Homecoming, civic engagement, and journalism assemblies

Homecoming is an annual tradition my family has participated in for ages and usually, all roads lead to Africa as my siblings and mother’s siblings troop in from the United States and the UK during the course of the year. This 4th quarter, I have been blessed to come home to another family on the continent, in my other country affectionately called Mzansi — South Africa.

With Angel Jones (CEO of Homecoming Revolution/HomecomingEx) on our first reunion post-COVID; her senior executive’s recruitment company featured me for returning to Ghana during my hunt as YouTube country manager almost a decade ago in 2014.

Since 2014, Homecoming Revolution (rebranded to HomecomingEx) has been an amazing executive search and recruitment opportunity with the company’s CEO, Angel leading the charge to attract and retain Africa’s best and brightest for almost two decades now. It was a privilege to share my updated competencies as an innovation orchestrator, digital strategist, educator, and new media journalist.

Meeting Sally Cruickshanks, and her sister, and learning about the growth of the organization, corporate roles in South Africa to the world & the potential of hosting a Social Media for Professional series collaboration within our collective networks. #Socials4Professionals

Up next was the trio of phenomenal professional indabas (meeting) events #Jamfest #CTIF #AIJC Johannesburg, South Africa.

Our amazing host and acting director of The Wits Centre for Journalism Prof. Dinesh Balliah was the consummate host, Prof Herman Wasserman, Khadijah Patel, and Prof. Iginio Gagliardone with Emmanuel Agbeko Gamor on the panel.

Jamfest 2022, hosted by the University of Witwatersrand School of Journalism was a series of deep distinctive dialogues about the future of journalism by journalism professionals and journalism educators. From the month-long virtual engagement sessions to the culmination of intentional exchanges and my masterclass on Socials for Civic Engagement professionals, I left our sessions challenged about the future of free media and equitable news sharing, inspired by the brilliance of many who push the professional from academic institutions to corporates and civic organizations across Africa.

Socials for Civic Engagement Masterclass by Emmanuel Agbeko Gamor Innovation Orchestrator #Jamfest22 #Unplugged | #Socials4Professionals

In fast order was the Civic Tech Innovation Forum #CTIF22 sister conference hosted by the Civic Technology Innovation Network, also in Johannesburg the following week. After leaving Meta (Facebook) #MetaMates #MetaLayoffs, I shared with one of my lecturers, Dr. Geci at the Wits Business School during my time there for innovation in management program, that the next frontier battlefield for market-share in our industry would be influenced, embroiled in, or enabled by nuanced policy and that conversation led to the bread crumbs that became my participation with the Wits School of Governance’s Tayarisha, Center of Excellence in African Digital Governance.

Emmanuel Gamor, Sekoetlane Phamodi, Geci Kariru-Sebina, #CTIF22 Tshimologong Precinct, 

Emmanuel Gamor, Geci Kariru-Sebina, Sekoetlane Phamodi, Adenike Aloba, Stan Getui, Richard Gevers #CTIF22 Johannesburg, South Africa

The icing on the cake for me was during this year’s 18th African Investigative Journalism conference #AIJC and the final of my trio back-to-back-to-back events at Wits University in Jozi, South Africa. This was a special moment to connect with Ghana’s own Anas Aremeyaw Anas, the award-winning investigative journalist who spoke about the numerous personal and professional risks he and his team have to constantly evaluate when embarking on their much-needed investigative journalism work on the continent. It was eye-opening and the honest conversation of him using his own child as a decoy during a human trafficking incident was alarming, and revealing and spoke to his bravery in ethical dilemmas and personal sacrifice on behalf of his incredibly dangerous professional field.

Anas Aremeyaw Anas, 🇬🇭 Under Cover Journalist — Tiger Eye at 18th African Investigative Journalism conference #AIJC Wits University, Johannesburg, South Africa #Mzansi 🇿🇦

Anas Aremeyaw Anas & Emmanuel Agbeko Gamor, New Media Journalist, Unpacking Africa, at the 18th African Investigative Journalism conference #AIJC Johannesburg, South Africa 🇿🇦 #Mzansi

It’s been a blessing to have my tribe of avengers assemble in the South of the continent with love and learning from each other during this season.

Be well, be safe, and be loved.

p.s. To share the Unpacking Africa love and goodness newsletter updates with friends and loved ones kindly click on this link here 💕

Originally published to Unpacking Africa newsletter’s 15,000 + subscribers on November 23rd, 2022.

#EachOneReachOne 🙏🏾 Thank you Future Nations School + S’onqoba Vuba for the invitation to watch, learn from and share feedback to the amazing kids of the future’s mock WEF presentations over the weekend.⠀

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The confidence. The articulation. The audacity of hope for our future ✨ ⠀
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My heart is full. ❤️ #GamorLegacy

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Addendum:

In boarding school at Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School, Legon, we grew up reading famous quotes of luminaries vandalizing our class and boarding room buildings 🤫; from Socrates to Nelson Mandela, Wangari Mathaai to Alan Turing. Understandably, most of them we would never get to interact with personally.

In college at University of Florida, a group of us after a Martin Luther King weekend diversity and inclusion retreat: Gatorship, in our accountability circle went round and articulated, dreamt + aspired to leave long-lasting impactful legacies we would not necessarily be remember for.

Mine? To be the conduit for validating the experiences and audaciousness of young people regardless of who we are or where on the African continent we are from. ✊🏾

⭐️ We all look up to folks to be mentors

⭐️ Most often we forget we are the ones someone, somewhere also looks up to

⭐️ What are YOU doing to be the salt and light of your corner?

Each one, reach one. #Urithi

Rotary Club of Jozi ❤️ #GraceAddict Always grateful to share my journey with fellow Rotarians (volunteers, philanthropists & the most kind-hearted humans I know) at the The Rotary Club of Johannesburg 🙏🏾  #Rotary 🌟

#FunFact Rotary Club of Johannesburg is the first club in Africa and turns 100 years old (centennial celebrations) in 2021! Whew talk about legacy 😎 #Service #Rotary #GamorLegacy

EdTech 🚨 Live at the EdTech Africa 2019 conference: buzz words “gamification” “3-D printing” “online platforms” “Data-driven” “manipulatives” “21st Century” and our all time fav “4IR” have joined us 💕@EduKanea #MosquitoClaps

Presenting on Digital Education & Vocational Training TVET in South Africa, Emmanuel Gamor

Team edu Kanea co-Founders Zinhle Mhkabela & Emmanuel Gamor

During the 2-day event, I facilitated a session to an experts-only audience on The Digital Education & Vocational Training in the South African context. It was an honor to be listed with the world's leading experts in Education Technology.

1000 World Class Experts, Emmanuel Agbeko Gamor, edu Kanea

It's crazy how time flies. I checked on this blog (unabashedly from my last 2016 post finding an okada in Osu) and realized the variety - and blessings of growth - I have experienced over the last 24 months: from my one-year sabbatical teaching Entrepreneurial Leadership at African Leadership University & attending the African Leadership Network summit in Mauritius. Yes, I was living in beautiful Mauritius, specifically at Port Chambly a few minutes from the capital Port Louis for 12 months curriculum designing, facilitating and engaging with students from over 40 African countries... #TeacherGamor

To my enrolling in a Masters in Management, Innovation Studies program at University of Witwatersrand Business School, where I have been: 1. Awarded a Post-Graduate Merit Scholarship 2. Featured in the Business School Management Degree program (page 5)! #Mastery



O then my former ALU colleague and co-founder Zinhle and I started and Ed-Tech start-up edu Kanea that is based in the continent-renowned Tshimologong Digital District in Johannesburg, South Africa. On Africa Day, I shared my thoughts on what the pursuit of mastery, my 2018 mantra, means and how has permeated and informed my decisions and life-choices in making a big bet on my own growth and professional development. The essence of what I was sharing besides the pursuit of deep knowledge and mastery in our chosen career fields in living purpose-driven lives; was to also acknowledge what my mother aptly shared as being intentional! May you live successful life of intentionally. #MosquitoClaps

More recently, as a Global Shaper I was invited to moderate the opening sessions of the Ghana Tech Summit hosted at the Accra International Conference Center.  I was the opening moderator for "Ghana - The Silicon Valley of Africa" session and a speaker on Innovation during "Africa As the Final Tech Frontier: Rise of Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Space" sessions on day 1.

Ghana - The Silicon Valley of Africa. Accra International Conference Center. June 2018

I was even featured in the Live GHOne broadcast thanks to the current Global Shapers Accra curator Patrick Stephenson. My good friend & blogger Yaw Obeng shared a detailed post of proceedings here.

Moment of honesty: I actually stopped posting on this photoblog that I started almost a decade ago to share my journey as a photographer and for the faithful blog readers (check out March of 2009 posts here), if you recall my first photo-book...sheesh! Why? Well a young avenger and graduate from my first Apprentice program, Justice  Okai-Allotey now has all my photo equipment and has grown to become a phenomenal man and Wikimedian in Ghana (yes, there are amazing volunteers who populate our digital space with content that is Wikipedia) and he is one of them!

Check out Justice' photo stuff at @owulakpakpo photography

What's next: Well besides the occasional bridal fair appearance I rep with the day one team 1000 words crew; I'm saving up to get back to photography and curate an exhibition annually...but I don't know exactly when that shall be. If you're following @eagamor on social media you'll probably notice my stories cover two predominant themes: exploring culture through travel and exploring culture through food. More deets as I have it, promise. Until then...

One of my sub-resolutions, besides #SelfLove is to get more involved in street photography. I've consulted the big brother +Nana Kofi Acquah and an equipment upgrade and slight modification of my shooting style will be announced soon. Gratefully this is also consistent with last year's #Deeper resolution. Progress. More soon.

Before getting knee deep in this new photography journey though, I spent the last 72 hours test-driving ths #Huawei P8 Lite front and back-end cameras for daylight, night time sample pictures.

My barber, Paul from Krew, is one of the good fellas. He takes immense pleasure in making sure my beard looks groomed. So I did a session at the Krew Barber shop at Labone across the street from +Bosphorous Turkish Cuisine  in Accra. Selfie below:

Normal Selfie shot with #Huawei P8 Lite

Feeling fresh & super cool taken with the Beauty Level Vintage & Valencia Filters #Huawei P8 Lite

While Green Lantern  (my car) has gone to the mechanic for a tune up and other much needed upgrades and body work; I've been gallivanting on foot and discovered a relic that reminded me of the last times I was in Nigeria: Abuja & Lagos for #ShapeAfrica trip, blog post here. I was amused to find out that we, in Accra, now have our own Keke Na Pep! #Claps

Digital Influencers get invited to cool events and my invitation for #BarclaysGhana's new branch launch didn't disappoint. If you all remember, a few years ago when I posted how I had to draw a directional map before  I could open my first bank account in Ghana? (I'll job your memory click here) Well yesterday #BarclaysGhana took a giant leap forward, that allows customers to make cash deposits at ATMS across 67 branches in the country.

With fellow digital influencer Prince of CranchOn Blog shot with #Huawei P8 Lite

MacJordan asking questions on instant account set-up at #BarclaysGhana shot with #Huawei P8 Lite

#BarclaysGhana ATMs that accept check deposits shot with #Huawei P8 Lite

#BarclaysGhana ATMs shot with #Huawei P8 Lite

Some of my tweets on this.

#MosquitoClaps Armed with the #Huawei P8 Lite my selfie game these past 72 hours did not disappoint. Any comments or questions on the camera & photo features of the #Huawei P8 Lite hit me up @eagamor on all social media networks.

For those who have been following, I did an un-boxing (post here) for for the surprisingly useful Huawei P8 Lite recently and I got quite a number of positive feedback from people who didn't know about the the phone either.

At Citi 97.3 FM's #D2R concert I decided to try-out the really awesome camera features that allow for low light photos and even better crisp intelligent video shots.

Bisa Kdei is one of the most well-received artists during Citi FM's #December2Remember concert December 2015

Photo shot with Huawei P8 in low light Bisa Kdei's performance at Citi FM's #December2Remember

And then I tried to be even more adventurous and recorded video with the Huawei P8 Lite's 13MP camera for maximum image resolution of 4160 x 3120 pixels tell me what you think of the video below:

If you were at the concert or have tried your hands at Huawei's P8 Lite, shoot me a quick message @eagamor and let's compare notes.

Olu, Muriel (my mother), Grandma Anniky, Ayo, Kobina | photo credit: Sawyer family archives.

It has been a crazy awesome and crazy challenging 2015. Reflecting on the June 3rd Accra Floods, the December 17th car robbery but in the same token appreciative of the World Economic Forum on Africa conference panelist opportunity in Cape Town, SA my feature in BBC and this newspaper clipping from the Ghana's Daily Graphic, Business edition:

Daily Graphic Business: Tuesday November 3rd-9th 2015 

Helps me appreciate all that has happened this past year even more. In spite of the struggles, challenges and difficulties there are bright spots, real bright spots that have helped deal with each obstacle and challenge. For that I am grateful. A wise person once shared with me that there isn't life without obstacles, and so as I turn thirty, I am contemplative and appreciative about all the victories (big or small) that help make this journey memorable. To all of you who have followed, and continue to follow this blog, thank you. There is more to come, especially as I explore content creation with evermore advanced mobile devices here and here.

If you haven't already, do follow @eagamor on Twitter as I resolve to live in the here and now and celebrate our individual and collective success as #MasterOfTheMoment

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#Deeper #‎IStandOnTheShouldersOfGiants‬ The cute youngest girl, Muriel Vanderpuye, will go on to be the wonderful woman who gives birth to me 30 years from this day. Grateful. ‪#‎SawyerInMe‬ ‪#‎QuarteyInMe‬ ‪#‎Mama‬ ‪#‎MosquitoClaps‬‪ ‪#‎GamorLegacy‬

The Online News Association, the world’s largest membership organization of digital journalists, today announced its fifth class of MJ Bear Fellows, three journalists under age 30 whose innovative work in independent, community and corporate news represents the best of new media.

The selection committee combed through 59 applications from 23 countries to choose these up-and-coming digital journalists — two in the United States or Canada and one international, in partnership with MSN International — who are making their voices heard in the industry.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

The selection committee felt so strongly about the projects and potential of five other applicants that they were awarded honorable mention. They are:

• Amanda Gutterman, Editorial Director for Slant;
• Carolyn Thompson, reporter for The Windsor (Ont.) Star;
• Emmanuel Gamor, Specialist and Curator for YouTube, Ghana;
• Heather Bryant, Teaching Assistant, Hackbright Academy, San Francisco, and a former digital services editor for KTOO Alaska public radio, and
• Jabril Faraj, reporter for Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service.

Each will each receive a free one-year ONA membership.

“Once again, applicants were leading, not following, in their newsrooms,” said Amy Eisman, MJ Bear Fellowship Committee Chair. “The breadth of their entries was stunning — from deep data work and creative crowdsourcing to building tools to help news organizations in the future. In the end, we are struck by their deep devotion to news and information, to including diverse voices, and to serving their readers, listeners and viewers.”

Emmanuel Agbeko Gamor Online News Agency 2015 Under-30 Digital Journalism Stand-Outs

The Online New Association recently commended Under-30 Digital Journalism Stand-Outs and YFM's Emmanuel Agbeko Gamor made the list as the only commended candidate outside of North America.

Monthly YDialogues WEF Global Shapers Accra & YFM partnership - Emmanuel Gamor - Lead

Emmanuel Gamor is the host for the Mpwr show which airs on Sundays 8pm on Y107.9 FM and also curates YouTube Huddle community in the country. He is also the lead for YDialogues, engaging once-a-month interactive & inspirational sessions hosted by YFM Ghana in partnership with the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Accra Hub. The next Y Dialogues will be held on Saturday September 12th, 2015 10am at the Silver Lounge, Accra Mall.

Saturday May 16th, turned out to be a packed day! After being a guest at many a MESH Confab, I was invited to speak at May 2015 edition and I was humbled and nervous at the same time. The last confab I attended, featured fellow  Ɔdadeɛ +Jayso Skillions, +Nicole Amarteifio  and +Yaw DK Osseo-Asare as speakers. It was insightful, informative and inspirational.

This year +Aisha Obuobi & +Joe Osae-Addo and I got to exchange ideas and engage with the MESH creative society.

Even though I was billed as a "YouTube Expert" I focused more on my personal storytelling journey as a multimedia journalists and made a case to encourage more digital Ghanaian content through collaboration.

A big shout-out to +Sed Tsegah  for taking this picture #MeshConfab2015

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After 5pm I dashed back to Legon to join in on the #DumsorMustStop vigil. I got to Tetteh Quarshie a little after 6pm to join in on the +yvonne nelson & other Ghanaian movie stars and celebrities led non-partisan protest to the country's electricity crisis.

                          

Wanlov "was there some"

Placards demand for a solution to #dumsor

Van Vicker, DKB and D-Black in attendance

Young professionals lamenting the electricity situation

Mr. Sam Mends (Omni media/Citi FM) speaking with the media

See boys.

Fellow Ɔdadeɛ 

Abidjan is a lovely city and on my first trip ever to this Francophone pearl I was impressed with the city planning, reception and general vibe of Ivory Coast.

One of my resolutions in 2015, besides digging deeper in getting things done; is to go regional. Break out of the barriers of Accra, explore other African countries, network, learn, live and laugh at mistakes in other languages: especially broken, terrible French.

#getstatedafrica is Nescafe's campaign to get ideas discussed, implemented over a brew of Nescafe coffee. With the likes of +Ameyaw Debrah , +Yehni Djidji , +CYRIAC GBOGOU +Basile Niane +Prince Baah-Duodu , +edith yah brou , +Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. & +Yomi Adegboye - West Africa's most influential bloggers and social media aficionados we were able to shut down the interwebs briefly and encourage young people to share their dreams via: www.getstartedafrica.com

The Beginning: StartCon14 #getstartedafrica

StartCon14 with Fred Swaniker as mentor 

April this year we took the 1st Get Started Conference from Accra, Ghana to Cocody, Abidjan - Cote D'Ivoire

#getstartedafrica truck leaving accra credit: Amfo Conolly

Leaving Kotoka with +Ato Ulzen-Appiah  & +Ameyaw Debrah 

I found the Rotary 100 years celebration in Abidjan! #ServiceAboveSelf

VIP suite at the Palm Club Hotel

Selfies with the bloggers & Nescafe team

First dinner with +Yomi Adegboye +Basile Niane +Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. +edith yah brou +Prince Baah-Duodu +Ameyaw Debrah 

I bumped into members from the Rotaract Club of Cocody! #FellowshipThroughService

+jean-patrick Ehouman & +Ato Ulzen-Appiah when we snuck out for some Abidjan night life!

The insightful +Karim SY from Jokkolabs

+Prince Baah-Duodu & @Kofi Sika of @Adventures Junkies Ghana

The last +CYRIAC GBOGOU selfie!

Cool GH peeps in Ivory Coast: +Jemila Abdulai +Amfo Connolly & co

All photos were taken with my iPhone 5c