Blog posts about uknigeriameeting

Today's online meeting illustrated perfectly the type of difficulties which can potentially beset our weekly Skype link-ups between Nigeria and the UK. It first became apparent that all was not well after we were joined in the session by Bala, Manager of Zittnet and a regular team member. The Nigerian team quickly explained that they were experiencing problems with their network. In fact, they had identified the presence of unusual traffic from an external client and - fearing this could mean a viral or hacking attack - had chosen to block the "intruder" for safety. A low-key and unremarkable event...

During the course of Wednesday's UK-Nigeria meeting, we found ourselves contemplating the realities of education at Fantsuam. For that was among the traditionally vast range of topics covered in a session which also spanned everything from Sickle Cell Disease to Mozzi-Mort ! It was interesting to learn that students at Fantsuam are being introduced to Twitter on the diploma course. However, concern was naturally raised that, once they leave the academy, they either competely lose internet access or can - at best - expect very limited online opportunities. John consulted the team and, as ever, a possible solution was suggested...

Once again,Yesterday's online meeting between the UK and Nigeria did not fail to disappoint. As well as addressing the items on the agenda in an informal but business-like way, we had two welcomed treats. The first treat When the team was discussing permaculture and the kitchen garden at Ungwar Masara, the UK were thrilled to be sent a recent video (via Skype chat and from a mobile phone) showing the 850 Jatropa seedlings. These have sinced been moved into the shade to protect them from the current hot conditions that our friends at Fantuam are currently experiencing. The rains are...

Wow, what a start to the New Year! Although it had been a few weeks since our last UK-Nigeria online meeting (due to connectivity issues and holidays) I was quickly reminded again how thrilled I am to be involved with this dynamic group of people. Although these meetings with Fantsuam are arranged for the same time and day each week, they are never routine, dull or a chore. As this was our first for a while, there was a lot to catch up on. Despite (yet another) loss of connectivity and time lags, we enjoyed another productive session - and,...

Yesterday saw the last scheduled meeting of 2009 between the UK-Nigeria team. The main item on the agenda was to thank everyone for their continued commitment to these meetings and for all their hard work during the past year. We also wanted to reflect on the successes we had shared and explore together any aspects of our collaboration which might be improved upon in the coming year. We also hoped to clarify what should be our first objectives togeher for the New Year. In the event, the meeting departed from its usual Skype format involving all members together because of...