Speakers' Corner
The Speakers' Corner at Africa Day Limerick hosted a range of workshops over the course of the day. Visitors were invited to come along and sit in on discusssions ranging from literature to development issues. A diverse mix of workshop participants and discussion panellists were gathered to participate in the Speakers' Corner over the course of the day. Details of the line-up to date were as follows:
12.30-1pm, Istabraq Hall: Dance African Childhood - Workshop with Beni Karugo
Beni Karugo – a facilitator with vast experience in staging fun, interactive children’s workshops focusing on African traditions and cultures - delivered the 'Dance African Childhood' workshop at Africa Day Limerick. This workshop was suited to children of all ages, and included storytelling, dancing and music.
During the workshop, Beni told the story of a kanga and taught a basic African dance step. She used percussion instruments made from recycled materials, and children taking part were encouraged to try on traditonal African clothing and dress up in leso or kanga style garments.
Lesos or kangas are the most prominent article of clothing for people along the Swahili coast of East Africa. They are usually printed in bold designs and bright colours. In addition to using the garments as clothing, women in East Africa also use lesos / kangas to cover their heads; carry their young children on their backs; as tablecloths, and as wall hangings.
About Beni Karugo
Beni was born in Kenya where she was educated by Irish nuns. She has lived in the United Kingdom and Ireland for the last 26 years. Since coming to Ireland in 1994, she has been involved in the promotion and celebration of cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding. In 2005, she obtained a Diploma in Development Studies at University College Cork.
With the help of funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Beni became the founder of Cultural Links, a development education organisation. To date, Beni has facilitated workshops for several primary and secondary school students, teacher training colleges, primary school teachers’ in-service days, and several other organisations. The work done by Cultural Links has been published in several newspapers and three books: ‘Hazelwood Twopothouse’ by Sean Crowley (1996), ‘Where the Grass is Greener’ by Susan Knight (2001) and ‘Everyday Heroes’ by Fiona Murdoch (2004).
In addition to her work with Cultural Links, Beni has provided equality and diversity training for Cork, Waterford, Limerick, Kerry, Clare, Dublin, South and North Tipperary County Childcare Committees. She is also involved with the Fairtrade network.
In 2007, Beni was short-listed for the Xclusive ‘Person of The Year’ Award.
2.30-3.30pm, Istabraq Hall: African Power Drumming Workshop with UCH
UCH Participation and Learning invited all wannabe drummers to take part in a public workshop and performance for Africa Day 2010! 
No previous experience was necessary. The workshop was suitable for adults and children aged 12 and above. Drums were provided and those who took part in the workshop then joined 60 other drummers in an exciting giant music performance later in the day at Irish Aid's Africa Day Limerick event.
The African Power drumming workshop was part of a month-long music education project run by UCH with secondary schools in Limerick City. The young people who participated in the project - and those who took part in the workshop at the Africa Day event - joined forces on the day for an amazing giantic drumming sound.
2.30-3.30pm, Council Chamber: How to Build Ireland's Engagement with Africa
The Minister of State for Overseas Development, Peter Power TD, participated in a special panel discussion on building Ireland's engagement with Africa at Africa Day Limerick 2010. The discussion was chaired by RTÉ's Mid-West Correspondent, Cathy Halloran.
Joining Minister of State Peter Power on the discussion panel were: Tom Lodge, Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at University of Limerick; Karen McHugh, Chief Executive Officer of Doras Luimní; Arnold Nyembwe Kashembeand, Research and Programmes Development Officer for the Irish Peace Institute, University of Limerick; Rodney Rice, retired RTÉ broadcaster, and Eric Yao, Coordinator of the Africa Centre.
About Peter Power TD
Peter Power was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs with special responsibility for Overseas Development in May 2008. As Minister of State for Overseas Development, he is responsible for Irish Aid, Ireland’s official development assistance (ODA) programme and the hosts / organisers of the Africa Day Dublin event. Described by the OECD as a ‘cutting-edge’ programme, Irish Aid’s assistance is un-tied and targeted at least developed countries, particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to overseeing support for long-term development in these countries, Minister Power is also responsible for Ireland’s official response to humanitarian disasters.
Peter Power has designated the fight against global hunger as a cornerstone of the Irish Aid programme. Since his appointment as Minister of State, he has led the implementation of the recommendations of Ireland’s Hunger Task Force. Delivering Ireland’s address to the United Nation’s General Assembly in September 2009, Minister Power urged the international community to address the fundamental causes of hunger, with particular emphasis on agricultural research and support for women farmers.
Elected to Dáil Éireann (the Irish parliament) in the General Election of 2002, Peter Power represents the constituency of Limerick East. He served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Justice, Equality, Law Reform, Defence and Women’s Rights from 2007-2008. He held the position of Deputy Mayor of Limerick City from 2001-2002, and practised as a solicitor until his election to Dáil Éireann in 2002.
He lives in Limerick with his wife, Lorraine, and their four children.
About Cathy Halloran
Cathy Halloran is a native of Dublin who has worked for RTÉ's news for the past 23 years. She is RTE's Mid West Correspondent and she has been based in Limerick for the past 16 years, covering news and news features for RTE News and Current Affairs on Television and Radio.
Prior to that she was based in the RTE newsroom in Dublin. She began her journalistic career with the Connacht Tribune newspaper in Galway.
She lives with her partner and young son in Limerick.
About Arnold Nyembwe Kashembeand
Arnold is the Research and Programmes Development Officer for the Irish Peace Institute , University of Limerick.
To date, Arnold has actively participated in seminars, trainings, workshops and conferences in the field of good governance and accountability, peace, anti-corruption and gender in a variety of countries including: the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Namibia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ireland.
About Professor Tom Lodge
Tom Lodge is Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Limerick. He obtained a BA, B Phil and Ph D from the University of York.
Before his arrival in Limerick in 2005, he was Professor of Political Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. He has also held positions at the University of York, the Social Science Research Council in New York, and the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa. In 1999 – 2000, he was Chair of the Africa Institute in Pretoria and. between 2004 and 2005, he served on the Research Assessment Executive Evaluation Committee of the National Research Foundation in Pretoria.
He is the author of numerous books and two edited volumes. They include: 'Black Politics in South Africa Since 1945' (Longman, 1993); 'Politics in South Africa: From Mandela to Mbeki' (University of Indiana Press, 2002), and 'Mandela: A Critical Life' (Oxford University Press, 2006). His publications also include 60 journal articles and chapters in edited collections. Professor Lodge's general interests include African political parties, democratisation, post-conflict politics, late development and political corruption.
About Karen McHugh
Karen McHugh is the CEO of Doras Luimní, an independent non-governmental organisation based in Limerick, which supports the rights of asylum-seekers, refugees and all migrants. It was founded in 2000.
Karen is experienced in social work, advocacy and human rights campaigning. Originally from Sligo, she was previously based in London as the director of the Brent Irish Advisory Service (BIAS) for 10 years – working with the Traveller community, street homeless, older people and children in care, among others.
Doras Luimní has been involved in numerous Africa Day celebrations in the past. This year, it organised the ‘Spirit of African’ art exhibition – an exhibition of paintings on African themes in Limerick’s prestigious Hunt Museum. In addition to Karen’s participation in this workshop, members of Doras Luimní’s Book Club also participated in the Africa Day Book Club workshop at Irish Aid’s Africa Day Limerick event.
About Rodney Rice
Rodney Rice, recently retired after 41 years broadcasting, began with RTÉ on the current affairs television programme, '7 Days'. Later he transferred to radio as the mid-morning current affairs and features host for six years, before transferring his attention more directly to politics, when he reported from Leinster House and became presenter of 'Saturday View', the lunchtime political review.
Since the mid-80s he has produced and presented 'Worlds Apart', a development programme co-financed by RTE and Irish Aid, which has taken him all over Asia and Latin America and - most especially - Africa, which he describes as his 'home from home'. This year, as a final broadcasting project, Rodney spent nearly two months in Malawi, where he made a short series on the village lives of ordinary Africans.
About Eric Yao
Eric Yao is the Coordinator of the Africa Centre, which works to promote justice, social inclusion and meaningful participation for African communities in Ireland. He holds a Master of Arts Degree in International Relations and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Warsaw University in Poland.
Previously, Eric worked in the construction industry in Ghana. His engagement in Development Education started when he took up an appointment with the Africa Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies in The Gambia in 1997, where he worked initially as the Assistant Publications Officer and, later, as the Programme Officer for Training. In this role, he designed and facilitated human rights training courses for human rights organisations in Africa.
In 1995, Eric and his wife, who is a Medical Doctor, set up a charity in Ghana, which undertakes sustainable livelihood projects.
Further information about his current work with the Africa Centre is available at www.africacentre.ie.
4-5pm, Istabraq Hall: Africa Day Book Club Discussion
In the lead-up to Africa Day 2010, Irish Aid encouraged book clubs and individual readers throughout Ireland to read 'Things Fall Apart' by Chinua Achebe, hailed since its publication in the 1950s as a classic of African literature.
At Africa Day Limerick, a high-profile panel of guest 'readers' discussed this seminal novel and gave their views on Achebe's masterpiece. The discussion was chaired by Geraldine McNulty, an award-winning actress and Chairperson of the Nenagh District Heritage Society. Panellists included: Pius McGrath from O'Mahony's Booksellers; Bright Udemezue from the Doras Luimní Book Club, and South African journalist Ieteke Oggel.
About Geraldine McNulty 
Geraldine McNulty has been involved in the North Tipperary and wider Mid-West Arts scene for over 25 years. Based in Nenagh, she is an award-winning actress and a highly respected teacher of literature, poetry and drama for performance.
She has scripted and performed poetry and literature recitals on injustice in China, as part of an Amnesty International Awareness Campaign to commemorate the Tian’anmen Square massacre.
She has been instrumental in bringing nationally renowned performers and literary figures to the Mid-West region, including Brendan Kennelly, Michael D. Higgins and John McGahern.
Geraldine is the current Chairperson and a founding member of the Nenagh District Heritage Society.
About Pius McGrath
Pius McGrath is a theatre practitioner, first and
foremost, and has worked in entertainment for the last number of years
in various capacities. At present, he is involved in the up-and-coming
RTÉ series, ‘Mattie’. He has just finished a national tour with
Limerick’s newest theatre company, ‘Bottom Dog Theatre’, with their
latest production, ‘Language Unbecoming a Lady’.
Pius has
directed plays with various groups, including Limerick-based group, the
Torch Players. In the past, he has also with Limerick’s Live 95fm,
University Concert Hall Ltd and TV3, to name but a few.
He is
currently employed by O’Mahony’s Booksellers Ltd. and represented
O’Mahony’s at the Africa Day Book Club discussion.
About
O’Mahony’s Booksellers
O’Mahony’s was
founded in 1902 at 120 O’Connell St. Limerick by J.P. O’Mahony,
grandfather of the current owner, and continues to trade from the same
location. It is the oldest retail business of its type in the region
and has developed from a single store of 450 sq.ft. into a 25,000 sq.ft.
retail operation in the Mid-West and South-West of Ireland.
About Ieteke Oggel 
Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, Ieteke Oggel has been living outside Croom, Co. Limerick with her husband, Sybren, and their three children since 2001.
Before coming to Ireland, Ieteke worked as a journalist for various newspapers and magazines, as well as for the South African Press Association in Johannesburg and Cape Town. She also worked as a publicist for different art companies in South Africa in the past, and as a freelance journalist for the art magazine, VUKA SA.
In Ireland, Ieteke has worked as a freelance journalist on the Ethnic Page of the Limerick Leader. For this column – ‘Ethnic Limerick’ – Ieteke, together with other foreign nationals living in Limerick, mainly wrote articles on multicultural issues. The page itself was awarded a Media and Multicultural Award in the 'Media' awards category and Ieteke herself was also personally shortlisted for this award.
In recent times, Ieteke has started a school magazine at St. Nicholas National School in Adare, Co. Limerick. Through her work on this project, pupils learn how to write a newspaper article; how to interview; the difference between news-writing and column-writing, and the general idea of being a journalist. The pupils have just finished their fifth issue of the magazine.
Ieteke also currently writes an Afrikaans-language blog for the national South African newspaper, Die Burger, telling about her experiences as a foreign national living in Ireland.
About Bright Udemezue Bright Udemezue is a theologian and an Igbo chieftain from the Anambra State in Nigeria. He arrived in Ireland in 2007. For the last two and half years, Bright has lived in Limerick. Since his arrival he has been deeply involved in the work of Doras Luimní and he is an active member of Doras Luimní's Book Club. He is also a leading member of the African community in Limerick.