Hours before the commencement of the 2nd
edition of the Social Media Week in Accra, specifically at Accra Mall, there is
much anticipation among participants as they expect nothing but the best from
this year’s event which is revealed through interviewing a few of them and
following the trends on social media.
I was
part of the large number of participants, who joined the first edition in
Accra. In fact, I couldn’t in any way miss such a great opportunity to learn more
about the tools that are transforming lives in our generation on the very
platforms that brings people from diverse background to network and also share
ideas.
The opening ceremony started with Anita
Erskine-Amaizo, one of
Ghana’s finest TV and radio presenters, hosted the launch as the MC. She
dazzled the audience with her exceptional eloquence and brilliance with
refreshing humour, which kept the audience smiling throughout the program.
Beryl Agyekum, CEO of EchoHouse started the ceremony with a brief speech which
passionately addressed the emerging trends of social media transforming lives,
positively around the globe. She lauded the sponsors as always for their
immense support and urged other potential sponsors to take advantage of this
platform #SMWAccra. She finally drew a loud cheer and applause from the
audience, with a chant, “Social Media Week Accra is here to stay!”.
Interestingly,
I was seated right behind Ms. Zoleka Cuba, CEO of Vodafone at the official
launch of the first edition of the #SMWAccra who was not long after, introduced
by Anita. I was very impressed as she highlighted a few of her outstanding
accomplishments. (Vodafone was one of the sponsors for the first edition of #SMWAccra).
Ms. Cuba spoke on the impact and the role Vodafone has been playing over the
years to support such initiatives, which are geared towards developing the
youth and also helping them enjoy a network that drives business growth as well
as enabling people connect to the rest of the world. Shortly the icon popped up
on the LED giant screen with their new tagline “Ready!”. The audience were impressed
with her speech which ended with a resounding applause.
Finaly, the Accra Mayor, Mr. Mohammed
Adjei Sowah showed up and was introduced. He sat right in front of the guest row,
ready for his turn. Then I wondered, “If Accra Mayor is this young and vibrant
and has an interest in social media, why can’t he employ social media as a
means to tackle the filth engulfing the city and promote some of the
initiatives of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA)?”
When Mr. Sowah mounted the stage, he was
full of praises for the initiative and he mentioned that, the AMA will also get
unto the social media space!
Just then I took out my phone and searched
for AMA on Twitter. To my surprise, our renowned celebrity blogger, Ameyaw
Debrah had tweeted an excerpt of the Mayor’s speech which caught the attention
of his followers. That was actually the first tweet about “AMA”. Later, an
official page was created for the AMA.
The week was exciting and educative. It
included seminars such as (Twitter Master Class which I enjoyed, especially the
session with Phil Coertzer, Managing Director for Ad Dynamo, Twitter
Representatives in Africa and Erryn Gracey, Brand Strategy Executive of Ad
Dynamo) entertainment
among others.
This year’s event is dubbed “Closer” and
starts from the 10th – 14th September 2018 with the opening at 10am at the
Accra Mall. This amazing event is expected to connect people, develop content
and create a conversation around emerging trends in social media.
Join me, together with millions of
Ghanaians following live on social media platforms as we learn and network to
enhance our diverse interests on the social media space. #SMWAccra
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