Kenyan Pundit

- Human rights work begins at home. I liked this piece, often when we think about politics in Kenya we often forget that the process of change begins at micro-level - how do we treat each other as Kenyans? What small acts can we engage in to change the culture of apathy?

- Speaking of change in Kenya, I LOVED this post by Onyango Oloo on celebrating the life of the late Wanjiru Kihoro. Far too often we forget (especially lately with the ODM/Narc-Kenya rubbish) the sacrifices many patriotic Kenyans made in order to get rid of Moi’s regime and as Oloo writes, it is unfortunate that Kenyans honor their (s)heroes when it is far too late. It is also remarkable to see just how much potential was lost after Narc’s victory - whatever happened to the Murungis and Karuas? Will this also happen to the next generation to activists?

Popularity: 6% [?]

I believe this is the first blog explicitly tied to a Kenyan politician. Hope to see more of the same in what is shaping up to be a LOOOONG campaigning period.

Popularity: 7% [?]

This link is for any law school students/newbie lawyers who read my blog.

I’ve been doing a lot of transactional work over the last few months and have been struck by just how little law school prepares you for contract drafting. In fact, Contract Law as it is currently taught in most law schools has very little to do with the practice and with preparing you to meet your clients business needs. It’s been a great learning experience for me (one of the perks of working in Africa is tons of responsibility right off the bat), but I often wish the learning curve hadn’t been so steep.

For those of you who might find themselves in a similar situation, I highly recommend this article as well as the books listed at the end of the article (the books by Kenneth Adams and Charles Fox). I actually think the books are helpful for any transactional lawyer, not just lawyers practising in the U.S. - the elements of good drafting often have almost nothing to do with the jurisdiction where you practice…in my experience so far, the elements of local law are usually available in a template and rarely vary…the hard part is translating your client’s business needs into contract terms and these books help tremendously.

Back to work…

Popularity: 6% [?]

The next We Media Conference is being held at the University of Miami, February 8-9, 2007, with major support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The dual themes will be connecting digital services to physical communities - and how to finance those digital services.

Scholarships are available, deadline to apply is

November 3, 2006

.

To apply for a fellowship, send an e-mail to gloria@ifocos.org, with:

I. “We Media Fellowship Application” in the subject line.
II. Your name, title, organizational affiliation and contact information at the top.
III. A statement of no more than 500 words that includes:

1) What does “community” mean to you in a connected world?
2) How might communications and digital media services be used or improved to enhance real, physical communities?
3) What do you hope to get out of attending?

Popularity: 5% [?]

Those of you who regularly read the World Changing blog will be happy to know that the World Changing book is scheduled for release in early November - you can pre-order your copy now.

Even if you are not familiar with the World Changing site, check out the book any way. Why? Because you are bound to get inspired if you are looking for ways to make a difference and because yours truly wrote a small section on corruption in Africa

Popularity: 12% [?]