Suche

Sawubona

About 20 years ago I have made an apprenticeship at a printer’s shop. At that time we’ve been working on a regular magazin („THINK“) for IBM. Before actually starting the print an IBM manager was coming to us to approve the prints, his name was Hans-Dieter Huober. I still remembered him when I met him again this week again … 20 years later. This time it was due to the fact that he’s the owner of an IBM project for South African called „Sawubona“. It’s a music project patronaged by our General Manager, IBM Germany. It’s part of the IBM Coporate Social Responsibility program (which is how it ties in to CSC). It promotes Web 2.0 capabilities which is closely connected to the area I am working in. The results of the Sawubona project a CD, online sales of the music and a „Global Band“. All proceeds from music marketing will support township projects (education and aids preventation). Partners of the project are also the South African Embassy in Germany, universities and the governments of the German regions Baden-Wuerttemberg and Bavaria.

Hans-Dieter Huober has told me the whole story on how it all began with Sawubona (which btw. is Zulu and means „Hello“). The roots of the Sawubona MusicJam project going back to 1994 when he wrote an article about IBM in South Africa for IBM’s worldwide employee magazine „THINK“. It’s an amazing story. Listen to the story on the podcast and make sure you join the community. After Mr. Huober told me this story I was very touched and amazed.

There are so many links I can see with what I am concerened and with what I am related to. So now I think about how to connect this with my CSC assignement. So I have asked my CSC team to join Sawubona. We’ve also contacted the NGO to see if I can have an assignement which can then be used to promote the Sawubona in South Africa. I have also contacted a friend of mine who’s a great and successfull musician and he was really excited and wants to look into how he can contribute the project. I am thinking of another musician from Malawi (Wombali) who is extrodinarily popular down there and maybe I can pull him in this project as well. Further my brothers own a developmental organization for Africa and maybe they can help on an idea on an Internet café which Hans-Dieter and his friend in South Africa came up with. There’s an IBM school project patronaged by the German president which we might link in and I have a brother who’s schools inspector and maybe I can bring in him as well. Well there are many more links which I can think of but let’s see… There’s also a lot to prepare and to do on my „real“ job so I have to be cautious to my resources as well. But as so often 1 + 1 = 11. Let’s see how it works out. Looking forward.

Here the link to the sawubona musicjam project: http://splash.sawubona-musicjam.com.

Cookie Consent mit Real Cookie Banner