Patrick Awuah talks about educating leaders at a TED Conference …

I’ve been sooo overwhelmed by the goings-on in Africa -and sooo in the wake of a more democratic Africa (by force if need be, - think the Referendum  and newly formed South Sudan, Tunisia, a newly democratic Egypt and now Algeria), -I thought I would upload this speech by the enlighten Patrick Awuah at a TED Conference from 2007 for the government of Ghana and other African leaders.

Despised, and downtrodden -the world had written Africa (and the ‘African’) off as a continent going nowhere, -as a continent of voiceless nonentities without power, but watch us now! In a twinkling-of-an-eye, the perception of Africa and Africans has changed -Amen. No longer prepared to passively watch as a bunch of uneducated parasites without integrity or vision continue to loot and Sakawa us, -the African has sprouted wings and is after democracy -and by force if the need arises. Yep, no African leader can afford to be complacent and that includes the Ghanaian government. Viva Africa…
(Film clip credit: http://www.ted.com/talks/patrick_awuah_on_educating_leaders.html)

More information about Patrick Awuah from the TED website…
After working at Microsoft for almost a decade, Patrick Awuah returned home to Ghana and cofounded Ashesi University, a small liberal arts college that aims to educate Africa's next generation of leaders. Its first class of students graduated in 2006.

Patrick Awuah left Ghana as a teenager to attend Swarthmore College in the United States, then stayed on to build a career at Microsoft in Seattle. In returning to his home country, he has made a commitment to educating young people in critical thinking and ethical service, values he believes are crucial for the nation-building that lies ahead.

Founded in 2002, his Ashesi University is already charting a new course in African education, with its high-tech facilities, innovative academic program and emphasis on leadership. It seems more than fitting that ashesi means "beginning" in Akan, one of Ghana's native languages.

Patrikc Awuah is an alumnus of the TED Fellows program, having attended TEDGlobal 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania, and TED2009 in Long Beach, California.

http://www.ashesi.edu.gh/