MICHAEL POLIZA'S AFRICA

Passion, patience, and perfection are the three things that come to mind when viewing the breath taking and stunning photos by Michael Poliza. I am a great fan of Michael's picturesque work. He possesses the unique ability to capture stunning images with such skill and grace. Michael Poliza's work serves as constant reminder of the true beauty that is Africa, ever so rich and diverse.

For the lovers of beautiful photography on Africa, and Michael Poliza's work his publishers Teneues are giving away some goodies! Here is your chance to enter and win a FREE Michael Poliza book:www.teneues.com/poliza/contest There you can enter his Twitter contest to win one of his books. Just capture what one of his photos means to you in a tweet, and win your very own Poliza book.

You also have the chance to interact with this multi-faceted photographer on his new microsite. http://www.teneues.com/poliza

MICHAEL POLIZA'S BIOGRAPHY

Michael Poliza has been around the world providing us with breath taking aerial views above multiple fascinating continents. From Africa to Antarctica he has never escaped a chance to share his view of the world with all of us.

When the New York Times reviewed Michael Poliza’s first book on Africa, the writer said, “it might change the way you think about photography.” Poliza is a man accustomed to raising the bar: from actor to entrepreneur, expedition leader, tourism consultant and professional photographer, he has lived a varied and adventurous life, excelling in all of these wildly diverse environments. Poliza has lived multiple lives forming his lens on the world. His ambition led him around the globe more than once, photographing several of these expeditions. Michael Poliza’s first coffee table book focused on the journeys and discoveries of the Starship Millennium Voyage. Quickly becoming a bestseller, it sold more than 50,000 copies. Michael was one of the pioneering photographers to embrace digital photography, and his Starship book was the very first coffee table book to carry more than 50% digital content.

That expedition over, he returned to the continent that had stolen his heart: Africa. His book by that name was released to massive acclaim around the world in July 2006. Published by art photography specialists teNeues (www.teneues.com), this was one of the most talked-about photography titles of the time and was voted one of “The Best Coffee-Table Books of 2006” by ABC-TV’s Good Morning America.

Following his stunning photo-safari in Africa and an unprecedented helicopter voyage from Europe to Africa in Eyes over Africa, the award-winning photographer ventured to the Polar Regions. There he captured photos of the frozen paradise for his book Antarctic, a tribute to life in the Polar Regions. After his time in Antarctica he returned to Hamberg opening his own gallery and the Michael Poliza Photography enterprise.

In December 2009 he was named as an ambassador of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Unable to stay away from Africa for too long, Poliza returned to capture first hand the opportunity to celebrate the first ever World Cup on African soil. So a new plan was quickly hatched: head back to South Africa for just a few months. Leading to a new coffee table book for 2010: SOUTH AFRICA.

SNEAK PEEK INSIDE

TEXT SOURCES AND FOR MORE INFORMATION:

http://www.teneues.com/poliza

YVONNE CHAKA CHAKA - THANK YOU MR DJ FOR PLAYING MY SONGS

Yvonne Chaka Chaka-Africa's music diva

Yvonne Machaka aka Yvonne Chaka Chaka is an internationally recognized and highly respected Princess of Africa, performing diva, entrepreneur, and humanitarian.

Yvonne Chaka Chaka was born in 1965 Dobsonville in Soweto. Yvonne Chaka Chaka grew up in a humble family. Her father passed away when she was 11. Her Mother became the sole provider and struggled to bring three daughters with the little income she made as a domestic worker.
When asked who she admired most, Chaka Chaka said "My mother because she has always been there for me. My mother raised three daughters single-handedly on a domestic worker's salary. That took great courage and strength. She is my mentor and hero. When I was born in 1965 in Soweto, it was during apartheid, and those were extremely difficult times. My dad was a great musician who could never realize his dream. He died when I was 11 years old. I inherited my talent from both parents, so music has always been in my blood. When I was little I would strum an empty tin and blow into a broom stick pretending it was a microphone. I sang in church choirs. I loved singing. I am blessed that I achieved my destiny, and been able to accomplish what my father could not."

Yvonne became the first Black child to appear on South African television when in 1981 "Sugar Shack", a talent show, introduced her to the South African public.

Dubbed the "Princess of Africa", Yvonne Chaka Chaka has been at the forefront of South African popular music for 20 years. Some of her most famous songs include "I'm Burning Up", "I'm in Love With a DJ", "I Cry for Freedom", "Makoti", "Motherland" and the ever-popular "Umqombothi" ("African Beer"). Yvonne has won numerous awards and accolades and graced various magazines. She has shared the stage with megastars such as Bono, Youssou N'Dour , the classic rock band Queen, and South Africans Johnny Clegg, Miriam Makeba, and Hugh Masekela, to name a few. Yvonne has performed for HRM Queen Elizabeth, US President Bill Clinton, South African President Thabo Mbeki, and a host of other world leaders. As a young performer Yvonne was the first Black child to appear on South African television in 1981.

In 1989 she created her own company, Chaka Chaka Promotions. In 1995 she created her own music label, Chaka Chaka Music. Since then every album Yvonne has released has been on her own label. She has two diplomas from the University of South Africa, one in adult education, another in local government, management and administration. Her business ventures include companies in the Information Technology sector; Energy and Minerals sectors; Human Resource Development focused on adult training; and Sandown Motors, a luxury motor vehicle retailer . Yvonne's energy and enthusiasm is boundless. She has become a hero and mentor to others, a willing warrior and agent for change in enormous proportions. Considered a role model throughout the African continent, she has demonstrated compassion for others throughout her career.

Yvonne actively promotes the rights of women, and the protection of Children. She is a Trustee of Tomorrow Trust, which educated orphans and vulnerable children. Yvonne Chaka Chaka is also UNICEF's Goodwill Ambassador against malaria, and also Ambassador for Roll-Back Malaria (sponsored by the World Bank, United Nations, World Health Organization, and other institutions). She also founded and runs her own charity the Princess of Africa Foundation.

One of her favourite male mentor and father figure is Nelson Mandela. Mandela who fondly refers to Yvonne as his dear daughter once stated, “It is what we make of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another. Yvonne, you are a testament to my belief. You have made all of South Africa proud to claim you as a national icon. You have motivated millions of women and men on our continent. Your generosity has benefited untold numbers of families and orphans facing the challenges of AIDS, terminal illness, abuse, poverty, and illiteracy. I know you will always make your indelible mark wherever you go, and with what ever you do. There is no stopping you! You will always be my Princess of Africa.”

Yvonne Chaka Chaka with husband and family

The men in her life

Yvonne Chaka Chaka with hubby Dr Mandlalele Mhinga

Her philosophy is, “When we are born we come with nothing. And when we die, we die with nothing. So every day I wake up and say, ‘God thank you for the life that you have given me. I take nothing for granted. I love living, I love life, and I live it to the fullest.'”

In Greek legend the goddess Clytemnestra said, “We are the instruments of Heaven. Our work is not design, but destiny.” African icon Yvonne Chaka Chaka is living her destiny, and those who understand her message are enriched by it.

YVONNE CHAKA CHAKA MUSIC VIDEOS

TEXT SOURCES AND MORE INFORMATION

OFFICIAL YVONNE CHAKA CHAKA WEBSITE

CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Nigeria in 1977. She is from Abba, in Anambra State, but grew up in the university town of Nsukka where she attended primary and secondary schools and briefly studied Medicine and Pharmacy. She then moved to the United States to attend college, graduating summa cum laude from Eastern Connecticut State with a major in Communication and a minor in Political Science. She holds a Masters degree in Creative Writing from Johns Hopkins and a Masters degree in African Studies from Yale.

She is the author of the novels Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), and she has recently published a collection of short stories titled The Thing around Your Neck (2009). She has received numerous awards and distinctions, including the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007) and a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (2008).

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Purple Hibiscus won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. It was also short-listed for the Orange Prize and the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and long-listed for the Booker Prize. Her short fiction has appeared in Granta, Prospect, and The Iowa Review among other literary journals, and she received an O. Henry Prize in 2003. She was a 2005-2006 Hodder Fellow at Princeton, where she taught Introductory Fiction. She divides her time between the United States and Nigeria.

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel Half of a Yellow Sun takes place in Nigeria during the Nigerian-Biafran War in 1967-1970. The effect of the war is shown through the dynamic relationships of five people’s lives ranging from high ranking political figures, a professor, a British citizen, and a houseboy. After the British left Nigeria and stopped ruling, conflicts arose over what government would rule over the land. The land split and the Nigeria-Biafra war started. The lives of the main characters (two sisters Olanna and Kainene) drastically changed and were torn apart by the war and decisions in their personal life.

Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story at TED Talks

Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

"And the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story." "The consequence of the single story is this: It robs people of dignity. It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult. It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar."

"Of course, Africa is a continent full of catastrophes. There are immense ones, such as the horrific rapes in Congo. And depressing ones, such as the fact that 5,000 people apply for one job vacancy in Nigeria. But there are other stories that are not about catastrophe. And it is very important, it is just as important, to talk about them."

TEXT SOURCES AND FOR MORE INFORMATION
http://www.halfofayellowsun.com/

http://www.l3.ulg.ac.be/adichie/index.html

http://www.ted.com chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html

AFRICA ON LENS - HECTOR PETERSSEN

"That I'm alive today proves the power of the photo and that the only viable and sustainable challenge to oppression is through art and beauty.
Photography for me is not a hobby or a profession, it's a tool
I spend most of my life living in fantasy, dreaming of a better world."

Hector Peterssen, Photographer

Hectors photography provides a treat for those who love photography, showcasing the astounding beauty and diversity within Africa.

LE VIE AU AFRICA

AT SCHOOL

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PHOTOS BY AFRICAN FUTURIST