also worked together to add glamour and spectacle to African designed apparels.

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 Designed with an era of international sourcing and product marketing in mind, Haute Africa Fashion Week is presented as a one-stop shop for African label and product promotion perfect for business action, press presence and culture exchange.

The vision of Haute Africa Fashion Week is to emphasize the fuse of both Western and African cultures through fashion, stage, independent designers, and draw international attention to African’s unique intersection of art, culture, and fashion while raising money to fight some issues that the continent is dealing with such as HIV/AIDS, poverty, and education.

Photos by Chibuzor Okonta, Executive Editor Trendy Africa USA @ 2010

Trendy Africa – Official Media Partner to Haute Africa Fashion Week

for inquiries, call 817 538 2145, email: info@trendyafrica.com

One of Nollywoods top actresses is also trying her hands out on production. Ini Edo has just co-produced and starred in a film, ‘Memories of my Heart’ and a few others set to hit the screens soon.

Ini Edo also recently starred in a big budget celluloid movie.  The movie shot in Benue state and in a traditional setting can best be described as an epic film. 

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The film which was shot entirely on celluloid was directed by Jeta Amata and boasts an international cast in conjunction with several Nollywood actors. The cast include British-born actress of Nigerian parentage, Caroline Chikezie, Lola Shokeye (Princess Lola) as well as Afrobeat exponent, Dede Mabiaku. 

Agency reports by Trendy Africa Nigeria @ 2010

To achieve an optimum benefit for Nigeria, not only is it imperative that policy makers fully understand the social, economic, environmental, financial, technological and political issues around the subject, but the generality of Nigerians need to be widely aware of changes in the global village they live in especially in the way energy is to be viewed in the wider world around going forward. As the subject of Climate Change is somewhat technical, it may suffice to give a background on the subject before driving us through to the point we have reached so far. This is what these series of articles on the subject will try to achieve.

Early contributors to climate change include Fourier, Langley and Arrhenius. That the climate is changing is not contestable but what is being argued over the years borders on the main causes of climate change. Climate change is made possible by the increase in the atmospheric concentration of Green House Gases (GHG) such as Carbon IV Oxide (CO₂), Nitrous Oxide (NO₂), Methane (CH₄), Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC), Perfluorocarbon (PFC), and Sulfurhexafluoride (SF₆). All these gases absorb terrestrial infra red radiations.

The Green House (GH) effect is uncontested as without it, the earth would have been 33 degrees cooler. We average 15 degrees now but would have been -18 degrees. Infrared radiation from the high temperature sun has short wavelength. This is absorbed by the earth and some are reflected by both the earth and the atmosphere. The proportion absorbed by the earth warms up the earth to the suitable temperature required for the earth. With increasing concentration of GHG in the atmosphere, infra red radiations reflected into the atmosphere are absorbed and re-emitted to the earth.

This tends to increase the average temperature on the earth surface once the concentration increases without any control. The balance between the incoming and outgoing radiation has always fluctuated from time immemorial in terms of the atmospheric constituents, their relative composition and concentration, solar variations etc and so has the corresponding changes in the climate. What has remained an argument is the degree to which the actions of mankind have contributed to this imbalance. This is the so called Anthropogenic Climate change which is Contestable.

The disagreement exists on the degree to which human induced changes in the atmospheric make-up have altered the balance of the incoming and outgoing radiations. To begin with, water vapour which is about 1% of the atmosphere is responsible for 60 to 70 % of GH effect while all the other gases in the atmosphere, collectively making up approximately 0.04% of the atmosphere, are responsible for the rest 30 to 40% of Green House Effect. In terms of the radiative forcing, the Halocarbons are the most feared among GHG, followed by Nitrous Oxides and Methane before the least effect can be attributed to Carbon 1V Oxide.

The global warming potential (GWP) is normally used to categorize the warming effect of GHG indexed to a molecule of CO₂ integrated over 100 years. CO₂ has a GWP of 1, Methane-21, NO₂–310, Perfluorocarbons-9,200, Hydrofluorocarbons-11,700, Sulphur hexafluoride–23,900.

Emissions from GHG are quantified as carbon equivalents in one of two ways viz CO₂ emission and Carbon emission. 1 tonne carbon is 3.7 tonne of CO₂ (relative to molecular weight). If you consider the global flow of carbon today to be circa 200GTp.a, and that human-emission of carbon is 7.5GTp.a (this includes human carbon added to the atmosphere of about 3.4GTp.a), you will see that there has been a 32% increase in atmospheric carbon concentration since 1800. Infact, the changes in the concentration of the main GHG in the atmosphere from pre-industrial level to early 2001 reveal that NO₂ increased from 275ppbV to 316ppbV (increase of 15%), CO₂ increased from 280ppmV to 370ppmV (increase of 32%), and CH₄ from 700ppbV to 1786ppbV (155% increase).

The measurements no doubt show the atmospheric concentration of GHG is increasing which may imply that global and regional temperatures are rising. Added to this, similar measurements have proved that sea levels are rising in consistency with the predictions made by earlier climate scientists. However, like every scientific hypothesis or conclusions, these measurements have degrees of accuracies or put in another way, uncertainties. For example, the uncertainties in the scientific analysis respecting temperature rises is that as the temperature rises, the degree of radiative forcing is modified by climate feedbacks, some positive (making it warmer) and others negative (making it cooler).

Also, there are uncertainties associated with these feedbacks (water vapour, cloud, ocean circulation, ice snow albedo, land-surface/atmosphere interactions) which have given rise to a range of numbers associated with climate change with respect to temperature rises. One Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report estimates an increase in global average surface temperature of 1.4 to 5.8 degrees by 2100.

About 90% of human emission comes from fossil fuel via transportation, heating, and electricity. The remaining 10% comes from Agriculture, traffic pollution and industrial processes. So, almost all human emission or pollution is from energy. To understand the contribution therefore of the biggest emitters or polluters in the world, the global average mean of 1 tonne carbon/person/year is a good yardstick for comparison. The USA had a figure of 7 tonne carbon/person/year, the entire European Union (EU) had 3, China had 0.3 and Nigeria had 0.1 as at 2001. This shows that 80% of all emissions are from 20% of the global population. What a paradox! The high carbon emitters are geographically and financially able to cope but the low carbon emitters suffer geographically and are financially unable to cope with the effects of climate change. To make it worse for the low emitters, they have less political influence in the global sense. Data from 1900 to 2004 shows that USA emitted 315GT of CO₂, China- 89GT of CO₂, Germany- 74GT of CO₂, UK- 55GT of CO₂, India-  25GT of CO₂, Brazil- 9GT of CO₂ and Indonesia- 6GT of CO₂. (1GT equals 10¹² Tonnes).

Scanning through the CO₂ that countries put into the atmosphere over the past century might seem irrelevant to modern climate debates but when we consider historical emissions like per capita emissions, it is a bone of contention at any talks regarding climate change because developing nations will argue that any cuts should incorporate the principle of historical responsibility which in short means the rich and developed countries should pay in the near future for their considerable past contributions to global warming.

What needs to be done to derive the most benefits from the just concluded Climate talks lie with those who understand energy. The developed nations will put such people in charge but African leaders will allow nepotism, parochialism, anachronism, egotism, self aggrandisement, and quota system to rob them of their only remaining benefit in this millennium.

Idowu Oyebanjo contributes to Trendy Africa from the United Kingdom

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With this report, there will be no need for a temporary transfer of presidential authority under section 3 of the 25th amendment. Dr Kuhlman has recommended that President Obama’s next physical exam will be when he turns 50 in August 2011.

Source - the white house

a trendy africa USA exclusive @ 2010

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For nearly 100 years, Baker Hughes has been a technology leader in providing services for the oil and natural gas industry. The executives also used the opportunity of the Nigerian visit to interact with employees as they were conducted round various facilities. They also paid courtesy calls to some key clients. Baker Hughes investment in Nigeria is worth about $200M.

Reports from Port Harcourt and Lagos by Tosan Aduayi for Trendy Africa @ 2010

Prime among the glaring laxities were the gaping flaws in a non-exerted effort to set the fundamental structures in local and international distribution and an abject disregard for new internet technologies which stood to undermine our simplistic forms of distribution.

Today, the realities of Nollywood are as follows: An average producer spends between $15,000 and $25,000 to produce a Nollywood film. Some people may find this level of investment commitment ridiculous, accounting for the apparent low quality of the film products, but indigenous film producers in Nollywood argue that based on the present available distribution opportunities any increase in the production budget renders the project non-viable.

Fortunately, Silverbird and Genesis cinemas in Nigeria have both opened up an African theatrical release lifeline for more qualitative Nollywood films with bigger budgets of $50,000 or more. New breed filmmakers such as Stephanie Okereke, Kunle Afolayan and a few others are challenging earlier held opinions. They are taking bigger risks and taking advantage of the theatrical release opportunities offered by these two companies in Nigeria and generating some respectable numbers.

The critical question though is that can Nollywood films be viable within the scope of present local and international distribution? Here are the numbers: Theatrical release revenue for a “good” film released through the present theatre route in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya combined is approximately N10 million. Less cost of advertising and other distributor’s incidentals, a producer can expect about N6 million ($40,000) from the distributor. Local DVD (Video CD) distribution in Nigeria and Ghana revenue is an additional $15,000. United States distribution rights are bought for a maximum of $15,000 by the “Big Three”: Sanga Entertainment, Executive Image and Franco films.

European rights usually go for a maximum $5,000. Therefore a “good” Nollywood film can net $75,000 (Seventy Five Thousand Dollars).

To boost these sales numbers, Nollywood producers have pleaded with the Nigerian government to curb piracy of their films when they are released on Video CD or DVD so that they can increase sales to at least 100,000 copies at a dollar each in Nigeria alone. These are very attainable numbers. Nollywood movie titles have been known to sell between 250,000 and 400,000 copies during the hey days prior to the so-called “20 in 1,” where pirated copies of their films enter Nigeria from China in packages of twenty films recorded on one DVD and sold in the mainstream Nigerian market for One Dollar.

This singular act remains the albatross of Nollywood and the only institution capable of putting an end to it is the Nigerian government. Unfortunately and for unknown reasons, the government has not been able to curb the piracy. Recent moves by the Nigerian Copyright Commission may hopefully reduce the copyright infringement menace.

But until then, Nollywood may remain in its present lull, unable to save itself, heading speedily to the eventual demise of Nigeria’s only indigenous industry.

Interestingly, some Nigerians residing in the United States of America may hold the key to Nollywood’s sustenance in the future. The Filmmakers Association of Nigeria, USA (FAN) has initiated a comprehensive program and if well executed stands to benefit Nollywood tremendously. All new Nollywood film titles starting from January 2010 are now being copyrighted in the US.

The main reason why the Nollywood film distributors in the US offer relatively low distribution fees is that immediately the films are legitimately released by them in the US, internet criminals buy a copy and stream it for free on the World Wide Web to over 100,000 free viewers per title. Over 20 illegal internet sites have been identified by FAN, owned and operated mostly by Nigerians, Ghanaians and some Caribbean nationals living in the US and the United Kingdom.

Some of the website owners falsely claim that the Nollywood films are free of any copyright because they are not represented by any authorised distributors in the US.

By registering the copyrights of the films in the US, FAN can now officially litigate all infringers. FAN has entered joint agreements with African Artists Collaborative (AAC), a non-profit institution in the US, which has gained the full support of Public Interest Intellectual Property Advisors (PIIPA). The joint initiative between FAN, AAC and PIIPA provides unprecedented support for Nollywood by supplying top US attorneys to help register and litigate copyright infringement of Nollywood films in the US Pro Bono Publico.

Immediately Nollywood films are copyrighted in the US, Cease and Desist letters are issued to infringing websites and store locations from these reputable US law firms, demanding immediate removal of the copyrighted works. It is disheartening to note that the main infringer of Nollywood film content in America has been identified as onlinenigeria.com. The website, owned and operated by Mr. Chuks Nnaemeka, a Nigerian, is a notorious, willful infringer of Nollywood films. Mr. Nnaemeka falsely claims that the Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board issued his company Devace Inc. a license to distribute ALL Nollywood films worldwide. When contacted by FAN, Mr. Emeka Mba, Director General of NFVCB, vehemently denied ever issuing such a license. He declared that the copy of the license provided by Mr. Nnaemeka was a forged document, and the NFVCB proceeded immediately thereafter to state clearly on their website that onlinenigeria.com was in clear violation of Nigeria’s copyright laws and consequently reported the case to the appropriate Nigerian security authorities. To date, onlinenigeria.com continues to willfully infringe on the rights of all Nollywood producers with impunity, deceiving US advertisers who place advertising banners worth millions of dollars on their website because of the unprecedented global traffic generated. Presently, the US department of Justice has been notified and a lawsuit is being prepared against Mr. Nnaemeka, Devace Inc. and three other websites owned by him.

As soon as the US market is swept clean of these criminals who have no regard for the hard work and sacrifice of their fellow Africans, DVD sales of Nollywood movies will increase exponentially, easily selling an average of 100,000 to 200,000 copies at Five Dollars per copy. Nollywood producers will in turn be offered commensurate fees for their film distribution rights in the US territory. Then producers can embark on presenting worthy authentic stories with quality technical formats for their teeming audience worldwide.

On another level, FAN, USA has also signed mainstream American distribution rights deals with three American distributors for United States theatrical and DVD release. All films geared for that mega market must be shot on a minimum Hi Definition format advisably with some relatively known American actors or entertainment personalities injected in the cast to facilitate American mainstream interest.

A few Nigerian producers have taken advantage of that opportunity. Producers such as the writer of this article and Pascal Atuma (Hurricane in the Rose Garden), both based in America, have their films distributed in both the Nollywood niche market as well as mainstream American mega stores such as Walmart, Blockbuster, Redbox and Amazon selling for $20 per DVD copy.

Other prolific Nigerian filmmakers such as legendary Ola Balogun, Eddie Ugbomah, Tunde Kelani, Kingsley Ogoro, Tade Ogidan, Zeb Ejiro, Don Okolo, Ngozi Onwurah, Mahmoud Ali Balogun, Peace Anyiam Osigwe, Andy Amenechi, Paul Obazele, Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen, Don Pedro Obaseki, Ebbe Bassey, Vigil Chime, Chris Ekejimbe, Fidelis Duker and many others have the potential of making mega movies if given access to the right budget.

Young, talented filmmakers such as Stephanie Okereke and new-comer Chineze Anyaene, both graduates of the New York Film Academy, are set to explore a global niche market with their new genre of Nollywood cross-over films. The same positive results can be achieved by the next generation of Nollywood producers who embrace quality over quantity and have access to relatively modest budgets of at least $100,000.

These uniquely crafted films if distributed through a global niche market have the potential of grossing a minimum of $500,000 each. Hence the clarion call to the Nigerian government for a national film fund to jump-start the process.

Nollywood has amazing potential. For the industry to be truly viable, it will require a deft understanding of a specifically targeted niche market in the United States. It will take an aggressive approach towards copyright enforcement, creative budgeting, an astute application of new Hi Definition digital technology and a mastery of specifically tailored storylines targeted towards an Afrocentric niche market of at least fifty million people in the United States of America alone, with an estimated active consumer spending power of $900 billion per annum. Nollywood is in a very good position to access that market. The ultimate benefit ato the Nigerian economy is unimaginable.

Abulu is the President/ CEO of Filmmakers Association of Nigeria, USA. He is also President and CEO of Black Ivory Communications, a multi-faceted media and film production company based in New York City. (Abulu2000@yahoo.com.)

Bush and Rice arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport amid heavy security provided by both Nigerian and American personnel. Blair arrived quietly on Friday and had visited Action President Goodluck Jonathan in Aso Rock and participated in other public service engagements. Former President of Ghana John Kuffour presented a series of awards at the event.

The awards ceremony recognized and honored 50 distinguished Nigerians who have played critical roles in the country’s developmental efforts since 1960.
The THISDAY Nigeria-at-50 Awards serves as a formal kick-off for the celebration of Nigeria’s golden jubilee anniversary as an independent nation.

Agency report by Trendy Africa Nigeria @ 2010

 But we all know that there’s another set of statistics that have to be a part of this discussion — like how nearly one in three of our children in this country is now overweight or obese.  Like how one in three kids today will eventually develop diabetes — and in the African American and Hispanic communities, the number is nearly half.  Because if we think our health care costs are high now, just wait until 10 years from now.  Think about the many billions we’re going to be spending then.  Think about how high those premiums are going to be when our kids are old enough to have families of their own and businesses of their own. 

 So we all know that we can’t solve our health care problems unless we address our childhood obesity problem, too.  And that’s really why I’m here today:  to talk about the issue of childhood obesity that is so important to me and what our states and our nations can do to solve it.

 But we have to begin by understanding how we got here, what’s caused this crisis in the first place.  And I have my theories, but when you all think about it, this is a relatively new phenomenon.  This wasn’t something that we were dealing with when I was growing up.  Back when we were all growing up, most of us led lives that naturally kept us at a healthy weight.  We walked to school and we walked home, because we usually lived in communities where our schools were close.  All of us ran around all day at school, doing recess and gym because everybody had to do it.  And then when we got home, we’d be sent right back outside and told not to come back home until dinner was served.  (Laughter.)  You know your parents didn’t let you in the house. 

 And back then we ate sensibly.  We had many more home-cooked meals.  That was the norm.  And much to our dismay at the time, there was always something green on the plate.  (Laughter.)  Fast food and dessert was a special treat.  You had it but you didn’t have it every day, and the portion sizes were reasonable.  In my family I remember a couple of pints of ice cream — this was a big treat — we’d get three pints of ice cream for a family of four and that would last us a week, because you wouldn’t eat a pint, you’d get a scoop, and that would be it.  You’d savor that a spoonful at a time.

 And these weren’t arbitrary rules that our parents just made up.  As we know now, it was a way of life they imposed to help keep us active and healthy.  They knew back then that kids couldn’t and shouldn’t sit still for hours.  They knew that kids needed to run around and play.  They knew that keeping us healthy wasn’t about saying no to everything, but it was about balance and moderation.  We all had our share of burgers and fries and ice cream growing up.  We just didn’t have it every day, and not at every meal. 

 But somewhere along the line, we kind of lost that sense of perspective and moderation.  And we all want the very best for our kids just like our parents wanted for us.  But with the pressures of today’s economy, and the breakneck pace of modern life, many parents feel like the deck is stacked against them. 

They want to prepare healthy foods for their kids, but a lot of times they’re tight on money and they just can’t afford these meals.  Or oftentimes they’re tight on time because they’re juggling longer hours at work and many of them juggling multiple jobs.  So they just can’t swing coming home and making a home-cooked meal around the dinner table.  It’s hard. 

They want their kids to be active, but sometimes they live in communities where either it’s not practical to walk to school or, worse yet, it’s not safe.  Or they live in communities where gym classes and school sports are considered luxuries and not necessities — the first things to go in a budget crunch.  And those afternoons playing outside, they’ve been replaced by afternoons sitting inside in front of the TV or video games or the Internet.  And as a result, many parents feel like they’ve lost that sense of being in charge that their parents had.

But we have to be honest with ourselves:  Our kids didn’t do this to themselves.  Our kids didn’t decide whether there’s time for recess or gym class, or our kids don’t decide what’s served to them in the school cafeteria.  Our kids don’t decide whether to build playgrounds and parks in their neighborhoods or whether to bring supermarkets and farmer’s markets to their communities.  We set those priorities.  We make those decisions.  And even if it doesn’t feel like we’re in charge, we are. 

But that’s the good news because if we make these decisions here, then we can decide to solve this problem.  And that’s precisely what so many of you are doing right now in your states.  You’re experimenting and innovating.  Many of you are ignoring the naysayers and the old partisan divides, and focusing solely on what works. 

Extracts from remarks at the Governors event

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photos by Chibuzor Okonta, executive editor Trendy Africa USA @ 2010