Teaching Teachers ~ PEN Hands-On in Ghana!

Our MIT alumna Dr Heather Beem and team ran a big handful of workshops this past Summer 2015 for over 300 science teachers in Ghana, introducing them to the Practical Education Network (PEN) method of providing inexpensive, DIY physical experimental examples of the concepts taught in the standard core primary and secondary school curriculum!

BIG MEN ~ Boynton's African Oil Dilemma Docu...

Thanks to CGDev's Todd Moss for spotting Rachel Boynton's new BIG MEN documentary which...

"Follows the Texas-based Kosmos Energy as it searches for oil off the West African coast and then, soon after their discovery, as they renegotiate with a new government in Accra. The film also delves into the entrenched corruption and violence in the Niger Delta, providing a stark backdrop to the growing worries about what might happen in Ghana. I was lucky enough to see the film recently and it has three big strengths:

1. Incredible access to key players, including inside Kosmos, the Government of Ghana, and the swamps of the Delta. 
2. The complexities of the issues facing countries and investors are thoughtfully handled with care and subtlety. 
3. The tension of a real-life thriller. "

Check out trailer...

Growth Dynamics ~ WSJ on Ghana & African Air...

Drew Hinshaw writes in the WSJournal, In an African Dynamo's Expansion, the Perils of Prosperity...

"In 2011, Ghana's economy is forecast to grow 13.5%, a clip that exceeds every other country in the world except Qatar, according to the International Monetary Fund. Big oil finds pumped growth beyond 2010's 7.7%. As growth stagnates in the U.S. and Europe, Ghana's robust multiparty democracy has turned its capital into a hub for companies chasing business -- on a continent that grew 5.5% this year, according to the IMF. [...] Ghana's growth has made the nation of 24 million Africa's newest middle-income country, joining Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. Nigeria will soon join them, economists forecast. [...] But Ghana's bottlenecks are curbing what economists say could be even faster growth, offering lessons for other African countries that may follow a similar path of development."

Hinshaw also writes West African Skies Beckon More Carriers...

"From Senegal to Sierra Leone, start-ups, decrepit local carriers and even international airlines are out to prove that jet travel can extend beyond deep-pocketed passengers to West Africa's flourishing middle-class and business travelers. [...] West Africa has some of the world's fastest-growing economies, including that of Nigeria, the continent's most populous nation. The International Monetary Fund projects that Ghana's economy will grow 13.5% this year. The International Civil Aviation Organization expects Africans to fly 8% more miles in 2012 and 8.3 % more in 2012, making the continent earth's fastest-growing for air travel behind Asia and the Middle East. And industry analysts say traffic here could expand even faster as competition heats up, pushing prices down. But the new airlines are flying into some of the world's most dysfunctional airspace."