UNICEF’s share will go to the Schools for Africa projects in seven countries and two projects in Russia and China. Save the Children’s equal share will support education for children in some of the most marginalized groups (minorities and children with disabilities) in Asia (Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines) and Eastern Europe (Lithuania and Romania).

The PROJECT show is a trade event that unites both emerging and established designers with fashion’s most influential retailers, press and personalities. PROJECT just wrapped up in New York and is preparing for Las Vegas.

We hope to see some of you expand your brand awareness and really stay focused on the business of fashion by participating in this event.

Watch the highlights from PROJECT New York below. To register for PROJECT Las Vegas which will be held on February 13th-15th, 2012 click here.

PROJECT LAS VEGAS

Mandalay Bay, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV

Monday, February 13
9AM – 6PM

Tuesday, February 14
9AM – 6PM

Wednesday, February 15
9AM – 5PM

PROJECT NY Jan 2012 Recap from PROJECT on Vimeo.

The interview highlights that many investors have no exposure to Africa, although over the next five years this is expected to change with about a third of these investors having over a 5% allocation towards the continent. The rise of the middle class and greater consumer spend are two main themes investors are looking at. The report gives some fascinating forecasts and figures of what these markets are expected to deliver in the next few years.

Interviewed by: George Grumbar, Producer & Client Advisor, MerchantCantos.com

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Non-profit organization Walk4Water makes an unprecedented journey to bring awareness and resources to those in need

(Chicago – January (29), 2012)- Walk4Water, a non-profit organization committed to raising awareness and funds for clean water in developing countries, is set to embark on a two year, 7,000 mile mission across the country to achieve their goal. Led by 23-year-old Amy Russell, a group of three volunteers will become the first U.S. citizens to walk this far across Africa.

“4,000 children will die today from water-related diseases,’ said Russell. “We feel committed and compelled to help those who are in most desperate need of the most basic necessity of life. We’re raising awareness and funds, and trying to prove that ‘impossible’ doesn’t exist.”

About the Walk

The journey is equivalent to the distance of walking from New York City to California, and back to Chicago. The team, consisting of Russell, Aaron Tharp and Marty Yoder, will begin walking on January 27 in Cape Town, South Africa and continue through several countries including:

South Africa
Mozambique
Tanzania
Kenya
Ethiopia
Sudan
Egypt

Russell and the volunteers will walk six days a week, for about eight hours a day. The team plans to camp or stay with people that they meet along the way, joining with other grassroots organizations already working to create sustainable water solutions in Africa.

The Walk4Water team can also be tracked on their website with a GPS map for supporters to follow their journey. Their U.S. volunteer team will update their social media channels and website to include recent news, accept donations, and offer options for those at home to get involved in the mission.

Russell founded the non-profit organization, Walk4Water, while she was still in college at North Park University.

“Walk4Water was birthed out of an idea, backed by compassion for people, a passion for justice, and the decision to take a risk, knowing it is worth it,” said Russell.

According to the World Health Organization and UNICEF, 1 in 8 people don’t have access to clean water.

About Walk4Water

Walk4Water is a non-profit organization that is run completely by volunteers to educate and advocate for clean water in developing countries. The vision is that one day safe water will be a reality for everyone, and serve as a building block to eliminate poverty as a whole. 100% of the funds raised are given to charity: water, an organization which donates all of its proceeds to support water projects in developing nations. To follow the walk across Africa, or learn more about how you can get involved, visit Walk4Water’s website: www.walking4water.org, Facebook: Walking4Water, Twitter: @TeamWalk4Water, Blog: Walking4Water or Picasa: Walk Africa for pictures throughout the journey.

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Kenya-based Portland Communications and Tweetminster published findings indicating Twitter in Africa is widely used for social conversation and is fast becoming an important source of information. More than 80 percent of those polled said they mainly used it for communicating with friends, 68 percent said they use it to monitor news and 22 percent to search for jobs, the companies said.

The research analyzed more than 11.5 million geographically pinpointed tweets originating on the continent during the last three months of 2011. That was complemented by a survey of 500 of Africa’s most active tweeters.

South Africans, with the continent’s biggest economy, were the most prolific with over twice as many tweets at 5,030,226 than the next most active country of Kenya with 2,476,800 tweets. Surprisingly, Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, had only 1,646,212 tweets from its more than 160 million people. It was followed by Egypt with 1,214,062 and Morocco with 745,620 tweets.

African tweeters are young, averaging 20 to 29 years, compared to 39 worldwide, the report said. And some 57 percent of analyzed tweets were sent from mobile phones, mainly BlackBerrys and iPhones.

The researchers noted how few African business and political leaders were joining Africa’s burgeoning Twittersphere.

“With some notable exceptions, we found that business and political leaders were largely absent from the debates playing out on Twitter across the continent,” they said. “As Twitter lifts off in Africa, governments, businesses and development agencies can really no longer afford to stay out of a new space where dialogue will increasingly be taking place. . .”

-Associated Press

New York designers had wanted to start showing their collections the week after Labor Day, giving them some reprieve for the first time in many years. But the Milanese, who show between London and Paris, refused to go along by pushing their dates back as well. . .”

Full story on New York Times

“She was approached in 2010 by Crystal Bridges director Don Bacigalupi to create unique and stylish uniforms for the museum’s frontline staff.

After visiting the Museum site and discussing the vision and mission of the museum with Bacigalupi and museum founder Alice Walton, Momolu developed designs for a vest and sweater for the male employees, and a dress and blouse for the women. She also created a
custom fabric print for the scarves and ties worn by guest services staff.

Momolu took pains to find ways to connect her Crystal Bridges designs with the museum itself, and with the landscape of her adopted state. Long before the museum buildings were completed, she spent time in the forest on the Crystal Bridges site, gathering samples of local
flora for color and texture.

“Walking around the grounds of the future museum site enabled me to become at one with what the creators of the museum fell in love with; the beauty of Arkansas right at your feet,” Momolu said. “It was at that moment that it dawned on me to be inspired from the very place the museum would call home, the grounds surrounding it. I gathered leaves and berries and flowers that were well known to the area with the hope to create a signature print that not only represented Crystal Bridges,but show the beauty of Arkansas.”

Visitors to Crystal Bridges can see the result of Momolu’s work on guest services staff in the museum. The scarves in Crystal Bridges’ signature colors are reserved for staff members, but a variation of Momolu’s print is also available for purchase in the Museum Store.

About Crystal Bridges

The mission of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of landscape. We explore the unfolding story of America by actively collecting, exhibiting, interpreting, and  preserving outstanding works that illuminate our heritage and artistic possibilities.

Founded in 2005 by the Walton Family Foundation and opened 11-11-11, the Museum takes its name from a nearby natural spring and the bridge construction incorporated in the building designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. A series of pavilions nestled around two spring-fed ponds house galleries, meeting and classroom spaces, and a large, glass-enclosed gathering hall. Guest amenities also include a restaurant on a glass-enclosed bridge overlooking the ponds and a Marlon Blackwell-designed museum store. Sculpture and walking trails link the Museum’s 120-acre park and gardens to downtown Bentonville, Arkansas.

For more information about Crystal Bridges visit CrystalBridges.org. “

“In 2011, a number of major design houses used African prints and motifs, including Michael Kors, Burberry and Oscar de la Renta.

Style writer Robin Givhan singles out designer Haider Ackermann. A Colombian by birth, he brings a cross-cultural sensibility to his designs. After being adopted by French parents, Ackermann studied in Belgium and lived in Chad and Algeria.

“I would like to see it become more sort of embedded within the fashion industry,” says Givhan. “People could … look at African prints in the same way that they look at tartans or … other prints that are very much associated with a specific group of people. . .”

Phocredit:Myasho

-Uduak Oduok

Franca Sozzani Talks About Ghana’s Prospect as a fashion industry

Roberto Cavalli with Publicist Moriam Musa of Morsi PR in Nigeria

Roberto Cavalli with Founder & Model Agency Owner Elohor Isiohor-Aisien