AFRICA 2.0 PARTNERS WITH SOCIAL MEDIA WEEK LAGOS TO DIALOGUE WITH A DELEGATION HEADED BY H.E PRESIDENT OLUSEGUN OBASANJO‏.

AFRICA 2.0 PARTNERS WITH SOCIAL MEDIA WEEK LAGOS TO STIMULATE DIALOGUE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA WITH A DELEGATION HEADED BY H.E PRESIDENT OLUSE- GUN OBASANJO.

Lagos, Nigeria – January 22, 2013 – Pan-African civil society organization Africa 2.0 in partnership with Social media week Lagos will be co-hosting an event themed: An even- ing with the leaders. The event will be held at the prestigious Porsche Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos on the evening of Tuesday Feb 19, 2013 

Former President of Nigeria and Chairman of the Africa 2.0 Advisory Board, H.E. Oluse- gun Obasanjo will head a delegation of Leaders whose aim is to foster intergenerational dialogue during the event while exploring the possibility of leveraging social media and digital tools to move Africa forward. Young and emerging leaders such as Tonye Cole the CEO of Sahara Energy and chapter head of Africa 2.0 Nigeria and other dynamic emerg- ing leaders will also be in attendance. This session will be moderated by award-winning journalist and Social Media Week co-producer Nkiru Asika.

“An Evening with Leaders” adds to the impressive roster of 84 events - panels, workshops, keynotes, networking sessions and entertainment – that will take place during Social Media Week Lagos, the first of its kind in Africa. Powered globally by Nokia, local partners include Beat 99.9FM, M-Net, Channels Tv, Mnet, Africa Magic, Supersport Channel O, Google, Porsche and the Lagos State Government. Social Media Week Lagos is co- produced by Dragon Africa and AFRIKA21 and debuts in Lagos, Nigeria February 18 – 22, 2013. 

“An Evening with Leaders,” will take place on Tuesday, February 19 at the Porsche Centre Lagos from 7pm to 9pm The conference's mission is to help people and organizations connect through collabora- tion and the sharing of ideas and information. SMW Lagos is guided by the global theme “Open and connected,” This particular session will be live streamed and is expected to attract a huge global audience online, mobile, radio and tv platforms. Social media week has been running simultaneously in 10 cities globally for the last five years. Other host cities for the upcoming event include Copenhagen, Miami, Milan, New York, Paris, Tokyo, and Washington DC. In 2012, over 66,000 people attended Social Media Week in twenty- six countries globally. 

“We are extremely humbled that Social Media Week Lagos is hosting President Obasanjo and Africa 2.0. Their participation only serves to elevate and confirm the importance of social media, digital media and innovation for the future of Africa,” says Obi Asika, Chair- man Social Media Week Lagos.

“Africa 2.0 is proud to host “An Evening with Leaders” in partnership with Social Media Week, this event represents some of the values we hold dear - open dialogue, information-sharing and innovation – which are critical to developing leaders that will move Africa forward,” says Clement Banjo, Head of Communication at Africa 2.0.

Africa 2.0 is on the Board of Social Media Week Lagos and has worked closely with the promoters of the Initiative (Dragon Africa and Afrika21) to ensure the success of this pilot that will ultimately be replicated across the African continent leveraging on Africa 2.0 presence in more than 20 African countries.

ABOUT DRAGON AFRICA - Dragon Africa uses its knowledge of Africa and Europe, with extensive contacts in the media, government, and financial centers, to address challenges and maximize opportunities for African companies seeking a cutting edge advantage.

ABOUT AFRIKA21 - AFRIKA21 is a media and production outfit that takes a multidiscipli- nary approach to promoting a new vision for Africa. AFRIKA21 produces online content, multimedia events and public programming with the purpose of reframing the conversa- tion around Africa.

ABOUT AFRICA2.0 - Africa 2.0 is a Pan-African civil society organization that consists of young and emerging leaders from Africa and the Diaspora who share a collective vision for Africa and a commitment to finding and implementing sustainable solutions capable of leapfrogging the development of the continent.

For more information on SMW Lagos please email lagos@socialmediaweek.org. To view the Social Media Week Lagos schedule in it’s entirety and register for events visit: http://socialmediaweek.org/lagos/schedule. For the latest news and updates follow SMW Lagos on Twitter via @SMWLagos or on Facebook via facebook.com/SMWLagos.