Whitehead Communications

Présentation du Club rFi: les médias sociaux en Ouganda: logique, méthodes et l’avenir

3/19/2018

Ce weekend de la francophonie en Ouganda, j'ai eu le plaisir de faire une presentation aux membres du Club rFi à Alliance Française Kampala. Voici le PowerPoint que j'ai utilisé dans cette présentation qui fournit une introduction aux sujet que nous avons couverts.

À la fin de la présentation, nous avons eu une excellent discussion sur les tactiques de Facebook pour aider les journalistes Africains à promouvoir leurs histoires en ligne. (Cela fait longtemps que je n'ai pas fait de présentation en français, alors veuillez m'excuser pour toute erreur. )

Does your organization need social media training? Please contact anne@whiteheadcommunications.com to arrange.

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5 Lessons learned from conducting a survey in Kampala, Uganda

3/1/2018

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Field team debrief with pollsters Joshan, Key, Flo and Zex.

Recently, Whitehead Communications shared the results of the Kampala Holiday Survey conducted in January and February of 2018 to gather market research data on how Kampala’s residents spent their December 2017 holidays. We released our results publicly because we identified a great demand for more local data, but the results were not perfect. This survey was a test case meant for our team to learn from, and we sure did learn a lot. We are sharing some of those lessons learned with you here in the hopes that more Ugandans can use this information to improve local data collection, analysis and use.

Our total number of survey respondents was 491, which according to a commonly used sample size algorithm can account for an estimated Kampala and Wakiso resident population of about 4 million, with a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of +/- 5%. I am not a statistician, but the stories our field team brought back were full of suspicion, lies and pretence, with some people sharing too much information and good humour also. Our conclusion in debrief was that we got a lot of real answers, but on the other hand, it is not easy to go out into Kampala and get honesty from people.

Lesson # 1: Data collection methods matter

Whitehead Comm Polls gathered responses in two ways: online and on the ground, in person. We did not use telephone interviews. It became clear early on that online responses alone would not give us a true picture of Kampala residents, because the people whom we reached out to through Whatsapp, Twitter and Facebook tended to be the young elite, reporting to earn a higher income and more male than female. It was necessary to move around Kampala to different areas in order to find a more representative sample of Ugandans. This was more costly, as pollsters had to be paid for their time, surveys had to be printed, and people needed transport and airtime to operate, but it paid off when we were able to survey more Ugandans beyond the minority that is digitally literate.

Another challenging but important element of our methodology was the standardization of how we communicated our questions. We sat together in a multi-lingual group talking through the translations from English to Luganda and debating which words better represented the meaning of what we wanted to say. We also learned quite a bit about how to sequence and structure the questions in order to avoid redundancy and take people through the questionnaire in the most consistent and efficient manner possible. Indeed, we will write our questions differently next time.

Lesson # 2: Watch out for “response bias”

“Response bias (also called survey bias) is the tendency of a person to answer questions on a survey untruthfully or misleadingly. For example, they may feel pressure to give answers that are socially acceptable.” According to Statistics How To.

Over half of our surveys were conducted by the Whitehead Comm field team in person, and this experience suggested that respondents might not be entirely truthful when answering questions. We can’t be sure, but all of our pollsters had a gut feeling that respondents were not being entirely honest at least once. I suspect that pressure to meet social expectations gave some of our respondents the incentive to lie in order to save face.

Also, many respondents did not understand that their responses would be anonymous. They were not familiar with the concept of aggregated results, and believed that their information might be used for something that could blow back on them personally. Over time, we found more clear and effective ways to explain anonymity, like by saying: “we don't take your name, and once we mix yours with the other papers, nobody will know which is yours.”

Two particularly sensitive questions that may have been affected by response bias were asking whether people were sexually active and how much money they made. In person, Whitehead Comm pollsters found that after ticking “married,” people tended to be confident in saying they had sex, but after they had ticked “single,” they were more hesitant to admit to any sexual activity, probably because this highly religious society might mark a sexually active unmarried person as immoral.

Lesson # 3: Measuring income

In order to create demographic profiles of our respondents, we asked people what was their estimated income per month. It turns out that this is a flawed question, particularly in a society where a lot of work is informal – ex. many people are brokering deals, hoping for commissions if it works out, or working jobs that pay irregularly – and few people can honestly expect a standard salary to arrive each month.

This question also aroused a lot of suspicion among respondents. Some people were very open about how much money they made, but others asked if we were government spies sent to tax them! Response bias came in once again, as those who were suspicious of taxes may have low-balled their income reporting, while others made our pollsters wonder if they were just showing off. For example, one of our teammates interviewed someone they described as “a slay queen” with a “show off attitude” who said she made over five million shillings per month, and when he asked her if/how she travelled over the holidays, she said “by plane, OBVIOUSLY,” which made him wonder to whom in Uganda it would be obvious that anyone would fly abroad (according to our results, only 6.3% of respondents did).

Just after finishing the Kampala Holiday Survey and debriefing with our team, I bumped into the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Uganda, Louis Austin Kasekende, and he provided some insightful advice on how to measure incomes in Uganda. “Don’t ask people how much they make,” he said. “Ask people how much they spend.” Indeed, the money has to come from somewhere – whether it is debt or work or handouts - but expenses may be a more real and truthful number than what people say when you ask them how much they make. Whitehead Comm Polls will definitely keep Mr. Kasekende’s advice in mind next time we try to find out how much money people have.

Pollsters Joshan and Key

Lesson # 4: Prepare pollsters to have a hard time

We sent five pollsters all over Kampala to survey people, and they did not have an easy time. “I expected people to at least be nice and give me a few minutes,” said one of our team members, but she quickly learned what it is like to be viewed as an annoyance and accept a lot of rejection between collecting responses. Several people asked for money to respond to the survey, which we did not give.

One unexpected challenge was that, despite printing surveys in English and Luganda to enable people to fill them out privately, very many Ugandans preferred to be read the questions and answer them in public. It was unclear whether the respondents were illiterate or just preferred the service of being spoken to rather than writing their own responses, but either way this was not an ideal method of collecting answers, since the lack of privacy may have increased the risk of response bias. Our field team tried to direct respondents towards filling out the surveys privately, but believed that many felt a sense of entitlement to have the survey read and filled out for them.

Our female pollsters faced further challenges in their work as they were repeatedly sexually harassed by male respondents. All three of our female pollsters reported having men turn the questions back on them, especially the ones about relationship status and sexual activity, which made them uncomfortable. When we discussed how to handle these situations, female pollsters said that they didn't want to lose out on the respondent filling the entire survey, so they felt that they had to be sweet and giggle and allow men to flirt with them throughout the process in order to get their job done. This was disheartening, and just one example of the vulnerability of women and corruption of relationships in Ugandan society. We decided that pollsters would work in teams and operate only in public places in order to ensure their safety, and pollsters were advised that if they ever felt unsafe or uncomfortable, it would be better to lose the respondent than continue.

Lesson # 5: Kampalans are suspicious people

The most common challenge reported by Whitehead Comm pollsters was that they were suspected of being spies for the Government. People did not understand market research and openly voiced their suspicions, with one respondent saying "there is something that Government is planning here." In our debrief, one pollster explained a personal experience when there was an incident in a marketplace and merchants, boda drivers, etc. suddenly began whipping out pistols in response, which made that pollster believe like many respondents did that spies and undercover security operatives were everywhere, so it was only prudent to be paranoid in Kampala. Several respondents questioned why we wanted to know how much money they made, how much they spent on gifts, or what method of transport they used for travel. The survey was intentionally not political, but still politics came into it as respondents asked if we were gathering information to create new tax policy, or if we wanted to know their political opinions (which we did not ask for).

We managed this challenge by clearly representing the Whitehead Communications brand and website on survey materials, with pollsters wearing Whitehead Comm t-shirts, introducing themselves as interns and directing people towards our website to increase a sense of clarity and transparency about who we were and what we were doing.

On the other hand, despite some people being too suspicious to answer our questions, others were very free with their personal information and would begin talking all about their holiday, providing so much detail, until the pollster would have to stop them and ask that they respond to specific questions. Once pen touched paper, many of those who previously offered too much information then began to hesitate with their answers.

In conclusion, we learned a lot from conducting this survey, so in that respect the activity was a success. This article contains only a few highlights, but we hope that by sharing our experience here, other people in Uganda can get a head start in contributing to local data collection.

Is there anything we missed that you would like to share? We are so open to learning, so please share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Kampala survey reveals strong link between sex and money

2/21/2018

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Have you ever wondered who is having the most sex, and what may be the difference between those who did it and those who didn't? Perhaps the topic has come up over a couple of drinks with friends, and everyone presented their own theories on what determines a person's sex life. Well, we can reveal to you now what the numbers have to say about people's sex lives in Kampala.

In January of 2018, Whitehead Communications conducted the Kampala Holiday Survey and included the question: "did you have sex over the holidays?" The survey gathered responses from 491 residents of Kampala and Wakiso District: half in person and half online, half male and half female, including a wide variety of people from different age groups, neighbourhoods, financial status, marital status, religion, etc. We wanted to learn more about Kampala residents, and you can learn a lot from breaking down such survey results. Maybe you're not so interested in statistics, but I bet you'll find it interesting to hear how the numbers break down when it comes to sex.

51.1% of the people we interviewed around Kampala reported having sex over the December 2017 holiday season (that is 250 people out of about 2 million residents of Kampala, not a statistically conclusive sample, but a number worth exploring). Considering the 51.1% overall "did it" as a baseline, we broke it down according to respondents' answers to other questions to find out what factors might affect people's sex lives.

Gender

Men are having more sex than women in Kampala, with 69% of men having sex over the holidays and only 42.7% of women (which kind of makes us wonder whom the men are having sex with).

Marital Status

Married people are having more sex than unmarried people. 76.3% of married respondents said they had sex over the holidays. 39.6% of non married people (who may be single or in a relationship of some kind) said they had sex over the holidays, and among just the people who said they were single, still 29.4% said they were sexually active. The conclusion is an old one: If you want to have more sex, you may want to get married.

Religion

Which religion would you expect to be having more sex in Kampala? We were interested to learn that the most sexually active religious community, according to our 491 responses, are the muslims. Less than half of our 359 Christian respondents - 47.9% - had sex over the holidays (which is less than the overall average), while 60% of the 74 Muslim respondents did. "Not religious" respondents came out in between, with 53.8% reporting as sexually active.

Alcohol

57.4% of people who drank alcohol over the holidays had sex.

Travel

Those who traveled out of Kampala over the holidays had more sex than those who did not, with 48.1% of those not traveling having sex, and 53.4% of travellers having sex.

48% of people who travelled in a taxi (matatu) had sex.
50.9% of people who travelled on a boda boda had sex.
58.5% of people who travelled in a private car had sex.

Age

It was interesting to note that, according to our results, sex gets better with age, or at least older people are having more of it. We did not survey anyone under the age of 18, but once reaching adulthood, we found that sexual activity increased with age. (This may be related to the age at which people tend to get married.)

40.8% of respondents aged 18 - 29 had sex. (Note: 50.7% single, 25% in a relationship)
64.4% of respondents aged 30 - 39 had sex. (Note: 47.6% married)
65.5% of respondents aged 40 - 49 had sex. (Note: 76.4% married)
80% of respondents over the age of 50 had sex. (Note: only 5 respondents, 80% male and 60% married)

Money

Kampala Holiday Survey results support the theory that money and sex go together, as less than a third of those earning under 100k per month were sexually active, while that number rose to 72% for those who earn between 2 million and 5 million shillings a month. Interestingly, sexual activity trended down again after the 5 million shillings mark. Maybe Kampala's top earners are too stressed or don't have the time for sex; we can't be sure, but according to these results, "middle income status" is the sweet spot for kampala lovers.

Here is how it breaks down by monthly income:

Under 100,000 UGX: 31.5% had sex.
101,000 - 500,000 UGX: 52.5% had sex.
501,000 - 2,000,000 UGX: 55.9% had sex.
2,001,000 - 5,000,000 UGX: 72% had sex.
More than 5,000,000 UGX: 46.5% had sex.

We went looking for which responses led to people having the most sex of all, and it turned out that gift giving had the biggest impact on whether or not somebody did it.

Gifts

People who bought a gift for spouse or romantic partner had sex 85% of the time. Only 49.7% of people who did not buy a gift for a romantic partner did it. The amount you spent on gifts also mattered. Of the people who spent less than 100,000 UGX on gifts (overall), only 43.6% had sex. The highest number of sexually active people we found were also the most generous, reporting to have spent over 2 million Ugandan shillings on gifts over the holidays. They did it 94.7% of the time!

Based on the above, one might theorize that the Kampala residents who have the most sex of all are older married Muslim men earning between two and five million shillings a month and are generous in gift giving, while those having the least sex are young and single Christian women who earn below 100,000 UGX per month. The cause and effect in these correlations is not certain, but these numbers do seem to whisper something of what is happening in the bedrooms of Kampala. A cynic might wonder if sex has been corrupted by money in Kampala, Uganda.

What do you make of these results? Are you surprised? Please comment and share.

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Whitehead Comm Polls: Kampala Holiday Survey Results

2/12/2018

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In January of 2018, the Whitehead Communications team set out on a mission to learn more about Kampala residents. We asked 20 questions to 491 people in Kampala about what they did over the recent holidays. We also asked personal questions, first to determine demographic profiles for analysis – like age, gender, marital status, religion and how much money they make per month. We sprinkled in a few other questions too – like: if you had sex over the holidays – just because we thought it might be interesting, and it was!

Intern pollsters Joshan and Key in the field

Intern pollster Simon collecting responses in the field

This was the first time that the Whitehead Comm team conducted a survey to this scale – and we did it for the purpose of learning and building our capacity – so please do not consider this data as authoritative. I will release another article full of what we learned and how such a survey could be improved. However, the following results may serve useful to Ugandan marketers, analysts and strategists to illustrate trends and preferences in the Kampala market, so I welcome you to consider and share the results (please compensate us in due credit).

The following results should provide a fairly representative sample of Central, Urban Ugandans. Given a Kampala (night) population of approximately two million people and a Wakiso District population of about the same, a sample of 491 respondents leaves a margin error of less than 5% with a confidence level of 95% (according to this tool on Survey Monkey). This survey was conducted in person at the Old Taxi Park, Owino Market, Kamwokya, Kabalagala, Ntinda and various other areas around Kampala, with the polling field team gathering just over half of all responses. The other half of responses were collected online using Survey Monkey and shared through Whatsapp, Twitter and Facebook. The field team was directed to interview older, less "elite" and more female respondents when online results trended younger, higher income and male. Our final tally was 50.61% female respondents, which is close to Uganda’s reported gender distribution as indicated by Uganda's Bureau of Statistics. Only respondents aged 18+ and residing within the areas of Kampala or Wakiso were included, with the majority residing in Kampala.

The following are the Kampala Holiday Survey overall results. Things get more interesting when you start filtering answers through each other to find out, for example, the responses of a particular age group or gender, or the profiles of people who drink a certain beverage, etc., but I will share some of these insights in further articles.

Survey Results

Gender: 49.39% male and 50.61% female.

Note: No one in Kampala took us up on selecting "other" as a gender, but one respondent skipped the question.

Age: 18-24 = 21.75%, 25-29 = 35.98%, 30-34 = 19.72%, 35-39 = 10.37%, 40-44 = 8.13%, 45-50 = 3.05%, 50+ = 1.02%

Income: under 100,000 UGX = 18.09%; 101,000-500,000 UGX = 36.79%; 501,000-2,000,000 UGX = 25.81%; 2,001,000-5,000,000 UGX = 10.16%; 5,000,000 UGX+ = 9.15%.

Note: This income question may be flawed due to heavy responder bias and the nature of the informal economy, which we'll break down further in another post.

Marital status: In a relationship = 18.7%; Single = 38.21%; Married = 30.89%; Separated/Divorced = 5.49%; It's complicated = 6.71%.

Note: some respondents requested the addition of "widower," which was not included in possible responses and is not reflected in these results.

Religion: Christian = 72.97%; Muslim = 15.04%; Hindu = 0.61%; Other religion = 5.69%; Not religious = 5.69%.

Note: some respondents who were Seventh Day Adventist self-identified as "other religion" and not Christian.

50.81% of Kampala residents travelled over the 2017 Christmas Holiday period, while 49.59% did not.

Of those who travelled over the holidays, their means of transport included: Taxi/Matatu = 31.25%; Bus = 25.25%; Boda boda = 26.5%; Private car = 35.5%; Special hire/Uber/Taxify/Etc. = 6%; Air travel = 6.25%; Boat = 2.25%; Other = 17.25%.

Now here is a good one for marketers:

Where did Kampala residents get their information from? TV = 60%; Newspaper = 32.5%; Radio = 38.4%; Facebook = 50.4%; Whatsapp = 57.7%; Google/Search engine = 27.4%; Twitter = 26.8%; Instagram = 22%; Snapchat = 7.9%; SMS/Text messaging = 44.9%; Word of mouth = 55.9%; Other (mostly phone calls, which was not included in possible responses) = 13.9%.

What did Kampala residents do on Christmas Day? Family gathering = 61.2%; Church/worship = 44.3%; Visited friends = 27%; Out to a bar/club = 15.9%; Shopping = 15%; Other = 14.4%.

What did Kampala residents do on New Year's Eve? Church/worship = 36.2%; Went out to a bar/club = 21.3%; Went to see fireworks = 26.8%; House party = 13%; Did not celebrate = 23.4%; Other = 11.8%.

Which events did Kampala residents go to throughout the December 2017 holiday season?

The most popular of our December 2017 events selections were:
None = 55.1%, Wizkid concert = 7.5%; Abryanz Style and Fashion Awards = 6.1%; Blankets and Wine = 6.1%; Pearl of Africa Fashion Awards = 4.5%; Boxing Day at One Love Beach = 4.1%.

Note: These responses cannot be relied on to judge the attendance of December's events due to the survey's limited event options and sample size, but it still proves interesting when analyzing the profiles of attendees.

What beverages were Kampala residents drinking? Tea/coffee = 78.3%; Water/juice = 88.4%; Soda = 66.5%; Nile Special = 10%; Club = 9.8%; Bell = 5.1%; Guinness =9.6%; Tusker = 11.4%; Castle Lite = 5.7%; Wine = 30.7%; Cocktails = 17.5%; Uganda Waragi = 16.7%; Other gin = 5.3%; Vodka = 9.1%; Johnny Walker = 6.3%; Bond 7 = 3.3%; Other whiskeys = 5.5%; Rum = 2.6%; Sherry = 2.6%; Brandy = 1.4%; Congac = 2%; Other = 16% (many "other" brands were alcohols sold in sachets, as well as energy drinks).

Note: how can only 88.4% of respondents drink water? Such are the limitations of survey responses.

Where did Kampala residents do their Christmas shopping? Supermarket in Kampala = 58.1%; Market in Kampala = 54.1%; Supermarket in "the village" = 14.6%; Market in "the village" = 20.1%; Roadside merchant = 31.7%; Mall = 22.4%; Other = 9.1%.

Whom did Kampala residents buy a gift for? No one = 37.8%; Spouse/romantic partner = 28.9%; Child/children = 29.7%; Colleague(s) = 8.3%; Friend(s) = 17.3%; Other = 16.5%.

How much did Kampala residents spend on gifts? Less than 50,000 UGX = 16.3%; 50,000-99,000 UGX = 16.9%; 100,000-499,000 UGX = 22.6%; 500,000-1,999,000 UGX = 6.5%; 2,000,000+ UGX = 4.1%; Nothing = 33.7%.

19.4% of Kampala residents had a fight or argument over the holidays. 80.6% did not.

51.1% of Kampala residents had sex over the holidays. 48.9% did not.

79.4% of Kampala residents prayed over the holidays. 20.6% did not.

Overall, how was the December 2017 holiday season for people in Kampala? Great = 38.9%; Good = 37.7%; Fair = 17.7%; Not so good = 4.5%; Terrible = 1.2%.

In my next posts, we'll go deeper into mining these results for insights and review the lessons learned from conducting this survey in Kampala, Uganda. This information is being released free to use by the public, though we request that you not do so without crediting Whitehead Communications. Our polling team is gearing up for more surveys, so if you are looking for an objective and reliable young firm to do such research, contact us at anne@whiteheadcommunications.com

What do you think of these results? Please leave us a comment and share!
#KampalaHolidaySurvey #WhiteheadCommPolls

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"Your Music Your Voice" to gather African socially conscious artistes in Kampala

9/21/2017

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Goethe-Zentrum Kampala is set to host a special event in the first week of October - “Your Music, Your Voice” - which will bring together artistes from across Africa and the diaspora whose music is all about social justice, with Uganda represented by our own Ghetto President turned MP, Bobi Wine.

In the first week of October, music and social responsibility will come together in a symposium at Uganda Museum on October 3rd, and a public concert on October 4th at the Design Hub Kampala.

Attending African artistes will include:
· Hon. Robert Kyagulanyi AKA H.E. Bobi Wine (Uganda)
· Eric 1Key (Rwanda)
· Juma (Kenya)
· Monza (Mauritania)
· Nash MC (Tanzania)
· Outspoken (Zimbabwe)
· Xuman (Senegal)

Event Schedule

SYMPOSIUM “ARTS & ACTIVISM”
Tuesday, 3rd October
9:30 am to 4:00 pm
Venue: UGANDA MUSEUM

The public symposium in cooperation with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung will define what it means to be a civically engaged artist, sharing best practice examples from different countries, and discussion about different approaches, challenges, and the role of social media.

Morning panel: YOUR MUSIC, YOUR VOICE
Bobi Wine (Uganda), Tongai Makawa aka Outspoken (Zimbabwe), Jason Mushumbusi Mutalemwa aka Nash MC (Tanzania), Eric Ngangare aka Eric 1Key (Rwanda), Kane Limam aka Monza (Mauritania), Makhtar Fall aka Xuman (Senegal)

Afternoon panel: ARTS & ACTIVISM IN UGANDA
Ugandan artists from the fields of Hip Hop, poetry, film, photography, and bloggers.

CONCERT “YOUR MUSIC, YOUR VOICE”
Wednesday, 4th October
7pm till late
Venue : DESIGN HUB KAMPALA, 5th Street, Industrial Area (next to Bata)

Concert headlining the German Hip Hop artistes Megaloh and Ghanaian Stellion and Ugandan Bobi Wine, as well as Monza (Mauritania), Xuman (Senegal), Outspoken (Zimbabwe), Nash Emcee (Tanzania), Eric Onekey (Rwanda), Juma (Kenya) and local acts such as Sylvester & Abramz, Lady Slyke, Yellah MC and St. Nellysade

About The Event

“Your Music, Your Voice” will create a platform for Pan-African dialogue between socially active artistes to discuss their role in using music and fame to raise awareness of social issues. Hon. Kyagulanyi AKA Bobi Wine will represent Uganda as a politically vocal artiste and newly elected MP, bringing that point of view to the discussion.

The artistes will also engage with festival organizers and other stakeholders in their industries to discuss the different roles in supporting socially conscious music, creating platforms for self-empowerment, and critically analyzing the space they operate in – including funding structures, censorship and self-censorship.

At the public symposium, participants will also discuss the role of social media in respect to socially conscious music and freedom of expression.

Behind the scenes, artists will also gather at Firebase Studio to record a collaboration together that will be published on www.musicinafrica.net.

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Project 500K kicks off with youth workshops in Ibanda, Uganda

8/17/2017

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Project 500K has officially kicked off in Ibanda, Uganda with a two-day facilitator training workshop hosted at Ibanda University. Project 500k is a free, practical, inspirational youth education and programme created by the Patrick and Carol Bitature Foundation.

Photos by Florence Kakatshozi

The mission of Project 500K is to reach 500,000 Ugandan youth and enable them to contribute towards the country’s vision of becoming a middle-income economy through developing a more productive mindset and useful skills.

The programme builds valuable soft skills like self-awareness, goal-setting and planning, financial literacy, business management and other related knowledge as part of a holistic and motivating educational programme. Project 500K connects members to resources and other members to encourage collaboration, hiring and investment.

The programme aims to empower Ugandan youth aged 18 to 35 to assist those at the beginning of their career, both job searchers and entrepreneurs. First, Project 500K will launch its activities in Ibanda, and later expand to the rest of Uganda. Project 500K will also build and share a catalogue of partners and other resources. It will build an alumni network to facilitate further learning, collaboration, mentorship, hiring and investment. Finally, Project 500K will encourage members to become change agents in their communities, passing on their knowledge to change mindsets.

The programme uses multiple communication channels to deliver an empowering curriculum to its members in Ibanda, Project 500k has partnered with Eiraka FM to broadcast weekly educational programs. It also engages members through SMS messages, for which about 2000 Ibanda residents have already signed up. Project 500K will also engage beneficiaries through weekly in-person workshops, which local youth leaders are now being trained to facilitate.

Project 500K is meant to compliment ongoing activities by other organizations like Uganda's Youth Livelihoods Programme by empowering youth with developmental skills. Project 500K is creating partnerships with local organizations like Ibanda University, Alliance Vocational School and others. The programme wishes to work not in a silo but develop strong partnerships with Local Government and relevant Community Based Organizations.

Follow Project 500K on Facebook and on Twitter to access updates on how the programme is rolling out.

Please contact me at anne@whiteheadcommunications.com if you wish to collaborate with us.

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Alliance Français kicks of Fête de la Musique festival

6/14/2017

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Alliance Français and partners present the Fête de la Musique in Kampala, Uganda this coming week. The festival will offer a range of fee culture and entertainment open to the public.

Initiated in France in 1982, Fête de la Musique has been a tremendously internationally popular event, free and open to all. Its purpose is to celebrate different music styles and showcase a variety of musical genres. In Uganda, Fête de la Musique goes by the name of World Music Day and is a hands-on, collective, festive event for the public organized by the Alliance Française de Kampala.

This year the Alliance Française Kampala in collaboration with the Embassy of France in Uganda, the Sheraton Hotel Kampala, the Ecole Franҫaise les Grands Lacs, the Pearl Rhythm Foundation, and the Que Pasa Restaurant bring you a weeklong programme of music, poetry and dance. The World Music Week will take place from the 18th to the 24th of June in various locations around Kampala.

Please find the event schedule below.

A press conference is to be held at the Alliance Français office on Bukoto Street at 11am on Thursday June 15th to provide more information.

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Viva con Agua Spreads Water & Sanitation Message Through Music, Art & Sports

3/29/2016

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Bobi Wine pumping water at a Viva con Agua project in Moroto, Karamoja Photo by Klabautermann Images

Artists from around the world came together with Viva con Agua this past week to support Viva con Agua water and sanitation projects in Moroto, Karamoja, through an artistic exchange and music collaboration. The project included project visits, workshops and performances in Moroto and Kampala, as well as the recording of a collabo between top artists from four countries (Uganda, Kenya, Switzerland, Germany).

Photo by Selector Davie (Firebase)

On March 22, World Water Day, a group of local and international artists – both musical and visual – travelled with the Viva con Agua team from Kampala and some Viva con Agua colleagues invited from Europe to Moroto, Karamoja. The group visited pit latrines and water facilities that had been built by the local partners of Viva con Agua, and they met with the Karamojong community to learn about how to make the water and sanitation projects sustainable. That night, Viva con Agua Kampala with the support of Viva con Agua Germany put up a fundraising and awareness concert for the Moroto community, charging 500shs for adults and 200shs for children. Through these efforts, Viva con Agua Kampala can support own water and sanitation projects. Representing Uganda was Bobi Wine and Maro, who shared their experiences on their social media pages.

“We had a very long journey and went directly to Moroto, and this was kind of a crazy experience,” described Knackeboul. “Coming from Switzerland to Karamoja, it was like beaming in. It was very impressive: beautiful country, lovely people.”

“It is a blessing for me to be in Uganda,” said Megaloh. “I felt more at home in this one week than I felt in all my life in Germany. I’m very grateful and proud to be part of this.”

Viva con Agua's Michael "Muzungu" Fritz, The Ghanaian Stallion and Megaloh

Knackeboul performing in Moroto at the Wold Water Day concert Photo by Klabautermann Images

“I’m always critical with NGOs,” Knackeboul continued, “and I’m not always sure how much they connect, but what I saw with this group is there’s not only the support with water and sanitation, but also this cultural exchange. We go to Kampala and exchange with the artists from here that are on a similar level when it comes to arts and music. It’s not only like “here are the cool artists from Switzerland that we show to poor people; it’s like, we learn from them and they learn from us.”

Bobi Wine speaking with Moroto Municipal Primary School Photo by Klabautermann Images

In Moroto, Bobi Wine spoke of the importance of Ugandans taking responsibility for their own wellbeing at the Moroto Municipal Primary School.

“I want you to remember,” said Bobi Wine, “that as much as we have our Muzungu friends that come support us, most importantly it is us that can change our water from dirty water to clean water, from bad water to good water. So I want everybody to say ‘we can do it by ourselves’!”

The collabo: Knackeboul, Octopizzo, Bobi Wine, Ghanaian Stallion, Megaloh & Maro Photo by Klabautermann Images

Bobi Wine and Octopizzo Photo by Klabautermann Images, from @Octopizzo Social Media

On March 24, the top artists from four different countries – Bobi Wine and Maro (Uganda), Octopizzo (Kenya), Megaloh and the Ghanaian Stallion (Germany), and Knackeboul (Switzerland) – went into Firebase studio together to record a collabo inspired by their trip, and a music video was filmed in the following few days. This song’s audio and video are due to be released in all four of the artists’ countries in May, 2016.

“I’ve had the beat for a while,” explained producer the Ghanaian Stallion (of Germany), “because Megaloh and I are trying to use more and more African samples. The compilation of African samples and modern drums has a lot of potential to be the new music in the next few years, because everyone in the world can relate. I had the beat and when we were sitting in Moroto, I was playing the guys the beats, and within 2 seconds Octo said ‘this is the one.’ There is a vocal sample that says something which is actually Swahili meaning ‘I have something to say,’ so we already had the message for the song. It turned out really great. Everyone delivered. Everyone killed it, actually.”

Abramz & Sylvester Photo by Stefan Groenveld

Lady Slyke and the Jahliya Band Photo by Stefan Groenveld

Maro performing at #WeLoveYouganda in Kamwokya Photo by Stefan Groenveld

On March 26, the collective of Viva con Agua artists performed again for free in the #WeLoveYouganda concert on the Kamwokya football pitch. Those who starred in this year’s recorded song were joined by other Ugandan artists who have been supporting Viva con Agua for years, like Sylvester and Abramz, Lady Slyke and others.

The Ghanaian Stallion Photo by Stefan Groenveld

Megaloh Photo by Stefan Groenveld

Octopizzo Photo by Stefan Groenveld

“We came up with a lot of musicians,” said Viva con Agua spokesperson Claudia Gersdorf, “and I observed in the audience that every singer and hiphopper inspired people. Everyone managed to send a message. The concert wasn’t just about music, fun and dancing together, but it was about important messages of change, responsibility, and dealing with their own life. The music collected the people. Musicians that I spoke to after the show want to stay in touch and exchange more in the future. Regardless of the country they come from, they want to continue this network and mission for a world where every person has access to water and sanitation.”

The #WeLoveYouganda crowd in Kamwokya Photo by Stefan Groenveld

The foreign visitors are now leaving the country, but their mission is being taken up by Ugandans working in Kampala. The founders of Viva con Agua Kampala, Latim Nobert, Papa Shabani and Adam Lakouch started to build up the crew more than one year ago, and with the support of the Ugandan network, they’re reaching a new level to change perspectives in this so-called NGO sector.

“I know I’m a white person working for an NGO from Europe,” added Viva con Agua spokesperson Claudia, “but it is also a challenge to change the perspective of Ugandans, because it’s about the people here in Uganda, the young generation – very skilled, very talented, very qualified – and we as guests in Uganda can learn a lot. We can find a new vibe of inspiration to bring back to Germany. In Germany, often the media are showing the same negative images of Africa, but thanks to some Ugandan journalists working for international media who came out to the #WeLoveYouganda Festival, yesterday they captured important stories of a talented young generation that gets active to change and build up it’s own country. With Viva con Agua, this changing of perspectives comes from connecting through music, art and sports. We all love to be on eye level with each other, we love Uganda.”

Viva con Agua Uganda team 2016 at One Love Beach, Busaabala Photo by Stefan Groenveld

Nobert Latim, founder of Viva con Agua Kampala, concluded: "This was the first time we were really going deep into organizing the festivals and workshops. It was really challenging, but in the end it was worth it! Seeing all the international artists, musicians and dancers work together was really a good example of the uniting factor of Viva con Agua. For the vision ALL FOR WATER – WATER FOR ALL."

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Bobi Wine, other Ugandan & International Artists to Perform at 2nd We Love Youganda Festival

3/25/2016

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Viva con Agua (VcA) – an international NGO supporting water and sanitation projects in Uganda – will be holding their 2nd annual We Love Youganda Festival on Saturday March 26th at the Kamwokya football grounds, next to the Kiira Rd. Police Station, from 4pm to 10pm.

The festival will be FREE ENTRY, and will bring together music, art, culture and sports activities to support awareness and access to water and sanitation in Uganda. Saturday’s line-up includes a multi-national selection of celebrated music- and visual-artists, including:

Musicians: Megaloh & GhanaianStallion (GER) Knackeboul (SWISS) Octopizzo (KE )
Bobi Wine (UG) Maro (UG) Lady Slyke (UG) Abramz and Sylvester, Taye & Spyda MC of Tandika Essaawa (UG) MALIKA (Sphynx, Agee, Jojo-UG) Jora Mc (UG), Pryce Teeba & Abaasa(UG).

Artists:
Björn Holzweg (GER) Bobbie Serrano (GER) Oibele (CH) Ronald Ro Kerango (UG) Destreet (UG) Tindi Paul (UG) Jobray Writer, Mos Opten, The Ghetto Film Project and Watoto Wasoka

Dancers:
Break Dance Project Uganda (UG) Batalo East (UG) Mambya Dance Co. (UG)

Photo by Klabautermann Images

The 2nd We Love Youganda Festival follows a trip by the Ugandan and international artists this week to Moroto, where they have been visiting Viva con Agua and Welthunherhilfe water projects, and performing for the people of Northern Uganda.

An international collabo is being recorded during this trip by top artists: Megaloh and the Ghanaian Stallion (Germany), Knackeboul (Switzerland), Octopizzo (Kenya), Uganda’s own Bobi Wine and Maro to support Viva con Agua’s Ugandan water projects. They will also shoot a music video together, to be released in all four of their countries to promote VcA activities.

Creative Music, Art, Culture and sports workshops on water and sanitation will also be held at TLC (Treasure Life Centre, Kamwokya) on Thursday 24th, 2016.

"All for water – water for All:" Viva con Agua Uganda aims to create awareness on water, sanitation and hygiene issues and generate funds for clean water projects.

VcA’s Ugandan-based partners include: Welthungerhilfe, Bayimba International Festival of the Arts, Goethe Zentrum Kampala / Ugandan German Cultural Society, and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany.

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Youth & French Language Day Introduces Kampalans to French Culture

3/25/2016

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Photo by Pius Kibazzi

A diverse crowd of international schools, francophone Africans and members of the Ugandan hiphop community gathered at Alliance Française in Kamwokya, Kampala, on Saturday March 19th to enjoy a wide range of French-inspired activities.

The event was put on in partnership between the Embassy of France to Uganda, Alliance Française, and Breakdance Project Uganda. BPU organized student workshops and performances in dance, music, art, poetry and theatre with Gayaza High School, Interaid Refugee Centre and the Makerere French Club.

Bus loads of uniform-sporting students arrived in the early hours of the afternoon, including École Française, Aga Khan High School, Taibah International School, City Parents’ School, and many others. Parents came to watch their children perform, and enjoy the French cuisine and drinks available outside by the main stage.

Photo by Pius Kibazzi

Inside, classrooms were converted into edutainment centres representing the “four corners of the Francophone world.” There were dance classes in the West Africa room, and speed-dating in the European room, among other fun activities. Upstairs, French animated film “Adama” was screened on rotation, and on the rooftop, dance groups practiced their moves before taking to the main stage.

After sunset, most of the families with young children left and were replaced by local music fans who enjoyed performances by Ugandan rappers Abramz, Lady Slyke, Yallah, and St. Nellysade, as well as Congolese rappers Cruz, Lebon and Sapiens.

Photo by Pius Kibazzi

In addition to introducing guests to French culture, the event also explored the themes: gender equality, peace and reconciliation, and the environment.

“Youth and French Language Day was a successful collaboration between Breakdance Project Uganda and the French Embassy,” said BPU director Abramz Tekya. “Together we encouraged Kampala youth to embrace both positive social change and French culture.”

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