Tuesday 15 January 2008

business network

Friday 25th Jan. 2008 - Business Networking Event.
This is the first of our events this year and we look forward to welcoming you and hearing more about what you would like the club to do this year.

We will be hosting a business networking event on the last Friday of every other month. The aim of these events is to provide our members with an opportunity to meet like-minded professionals and entrepreneurs.

Due to space constraints, there are only 25 tickets available for non-members. Tickets will be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis. To get a ticket, please register on our website by clicking here. For our members, the event is FREE.

TIME: Registration from 6:30pm for a 7:00pm start.

VENUE: HOLIDAY INN, LONDON-BLOOMSBURY, CORAM STREET, LONDON, WC1N 1HT. The nearest tube station is Russell Square. Walk straight from the station along Marchmont street and its on your left. Click here for a location map.

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Friday 28th Mar. 2008 - PROFESSIONALS IN THE DIASPORA: The Engine of Africa.

This event will be a fun and interactive workshop hosted by NETWORKING4PROFESSIONALS in partnership with KINETIC CUBED, International trade development specialists. This event will look at the issues surrounding diaspora and how it can work to develop opportunities for and with its home countries in Africa . The event will also consider the mutual benefits for diaspora members and home country alike.

African professionals in the Diaspora can make (and are indeed making) a big contribution to their home country's trade prospects in international markets. Whether they are pursuing education or active in employment, their impact is being felt though their ideas, skills, knowledge, experience and investment. The potential to make a significant impact is huge but how can this be maximised?

TIME: Registration from 6:30pm FOR A 7:00Ppm start.

VENUE: HOLIDAY INN, LONDON-BLOOMSBURY, CORAM STREET, LONDON, WC1N 1HT. The nearest tube station is Russell Square. Walk straight from the station along Marchmont street and its on your left. Click here for a location map.

Friday 30th May 2008 - Business Networking Event.
This is part of our series of business networking events, where we have an open discussion about the club as well as learn some networking techniques.

We will be hosting a business networking event on the last Friday of every other month. The aim of these events is to provide our members with an opportunity to meet like-minded professionals and entrepreneurs. Due to space constraints, there are only 25 tickets available for non-members. Tickets will be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis. To get a ticket, please register on our website by clicking here. For our members, the event is FREE.

TIME: Registration from 6:30pm FOR A 7:00Ppm start.

VENUE: HOLIDAY INN, LONDON-BLOOMSBURY, CORAM STREET, LONDON, WC1N 1HT. The nearest tube station is Russell Square. Walk straight from the station along Marchmont street and its on your left. Click here for a location map.
2008 Invest in Africa; Build Africa Conference and Exhibition
There is increasing evidence that investors are quietly making good returns in Africa and it is time you got on board. The United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa in New York reports that remittances from Africans working abroad in the period 2000-2003 averaged about US$17 billion per annum virtually overtaking Foreign Direct Investment flows which averaged about US$15 billion per annum during the same period.
INVEST IN AFRICA; BUILD AFRICA is the conference and exhibition that will showcasing some of the numerous investment opportunities available in Africa for both Africans in the Diaspora and international investors. There are two themes to our conference this year.
• INVEST IN AFRICA – This theme is about attracting investment into our stock markets. Africa has over 20 active stock exchanges and we intend to promote them all. We will be seeking to involve stockbrokers, investment advisers, etc
• BUILD AFRICA – This theme is about attracting investment into our real estate. We will be seeking to involve developers, mortgage providers, real estate agents, property managers, etc The 2008 INVEST IN AFRICA – BUILD AFRICA Exhibition will continue to focus on its key role of linking exhibitors, offering investment opportunities in the Kenyan market, to both the Kenyans in the Diaspora and key foreign investors interested in investing in Kenya. Due to the success of our concept, we are expanding this year’s exhibition by including other African countries as well as promoting investment in African Stock Markets. If you would like to findout more or be involved in this conference and exhibition, do contact us at events@networking4professionals.com






Ayoub mzee(WHITE SUIT) with the Nigerian High Commissioner H.E Mr D C B Nwanna in the UK with other diginitaries
The commonwealth secretary General Don Mackinon with the Uganda President



Prince Charles with the President of Uganda







Dear Supporter,



Saturday's game against Birmingham was very frustrating because the crowd were very good but the team was not. The fans were always behind us, they pushed us forward, but we were not sharp enough. Birmingham defended really well and perhaps we felt that it would be too easy. We lost concentration on their set-piece and were punished. After they made it 1-1 we went close many times but we didn't create enough overall. I was asked if Philippe Senderos was at fault for Birmingham's equaliser but I don't believe he was caught out. There were two or three other players involved who didn't jump for the ball and that's why we got punished. I wouldn't like to criticise any individual performance because we have had so many good games this season. Theo Walcott played his third game of the week for example. I had planned to rest him but Tomas Rosicky was sick. The title race is so tight and every game is important. It's very difficult to say which month will be most crucial. The only thing I know is that we have lost two points we should not have lost and I am confident that the team will re-focus because they are really disappointed. Finally, I am often asked whether I will buy anybody in the transfer window but the truth is I am not looking for anybody. It's easy to say 'let's go out and buy' when you don't win a game but this team has won so many games since the start of the season and they are good enough. Thanks for your support. Arsène Wenger








Kibaki re-election was flawed, says EAC report
NAIROBI

THE December 27 presidential election in Kenya was flawed and fell short of being free and fair, the East Africa Community observer mission has said.
In its long-awaited verdict, EAC mission argues that the presidential votes tallying, in which President Kibaki was declared the winner, was grossly mismanaged, critically undermining the credibility of the final stage of the electoral process.
The team comprising East African Legislative Assembly members from Uganda and Tanzania and other professional staff, also says the delay in announcing results from strongholds of “one of the presidential candidates” fuelled speculation and fear that the results were being tampered with.
To ensure that justice prevails, the mission adds, a thorough investigation should be instituted and the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) officials and other persons found to be responsible for the anomalies prosecuted.
The controversial December 27 General Election triggered violence in some parts of the country, at times taking an ethnic dimension pitting different communities. So far more than 500 people have died from the violence as supporters of ODM and PNU went for each other in violent fights. A bigger number, 250,000, have been displaced from their homes mainly in the Rift Valley.
The EAC verdict comes a few weeks after the European Union released its report which also stated that the concluded General Election was flawed and fell below the international standards of a free and fair exercise.The document points a finger at the ECK chairman, Mr Samwel Kivuitu saying he exhibited no control over the process of tallying and announcement of results.
“A number of utterances made by the ECK chairman cast doubt on the integrity and credibility of the commission,” the report adds.It continues; “The ECK chairman displayed incompetence and weakness in the final management of the electoral process.”
To prevent similar occurrence in future, the EAC mission recommends radical legal reforms, which should encompass, provision of a time limit within which election results should be announced, changing the laws on judiciary appointments and use of transparent ballot boxes.
Others are provision of a specific time-frame within which electoral petitions are disposed of, clarity on requirements for presidential victory and appointment of ECK officials.
“There must also be clarity on powers, authority and autonomy of the ECK,” the document says. The mission also criticises the use of state resources by government officials during the campaign period and bias in media coverage, which it says disadvantaged some presidential candidates.To ensure that similar problem does not bedevil another EAC member, the team calls for the enactment of a uniform electoral law and establishment of an East African Electoral Commission.
“The East African Community should develop a civic education programme that addresses potential challenges of ethnic and tribal tensions within the region,” the report adds.
It also cautions against the excessive use of force when dealing with protesters, saying brutal acts by security forces ought to be discouraged.
The team also calls for the prosecution of those behind the perpetration of political crimes and killings which has seen hundreds loosing their lives and thousands being displaced.
The document urges political leaders to prevail upon their supporters to stop violence and engage in collective dialogue for the resolution of the crisis.
“The mission urges Kenya to appreciate the need for unity in diversity even at this critical point in their nation’s history,” the report says.