Recap of the Maiden Event of Barcamp Kumasi

The 18th of September, 2010 saw the first ever regional Barcamp Ghana event: Barcamp Kumasi at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). Barcamp Kumasi sought to bring together natives and residents of Kumasi to discuss, share ideas and network in the effort to stimulate development in the township. The theme was "Collaboration: The Key for Opportunity and Development". The event was supported by Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), National Society of Black Engineers (KNUST chapter), GhanaThink Foundation, Google, IPMC Ghana, Fienipa Group, Leadership & Mentorship Academy, Mozilla Firefox, etc. The media partners were Kapital 97.1 FM, Focus 94.5 FM and ModernGhana.com

At about 7.30am, the organizers and volunteers got together at the venue to set up and put things in order for the day. At 8.30am, some of our panelists were in at which time some of our participants were already seated. The event was tweeted - updates about the Barcamp were made public through Twitter - and this allowed people to participate in the Barcamp discussions virtually. The hashtag was #bcksi. Updates were also posted through Facebook.

Barcamp Kumasi kicked off at 9.30am with introductions by Nana Kwabena Owusu, who co-emceed with Nana Oppong Damoah. He also introduced the concept of Barcamps and talked about Barcamp Ghana and Kumasi, and shared a little about the theme. Dr Douglas Adjepong, the president and founder of Leadership and Mentoring Academy, followed with the keynote address. Dr. Agyepong remarked “Collaborate through socializing but do not let it be only talk but let's 'DO' as well”. He also added “Start small and begin to grow from where you are.”
 A short interaction followed and then we proceeded to the panel discussion of the day. The topic was “Fostering Entrepreneurship through collaboration and technology”. The panel constituted of Mr Stephen Agyepong - lecturer at the Computer Science department in KNUST, Ms Daisy Baffoe - Communications Fellow at Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), Eugene Oduro Birikorang - Acting Regional Manager, Millicom Gh Ltd (Tigo), and Dr Douglas Adjepong who doubled as the panel head and moderator.

The panel was intense, engaging and insightful, with the panelists, all experienced entrepreneurs, sharing their ideas, views, and opinions. They shared with us their stories, challenges they faced, and great successes they achieved through perseverance and key networking and collaboration. Various issues were touched on: the state of entrepreneurship today, key and unique challenges such as cultural and financial factors, and how collaboration can play a role in fast tracking business ideas and opportunities. An interactive session then followed with participants sharing their views, comments and ideas.

Mr. Agyepong remarked “Entreprenuership is all about risk, managing risk, to harness opportunity.” Daisy also introduced the idea of an intrapreneur to the attendees, saying “You can work for someone and still be an entrepreneur”. The panel discussed the risks involved in doing that. She also added “Our culture does not tolerate failure, its just not an option, this stifles entrepreneurship greatly. ” Mr. Tinkorang also suggested that we “break out of the norm” and change from a Barcamp to a Breakcamp. The challenges of collaborating with others were also discussed. Key takeaways from the panel discussion was the need to find and listen to mentors, ask ‘Why?’, determination and focus as keys to succeed as entrepreneurs and how collaboration and co-production of wealth was key for Ghana’s development.The first break followed during which participants were refreshed with cold cocoa drinks, cup cakes and pies. The snacks were provided by the kitchen staff at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology’s Independence Hall. A popular Ghanaian adage goes by “Chop time, no friends” but at Barcamp Kumasi, it was “chop time, make friends”.

The first set of breakout sessions took place after the break. Four parallel sessions took place: Android Programming and Development by the KNUST GTUG (Google Technology User Group) led by Edward Pie, “Is it Possible to run an antivirus free system” - a discussion on computer security by Saddik Davis, a talk on Leadership by a representative from Leadership and Mentoring Academy, and introduction to the Mozilla communities and a talk on choosing Linux by Kwamena Appiah-Kubi. The breakout sessions lasted 30 minutes after which participants regrouped in the main hall and a participant from each group shared with everyone what they learnt from their session.

The next set of breakout sessions started immediately after but this time with everyone involved instead of breaking up into groups. Participants who had issues to discuss and share came upstage to initiate the discussion. A Peace Corp volunteer talked about a narrative documentary about “Women Issues and the effects it has on Ghana's development. The next question for discussion was “What is the most important asset for success?”. The topic “Time Management in an african context” led by Serwaa Nyarko followed. This session was rounded up with topic “Herbal medicine usage and adoption in Ghana: Success and failures”. Dr. Douglas Agyepong then gave the closing remarks.
The second break then followed and with participants encouraged to network and socialize. Just about this time, Mac-Jordan Degadjor, a prolific blogger and member of the Ghana Blogging community arrived and held an open air breakout session on the benefits of social media.

In all, it was a great event, the youthful participants were enriched with knowledge by our well versed panelists who are contributing in their own small way to the development of Kumasi. The Barcamp Kumasi team also believes the participants would put their newly acquired knowledge to use as they each also contribute their quota to the development of the township. They were about 80 attendees, most of which were students of KNUST. Publicity would be increased next year to attract more Kumasi residents to Barcamp Kumasi 2011. Stay tuned to www.kumasi.barcampghana.org for information about Barcamp Kumasi, as well as media. Barcamp Takoradi and Barcamp Ghana are scheduled to close out 2010. You can find info at www.barcampghana.org