African Youth Empowerment Conference @ Harvard University Cambridge, MA

This April the Sweet Mother Tour (SMT), a global youth movement with a mission to use the tools of popular culture to present empowering images of Africa, will host its first annual conference at Harvard University entitled Youth and the New Pan-African Renaissance: Rebuilding Africa for the 21st Century.

In partnership with the Cultural Agents Initiative at Harvard University and chaired by Harvard PhD candidate, renowned public speaker, and leader of the Pan-African band Soulf?ge (www.soulfege.com), Derrick N. Ashong, this conference will draw together artists, activists, entrepreneurs, scholars, and other youth leaders from around the world committed to using the power of the arts for the betterment of Africa and her people worldwide.

This 3-day conference, taking place April 7-9, 2006 on Harvard University?s campus, will highlight five themes of importance in African development.
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African Image and Identity, Technology, Economic Empowerment and Public Health, Education, and Arts and Culture. Established scholars and dynamic youth leaders in these various fields will present workshops and host panels addressing these topics, and will engage in dialogue about the development and future of the African continent.

Attendees will learn from and connect with like-minded youth from around the world, as well as established and pioneering experts in the non-profit and for-profit worlds, building a powerful network that will serve as the launch pad for the Pan-African Renaissance of this century.

Please contact Kelley N. Johnson at kelley@sweetmother.org or 617-492-3673 if you are interested in doing a story on the SMT or covering the conference this April. To learn more about the international impact of the SMT visit www.sweetmother.org.

The Sweet Mother Tour (SMT) is a project that uses elements of popular culture ? music, television, film and literature ? to present empowering images of people of Africa and the African Diaspora. As presented in its mission statement, the founders of the SMT recognize that no society can develop without an understanding of its own worth. They believe that cultural empowerment is a crucial ingredient in the successful political and economic development of any society.

Launched in 2004 by a group of young artists, educators and entrepreneurs with roots in West and Southern Africa, North America and the Caribbean, the project has, to-date, developed multi-media products that have gained worldwide exposure via such avenues as BBC Worldservice Radio and Channel O.

It is going to be something else.